"If we confess our sins, [H]e is [F]aithful and [J]ust to forgive us our sins..."
Christians have been told since the beginning of their Christian life to confess their sins as soon as the sin is committed. That is not sound counsel. Do I suggest, as some, that our sins are already forgiven and, therefore, confession is not needed? God forbid! Those who suggest that must realize that we have been forgiven by God in His office of Judge. We must still confess our sins today and tomorrow to our Loving Father. That is the difference. At the beginning we stood before the Judge, and after that we stand before a Father. At the beginning we confessed sin committed against the law and the Law-Giver. Now we confess sin committed against a Loving but displeased Father. That is the difference.
Why does this writer then suggest that one should not confess all sin right away? Because godly sorrow has not yet set in. When one commits sin he is afterwards still in its thrall (generally speaking), and, therefore, unprepared to confess. I grant that sometimes one is broken immediately, and sin can and should be confessed immediately. However, most of the time we are not sufficiently broken, and rigid, cold, "confessed" sin will not be forgiven; hence, the unforgiving spirit of believers today.
When this occurs one can only confess the coldness of one's heart and wait upon the Spirit of brokenness to visit. The confession might go like this... "Lord, I'm sorry that I am not sorry." God wants your honesty and not your empty motions.
Buried in Christ,
St. Loder
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Judge the Individual.
"There was a man of the Pharisees..."
It is to one's loss to judge a person solely on his associations. There are good/bad republicans, good/bad democrats, good/bad baptists, and good/bad catholics. Are we justified in judging the afore mentioned parties? I believe we are. In politics the two or three parties have foundations. Those foundations may/can be judged. In "religion" there are foundations. Those may/can be judged. It is the individual we must be careful to judge. I am not talking about doing away with church discipline, God forbid. The church should increase discipline. I'm talking about judging a person from a distance and refusing to take a closer look.
Nicodemus was a man OF the Pharisees. For all the theologians out there - doctrine is in the small words. Doctrine is guarded by "if", "and", "but", "so", and "of". The small words are God's Watchman. Nicodemus was a man Of the Pharisees. He did not have the spirit of a Pharisee, however. The Pharisees stated that Christ was a devil, they tempted Him, they joined with their enemies to conspire, they were always "seeing" Him in order to criticize (ouch!), they were the recipients of the Master's Woes.
Does the above sound like the Nicodemus that came to Christ? I think not. Can we criticize him for coming at night? I suppose we can. If we choose to criticize, without mercy, let us be certain to never give an invitation with "every head bowed and every eye closed" again. Let us never give an "unspoken" at Wednesday prayer meeting either. Remember... judge not lest ye be judged in the same unmerciful manner.
One important reason we should be careful in judging is the fact that we do not know what spiritual state one is in. What many of you would have done the night Nic. came is to judge him, without mercy, and run him off. Nic. displayed his true colors at the death of the Master as will many others at His return.
The Master said in John 7:24, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement." That means don't judge the person solely on his association (appearance) but use righteous judgement (look at the individual and look for the right in him).
Both writer and reader would have accepted Judas gladly and rejected Nicodemus.
Buried in Christ,
St. Loder
It is to one's loss to judge a person solely on his associations. There are good/bad republicans, good/bad democrats, good/bad baptists, and good/bad catholics. Are we justified in judging the afore mentioned parties? I believe we are. In politics the two or three parties have foundations. Those foundations may/can be judged. In "religion" there are foundations. Those may/can be judged. It is the individual we must be careful to judge. I am not talking about doing away with church discipline, God forbid. The church should increase discipline. I'm talking about judging a person from a distance and refusing to take a closer look.
Nicodemus was a man OF the Pharisees. For all the theologians out there - doctrine is in the small words. Doctrine is guarded by "if", "and", "but", "so", and "of". The small words are God's Watchman. Nicodemus was a man Of the Pharisees. He did not have the spirit of a Pharisee, however. The Pharisees stated that Christ was a devil, they tempted Him, they joined with their enemies to conspire, they were always "seeing" Him in order to criticize (ouch!), they were the recipients of the Master's Woes.
Does the above sound like the Nicodemus that came to Christ? I think not. Can we criticize him for coming at night? I suppose we can. If we choose to criticize, without mercy, let us be certain to never give an invitation with "every head bowed and every eye closed" again. Let us never give an "unspoken" at Wednesday prayer meeting either. Remember... judge not lest ye be judged in the same unmerciful manner.
One important reason we should be careful in judging is the fact that we do not know what spiritual state one is in. What many of you would have done the night Nic. came is to judge him, without mercy, and run him off. Nic. displayed his true colors at the death of the Master as will many others at His return.
The Master said in John 7:24, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement." That means don't judge the person solely on his association (appearance) but use righteous judgement (look at the individual and look for the right in him).
Both writer and reader would have accepted Judas gladly and rejected Nicodemus.
Buried in Christ,
St. Loder
Sunday, November 4, 2007
In the Light
"...in [T]hy light we shall see light." Psalm 36:9b
"I am the [L]ight of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12
Christ Jesus, the Son of God is the Light of our life. What does this mean? It means many things. This post will not be exhaustive in declaring the full meaning of the above verses. (For none can exhaust the meanings of the above verses.)
The main point the writer desires to make is two-fold. Number 1: if one desires to walk with Christ one must walk in the light. He must walk in the light of holiness, openness, and honesty. If one desires to walk with Christ they must understand that the walk is a mystical walk. Before you roll your eyes, I will suggest that you never read Tozer (or for that matter, Jonathan Edwards). Tozer was one of the biggest supporters of the mystics. He once told Lloyd Jones, the Doctor, that they both arrived at the same spiritual place. Lloyd Jones, a sound and staunch calvinist by the Puritans and Tozer, and "the 20th Century Prophet" by the mystics. God is not bound by those He sovereignly chooses to use!!! Again, if you desire to walk with Christ you must walk on the mystical side. One must understand that to commune with Christ is to commune with the First Mystery. To commune with Christ you must sit silently at His blessed feet and hear Him to know that He is God. That is a positive statement. However, to grasp that statement one must look at the negative aspect (this is a sound rule for interpretation). If you do not sit silently at His blessed feet you shall not know (at your core) that Christ is God Almighty.
Does the above suggest that this writer recommends all that the mystics teach? God Forbid!!!
(Mysticism will be committed to your study and discernment.) Nor does He recommend all that the puritans teach. This writer recommends the Holy Spirit-inspired Scriptures. He recommends knowing the scriptures in their letter and their spirit.
Point number 2: Are you, my reader, confused by life- by circumstances? The reason for this confusion is your walk in darkness (not necessarily sin). "Turn your eyes on [Christ] Jesus...Look in [H]is wonderful [F]ace" and there alone will you find your answers. There is much that can confuse us in this life. The unholy state of the church is confusion. The state of the nations is confusion. The state of families is confusion. We will not find the answers in the "church" nor in the nation, nor in our spouse. We will find the answers, or rather... we shall see the light, in His Light.
Life's answers are found in the 150 Psalms (they are all "messianic") which reveal the heart of the Master. The answers are found in the Proverbs which reveal the mind of the Master. The answers are found in the gospels which reveal the actions and intents of the Master. The answers are found in the writings of the apostles which clarify the heart, mind, and actions of the Master.
Seek the Spirit of the LORD and beseech Him to shine Christ's Light upon you.
"... and suddenly there shined round about [you] a light from [H]eaven..."
Buried in Christ,
St. Loder
"I am the [L]ight of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12
Christ Jesus, the Son of God is the Light of our life. What does this mean? It means many things. This post will not be exhaustive in declaring the full meaning of the above verses. (For none can exhaust the meanings of the above verses.)
The main point the writer desires to make is two-fold. Number 1: if one desires to walk with Christ one must walk in the light. He must walk in the light of holiness, openness, and honesty. If one desires to walk with Christ they must understand that the walk is a mystical walk. Before you roll your eyes, I will suggest that you never read Tozer (or for that matter, Jonathan Edwards). Tozer was one of the biggest supporters of the mystics. He once told Lloyd Jones, the Doctor, that they both arrived at the same spiritual place. Lloyd Jones, a sound and staunch calvinist by the Puritans and Tozer, and "the 20th Century Prophet" by the mystics. God is not bound by those He sovereignly chooses to use!!! Again, if you desire to walk with Christ you must walk on the mystical side. One must understand that to commune with Christ is to commune with the First Mystery. To commune with Christ you must sit silently at His blessed feet and hear Him to know that He is God. That is a positive statement. However, to grasp that statement one must look at the negative aspect (this is a sound rule for interpretation). If you do not sit silently at His blessed feet you shall not know (at your core) that Christ is God Almighty.
Does the above suggest that this writer recommends all that the mystics teach? God Forbid!!!
(Mysticism will be committed to your study and discernment.) Nor does He recommend all that the puritans teach. This writer recommends the Holy Spirit-inspired Scriptures. He recommends knowing the scriptures in their letter and their spirit.
Point number 2: Are you, my reader, confused by life- by circumstances? The reason for this confusion is your walk in darkness (not necessarily sin). "Turn your eyes on [Christ] Jesus...Look in [H]is wonderful [F]ace" and there alone will you find your answers. There is much that can confuse us in this life. The unholy state of the church is confusion. The state of the nations is confusion. The state of families is confusion. We will not find the answers in the "church" nor in the nation, nor in our spouse. We will find the answers, or rather... we shall see the light, in His Light.
Life's answers are found in the 150 Psalms (they are all "messianic") which reveal the heart of the Master. The answers are found in the Proverbs which reveal the mind of the Master. The answers are found in the gospels which reveal the actions and intents of the Master. The answers are found in the writings of the apostles which clarify the heart, mind, and actions of the Master.
Seek the Spirit of the LORD and beseech Him to shine Christ's Light upon you.
"... and suddenly there shined round about [you] a light from [H]eaven..."
Buried in Christ,
St. Loder
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