Obeying the Government

Mark 12:13-17 (also in Matthew 22:15-22 and Luke 20:20-26)

“Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.”

The above reading is one of the many examples in the Gospels where the Pharisees set a trap for Jesus and he, in reply, dodged the trap while teaching a valuable lesson. The lesson this in this instance is, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” This can be rephrased to instruct us to obey the government and its laws, wherever you live.

This was ultimately a trap set by the Pharisees for Jesus, but the lesson of paying your taxes is important. I know nobody particularly loves taxes nor does everyone agree with every fiscal decision their government makes, nonetheless we are instructed to pay taxes. Benjamin Franklin said, “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” He was right, there’s nothing a person can do to escape death or taxes, so we just have to deal with it.

The Bible doesn’t stop at paying your taxes, it goes further to instruct us to obey the government in all respects. Paul, in Romans 13:1-7, writes:

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

In similar fashion, 1 Peter 2:13-17 says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”

We as Christians are supposed to obey all laws, pay taxes, and respect the government, regardless of personal views or political views. To be crystal clear: tearing up draft cards, rioting, rebellion, and treason are all things the Bible teaches us against. Laws and governments are put in place by God to keep order and prevent chaos. 1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.”

There are many examples of people disobeying the law for a ‘good’ reason. One of my favorite examples is Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau refused to pay the poll tax, which he believed “supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery into the Southwest.” He was arrested in July of 1846 and placed in jail, without argument.

There is a famous story, which is apocryphal, that goes with this. It goes like this: his mentor and friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, supposedly visited him in jail and said something like, “Henry, why are you here?” In the story, Thoreau replied, “Waldo, why are you not here?” (This story was started after Thoreau’s death.)

Let me give Thoreau some credit. Number one, he went to jail peacefully and without argument. Number two, slavery was a terrible institution and it was abolished, thankfully. Thoreau did the wrong thing for the right reason. As Christians, however, we shouldn’t do things like this. I’m not saying it’s easy, I’m just saying we shouldn’t. The only time Christians are allowed to disobey the law is when the law contradicts the law of God.

An example of this is in Daniel, the well known account of Daniel in the lion’s den. This account, recorded in Daniel 6, takes place during reign of Darius the Mede, after he conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire following the assassination of Belshazzar (son of Nebuchadnezzar). Daniel was so respected, by this point, that Darius planned to put him in control of the empire (Daniel 6:3). The other administrators and satraps were envious at this, so they conspired to discredit Daniel by looking for corruption. They failed at this (6:4-5).

They then convinced Darius to “issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you [Darius], Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.” (6:7) Daniel went home that day and prayed, and he would do this three times a day. The administrators caught him, arrested him, and took him before the king. Daniel accepted his punishment and was thrown in the lion’s den. The king was remorseful for punishing Daniel for this (6:10-17). Long story short, Daniel prayed to God and he protected him from the lions. Darius was overjoyed at finding Daniel alive the next morning the he praised God (6:18-28).

Now, the example of Daniel and the example of Thoreau may sound the same, but there is a major difference between the two. Thoreau broke the law to make a political point, whereas Daniel broke the law to stay obey God. God doesn’t care about politics, He cares about faith and obedience. We can’t allow our personal politics to get in the way of our obedience to God.

My final point about our obeying the law is that we are representing Christ and the church to those on the outside. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 says, “On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” We are “entrusted with the gospel,” so we need to obey the law to set an example for others. If we Christians don’t obey the laws, then why would anybody see the difference between the body of Christ and the rest of the world.

In 1 Peter 1:14-16 we are told, “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”” Holy means set-apart, so we have to act it.

The take home message here is three parts: (1) obey the law and pay your taxes, (2) political or personal beliefs are not rationale for law breaking, and (3) obedience to the government sets an example for non-believers. I’m not going to lie and tell you that every law a government passes is good, however, unless it contradicts God’s law, we still have to obey laws. It isn’t always easy, but it’s the right thing to do.

Compromise

Martin Luther had critics that suggested he compromise on some key points related to the doctrine of justification by grace through faith. Luther, in response to those critics, said, “Our stubbornness on this issue is pious and holy; for by it we are striving to preserve the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to keep the truth of the Gospel. If we lose this, we lose God, Christ, all the promises, faith, righteousness, and eternal life.”

Luther made the decision to have integrity and stay faithful to God by refusing to compromise his beliefs in the teachings of God. He wasn’t trying to please people, so he disregarded the dissenters and carried on. He made the right decision and by doing so, he was faithful to God. There should be no compromise when it comes to the teachings of the Bible.

Galatians 1:8-10 is applicable to this situation, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

With this example from Martin Luther in mind, let’s discuss compromise. Compromise is a commonly used word in politics; when two groups disagree, they compromise and take the middle ground. Compromise isn’t always bad in political situations, sometimes it’s the only road left to take. Another situation where comprise is okay is in a trivial decision, like deciding what to eat for a meal. Whether you eat tacos or lasagna is ultimately meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

Compromise is not okay, however, when it comes to God’s standards. We, as Christians, don’t get to cherry pick the Bible and decide to only follow certain commands. As stated in Deuteronomy 4:2, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.”

Revelation 22:18-19 says something similar, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”

We also shouldn’t choose the way of the world over the way of God. The world teaches many things that do not line up with the Bible and those are the things we must stay away from. As Christians we only hear God’s voice (John 8:47), not the voice of any other god (1 Kings 18:21). Colossians 2:8 warns us to: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

The sinful things of this world are not from God, which is why we must avoid these things. “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:16-17)

Each day Christians are pressured by the world to compromise God’s standards and embrace the world’s standards. In Acts 5, when the apostles were arrested in Jerusalem after healing many people, they didn’t compromise even under the threat of arrest. This is when God sent an angel to release them and to tell them to go into the temple courts and preach the gospel. The Sanhedrin sent guards to fetch the apostles and, much to their astonishment, discovered they had escaped from jail.

Acts 5:27-29 tells us what happened next, “The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”  Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!””

This is a great segue to my final point. We can use our refusal to compromise as a way to preach the Gospel. 2 Timothy 2:24-25 says “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,”

Timothy includes that we, as the Lord’s servants, must be kind to everyone. People that seek for us to compromise on our beliefs need the grace and forgiveness of Christ just as much as we do. They may be opponents to our beliefs, but we should still speak gently and kindly to them just as we should everyone else. 1 Peter 3:15 reinforces this point, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”

When your pressured to compromise remember to be stubborn in obeying God, just as Martin Luther was. God’s standards are the standards we should live by and not the standards of the world. Finally, remember that every situation, even when we are asked to compromise, can be used to share the Good News of Jesus Christ’s grace and forgiveness.

An intimate relationship with Christ

Intimate is a word that is commonly misunderstood in certain contexts, such as when talking about God. Jesus wants to have a close relationship with his people, this is what an intimate relationship with Jesus means. Think of it as the relationship with your best friend: you know what they think about most topics, you know a lot about their personal life, and you would trust them with your life. That is an intimate relationship.

God created you and he knows every single thing about you, but He still desires for you to talk to Him openly. Openness is the only way to demonstrate to someone that you trust them and it’s the same way with God. He won't interrogate information out of you, so you must be willing to open up to Him. Now, I will explain some methods to have an intimate relationship with Christ.

The first thing you can do is make God your top priority every day. I’m going to call your attention to Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand. After this miracle, Mark 6:45-46 says, “Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.” Jesus made God a priority in his life, therefore  you should do the same. He should be the first one you talk to when you wake up and the last one you talk to before you go to bed. Remember, the Lord is a jealous God. There are many things in the world that we allow to take precedence over God, but it’s a sin to do so.

After His resurrection Jesus had breakfast with his disciples and he asked Peter (he called him Simon this time) three times, “Do you love me?” (John 21) When Jesus asked Peter the first time he phrased it, “do you love me more than these?” (John 21:15) Some scholars take "these” to mean the other disciples, but I understand “these” to mean anything in the world. Peter should put Jesus first in his life and the same is true for us. For, Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

Another thing you can do is study the Bible. To clarify, I used the word study instead of read. One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions of study is: “a careful investigation or examination of something.” You can read the Bible all you want and learn nothing, but if you desire to truly learn from scripture you must study. You must make “a careful examination.” Joshua 1:8 says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

D.L. Moody said, “Merely reading the Bible is no use at all without we study it thoroughly, and hunt it through, as it were, for some great truth.”

To study the Bible, you also have to ask God for wisdom. And it is as simple as asking God. According to James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Proverbs 2:1-5 puts it beautifully:

My son, if you accept my words    and store up my commands within you,turning your ear to wisdom    and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight    and cry aloud for understanding,and if you look for it as for silver    and search for it as for hidden treasure,then you will understand the fear of the Lord    and find the knowledge of God.

Yet another way to have an intimate relationship with Christ is to obey Him. In John 14:23-24 it’s recorded that Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

Obeying God demonstrates that you trust that His commands and rules are important, even if you don't understand their purpose. Once you give your life over to Jesus, you are abandoning your obedience to sin and replacing it with obedience to God; no one can serve two masters, Matthew 6:24. Paul, in Romans 6:16, wrote, “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

To recap: a few ways to become closer to, or, rather, more intimate with Christ are prayer, study of the Bible, and obedience to God’s commands. God desires to have a relationship with you, but you have to meet Him halfway. He’s already done His part (1 John 4:10), so will you do your part too?

An Overview of The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall make no idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

The Ten Commandments were originally given to Moses and the Israelites in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21, which is after God saved them from slavery in Egypt. They are a sort of summary of the 613 commandments in the rest of the Old Testament. The first four commandments concern our relationship with God and the last six concern our relationship with other people. As explained by Billy Graham, “The Ten Commandments were given so they [the Israelites] would know how to live, and God promised that if they followed them, their lives would be blessed.”

An important note to make is that these are commandments not suggestions. The word commandment comes from the word command, which is defined by Merriam-Webster as “to direct authoritatively.” A synonym of command is order. A command is something that you obey without questioning. Think of it as a military, God is our commander, therefore we must obey his commands. Just as a soldier follows commands, so must we. Jesus explains in John 14:15 that, “If you love me, keep my commands”.

The Ten Commandments also serve another purpose: to show that no one can perfectly obey God’s law (Romans 7:7-13, Romans 3:23, Ecclesiastes 7:20) and, therefore, we require the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ to be saved. There is a belief that by strict adherence to the Ten Commandments one will have eternal life, but Romans and Ecclesiastes teach that this is impossible, meaning that this belief is incorrect.

For further support, remember the rich young ruler Jesus encountered. He claimed that he did obey the Commandments and he learned that he hadn't,

““Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

“Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’"  

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

(Matthew 19:16-22)

With that being said, the Ten Commandments are still a great guide for our morality as Christians and they are still orders from God. The Commandments teach morality even to non-believers. All of these laws are good laws that benefit society, Commandments five through ten are clearly universal. You would hard to pressed to say that these aren't good laws. Number six, eight, and nine (in a court of law or when speaking to an officer of the law) are all illegal in most places on Earth.

In 1980 the Supreme Court, in Stone v. Graham, struck down a Kentucky statute “requiring the posting of a copy of the Ten Commandments, purchased with private contributions, on the wall of each public school classroom in the State”. Even in my lifetime there have been many people that has complained about the Ten Commandments posted in government buildings. I vaguely remember when the Supreme Court banned the Ten Commandments in courthouses. It is not a good idea to turn one’s back on the laws of God.

There’s another belief that the Ten Commandments aren’t relevant today with all of our modern technology. This is simply not true. Sin hasn't changed since the Fall; there are no new sins committed now that haven't been committed in the past. Ecclesiastes 1:9 explains that, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." God knew what technologies would exist at this time and He knew His laws would always be relevant. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

In conclusion, the Ten Commandments serve two purposes: one, to teach us how to treat God and each other, two, to show us our need for Jesus Christ. The Ten Commandments are relevant today and they teach good morality. We should all strive to keep these commandments, through our words and our actions.

Does God overwhelm us?

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
I Corinthians 10:13

How many times have you heard folks use this verse as proof that God will never overwhelm you? I've heard it plenty of times and I started to believe it too. Recently I read a devotion by Joni Eareckson Tada and it cleared this up for me. Also, the context of this verse, as with all verses, is important to the understanding of this verse.

I'll start with the devotion. Here's the full passage:

”Oh Joni, isn't it wonderful that God will never test us beyond what we can endure? That's a promise from God!" I knew my friend Sue was looking for an affirmation, a confirmation that God would never "bend the bruised reed." As I nodded slowly, relief flooded her features. Sue had never faced the kind of mind-bending, soul-obliterating pain that now loomed on her horizon. But with the recent medical report and the looming prospect of a morphine-drip pump in her future, she was scared. Surely the Lord won't give me more than I can bear, she was thinking. 

First Corinthians 10:13 is certainly a promise -- but it isn't talking about trials. It's talking about temptation. The promise is that God will always, always give you the power to say no to sin. But when it comes to heartaches, physical problems, and disappointments -- things out of your control, difficult circumstances suddenly thrust upon you -- you may very well be overwhelmed beyond what you can bear. There is a kind of suffering that rips your world apart and leaves you bewildered and wounded. There are trials that overwhelm. I drew a deep breath, showing my friend the context of the promise -- and her brow furrowed. "But take heart," I told her. "It's when we are at the end of our strength...that's when we fall helplessly into the everlasting arms of God. That's when God floods our hearts with sustaining grace."

You and I may indeed find ourselves overwhelmed at times -- at the end of our rope and beyond. But we will never fall farther than the palm of His hand. And where He has called us, His grace will sustain us.” 

*Taken from Pearls of Great Price by Joni Eareckson Tada

To put 1 Corinthians 10:13 into context, verses 1-13 have the subtitle “Warnings from Israel’s History”. Paul is writing about temptations that the Israelites gave in to during their 40-year journey from Egypt to Canaan. His purpose is to warn believers about becoming overconfident and fall to temptation. In verse 6 he writes, “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.”

Paul does warn against a few specific sins: idolatry (v. 7), sexual immorality (v. 8), testing Christ (v. 9), and complaining (v. 10). I’m going to use the idolatry example. Paul’s mention of idolatry was a reference to the Golden Calf in Exodus 32.

The Israelites were just out of Egypt, a nation that was polytheistic, and they gave into the temptation of making up gods. Generations of Hebrews grew up in this culture, but were able to remember the true God to worship Him instead. They fled Egypt and slavery under Moses, who was a servant of the true God. Once they reached Mt. Sinai though, Moses went up on the mountain and they lost faith in God. Then they have Aaron make a calf of gold to worship and started getting drunk and having orgies.

What happened? The Israelites gave into temptation. Why? They didn't seek God’s help in dealing with temptation. He didn't allow them to be tempted beyond what they could bear, they ignored God’s help. God would have helped them overcome their temptation had they only asked.

One final thing to explain about 1 Corinthians 10:13 is temptation is not from God. James 1:13-15 says, “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

God might place trials in our lives to overwhelm us and remind us of our dependence on Him thereby strengthening our faith, but He will not tempt us. For clarity, God may allow temptation to happen in these trials, however, God is not the tempter. This is why the Lord’s Prayer includes the petition, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13)

So, remember the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 when facing temptation and call on God for his help such that you can resist temptation. As James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

God Calls Us Just As We Are

1 Corinthians (below) explains that God calls us just as we are. God doesn't call the wise, the wealthy, or the powerful, he calls the foolish, the poor, and the weak. Without God there is no wisdom. wealth, or power. The world has its own versions of these things, but it's not eternal. We are very little, selfish creatures without God. What's amazing about this is that God knows how humans are and, yet, he still calls us to be his people.

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 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. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:26-31

One of my favorite hymns, "Just As I Am", has a verse that says,

"Just as I am - Thou wilt receive,Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe,"

This verse is hits the nail on the head, God will receive, welcome, pardon, cleanse, and relieve us just as we are. God understands that we all have pasts. Some Christians have been to prison, some have committed sins that don't send you to prison, some have cheated on their spouse, some were prostitutes, and some were greedy. These are our lives before Christ: sinful. Jesus died to save us from our sins and to give us eternal life. It doesn't matter to God what you have done in the past. As long as you call on Him and confess your sinful condition, He will wash away your sins. God calls us as we are.

It's reassuring to know that God accepts us as we are and still loves us. He created you the way you are, so he knows how you come. The books of Revelation and Isaiah speak on this subject:

"The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life." Revelation 22:17

"“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."  Isaiah 1:18 

An example of Jesus accepting someone as they are and forgiving them can be found in John 8:1-11. In this passage the Pharisees brought before Jesus a woman who had been caught in adultery and they asked Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” Jesus replied by writing on the ground, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” At this point everyone left, which left only the woman and Jesus. He asked her if anyone had condemned her and she said they hadn't. Jesus told the woman, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus made two points here: come as you are and leave your life of sin. Both of these points are equally important. I've addressed the former, so I'll address the latter.

 The church today sometimes misunderstands and teaches incorrectly the message of Jesus accepting us as we are. Grace is not a pass to keep living the way you did before. You can't continue living a life of sin and expect Jesus to excuse your behavior. Jesus didn't tell the adulterous woman that it was fine to continue her illicit affair, He told her she was forgiven and to leave your life of sin. She was still a sinner, since she was a human, but she could stop living a life of sin. Jesus accepts our sinful condition and saves us with the expectation that we will give our lives over to Him instead of sin.

The Bible does shed light on this subject, here are a few examples:

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." Galatians 5:13

"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you." 1 Peter 4:3-4

"Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy." Romans 13:13

In the future, remember that your past sins don't keep you from Christ unless you don't ask His forgiveness. God loves us no matter what, but be careful not to mistake His unconditional love for "freedom to indulge the flesh." Think of how a great an example we as Christians could set if we would behave decently all of the time.

Decision-Making 101

I made a pretty big decision a couple of weeks ago that I would like to share. After much prayer, thought, and discussion, I decided against going to college for now. 

I applied for admission to three different colleges (I was accepted to two of those colleges) to major in English, which I would have started this semester. My plan was to earn a BA in English and then look for employment as a professional writer. I thought that sounded like a job I would like because, I like to write and I can write whatever I'm asked to. I saw a degree as something that can prove my abilities as a writer. 

My decision was based on a couple things. First, I'm happy with writing my blog and I don't think I would be happy writing for someone else. I learned recently (as I wrote about when I returned to this blog) that writers write about things they are passionate about. For example: if I were to find a job as a writer of vacuum cleaner instruction manuals, then I would be bored out of my skull because it's not my passion to write about vacuum cleaners. Working a job that makes you absolutely miserable is no way to live.

The other part to this is that I would be writing for someone else. I don't want to write for a boss, I wouldn't have the freedom to write whatever I want. Ultimately, I write for two souls: God and myself. I write this blog to share the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with others, who I pray will believe it, but I don't write this blog to get paid or to find other people's favor. I am glad people read my blog, don't get me wrong, it's just not my ultimate purpose. 

Second, I don't need a college degree to be a writer, I already am a writer. A writer is: "one that writes," according to Merriam-Webster. You don't have to have a Bachelor's of Arts in English degree to write a book or a blog, heck you don't need any degree. You just have to write. Telling yourself that you're a writer is the first step to being a writer. Also, I'm doing the best thing I can do to improve my writing by writing. 

I'm not ruling out college forever, but I am ruling it out for now. I was getting caught up in what everybody was doing, which was going to college. My life, as a disabled person, is already vastly different in some areas than the average person, so it's not unfathomable that college is different for me. I'm not complaining in anyway by saying this because differences are okay, in fact sometimes differences are good. By going to college I thought I would be doing something with my life, but I did not realize that I was already doing something with my life.

I shared this decision because it shows that if you trust God He will lead in the right direction. It took a few months for me to figure this college decision, so I'm not bragging. I give the credit to God for poking and prodding at me until I saw what He was trying to show me. I prayed that He would lead me in the right direction and he did. What better proof is there than that?

Here's a few verses I was inspired by:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

"Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose." Psalm 25:12