The Church’s Perfection

ALL – Psalm 106:1-12
ALL – Proverbs 27:4-6
OT – Ezekiel 14:12-16:42
NT – Hebrews 7:18-28

Interesting passage for the day: Under the old system, even the high priests were weak and sinful men who could not keep from doing wrong, but later God appointed by his oath his Son who is perfect forever. – Hebrews 7:28, The Living Bible

Thought: “Why do church-goers sin?” I hear that kind of question all the time, whether it’s just in my own mind as I reflect on my life and my personal sinful failures or whether I’m dialoguing with an atheist who’s trying to prove that there’s no benefit in being a Christian.

It’s a legitimate question. At least, it seems to be. The church claims to be the group of earthly people who will end up in heaven. And heaven is only for sinless people. Nothing sinful or impure will ever enter its gates. So you would think that finding sin in the church would be harder than finding a needle in a haystack—nearly undetectable.

But you’d be wrong. Finding sin in the church is more like finding candy at the Swanton Corn Festival parade: you can find loads of it everywhere you look. Perhaps the sin we find in the church is more subtle than the sin we find outside her walls. Outside the church, sinners sin proudly and don’t care whether you think they’re sinning or not; the lie they proclaim is that their sins aren’t actually sins. Inside the church, sinners sin stealthily and cover every sinful flaw with a veneer of spirituality; the lie we try to proclaim (not with our lips, but with our masks and patterns of projecting over-spiritual images of ourselves) is that we’re beyond sinning. So inside the church we’re more subtle about our sins; we’ve learned at least to admit that sins are sins and to strive to separate ourselves from sin.

But sometimes we go too far. And we end up feeding the world the lie that we are going to heaven because we’re such deserving, upright people. That’s absolutely not why anyone in the church is going to heaven! Just like always, even the best of us on his or her own is a weak and sinful human. I’m not saying that we have no one in the church who lives an incredibly good life, because I’m not denying that Jesus Christ changes His people from sinners into saints. But what I am saying is that our hope, and the hope that we should constantly let our friends and neighbors in on, is that we get to go to heaven because Jesus Christ is our new high priest, and He is righteous. He always has been. He always will be. And that is why we are always going to be acceptable to God—because our high priest Jesus Christ is always acceptable, and He is representing us. It’s definitely not because we manage never to sin.

Question: Do you sometimes find yourself wishing you weren’t part of the church—or glad that you aren’t part of it? If so, is it because you’re looking at how messed up the church’s humans can be? What difference would it make in your perspective being part of the church if you focused instead on the perfection of the church’s sinless high priest Jesus Christ?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Joining Heaven and Hell

ALL – Psalm 31:9-18
ALL – Proverbs 21:3
OT – Ezra 10:1-44
NT – 1 Corinthians 6:1-20

Interesting passage for the day: And don’t you know that if a man joins himself to a prostitute she becomes a part of him and he becomes a part of her? For God tells us in the Scripture that in his sight the two become one person. – 1 Corinthians 6:16, The Living Bible

Thought: It’s a big deal who’s associated with us. Our alliances and unions say a lot about who we are. Why else would people boycott businesses whose practices they disagree with, if not to communicate clearly, “I am against this group!” Even without being stockholders, such people want to disassociate themselves from the possibility of seeming to have an interest in the store’s success. Our society indicates our values.

The closest physical union any human can have is the sexual bond between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24). With whom should this bond be made? With whom should a Christian make this bond? Remember, our alliances indicate our values. Should a man who has been adopted as a son of the one true God, the holy, righteous and pure King of all Creation, a member of heaven’s family (a spiritual union), form a physical union with anyone less than the most honorable, upright, kind and virtuous woman he can find? Having sex with a brazen, unchaste prostitute does not make sense for a child of the faithful, humble God.

Christians have already been accepted into an association with God through Jesus Christ. Our association with Him says something about who we are deep in our hearts—what we value. Do we dare to associate our Lord Jesus Christ with this world’s most shameful and rebellious sinners?

Question: This principle of association applies beyond sex. But at the same time, we know from 1 Corinthians 5 that we’re expected to maintain friendships with unbelievers. What are some behaviors, activities, or entertainments that you think might associate you too closely with the shameful side of life in this world?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.