Isaiah 59:6

Their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make. Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.

What does it mean to be wicked? I can remember as a young believer I found a New Testament passage perplexing. We read in Matthew 7:21-23:

“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. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Here we are faced with an interesting and confusing point of text. How is it that these people could have thought they they were not wicked? More so, and possibly a better question; how could they have thought that they were righteous? Righteousness really is the heart of the question; is it not? If God requires righteousness than it is not about our wickedness, for our sinfulness is a Scriptural point of truth beyond debate.

Yet, what we see in Scripture so often surprises us. We see there the man made religious authority structures. And that furthermore they are always built to diminish personal wickedness and elevate earthly status. In the sense of that old adage, “Oh what a tangled web we weave…. When first we practice to deceive.”

Is that not what we see on display in the Matthew passage above? We see men, when asked of their righteousness, respond with an answer geared toward elevating their own personal perception of self. They show Jesus the report card and hope He will put it on the refrigerator. These men give their credentials for a diminished wickness, not a proclamation of their assumed righteousness found in Christ. Charles Spurgeon once wrote:

“The bee gathers her wax from flowers; the spider doesn’t, but still she spins her material to great length. In the same way hypocrites find their trust and hope within themselves; their anchor was forged on their own anvil, and their rope twisted by their own hands. They rest upon their own foundation and carve out the pillars from their own house, scorning the thought of being debtors to the sovereign grace of God.”

That is what we see so prevalently on display in the book of Matthew. The men in that passage are not so much dedicated to holiness. Rather, they are obsessed with constructing a facade that hides their own wickedness. They have build a beautiful ship with which to navigate this world, yet unknown to them they are sailing for the edge of the world.

You see we must see a few markers of a life lived like that. You and I both must recognize that there is a great fall at the end of it all. A boat built as a web of deceit will find that the charts will run out and their oars will give way. All will fall unless the captain be at His station.

That is precisely what we see in Isaiah 59. We see that a life lived making a “righteous” web will not make clothing. In fact that type of life will lead to personal sin being laid bare before the God of the universe, and a horrid judgement will follow. So what are we to do then?

Jesus said in Matthew 6:9 something profound regarding this. Talking to those with Him about a life of faith Christ asked, “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Christ will clothe us not our works. Christ will supply for us not the tangled webs that we might seek to weave.

So which life do we live? I remember as a kid that there was a hit song by a band called No Doubt. Without getting into my own adolescent musical proclivities I will share with you the lyrics of this song. The are as follows:

“Sorry I’m not home right now

I’m walking into spiderwebs

So leave a message

And I’ll call you back”

The song follows the story of a young lady who is being pursued by a young man. Yet, she does not return his love. She does not return the advances of this jilted suitor. Why? Because she was confused by her own life, walking in the spider webs that have been woven by the words of this person. The tangled web that had been woven was her downfall, not her salvation.

I pray that our lives would not be lived to weave these webs of deceit and that as we walk in pursuit of Christ we see the goal of righteousness. A righteousness only found in Christ Himself and not anything that we might weave or rest in. For when we take our eyes off the prize what a tangled web we weave, and we deceive ourselves.

Matthew 5:13

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

How should Christians behave on a day like today? So many people will be streaming to fireworks and burgers. So many people will be singing “God Bless America”. Yet, historically the Christian Church in America has wrestled with an important question. Is it right for Christians to be patriotic?

I have been thinking a lot about Matthew 5:13. Specifically, it is important today. What does Jesus mean when He speaks about the notion of salt? What in the world does the notion of salt have to do with patriotism? Those are very important questions. In fact they are questions that, as believers we must answer.

When Jesus was speaking of salt He was speaking about the truth of the Gospel. Specifically, He was pointing out that we as followers of Him should be a preservative upon our culture. There were only limited ways of preserving fresh meats during the life of Jesus. It was in this environment that Christ spoke of salt as being a thing which preserves the cultures in which we live. It is in this context that we can learn something of what it means to be a patriotic Christian.

Galatians 6:10 adds an important note to this conversation about patriotism. We read in this text that we are to, “do good to everyone”. Furthermore, this doing good is placed inside the context of a specific book, specific time, specific occasion, and specific place. The book of Galatians (you guessed it) was written to the church in Galatia.

It is with this in mind that we see the Bible telling believers that they should “do good.” Additionally, this exhortation is directed from the Apostle, to the Church, for the community. The Apostle, was ultimately portraying that believers are to be of benefit to their communities. The words of the passage point out that to be salt in the fallen world one must be a good presence in the community, city, tribe, country, continent, or province in which they live.

Yet, the question remains; how does this perspective fit into a logical system of understanding regarding patriotism. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” This, in a nutshell should be the stance that we take regarding our country and how we participate in the patriotic fervor surrounding us this day.

In short, the reason that we must be patriotic is because we are to want more than anything else, that our country would always set a course matching that of our great God. Many today will celebrate and many of them will celebrate for reasons other than a desire to see that we are on the side of a righteous God.

However, we as Christians must remember that celebrate because of a righteous hope. We have a hope that we will see this great nation align itself more with the will of God. Better yet, God has sovereignly ordained that we would live in a country that upholds our God given right to pursue such a goal. I say uphold because the government does not give that right to us. God has given it to us but our specific government has upheld that right.

Yet as we celebrate this right we must fight, we must sacrifice and we must love our country and it’s people more than we love ourselves. And we must do all of this because by it we are seeking to preserve, not a nation or a notion, but a people. Yes, we are tasked, as believers to be the preservative voice in a world obsessed with itself. The implications of this point are huge.

In closing, we should seek to acknowledge the point of John Piper. He states, “We are pilgrims. We are exiles, sojourners, refugees ourselves in a very refugee-heightened culture.” You see, we are not, first and foremost Americans. If we are followers of Christ, we possess a citizenship that is much higher than that. We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.

As a result no matter what country we are from, we are called to love our neighbor, to be a light in the darkness, to do good and not evil. We are called to be good and thankful citizens. And we do it all because by it, we find opportunity to love and share the Gospel. That is our patriotism. That is our service. That is our salt.

So, as you fire up the grill, shoot your fireworks, or visit with family remember that you are first a patriotic citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. And keep in mind that there are repercussions as a result of that. Have fun, eat too much, and and stay safe but as you do those things, keep in mind your ultimate goal. That you have been bought with a price and by it our greatest of patriotic acts is to see our neighbors love Jesus more today, Independence Day, than they did yesterday.

1 Samuel 12:20

“And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.”

Where are you this morning? Are you living in the regrets of another day? We have all experienced the great depth of suffering that can come from a life lived in light of a momentary decision. How is it that we are to deal with such things?

Here it is that we see the Nation of Israel. This was a nation of people that God had overwhelmingly shown His love to. Yet, it is here that we see the people had wandered away from faith and in to futility. The people wanted a King more than a savior, they wanted what was expedient and easy over what was right and difficult. They wanted to look just like everybody else. Aren’t we all susceptible to this?

Yet, what is the promise we have when we make the wrong decision. Should we compound that decision with more wrong decisions, as so many do? How should we walk in order that the Lord would be made much of and our sin would pass away?

I think we should assess our kings. Yes, you read that right. Many of us may scoff and proclaim, “I have no king! Merica!” Yet the truth of this point is true. In fact we all have a king, we all have a throne, we all have a little fiefdom seated within ourselves.

Yet, in the Word of God we see a different perspective. We see that the only way to deal with the regret of sin is to judge our own personal self made man of a king to be inadequate. We must abdicate our fiefdom for a greater Kingdom, a greater King. King Jesus.

John Piper said something significant concerning this. In his book The Pleasures of God Piper writes:

“This is the Gospel: Even though you have sinned greatly, and terribly dishonored the Lord, even though you now have a king which it was a sin to get, even though there is no undoing that sin or its painful consequences that are yet to come, nevertheless there is a future and a hope.”

This is such a powerful point for us. It is a hopeful point for us. This explanation by Piper is why we read Samuel say, “Do not fear.” We are called not to fear even though consequences are coming, even though emotional or physical pain may prevail for the moment.

I have shared many times that I was a peculiar child. One in particular proclivity revolved around my practices of completing my Homework, or more accurately my lack thereof.

Specifically, I hated homework. So much so that I would not do it. However, I believed that God would save me from this. A well rehearsed scene would eventually play out. As my teacher would ask me for my assignment I would begin to pray quietly, “God please make this homework appear in my desk.” I would then proceed to lie to my teacher believing, in faith, that God would save me from the looming repercussions. Guess what? He never did, at least not by my earthly understanding of “saving”.

Now, could God have made my homework appear in my desk? To this day I am assured that He could have done so. However, He did not. Why? Why would He not negate away the consequences of my poorly made choice? I think the answer is simple.

God did not make my homework appear because that is not the Gospel. The Gospel truth in that moment was that God loved me as His possession even though I had terribly dishonored His name with my second grade sin. God’s promise to me still remained. God would never leave me.

Samuel also acknowledges this truth in verse 22 of this chapter. It is there that we see the proclamation that changes it all. We read:

“For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.”

That is the Gospel. That is the hope that we have today. We have this hope in spite of our regrets and sin. God has placed us under His authority and He has done this by His name.

So again, I ask; where are you this morning? More importantly; who is your king this morning? Are you content with a fiefdom or are you longing for more than this? As your suffering comes are you content to grit and hold on tight hoping just to get through it or are you lavishing yourself in the pleasure of knowing God is still there loving you as His own? I hope for me and for you we can say confidently this morning that we identify with the second option.

Matthew 28:20

“Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

I remember growing up my father used to say, “You know Jason, in your life you are lucky if you have had one true friend.” The fact that my dad would say this to me seemed perplexing. He had grown up in a poorer neighborhood where people had to look out for eachother. As a result, he had so many friends that I can recall holidays when he spent vast amounts of time making phone calls. He would stand outside or in the kitchen laughing, and sharing stories with his “buddies” from youth. It would go on sometimes for hours.

Yet, it seems to me that such relationships are hard to come by in this world. Furthermore, looking at my father’s life it is apparent to me that it takes some sort of great struggle, some sort of great endeavor to bind men together like that.

Yet such bonding experiences are difficult to come by. In many ways our culture is dedicated to the path of least resistance. We seek out comfort over calling, ease over eternity, and codependency over cooperation. So how then can we have a friendships such as my father’s? How then can we find that one true friend for life?

I knew a pastor once that refused to sing the song I Am a Friend of God. This particular pastor felt that such a song turned God into a drinking buddy of sorts. His logic at the time seemed valid. To make God our buddy could potentially turn Him into nothing more than a co-conspirator in our earthly sin.

I must admit, I do still agree with this perspective. Yet, I am motivated to recapture the truth. I want to have the theological fortitude to understand that God is my Friend. In fact, God is the greatest and most faithful friend of my life. He is that one true friend.

If we think He is not that friend, it is because our concept of what friendship is needs to be examined. What is it that we think a friend should be? In my humble opinion the greatest factor in friendship today is validation. We look for it and we crave it. We see in so many a systemic desire to be validated in our choices, to be held on a pedestal and praised for our decisions, no matter what they are or their consequences. We are obsessed with the safety nets of life. Simply put, we want to walk on the wild side and let someone else clean up our messes.

Yet, the question is there for us to see. Is such validation truly the essence of a life long friendship with God. I can say that the answer to this is assuredly no. Paul writes something interesting to us in 2nd Timothy. We read:

“At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”

That is truth. That is a situation that should picture for all believers what true friendship and relationship looks like. I want to discuss this in two parts.

First, we have to see that such a friendship with God is one that is not built to validate the individual. At least not in an earthly sense. Instead the relationship that we are to have with God is one that validates the Gospel. Note that in both the Matthew passage and the Timothy passage one sees the Gospel as being the basis for the relationship.

We see in the Matthew passage Christ saying, “I am with you always, to the ends of the age.” I love that. I mean really, slap that one on a coffee mug so as I sip my java I can see it. Indeed it is an amazing promise. But we forget to look at what precedes this passage. We see something astounding in verses 18-19. Jesus tells his disciples this:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…”

The context of this passage is one that marks a valid point. God’s promise of friendship and commitment to stay with us, was not a promise to validate sinful lifestyles. Instead what we see is a commissioning call.

Christ here is defining the parameters of the relationship. He is stating first and foremost that he holds all the cards. Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth,” remain in His hands. Then we read that he says because of this the disciples are to go out on mission to preach the Gospel. Furthermore, they are to do this regardless as to what may happen to them.

In a sense we see Jesus telling them and us that no matter what happens,We can rest in Him. Jesus knew that as His friends went out and preached the good news that people would die, that things would get tough, and that many would struggle. He also knew that all of those things would be as a direct result of these people believing in the Gospel. By actions these people, as well as us validated the Gospel over personal advancement. This is not to say that works equate to salvation. However, it is to say that salvation should equate to works.

Second, we have to see that this friendship with God is one that very clearly will cause our devotions to lay not in the people around us but the promise before us. Again we must look at context. Paul continues in 2nd Timothy 4:18 that not only had he been saved from the lion’s mouth but that, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” What a statement, especially from Paul.

Here we see a man invalidated by the world but made valid to God. Yet, by earthly standards Paul was a great failure. Paul was a man that had lost a promising career, been beaten, denounced by the religious authorities, and was now in jail facing death. How could he possibly be happy? I mean think of how dismal his 401k and retirement package must have looked.

Yet, we know that Paul could be happy. Why? The simple answer is that he was a friend of God and as such Paul knew what he had been promised in Christ. It is said that as Paul was taken to the chopping block he was still talking about his best friend, Jesus. It seems that we can almost hear him say, “Do you know him. Let me tell you about Him.”

The only way that such a life is possible is as a result of the Gospel. The Gospel promises us more than this. The Gospel promises validation in Christ, not in our earthly cohorts. The Gospel promises us peace with a God who loves us and wants a friendship with us.

I can assuredly say. I AM A FRIEND OF GOD. Can you?

Hebrews 6:15

“And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise”

To any objective observer it is obvious that marriage has lost much of it’s value. Our modern enlightened society finds it more expedient to simply make their relationship “Facebook official”, buy some cheap Swedish furniture (most likely constructed from the carbonized vestiges of deceased snow nymphs), and move in together. Every little girl’s dream, right? Prince charming shows up, sweeps her off her feet, and then refuses to put a ring on it. Bare with me, I’m going somewhere.

Our society has lost all sense of patience. No longer are people willing to wait for marriage to find love and security. Instead people seek to find it’s less equivalent cousin, cohabitation. Ah! What a way to show our love for one another. I love you so much, until of course you disappoint me, in which case, I’m moving on to find someone that can make me happy. I hope you see my point. Without an oath, without a promise, it all means nothing.

That is exactly the thrust of this passage. In fact we see something interesting about the nature of God’s promise to Abraham. Verse 16 of this same chapter states that, “people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.” and the passage goes on to point out that God did swear such an oath. But what of Abraham? But what of his patience?

I think that is an interesting topic of discussion. It is a topic inherent in this passage. What is really in an oath? Furthermore, why does God’s promise to Abraham encourage us to be patient as we wait for the return of our Victor. It has always been said that patience is a virtue. How so and why? Further, why is it virtuous in a context that devalues virtue, or at least redefines them?

John MacArthur says something to this passage. MacArthur, in speaking on the nature of the oath address’ a very important question for us. Why did God swear an oath? I mean, isn’t He God? How dare any one person ask for an oath from God. Sinner! Yet in the face of that logic I agree with MacArthur who says:

“The bare word of God is guarantee enough, but God gave an oath just to show that He meant what he said.”

God swore the oath, not for Himself but for us. The Lord of all things has given us an oath, not from a place of weakness but from the greatest place of strength. Yet, in our society such an act could be construed as weakness. Why would anyone in a place of power give such a promise to one weaker than themselves? A sense of time makes that question perplexing.

As our society gets further and further from any sense of Judaeo-Christian values and virtues, any sense of such an act as described above fades. Oaths become less and less. Promises become mere words. Good business decisions are all that matters and the term, “It’s nothing personal” becomes the only sympathy given as people move through the fluidity of sexuality, relationships, and decisions. In short, we may be willing to give our word, but do we honor our pledge?

God always honors His pledge to us. What is that pledge? That Christ has sent The Helper.  A testament of His love. In fact MacArthur points out that the Holy Spirit is the pledge. He notes that, “the pledge of God’s oath is the Holy Spirit.” God has given us a promise (an oath), He has given us His Son, as a result  we have the Holy Spirit.

Yet, there are still times that we may fret. That is when we must be inspired by the pledge already given. We must remember what is to come and be patient. In fact, verse 18 of chapter 6 states it like this:

“So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”

What is that hope? Christ! I agree with one commentator who said that, “The Christian hope is in the person and saving work of Christ.” Wow! What a truth for us today. Be patient. Do not marry yourself to weak imitations of the promises we have in Christ, instead wed yourselves to the hope we have in Him.

Why does this all matter? It matters greatly in our current context. How can one be patient in a 4 1/2 minute hot pocket culture? We are patient because we know that Jesus calls us to patience. Yet, that word is inadequate. I like better what we see over and over again in the book of Hebrews. We must rest. Rest in the sufficiency of Christ. Rest in the promises of God. Rest in His sovereign ability to cease our workings, cease our strivings, and give all of Himself to us. That is true love not mere cohabitation.