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Many Christians today seek to love those who feel judged by the words they find in the Bible. People search the Scriptures in an attempt to prove that certain beliefs they want to hold—or certain actions they want to keep doing—are okay in God’s sight. Lifestyles Christians previously and universally viewed as sinful according to the Bible are now increasingly tolerated, accepted, and even celebrated.
Yet, things that make us feel good are not always good for us. In her Gospel Coalition article, “Love Your Neighbor Enough to Speak Truth,” Rosaria Butterfield writes:
The supernatural power that comes with being born again means that where I once had a single desire—one that says if it feels good, it must be who I really am—I now have twin desires that war within me: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Gal. 5:17). And this war doesn’t end until Glory.
The Christian life is a struggle, because now there is new spiritual life where there was once just the flesh. This flesh, which God originally made good, is now corrupted because of Adam’s disobedience and fall in the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:16–17; 3:1–19). The Holy Spirit now indwells all believers and is doing the work of sanctification in their lives. This is a lifelong process of dying to the flesh and living unto God.
It is not easy to give up the things in life that we love, but if they are opposed to God’s will, this is what Christ calls us to do:
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt. 10:37–38)
Love and keeping Jesus’ commands go together. Jesus told his disciples:
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21)
Focusing on lovingly affirming others in their desired lifestyles seems appealing at first. In the long run, however, we do great harm to people when we affirm them in life choices that the Bible calls sinful. Declaring that something is not sinful because of our careful, nuanced study and argumentation doesn’t mean we have done such research properly and are correct in our conclusions.
We can believe whatever we want about anything, but that doesn’t make it true. Our efforts to justify wrong behavior go all the way back to the garden of Eden as well (Gen. 3:1–13). As the preacher stated in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “There is nothing new under the sun.”
The apostle Paul points out how true love and truth are inextricably entwined:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogantor rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. (1 Cor. 13:4–6)
Butterfield reminds us of the priority of love in the words we speak to others:
On the biblical side, we often have failed to offer loving relationships and open doors to our homes and hearts, openness so unhindered that we are as strong in loving relationship as we are in the words we wield.
Are you a Christian who knows a fellow believer who is caught up in an ongoing sin that he or she is justifying for some reason? This person needs your love, prayers, support, and biblical truth regarding his or her behavior (Gal. 6:1). Don’t expect a Christian who is struggling with such a sin to easily be able to “just stop it.” It could take a while, maybe even years or a lifetime. Fighting sin is difficult—indeed, it is the biggest battle any of us will ever face in this life. This is why every Christian needs the oversight of a faithful church and the fellowship of the saints, for God did not mean for any of us to face this battle alone.
Are you a Christian who knows a non-Christian who is caught up in an ongoing sin? This person also needs your love, prayers, and support, but what he or she needs most of all is the truth about the glorious gospel of Christ. This person needs to know that we have all sinned, that we have all fallen short, that we all need a savior (John 1:12—13; Rom. 3:23–24). He or she needs your committed friendship—and your resoluteness to uphold your values out of love. This person needs a lifeline (namely, you) to the good news that a Savior has come because of humanity’s sin. You can offer godly counsel as the opportunity arises, but it is not your job to point out a nonbeliever’s specific sins. It is your job to love nonbelievers and share Christ with them (1 Pet. 3:15).
Redefining biblical doctrine to suit what we personally think is loving, gracious, or kind is wrong. Christians are called to love others. They are also called to kill sin in their lives and support fellow believers in godliness with all gentleness and compassion, not to give in to sin and pronounce it as good.
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I spend much of my life waiting for something: for the light to change, for a response to my text or email, for the nurse to call my name. I wait for hard things, like answers to blood tests, and for good things, like a vacation to start. I wait for dreams to come true and for answered prayers.
In many ways, the Christian life is one of waiting. We live in the in-between, a time between Christ's ascension and his promised return. We wait for Christ to come and complete making all things new. We wait for his full glory to be revealed and his promises fulfilled. We wait for eternity where we will live forever worshiping and enjoying our Savior.
Waiting is hard because we are impatient by nature.
We want to speed things up and make things happen. We want things to take place on our time table. We look at waiting as wasted time—time we could be using for other things. We can't see waiting as productive and important in and of itself. We treat it like a no-man's-land, a purgatory of sorts between where we've been and where we want to go.
Yet the Bible encourages a particular kind of waiting and sees it as a good thing—specifically waiting on the Lord:
The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lam. 3:25-26)
From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. (Isa. 64:4)
Waiting doesn't mean not doing anything.
Waiting doesn't necessarily entail idleness or sitting still. In the Bible, waiting is a posture of the heart. It's a humble reliance upon God who rules all things and holds all things together. It's living out the knowledge that God is good and faithful and will always be so. Biblical waiting requires hope and trust in our steadfast God.
In the passage above from Lamentations, waiting is described as "the soul who seeks him." This means there is work to be done in our waiting—important work. Here are three things we can do in our waiting:
1. We can wait in prayer.
As we wait on the Lord to move in our lives and in those around us, we seek him in prayer. Whatever we are waiting for—healing, restoration, provision, rescue—we cry out to the Lord in prayer. The Psalms of Lament are prayers of waiting for God to come to the rescue, whether for an individual or for God's people as a whole.
These prayers are ones we can model and pray ourselves. And we don't just pray once; rather, we pray repeatedly, telling the Lord our troubles, seeking his help, and responding to him with trust and praise.
2. We can watch with hope.
We also watch for God to move. We wait with expectation. While God may not answer our prayers in the exact way we request, we know he is faithful. We know he loves us in Christ and he will do all for his glory and our good.
So we wait with anticipatory hope. We look for his glory in our life. We look for his providential hand at work in all things. We trace his grace in all the details of our days, from the littlest things to the biggest. Like a child on Christmas Eve who can't fall asleep, excited for Christmas morning, we wait for our Father with hope.
3. We can wonder with joy.
As we pray and watch for God's work, we wonder and marvel at his grace. We are his children, chosen in Christ before the creation of the world. Through the blood of the Son, we are made holy, set apart for good works.
We have a Father who cares about all the details of our lives, down to the number of hairs on our head. He knows what we need before we ask it. We have the down payment of our inheritance through the Spirit living within us, who comforts, guides, teaches, and exhorts us in righteousness. For all this and more, we wait in joy, because we know the One for whom we wait.
Waiting is hard. But good things happen in our hearts when we wait on the Lord. As we draw near to him in prayer, seeking him as our refuge and watching for him to move, we can't help but wonder at his generous grace for us. As you wait on the Lord today, know that your waiting is not wasted time. It's not in vain. For you wait on the God who rules the universe and the One who has proven his faithfulness to you in Christ. So pray. Watch. And wonder.
Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com; elderly farmer couple on relief. Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien were drought victims in Williams County North Dakota. Oct. 1937.
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When my grandmother sold her 1976 Toyota Corona in 1996, the sun visors and doors were still covered with the protective plastic from the factory. The car’s original green paint was brilliant and immaculate, and it had been serviced within an inch of its life. In fact, when it rained Grandma had to go out with raincoat and umbrella because Grandad didn’t want to risk rusting their beautiful car.
It wasn’t just the car. Grandma only ever owned one electric toaster, a 1948 wedding present. It had flip down doors on either side, and you had to manually turn the bread. She only ever used one carving knife the one her blacksmith grandfather had repurposed, using forge and hammer from a worn-out steel file in the early 1900s.
In her last years, in the blazing Perth summers, she still cooled herself using a damp towel and electric fan, reluctant to waste electricity on her perfectly good split-system air conditioner.
Grandma was born in 1926, and so she lived her girlhood through the Great Depression. Her family had no car or cart, and they traveled by foot or bus. Her father, a school master, supplemented the family table by hunting rabbits. Her mother had to sell her beloved piano to buy food: “We ate the piano,” Grandma would sometimes say. Butter was scarce, and drippings on bread with salt and pepper made a frequent meal. (Dripping was the fat from a cooked roast, collected into used tins.) Grandma, like just about every other Australian in the 1930s, had to live frugally, and she never lost those childhood habits. She treasured and looked after every possession.
How different my life has been. I have had many cars, and I haven’t looked after any of them especially well. Cheap electric appliances come and go. My worn-out clothes are discarded instead of repaired. Every now and then we have to clear uneaten leftovers out of the fridge. If it’s cold, we put on the heater without much thought.
By any standard of history and place, the Australian middle class enjoys spectacular wealth. And with wealth comes wastage, greed, forgetfulness of the poor, pride, a sense of entitlement, and spiritual apathy.
These are not small dangers. And so we turn urgently to God’s word for help and guidance. Here are seven things the book of Proverbs teaches us about poverty and wealth, riches and want.
1. Wealth comes from the Lord.
“The blessing of the LORD brings wealth” (Prov. 10:22). If God is sovereign, if he governs all creation, then both riches and poverty come ultimately from him. Poor and barren Hannah recognized this: “The LORD sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts” (1 Sam. 2:7; Scripture quotes from NIV version unless otherwise noted). And Moses warned rich Israelites never to forget this:
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth. (Deut. 8:17)
Godliness and riches are linked: “Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life” (Prov. 22:4). Psalm 112 concurs:
Praise the Lord.
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.
Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever. (Ps. 112:1-3)
In a fallen world, however, the correlation is far from robust. The godly can be destitute (like Hannah, Job in his trials, Elijah, and Mary), and the godless can be rich (like Pharaoh, Nabal, Darius, and the glutton who pretended Lazarus didn’t exist). The rich should not presume that God smiles on them, nor should the poor assume that he frowns on them.
2. The Lord normally bestows wealth by hard work, frugality, and saving.
“Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow” (Prov. 13:11). “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Prov. 14:23). “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty” (Prov. 21:5).
And so indolent epicureans tend to impoverish themselves: “He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich” (Prov. 21:17). “He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty” (Prov. 28:19).
Some will inherit the benefits of the hard work, frugality, and saving of others. “Houses and wealth are inherited from parents” (Prov. 19:14a). The godly will want this for their children: “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous” (Prov. 13:22). A patrimony does not however come without its dangers: “An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end” (Prov. 20:21).
3. Greed is evil.
Gordon Gecko, the fictional Wall Street swindler, urged that “greed is good.” Scripture urges instead that greed is godless. The greedy fall easy prey to “get rich by corruption, stinginess, and bribery” schemes: “A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live” (Prov. 15:27). “He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty” (Prov. 22:16). “A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. To show partiality is not good—yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread. A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him” (Prov. 28:20-22).
Ill-gotten gain must ultimately harm: “The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment” (Prov. 10:16). “A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper” (Prov. 28:25). The New Testament concurs, not because it says that “money is the root of all evil,” because it doesn’t. It does, however, say that “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” (1Tim. 6:10), and “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have” (Heb. 13:5).
When it comes to money, this is the wisest and godliest prayer:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” (Prov. 30:8-10)
And so we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11).
4. It is important to save during rich times for lean times.
The wise know, like Joseph in Egypt, that there are seasons of plenty and leanness, and to save during plenty. “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has” (Prov. 21:20). Saved wealth can thus defend us through hard times: “The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor” (Prov. 10:15-16). The wise are hard-working ants, who store food in summer for the barren winter. The sluggard’s short-sighted penchant for sleep leaves him exposed (Prov. 6:6-11).
Our government makes retirement funding compulsory, so that we will have something to live off when we can no longer work. It says much about human nature that we must be forced to do this.
5. Money does not buy happiness.
The fact that all history proves this doesn’t mean that we don’t stop trying. But Proverbs concurs, the fattest bank balance cannot smother the pain of strife. “Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred” (Prov. 15:17). “Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife” (Prov. 17:1).
Thus, clamoring for wealth is a fool’s pastime: “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. 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” (Prov. 23:4-5).
6. Riches can bring arrogance.
If money can’t buy happiness, it can buy hubris. That’s because, as a rule, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Prov. 22:7). And so “A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly” (Prov. 18:23). However, “A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him” (Prov. 28:11). And we must always remember that “rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all” (Prov. 22:2).
7. Many things are much more important than wealth.
First, wisdom and knowledge. “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her” (Prov. 3:13-15). And so Lady Wisdom urges, “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 ... My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver” (Prov. 8:10-11, 19). “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!” (Prov. 16:16).
Second, good words. “Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel” (Prov. 20:15). Third, a good reputation. “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold” (Prov. 22:1). Fourth, good friends. “Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man’s friend deserts him” (Prov. 19:4). Fifth, a gracious wife. “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies” (Prov. 31:10). Sixth, and above all, righteousness. “Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse” (Prov. 28:6).
If money cannot buy happiness, far less can it buy salvation and life. It is God’s righteousness, not wealth, that turns the key of heaven’s gates. “Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death ... Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf” (Prov. 11:4, 28).
Jesus had much to say about money.
Unlike our forebears, people today flounder in a sea of greed, materialism, and waste. Christians included. A bad attitude to money is a constant temptation. We must listen carefully to the words of Jesus in Proverbs on money, and we must also listen to the words of the incarnate Jesus on money: for he knew its power and danger, and had very much to say about it:
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13 KJV)
Mammon was a Canaanite word that referred to “food, maintenance, and provisions,” and Jesus uses it to personify wealth as a rival god. Why did the Pharisees sneer when they heard this? Because they “loved money” (Luke 16:14).
In the Parable of the Sower, it is life’s “riches and pleasures” that strangle the seed (Luke 8:14). It was the greed of the younger son that caused him to despise his father’s house, and God himself (Luke 15:11-13). The rich young ruler, like the monkey grasping the banana in the gourd, couldn’t let go of his money to take hold of Jesus and salvation (Matt. 19:21-22). Riches are so powerful a temptation that Jesus went so far as to say:
Jesus looked at him and said,
“How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Luke 18:24-25)
How will the godly use money? Jesus said,
“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 16:9)
Money must be our slave, not our lord. Instead of being strangled by it in luxury, we master it and use it for acts of mercy and kingdom growth. Then instead of barring us from heaven, our mammon will win us a warm welcome from those who have been helped by its godly use. So, finally,
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:33-34)
This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life under the title, “‘Give Me neither Poverty nor Plenty’ — 7 Things the Book of Proverbs Teaches Us About Money.”
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Have you ever seen someone play favorites based on a person's appearance, bank account, employment, or some other factor—and you weren’t the chosen one? It’s not a good feeling.
Favoritism is nothing new under the sun, and it most certainly was an issue in the early church (James 2:1-4). If favoritism is bad, why do we find numerous passages in the Bible where God clearly favors some people over others, even in the matter of salvation? In his greeting to the Ephesian church, the apostle Paul states:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. (Eph. 1:3-5)
Is God showing a form of favoritism in his election of only some of humanity for salvation? Let’s look closely at this issue and see why God’s electing grace is not favoritism.
What does the apostle James say about favoritism?
One of the earliest writings in the New Testament is the letter by James to “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion,” a way of referring to the Christian church that was scattered throughout Asia Minor due to the persecution of Christians circa AD 40 in Jerusalem. James’s letter was most likely intended to be read among many congregations to address issues that were becoming problematic in all the churches, one being favoritism—the giving of special attention to people because of their position, influence, or wealth.
In the first verse of chapter two, James warns believers against showing favoritism. He writes, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1). James is concerned about us, and he denounces this practice as one that should never be characteristic of God’s children. He goes on to write:
For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4)
God’s favor versus favoritism—what’s the difference?
The favoritism James warns against in James 2:1-4 is different in every way from the favor God shows in choosing to save some but not all humans. The salvation God graciously provides by the gift of faith (Eph. 2:8-9) begins in Genesis 3:15 with the promise to Adam and Eve of a Savior. His favor begins to take further shape in Genesis 4:25 with the birth of Seth to Adam and Eve. Even though sin seems to have won when Adam and Eve’s firstborn, Cain, murders his brother Abel, hope returns in Seth through whom the God-fearing ancestral line would run to the promised Messiah.
In the days of Noah, the increasing corruption on the earth results in God bringing judgment on all mankind. Yet, God, being rich in mercy, shows favor toward Noah (Gen. 6:9-22). God preserves Noah and his family through the water judgment so that the plan of God—announced in Genesis 3:15—would continue.
Of Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, God chooses Shem, who alone is favored by being given faith to continue the ancestral line that would eventually lead to Jesus (Gen. 4:26). In Genesis 11:10-26, we read the list of Shem’s descendants. The list ends with Abram to whom God extends His favor by calling him out of a people and nation of idol worshippers in Ur and promising to make him a great nation (Gen. 12:2). That nation would be Israel, chosen by God (favored if you will) to be his people and the apple of his eye (Deut. 32:10).
God also promises Abram offspring as numerous as the stars (Gen. 15:5). Paul explains later in Galatians that the offspring promised to Abram are spiritual offspring (Gal. 3:28-29). So the favor of God toward Abram extends beyond a physical offspring and a physical land to a spiritual offspring that would include people from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Rom. 16:26; Gal. 3:8; Rev. 7:9).
From Abram going forward, God continues to choose some but not all. God favors Isaac, not Ishmael; Jacob, not Esau; Moses, not Pharaoh; Judah, not Reuben, and on through history until God favors Mary—not any other woman—to be the mother of the Son of God. Notice how the angel Gabriel explains this to Mary:
“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)
God’s favor is grace.
The Bible clearly shows that God favors some and not all. But God’s “favor” is not sin, where “favoritism” is indeed sin, as James rightly points out. Favoritism is when someone chooses a person or thing because of some perceived merit, worth, or bias; but, as Paul declares in Romans 3:23, all people have sinned and fallen short of God’s righteous requirements. There is no human being who justly deserves God’s favor. Instead, all people deserve the wrath of God. Yet, God, by his grace, chooses to give some people faith in Christ and the resulting righteousness that comes through this faith. This reality was as much in play in Israel’s history as it is today.
The decision of God to choose some for salvation is not because of any inherent goodness in the person. It is simply God’s prerogative, and it demonstrates his unfathomable grace. It was a decision made in eternity past (Rom. 8:29; Phil. 4:3; Rev. 20:12) by the Father, who gave his Son a kingdom and a people as a reward for his finished work of redemption by his perfect obedience and atoning sacrifice. All those given to Jesus receive the perfect righteousness of the Son through faith alone by God’s grace alone (John 6:37, 44; 10:26; Eph. 2:8-9). By this, they are qualified for God’s eternal kingdom (John 15:16; 17:9, 24; 1 Cor. 15:23-28).
If God were to be fair, all would perish.
These biblical truths are centered on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This objective fact is the Gospel. We struggle because God’s decision to choose some, but not all, seems unfair, but this is only because we have a corrupted sense of “fairness.” If God were to be fair, all would perish. Thankfully, God is just and also gracious.
Whether we accept this doctrine of election or not doesn’t change the Bible’s central message about a Savior promised by and sent from God the Father to save a people—a Savior who humbled Himself by taking on the flesh of humanity as the “last Adam.” As fully human, Jesus fulfilled the Father’s requirement for righteousness where Adam failed. As fully God, Jesus was able to bear the wrath of the Father for the sins of those he was saving.
So as Adam brought death to all, Christ brings life to all who trust in him (1 Cor. 15:22, 45). His sinless life qualified him to be the final “Passover Lamb,” so that all who believe in him will not face the final judgment. His resurrection from the grave and His enthronement at the right hand of the Father is proof that the Father was satisfied by the work of his Son (Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 11:15).
We find God’s never-ceasing favor in Christ alone.
This redemption accomplished by Christ is the metanarrative—the main story of the Bible. And central to the redemptive story is a God who is sovereign over all things, including the freely made choices of men and women to do good and to do evil. Here is how Peter explained God’s sovereign control:
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:22-24).
It’s important to recognize that these truths are not the ultimate favoritism but rather the ultimate in favor by a God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son to redeem people who were absolutely unlovable to a perfectly holy God. This is grace that fills us with its never-ceasing comfort—grace that is unmerited favor, not favoritism. Far from being a form of sinful preference, the doctrine of election is the ultimate expression of love and is biblical to its core.
When we drive this message into the very center of our hearts—the message of a Savior sent to redeem a sinful undeserving people—our response is to love and obey God and Christ more and more, which we do through the power of his Spirit. In this way, we confirm the favor—not favoritism—that he has shown us in our election for salvation. May God be glorified in each of us, his children.
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There exist the visible church and the invisible church.
The visible church consists of all who profess Christ as their savior.
Yet, Jesus states,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21)
Jesus also tells us what the Father wills:
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)
Professing to be a Christian does not necessarily mean that a person has been regenerated to new life by the Holy Spirit.
The invisible church consists of all who are regenerated to new life in Christ by the Spirit. Professing Christ does not mean one will endure to the end; having new life in Christ by the Spirit does mean one will endure to the end because the Spirit does not come and go depending on our level of faithfulness (Eph. 1:23-24). Once the Spirit has regenerated you and given you a new life, he keeps your life and preserves you forever.
The Westminster Confession of Faith, one of the great confessions of the historic church, states,
They, whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved. (Phil. 1:6, 2 Pet. 1:10, 1 John 3:9, 1 Pet. 1:5,9) — Westminster Confession of Faith 17.1
The invisible church consists of those throughout the ages who have new life in Christ, which will never be taken away from them.
Salvation is God's gift entirely. Someone who has new life by the Holy Spirit cannot lose their salvation. All who endure to the end are those who are truly saved.
"But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matt. 24:13)
The apostle John makes this very point when speaking of professing believers who have left the faith:
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. (1 John 2:19-20)
Those who endure to the end are those who truly have new life—they are a new creation in Christ and are united to Christ. Professing Christians who are living the lifestyle of an unbeliever must examine themselves to see if they are truly in Christ for the sake of their eternal souls. Faithful church leaders will also care enough to exercise loving discipline when they see a wandering sheep, instead of just looking the other way.
Believers did nothing to earn regeneration and there is nothing they can do to become unregenerated. The Spirit indwells all true believers, and he convicts God’s children of their sin in his sanctifying work. No one will snatch Jesus' sheep from his hand (John 10:28).
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It's not fun to be treated poorly by anyone, but why do people who are supposed to be loving, kind, and forgiving—yes, I'm referring to Christians—behave badly? Here are six reasons:
1. Some people who claim to be Christians aren’t.
There are people who think they are Christians because they grew up in homes with parents who considered themselves Christians—and maybe even went to church regularly. Growing up in a Christian household doesn't make a person a Christian. Just as the Pharisees saw themselves as more righteous than other people because of their heritage (Luke 3:8), some people think it is a matter of the family into which they are born when it comes to one’s standing before God.
Belonging to Christ is not a matter of heritage; rather, believers are declared righteous based on both Christ’s perfect sacrifice and perfect righteousness counted to them by God’s grace alone through faith alone. The new life within every believer comes from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, not from one’s family lineage.
2. All Christians are still sinners.
Even though Christians are hagios (holy; set apart; Col. 3:12) as God's adopted children, they are also in the process of dying to the old self (mortification) and living unto God (vivification). This work of sanctification by God’s word and the Holy Spirit is a gift from God given to all believers.
Christians will not be free of their sinful flesh until they pass from this life. Growing in holiness is a lifelong process that is never complete in this life. The Heidelberg Catechism in question 114 summarizes the state of believers:
Q. Can those who are converted to God keep these commandments perfectly?
A. No, but even the holiest men, while in this life, have only a small beginning of this obedience; yet so, that with earnest purpose they begin to live not only according to some, but according to all the Commandments of God.
It is true that Christians can be selfish, thoughtless, mean, and rude—just like non-Christians. Christians, however, have God’s Word and the Holy Spirit working in their hearts to conform them to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18). Believers also struggle with laziness, lack of discipline, pride, and various temptations, like everyone else does.
Christians may not realize the harm they have caused to others, and this doesn’t excuse their sinful behavior. Yet, we must remember that all of us have acted wrongly at various times in life, and we need to forgive others—both Christians and non-Christians—as our heavenly Father has forgiven us.
3. Some Christians come off as “preachy” in their efforts to be helpful.
Christians do have a responsibility before God to stand up for and uphold what is right. Just because we may not like some aspect of God's truth doesn't mean that we don't need to hear it. Still, sometimes Christians can wind up coming off as judgmental or having a “holier-than-thou” attitude.
What non-Christians need to hear most of all is the truth that all of us are sinners in need of a restored relationship with God through Jesus, and what they really need to be shown is the love of Christ.
When Christians recognize that they are sinners just like everyone else and their salvation rests completed on the finished work of Christ done on their behalf, they can better focus on loving others and sharing the good news of the gospel with them, instead of trying to “fix” people’s sinful behavior.
When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the hearts of believers, he has promised to complete the work of conforming God’s children to the image of Christ (Phil. 1:6). Christians do need to hold fellow believers to account regarding their sin in a respectful and loving manner, while at the same time being careful not to add burdens to Christians that God never meant them to bear (Acts 15:10; Gal. 6:1-2).
4. Some Christians think it’s okay for them to sin since they are forgiven in Jesus.
Some Christians are wrongly taught that they can act however they want and that it's okay because God will forgive them because of Jesus’ sacrifice for their sins. The technical name for this kind of thinking is antinomianism. They don't understand that there are duties and responsibilities to being a child of God, and believers must always seek to honor and obey their heavenly Father, even though they will do so imperfectly in this life (1 Cor. 6:20).
When the Holy Spirit indwells believers, he convicts them of their sin and leads them to repentance (John 16:8). When people choose to sin on a regular basis without any regard for God’s law, they are following their own way and not Christ.
5. Christians sometimes react sinfully when they experience misery in this world.
When Christians suffer due to various circumstances—including physical or emotional illness, broken relationships, the death of someone dear, abuse, and financial distress—they don’t always respond in a Christ-like manner. Sometimes the hurt is so great that they act out in confusion, despair, anger, and even emotionally or physically harmful behavior to others.
Christians also give in to sinful desires, even though they know they shouldn’t. This is why Jesus specifically tells his followers to pray to their heavenly Father, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13).
Because Christians continue to fight against sin in this life, it is critically important for them to be in regular fellowship with other believers in a local church where they can be cared for and nurtured by their pastor, elders, and deacons with proper oversight and receive the preached word, sacraments, and loving discipleship.
6. Some Christians are confused about their faith.
It is important to point out one other reason why many Christians don't live out their faith very well at times. Since the high point of Protestant Reformation teaching in the late 1600s, there has been a decreasing focus on foundational doctrine and an increasing focus on experiential-based faith.
Without a core understanding of who Jesus is, why he came, and what he did (that no one else could do), believers can be confused about what their faith is and how to share and live it out daily. And that confusion can lead to poor behavior that turns off non-Christians from ever wanting to know more about Jesus.
Final Thoughts
It's easy to get discouraged by certain Christians at times, but you likely know many kind-hearted, loving Christians as well. They would give the shirt off their backs for you, and it's not because they are getting anything for it.
They want to share with you the love they have received from their heavenly Father in Christ. The old saying is true: Christians aren't perfect, but they are forgiven. And God is growing them in holiness—even though it may be hard to tell at times!
Yet, there is one who never hurt anybody. This one loves the world so much that he gave his life so that you could be at peace with God. You can trust this person to save your soul, care for you always, and receive you into his kingdom. This person is no less than the Son of God. Jesus lived the perfect life and offered up his perfect body so that all who trust in him will live forever to the glory of God in perfect happiness as life was meant to be.
When you are tempted to write off Christianity because of Christians, remember that we live in a fallen world for the time being, and Christians live with the effects of the fall along with non-Christians.
God is not willing that any should perish (2 Pet. 3:9), and he is patiently gathering all those who will come rest in the arms of Jesus. And these beautiful arms stretched themselves out on a cross to die a horrible death because of God’s unfathomable love for us:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13).
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When we think of Christianity, what comes to mind? For many, the idea that Christianity is a religion of rules may be a common thought. You may be surprised, however, by the truth that Christianity is a religion of freedom: freedom from the pressure of believing you have absolute control over your life, freedom from dangerous and hurtful tendencies, freedom from isolation, and freedom from sin and eternal destruction. And this freedom comes because believers in Christ belong to a Savior who loves, protects, nurtures, comforts, supports, and purifies his precious ones.
Christ frees us to obey God’s rules of love, and he also frees us to explore and embrace the world around us using wisdom.
In fact, the things Jesus calls us to do are things rooted in love for God and love for our neighbor—things this world would do much better to practice, as we all know of nasty divorces, murders, thefts brought on by covetousness, and lies that damage relationships. Our acts of love to God and neighbor are summarized in the Ten Commandments, which when lived out cause believers to begin to image their Creator more perfectly as they pattern their lives after a good and kind God.
In addition to Christ freeing us to obey these rules of love, he also frees us to explore and embrace the world around us using wisdom. There are many things the Bible does not specifically speak about, and concerning these things Christians have the freedom to make decisions using wisdom and biblical principles. For example, questions of how to school your children—public, private, home school, or charter school—are matters that are not laid down in Scripture. One believer's decision or choice may be different than another; yet, they have the freedom in Christ to hold different opinions on such matters.
Because of our liberty in Christ we must demonstrate charity, patience, and understanding toward those whose choices are different than ours.
Other areas of freedom include child-rearing practices, bottle-feeding versus breastfeeding, types of jobs to pursue, styles of clothing, understanding of modesty, family customs, dancing, drinking alcohol, playing video games, watching certain movies, etc. These and many more issues are ones that must be examined with wisdom and scriptural principles, but Christians may differ in their conclusions.
Because of our liberty in Christ we must demonstrate charity, patience, and understanding toward those whose choices are different than ours (and hopefully they will do the same towards us). There are some things that are non-negotiable—the gospel and those things that are clearly commanded in Scripture. With other things we must live in humility (recognizing we may not always get it right) and with love for others who, along with us, have the freedom to make different choices.
