A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.  Words and Music by Martin Luther (1527). Luther posted for debate his Ninety-five Theses on the Wittenberg (Germany) Chapel Door on Oct. 31, 1517.

1. A mighty fortress is our God,

A bulwark never failing;

Our helper He, amid the flood

Of mortal ills prevailing;

For still our ancient foe

doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and power are great,

and armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.

 

2. Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing

Were not the right Man on our side,

The Man of God’s own choosing:

Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabbaoth, His name,

from age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

 

3. And though this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us:

The prince of darkness grim,

we tremble not for him.

His rage we can endure,

for lo, his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.

 

4. That word above all earthly powers,

No thanks to them, abideth;

The Spirit and the gifts are ours

Through Him Who with us sideth;

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;

The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,

His kingdom is forever.

Aspire to Live Quietly

Aspire To Live Quietly.  Having ambition in life is generally applauded, and rightfully so, especially by dads of young adults. However, if a technical distinction persists as it seems in the biblical sense (though there is a very small sample size), then holding an aspiration is better than having an ambition. Aspiration is an aim, whereas ambition is a drive.

In truth, ambition and aspiration are morally neutral, sharing the same root in the New Testament (philotimeomai)—what matters most is the heart that steers the pursuit. Selfish ambition, however, is always immoral (eritheia), sharing a connection with greed and coveting (Psa. 119:36; 1 Thess. 2:5). To distinguish between these similar words woodenly, aspiration is a love for honor, but selfish ambition is a grab, often disguised, for unjust gain. The only four examples of pure aspiration in the Bible belong to Paul: his desire to preach in a place where Christ has not yet been preached (Rom. 15:20), to please God (2 Cor. 5:9), to pursue a quiet life (1 Thess. 4:11), and for qualified men to obey when called to serve in church leadership (1 Tim. 3:1). The only two examples of selfish ambition are supplied by James: “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth … for where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (James 3:14, 16).

Paul’s advice, then, to the young, isolated, persecuted congregation in Thessalonica is doubly remarkable: “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands” (1 Thess. 4:9-11). In other words, Thessalonians, you’re doing well in the most important sense, you are actively loving one another. Therefore, (1) do that and (2) keep doing that—full stop. Not, reform the city. Not, change the world. Simply love one another, which in God’s providence could very well reform the city and change the world. 

Love sounds so simple, almost naïve, but being and remaining simple is not simplistic. Simplicity is rare and powerful because the general trend in the Christian life tumbles away from simplicity toward complexity. So, Paul appropriately encourages the church to excel more and more in love. Whatever else they might do, they must love! 

Love is demonstrated in these ways: quiet living (opposite raucous or splashy), minding your own affairs (not everyone else’s business), and working with your hands (following Paul’s example of tent-making) steered toward this end, “so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thess. 4:12). Aspire to love well, live quietly, and be content with simplicity. That’s the summary of a very good life!

Conscience

Conscience.  Conscience is a curious thing. Is it a principle, an ability, a mechanism? Different from consciousness, which is the mind’s self-awareness (e.g., “I think therefore I am” [René Descartes), a conscience is more like one’s inner lawyer constantly assessing before decisions and evaluating after actions for moral purity. When the conscience is clear, the result is relief. When the conscience is conflicted, the result is guilt. But relief and guilt sit on a sliding scale, capable of eliciting both true and false relief as well as true and false guilt.

A conscience can be awakened, aligned, and matured by knowing and submitting to the revealed word of God. However, a conscience can be corrupted, defiled, and seared by actively suppressing the truth. Conscience is a tool, therefore, whether for good or evil.

Every human has a conscience in the way that Solomon described it: “[God] has put eternity in man’s heart” (Eccles. 3:11a), with the important caveat, “yet … he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Eccles. 3:11b). Therefore, a conscience is placed by God in all humans but bent by sin in all humans. By itself, a conscience is an unreliable guide without the truth and power of God to guide and govern it. “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Rom. 2:14-16). Conscience is not the judge, but God is.

The unrighteous do whatever they can, whereas the righteous do whatever they must. But the unrighteous and the righteous may, internally, while acting in diametrically opposite ways still operate in accordance with their own consciences. Thus, a conscience alone is insufficient to navigate morality. For instance, it is unconscionable for some Palestinians to acknowledge the existence of Israel, not to mention concede to the reality that it is Israel that allows Palestinians to live in cultural enclaves, such as Gaza, inside Israel’s internationally recognized territory. [Last weekend’s invasion by Hamas into Israel was abominable in every way.] Likewise, it is unconscionable for the Jews to permit passively and interminably the rocket attacks, invasions, kidnappings, bombings, and murders of its citizens by Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Syria, etc., without swift military responses. [This week’s retaliation by Israel into Gaza is politically and morally legitimate.] Either way however, while the individual’s conscience internally legitimizes his or her action, it is the truth of God and not the human conscience that establishes right and wrong. Humans have a conscience but need the Spirit.

Each According to Its Kind

Each According to Its Kind.  The myth that continues to deceive many, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” was cleverly debunked by whoever it was who said, “The grass is always greener wherever you water it.” Unless the Lord suspends his own natural law, which he has been known to do from time to time, we can typically expect his pattern of Creation to hold: “bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth” (Gen. 1:11, 12). What grows is what we intend to grow, except for crabgrass, which always sneaks its way into everything green.

Literally or figuratively, when we cultivate the soil, sow the good seed, eliminate the weeds, nurture the process, and harvest a crop, fruit bears fruit “according to its kind.” The end of growth is connected to its beginning, whether toward good or toward evil. Life begets life. Corruption begets corruption. Involuntarily, a flood of clichés follows: “You made your bed, now lie in it.” “Stupid is as stupid does.” “Garbage in, garbage out.” “You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.” “Get a taste on your own medicine.”

Christ applied his own Creation principle to the important skill of discerning the religious leaders, “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16, 20). “A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit” (Matt. 7:18). Similarly, Paul wrote to the church about evaluating the fruit of a person’s life to discern its true source, as either from the flesh or from the Spirit: “The works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality . . . . But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace” (Gal. 5:19, 22a). “Whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). Hosea said the same thing another way: “They sow the wind, and shall reap the whirlwind” (Hos. 8:7). James, too, picks up the refrain: “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18). Peace begets peace, “bearing fruit . . . each according to its kind” (Gen. 1:11, 12).

Faced with an incongruence between one’s visible fruit in life and one’s stated values in life, God throws his weight of wisdom to the visible fruit as the true identifier of the person instead of hollow words and best intentions. When we evaluate our own fruit, let alone when we evaluate someone else’s fruit, and discover a divergence, it is an opportunity to “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15), knowing that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The greatest problem with an inconsistent life is not inconsistency but the unwillingness to repent and turn to the Lord in faith, especially when we know the truth that could set us free. The antidote to evil fruit, then, is not to try harder, but to stop trying and start believing in Jesus.