Tag: obedience

The Autumn of Covenant

Thus the Lord GOD showed me: and, behold, a basket of summer fruit.
And he said, “Amos, what seest thou?”
And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then said the LORD unto me, “The end is come upon my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more” (Amos 8:1-2).

“Woe is me! For I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat; my soul desireth the first-ripe fig” (Micah 7:1).

Autumn is a season of transition. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, days grow shorter, nights grow longer, and the temperature gets cooler. The days of heat and growth are declining, and the last crops must be harvested. Everywhere around us, life is preparing for the cold, dark winter that will soon come.

The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah were also in the “autumn” of their existence in the late ninth and eighth centuries BCE. Unbeknownst to them, their days of glory were behind them. The kingdoms were experiencing a momentary period of great prosperity and wealth, not unlike a short warm spell during the autumn. Yet the cold, dark days of “winter”– collapse and exile– were approaching, and the prophets were busy warning the people.

God shows Amos a basket of summer fruit, representing the imminent end of Israel. They had enjoyed their days of prosperity and wealth– they always were more prosperous than the Judeans to their south– but had squandered it all on idols and political alliances. The people of Israel acted shamefully and sinfully, committing all kinds of injustice and sin, and God sent Amos to pronounce judgment. The people refused to hear, and within forty years of Amos’ predictions, Israel was overwhelmed by Assyria and would soon be exiled, never to return (cf. 2 Kings 17).

Not long after Amos goes to Israel, Micah prophesies against Judah. The prophet acutely feels the vast sinfulness and injustice swirling around him. He feels as if he is part of the grape gleanings on the vine after the harvests of the summer fruits– the very few who still stand for righteousness and justice. Everyone around him, it seems, is out for their own advantage, full of iniquity and blood. Yet Micah trusts in the LORD, knowing that destruction and judgment will come soon (cf. Micah 7:7). Likewise, within forty years, the Assyrians came to Judah, destroying everything but Jerusalem, leaving but a remnant of Judah to remain (cf. 2 Kings 18-19, Isaiah 1).

Both Israel and Judah, therefore, were in the “autumn” of their covenants with God. Destruction would come upon them soon, and yet they willfully turned a deaf ear to the warnings of the prophets. They trusted that since the LORD was the One True God, and that Israel was His chosen people, that no harm would befall them (cf. Micah 2:6). Yet God would not tolerate their sin forever, and Israel and Judah paid a heavy price!

What about us? Are we in the “autumn” of our lives, or in the “autumn” of our relationship with God? While the actual season of autumn is easily delineated and clearly a time of preparation, our “spiritual” season of autumn may not be as easily apparent. We may feel as if we are in the “spring” or “summer” of our lives or in our relationship with God, when, in fact, the end is near.

Let none be deceived: God will not tolerate sin forever. If we are living in sin and turning a deaf ear to the Word of God who convicts us regarding sin (cf. John 16:8), we may suffer the same fate as Israel and Judah, and have destruction fall upon us unawares (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). Since we can never be entirely sure when the “autumn” of our lives has begun, we must live in a constant state of preparedness, as our Lord Jesus affirms for us in Matthew 24:42-25:30, and Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.

We may be living in a debauched and sinful society, and its “autumn” may be present. Nevertheless, let us live our lives as the prophet Micah, constantly trusting in the LORD no matter what our fellow man may say and do, and show constant vigilance, ever prepared for the return of Jesus Christ and the end of time!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Presence vs. Participation

And one said unto him, “Lord, are they few that are saved?”
And he said unto them, “Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying,
‘Lord, open to us;’
and he shall answer and say to you, ‘I know you not whence ye are;’
then shall ye begin to say, ‘We did eat and drink in thy presence, and thou didst teach in our streets;’
and he shall say, ‘I tell you, I know not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity'” (Luke 13:23-27).

Every generation seems to have its great events and personalities, and people cling tightly to the memory of being present for them and with them. People today still talk about where they were and what they were doing when they heard that John F. Kennedy was shot, or the Challenger space shuttle went down, or when they heard about the 9/11 attacks. Many people remember fondly how they directly participated in great events of their day: a presidential inauguration, or a music celebration, or some other iconic event. Others remember fondly when they had the opportunity to hear a given speaker of some reputation.

Imagine, then, what it must have been like to live in first century Israel and to see and hear Jesus of Nazareth! Consider what it must have been like if Jesus came into your village. You saw the sick healed, demons cast out, and the blind given the ability to see (Matthew 9:35). You heard His wonderful teachings and felt a sense of pride and great expectation. You have been able to see the Son of God Himself!

Then, as with all men, your earthly life ends and you stand before the same Jesus on the day of judgment. You feel hopeful– after all, you were there! You saw Him work His power! Maybe He even recognizes you!

But then the message you hear is quite distressing– “Sorry. I never knew you, for you did that which was evil.” After it is too late, you have learned the lesson: it was not enough just to be present. In order to obtain the blessings of Jesus and His Kingdom, you had to be an active participant!

Granted, none of us have seen Jesus in the flesh or were present when He spoke as He did in Luke 13:23-27. Yet we can still hear about Jesus and the things which He accomplished. We can decide to spend our time with people who seek God and His righteousness first (cf. Matthew 6:33). We may also hear various messages about Jesus from various parts of our society and get the impression that as long as we mentally recognize that Jesus is Lord, everything will be just fine. We may feel that as Americans we are God’s new chosen people and that we will certainly enter Heaven– after all, we are Americans, there are a lot of great people in America, and surely God loves Americans enough to save them.

Holiness and righteousness are not like the cold or the flu– they cannot be “caught” by mere presence or exposure. One cannot become holy or righteous simply by being around holy and righteous people, or by just hearing the message of holiness and righteousness (cf. James 1:22-25). We cannot simply be present– we must decide to participate!

The Kingdom is not for “professors,” those who profess belief in Jesus and little more, but it is for those who do the will of the Father (cf. Matthew 7:21-23). We may feel a special attachment to Jesus or to Christianity because we have been present for its message or have experienced it in some way, but that, on its own, does not mean that we get closer to God. Instead, we must seek to enter by the narrow door– the path laid out by Jesus (cf. Matthew 7:13-14, 1 John 2:1-6). We must participate by becoming God’s humble obedient servants, seeking His will and not our own (Romans 6, Galatians 2:20). Let us strive to not just be present but also to participate in God’s Kingdom!

Ethan R. Longhenry

The Two Sons

“But what think ye? A man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work to-day in the vineyard.’ And he answered and said, ‘I will not:’ but afterward he repented himself, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir:’ and went not. Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They say, “The first.”
Jesus saith unto them, “Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that ye might believe him” (Matthew 21:28-32).

Jesus’ parable of the two sons is a rather uncomfortable parable. We find ourselves reflected in at least one of the sons.

The first son begins as the rebellious one. He dares to refuse to do the will of his father, but then realizes his mistake, and turns and does what his father desires. We can see that this son does, eventually, do the will of his father, as it is said in Matthew 21:31.

The first son demonstrates the importance of repentance and the hope that exists for those who have rebelled against God. He is very much like the “prodigal son” in Luke 15:11-32. At some point, each and every one of us refused the call of our Father and went our own way (Romans 3:23), but thanks to His love and grace, we can be reconciled back to God in Christ (Titus 3:3-7). And then we must get to work, just as the first son did (Titus 3:8)!

Yet it is the second son that is the focus of this parable. In context, it is a condemnation of the religious authorities who certainly professed belief in God and yet rejected John His prophet and Jesus His Son (Matthew 21:23-27, 21:33-46). They were willing, as the second son, to tell the Father “yes,” and yet they did not do what He told them to do!

Jesus’ conclusion is sharp and biting, just as it was intended. The people whom everyone recognized were great sinners were going to enter the Kingdom before the “holiest” and most respected religious authorities! Tax collectors and prostitutes were willing to humble themselves, listen to John and Jesus, and change their ways (cf. Luke 7:36-50, 19:1-9). The religious authorities refused!

It is better that we find ourselves to be like the first son. God is more concerned with our action than our profession– it does not do us any good to claim that we are followers of Jesus if we are not actually doing what Jesus says to do (Matthew 7:21-23, James 1:22-25)! We must never allow ourselves to become like the religious authorities and become self-righteous, for repentant sinners always get further than self-righteous hypocrites before God (Matthew 9:11-13, Luke 18:10-14)!

In the end, we cannot tell God “yes” and yet do nothing. If we tell God “yes,” that we believe in Him and that He is our Lord, and yet we do not preach the Gospel to our fellow man (Romans 1:16), or we do not show him mercy and kindness in his time of need (Galatians 6:10), or we do not encourage fellow Christians (Hebrews 10:24-25), or we do not show love and compassion as His Son did (Colossians 3:12-14), what do you think will happen to us (Matthew 7:21-23)? How can we expect to receive God’s blessings if we do not do what He tells us to do?

Who are we? Are we the first son who once refused God but have learned better and now do His will? Or are we as the second son, always willing to say yes, but in the end do nothing? Let us be as the first son, do the will of the Father, and be saved!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Debt

Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8).

No one has to be told anymore about the challenges that debt brings. With debt comes obligation, and obligations can often enslave. We can often joke that our money is spent before we get the paycheck– when we are indebted, that is very much true! As debt increases, so does worry and anxiety. Thousands upon thousands of people live in great fear and distress because of their debt obligations. We look at our national debt and worry about what we are leaving for our children and grandchildren.

For years our society preached a message of debt. People were encouraged to go out and buy, buy, buy, even if they didn’t have the money to cover it. As the value of houses rose, people would refinance in order to pay their debts. And then they would accrue more debt!

Yet, whatever one sows, one will reap (Galatians 6:7). Corporations and people over-extended themselves, and now they have to pay the proverbial piper. Many people are now tightening the belts and having great difficulties because they enjoyed themselves perhaps a little too much in previous years.

People are now realizing the wisdom that has always been found in God: we ought to avoid debt whenever possible. When we are unencumbered by debt, we are able to make enough to support ourselves and then give to those who are in need (cf. Ephesians 4:28). We cannot do that when our money is already pledged to others! When we have debt, we have worries and anxiety. When we are free from debt, those worries and anxiety will vanish.

Anyone who has been in debt can imagine or remember the great feeling of exhilaration that comes when a debt gets paid and one is freed from that burden. Such is wonderful!

While we would do well to avoid and/or eliminate physical debt in our lives, we must also consider the spiritual debts that we incur. When we sin, we are sold into the bondage of sin, and must pay our “master,” the evil one (Romans 6:15-16, 20-23). Unfortunately for us, once we have done that, we can never make enough “payments” to get rid of that debt. We could try and try by ourselves, and we would never pay it off (Romans 3:9-23)!

But thanks be to God that when we were unable to pay the debt, Jesus the Christ paid the debt for us by shedding His blood on the cross for our sins (Ephesians 2:4-9). His blood was the price that He paid for our sins, and, therefore, us (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). When we come to the recognition that Jesus has done this for us, and we become His obedient servants, we can enjoy the exhilaration of being released from the law of sin and death, and can then turn to serve God with everything we have (Romans 6:16-18, 8:1-2, Galatians 2:20). We then must strive to avoid returning back into the debt of the bondage of sin (2 Peter 2:20-22)!

Being indebted to men causes great distress; being indebted to Satan leads to condemnation and torment. Let us owe nothing to either!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Immanuel

But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.”
Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel;”
which is, being interpreted, “God with us” (Matthew 1:20-23).

The Incarnation is one of the most profound and challenging truths found in the pages of the New Testament. The One through whom all creation came forth now as a human being. God humbling Himself by taking on the form of a man (cf. Philippians 2:5-11). How amazing! How unbelievable!

For many years men pondered over the Incarnation. Many of the heresies of the first millennium came about because of such speculations: was Jesus born the Son of God, or did He become the Son of God in baptism (adoptionism)? Was He truly a man, or did He just appear to be a man (docetism)? Did Jesus have two natures or one nature, and how did those natures work together (Nestorianism, monophytism)?

The Scriptures make it clear that Jesus was God from the beginning, the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14). In Him is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form (Colossians 2:8-10). Matthew affirms that Jesus’ birth fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, and that Jesus is the Immanuel child– God with us. In the flesh. In a man that can be seen, felt, and heard (cf. 1 John 1:1-3).

How can this be? We cannot understand exactly how it came about, but we can be sure that it was accomplished through the power of God. The Incarnation is another reminder that the “foolishness” of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, and that in Jesus Christ God has made void the “wisdom” of the world (1 Corinthians 1:18-25). To the unbelieving world, the idea of God in the flesh is pure folly. To those of us who believe in God, His power, and His wisdom, it is part of a wonderful plan to save mankind (Ephesians 3:10-11).

The implications of the Incarnation are astounding. It is easy to look at Jesus and think about Him as God the Son, as the great and powerful Lord who quiets the sea and casts out demons (cf. Matthew 12, 14, etc.). Yet He is also human, learning obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:7-10). This is the profound reality of the Incarnation: God the Son needing a diaper change. The Word made flesh babbling as an infant, crying and needing the tender care of His mother Mary. The Lord learning how to walk and move about.

The Bible does not reveal a whole lot about Jesus’ early life and upbringing, but the very fact that He is both God the Son, the Word made flesh, and a growing child is quite amazing. It ought to remind us how Jesus is not so removed from us as to not be able to understand our difficulties (cf. Hebrews 4:15-16)!

To think that God the Son took on the form of flesh in order to live, suffer, die, and be raised again so that we could have eternal life is beyond humbling (cf. Philippians 2:5-11). When we think about all that Jesus would go through as Immanuel, God with us, it should lead us to greater appreciation of the Incarnation and His life and a renewed zeal to serve Him and His purposes. Let us praise God that Jesus is our Immanuel and obey Him!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Mercy, not Sacrifice

“But if ye had known what this meaneth, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ ye would not have condemned the guiltless” (Matthew 12:7).

The Pharisees have come out again and have attempted to condemn Jesus and His disciples for violating their strictures regarding the Sabbath. Jesus stands against them because they have entirely missed the purpose of the Sabbath on account of their legalistic perspective.

He charges them with not understanding Samuel’s utterance to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22, a message also seen in Hosea 6:6, Isaiah 1:11-20, and Jeremiah 6:19-20. This message strikes at the heart of what it means to be a true servant of God versus just going through the motions.

In all of those Old Testament contexts, the people of God were providing the sacrifices which God commanded for them to provide in the Law (cf. Leviticus). Yet God would not accept them. It was not a matter of the technical requirements, as if the sacrifices were themselves offered improperly. God rejected them because the sacrifices were not consistent with the rest of their lives. Sure, they would sacrifice to God, but they were not obeying God otherwise! Saul had brought all kinds of animals to sacrifice for God when God told him to devote Amalek to the ban. The Israelites in the days of Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah brought their requisite offerings yet were also serving idols, committing oppressions and violence in the land, and not following the LORD as commanded.

These Pharisees were doing the same thing. They went to great lengths to understand the Book yet did not actually practice much of what was in it. They devised a series of all kinds of guidelines to keep people from violating the Law– a veritable “fence around the Torah”– and in the process missed its most essential commands (cf. Matthew 23:23-24). Even though they did not commit the exact same sins as their forebears, they fell under the same condemnation!

These are strong warnings for us today. It is good to know what the Bible teaches and to do all one can in order to avoid sin (cf. 2 Peter 3:18, Romans 12:9). On the other hand, Christianity is more than just an intellectual exercise, and its core message discourages any attempt at self-righteousness or sanctimony (James 1:22-25, Luke 18:9-14).

We cannot pride ourselves in having all the details of certain elements of our service to God entirely figured out and then miss the whole of the message. If we assemble with the saints and do all things according to God’s purposes, well and good (Hebrews 10:24-25). But we are to show love, mercy, and compassion to all men at all times, and to serve God as fervently outside of the assembly as we do among the saints (Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 5:22-24). Even if we have great knowledge of the Book, we have no reason to be high on ourselves: we remain profitless servants doing only what is our duty when we learn God’s will and apply it (Luke 17:7-10). In the end, no matter how “righteous” we are, no matter how “mature” in the faith, we must remain humble servants of our Lord, encouraging all men to come to the knowledge of the truth in love, confessing that we are not the judges but our Lord will judge everyone on the last day (Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 7:1-5, James 4:12, Ephesians 2:1-10, 4:11-16).

Let none be deceived: if you assemble with the saints but do not otherwise accomplish God’s will, God will reject your “sacrifice.” If you strive diligently to obey God in the areas of life in which it is convenient, but refuse to repent in the more challenging aspects of the faith, God will reject your “sacrifice.” If you understand God’s Word well and seek to apply it in your life yet you look down on your fellow man and consider yourself better than they, God will reject your “sacrifice.” It is only when we remember our place and completely give ourselves over to the Lord Jesus Christ that our sacrifices will be pleasing to God (Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:15)! Let us both show mercy and provide sacrifice, and be pleasing to our Lord!

Ethan R. Longhenry

God’s Chosen People

Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: and they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation, called to the assembly, men of renown; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them,
“Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” (Numbers 16:1-3).

With these actions and words Korah begins his rebellion. The motives of his rebellion are far from pure, and he may just be interested in a power grab. The logic of his argument, however, is a problem that Israel must deal with perpetually.

Israel certainly understood the message that they were God’s chosen people. Korah saw that God’s presence dwelt in the midst of Israel, and to him that meant that the people must be holy. If the people are holy, who are Moses and Aaron to condemn them?

This idea does not go away. Almost a thousand years later, the people of Judah do not pay sufficient attention to the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah. Instead, they trust in the fact that the Temple of God is in Jerusalem, and since God is in the Temple, the city and the Temple will not be harmed by Babylon (Jeremiah 7:4). After all, God struck the Assyrians when they drew near. Would He not again do so with Babylon?

In the days of John the Baptist and Jesus the Jews trusted in their lineage. They were children of Abraham– that was what mattered. They had never been enslaved to anyone (John 8:33)!

All of these made a similar mistake. Indeed, God chose Israel from among all the nations. Yes, God made a covenant with Abraham, and his offspring were the beneficiaries. Yes, God chose to dwell in the midst of Israel. But that was never enough. For God to continue to bless Israel, they had to be faithful. They had to obey His commands. They had to serve Him properly.

Yet they constantly sinned and rebelled. The earth swallowed Korah for his sin. The Babylonians came and ransacked Jerusalem and the Temple because of the sin of the people. Judgment again came upon Jerusalem 40 years after the death of Jesus.

We now live under the new covenant of Jesus Christ, through whom we have been reconciled to God if we have obeyed Him (Ephesians 2:1-18). Yet, just as in the days of old, it is not sufficient just to wear the name of “Christian.” We cannot expect that God will give us an easier time or that He will look aside as we commit sin just because we believe in Jesus. We cannot expect God to bless whatever we want or do just because we think we are part of Him.

Instead, we also must be obedient servants. We must do His will, not our own (Galatians 2:20, Romans 12:1-2). Do we think that somehow we will escape the same condemnation as Israel of old if we profess to be of God but do not obey His will?

“Not every one that saith unto me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works?’
And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity'” (Matthew 7:21-23).

Ethan R. Longhenry

Freedom From Bondage

Jesus therefore said to those Jews that had believed him, “If ye abide in my word, then are ye truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).

Jesus’ words in John 8:32 have provided comfort and encouragement for believers for generations. Many seek and hope to be set free in Jesus Christ, and we all know the great value present in freedom!

Sadly, in context, Jesus’ words were understood as anything but comforting and encouraging. The Jews, in fact, took great offense at them: how could Jesus insinuate that they were enslaved to anyone when they were children of Abraham (cf. John 8:33)? Despite Jesus’ attempts to explain to them that anyone who sinned was a slave of sin, a servant of “their father” the Devil (John 8:31-47), the Jews would not listen. The very Jews who “believed” in Him before now considered Him to be a demon-possessed Samaritan, worthy of being stoned for blasphemy (John 8:48, 59)!

It is evident that Jesus’ message of freedom does not sit well with those who do not perceive the burden of their sin. Those who believe that they are “healthy” and in no need of redemption find His message for them distasteful, even if they are willing to intellectually concede the value of His other teachings (cf. Matthew 9:11-13, John 8:30). It is one thing for Jesus to claim that He has a close relationship with His Father; it is quite another to claim that His hearers are enslaved and sons of the devil!

This is why the beginning of Jesus’ statement is so important: those who know the truth that will set them free are those who abide in Jesus’ word and who are His disciples (John 8:31)! The truth cannot liberate those who refuse it or reject it. The truth cannot liberate even those who hear it but do not act on it. It can only liberate those who believe in Jesus Christ and who abide in His word– His obedient servants!

Such is an important reminder for those of us who enjoy great freedoms in our country. When many people think of freedom, they think of license: “I am free to do as I please.” Freedom in Jesus Christ is not license; instead, it is deliverance. The truth sets us free from sin and death in order to serve Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1-2, 6:16-18). It does not give us license to act as we please, as if recognizing that Jesus is Lord can somehow save us from ourselves. Instead, it delivers us from our earlier “father,” the devil, so that we can begin to serve our heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. It means that we throw off the yoke of sin and death and take on the yoke of the meek and gentle Shepherd of our souls (cf. Matthew 11:28-30).

Freedom in Jesus Christ is most precious indeed; it was paid for by His own blood. Let us learn to appreciate His sacrifice and our deliverance from sin, and seek to serve our Lord and to be His true disciples!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Jesus’ Example of Forgiveness

“And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
And parting his garments among them, they cast lots (Luke 23:34).

One of the beautiful things about Jesus is that He is not merely a great teacher, but the ultimate Teacher: God’s message in the flesh. Jesus, therefore, does not simply utter commandments or provide abstract concepts. His very life provides examples of God’s Word in action (John 1:1, 14, 18)!

One such command is seen in Luke’s Gospel:

“But I say unto you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you. To him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and from him that taketh away thy cloak withhold not thy coat also” (Luke 6:27-29).

Love an enemy? Bless those who curse? Pray for those who hurt you? These are very difficult things indeed!

Jesus never denies that they are difficult. Instead, He shows you the way by demonstrating the command in Himself, in a circumstance you are rather unlikely to experience!

In the midst of His great suffering on the cross, He petitions His Father to do this very thing: forgive those who are despitefully using Him. As He suffers such great and terrible anguish– anguish that most of us can barely imagine– He still represents God’s Word. He still holds firm to God’s intentions for the Kingdom.

If Jesus is able to forgive those who nailed His body to the cross, can we not forgive our fellow man who may strike us?

If Jesus is able to forgive those who mock Him, can we not forgive our fellow man when he insults us?

If Jesus is able to forgive those who conspired to have Him killed, can we not forgive those who do not particularly like us or attempt to do evil toward us?

It is not easy. It is rather counter-intuitive. But it was just as counter-intuitive for Jesus. The whole experience of suffering for our sins was likely counter-intuitive, yet He accomplished it because He was obedient to God’s will (Hebrews 5:7-9).

Forgiveness is not an option; if we cannot forgive others, we cannot be forgiven (Matthew 18:35). Nevertheless, we are not left without example. Let us seek to forgive others as we have been forgiven in Christ Jesus!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Naaman and Obedient Faith

But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, “Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean?”
So he turned and went away in a rage (2 Kings 5:11-12).

Naaman is a man’s man with a problem. He is an extremely respected soldier– a “mighty man of valor” (2 Kings 5:1). Through him the LORD gave Aram victory. Yet he suffered from leprosy, a condition that would mean social exclusion for a lesser man.

That he would love to be cured of his leprosy is without a doubt. When he learns from an Israelite captive that the “prophet in Samaria,” Elisha, could heal him, his excitement is evident: he goes with a significant quantity of money and clothes, and eventually comes to Elisha (2 Kings 5:5-9).

Yet Elisha’s message is certainly not what was expected.

“Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean” (2 Kings 5:10).

How simple! How…non-spiritual! Nothing fancy, no great declaration, just a few dips in a river. Furthermore, of all the rivers– the Jordan? Naaman is probably not wrong to declare the Abanah and Pharpar as superior to the Jordan in terms of cleanliness. How could his cleansing possibly be accomplished by such simple, non-spiritual means in such a comparatively dirty river?

Naaman’s anger is based upon his own unmet expectations, and its conclusion could have been quite tragic. Imagine if Naaman just went back to Aram and died eventually as a leper, all because Elisha did not act as he expected, and did not do what he thought Elisha should do. To think that Naaman might have never been cleansed because of his mental hangup with dipping in a river a few times!

But that is not the case. His servants spoke sensibly to him, helping him to see that what Elisha asks is not that difficult (2 Kings 5:13). He goes and does it and receives his cleansing (2 Kings 5:14)…even though it was simple, seemed rather “un-spiritual,” and was in the Jordan of all places!

Why did it work? It was not because of the Jordan River. It was not because Naaman dipped seven times. It was because God specified through His prophet Elisha that if Naaman obeyed and dipped seven times in the Jordan River, God would accomplish the healing. Could God have healed Naaman without dipping? Sure. Could He have acted exactly as Naaman originally expected? Absolutely. But God did not– God had a different plan for Naaman, and the choice was Naaman’s as to whether he would obey and receive the blessings or disobey and remain unclean.

Naaman’s example is quite instructive for us. How many times have we neglected God’s commands because we felt that it was too simple, too “un-spiritual,” or perhaps simply was not what we were expecting?

The most evident parallel is cleansing from sin. Just as Naaman was to dip seven times in the Jordan River to be cleansed of leprosy, so God calls upon those who believe in Him to be immersed in water for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3-7, 1 Peter 3:21). As with Naaman, so with us: it is not because of the water nor because we are immersed in it. It is because God specifies through Jesus and the Apostles that if one believes in Jesus, confesses His name before men, repents of his sin, and submits himself to immersion in water in the name of the Lord for the remission of past sin, God will accomplish the cleansing of that person and will re-establish association with him. Could God forgive us our sins without being baptized? Sure. Could He act according to our expectations, or in one of the various ways that people say that salvation can be obtained? Absolutely. But God has established His plan for us, and the choice is ours as to whether we will obey it and receive the blessings or disobey and remain unclean.

Naaman almost fell guilty of holding God hostage to his own expectations and his think-so, and we would recognize his great and tragic folly if he proved disobedient despite receiving such a simple command. Yet will we prove to continue in similar folly, in regards to baptism perhaps, or some other matter of some simplicity, by holding God hostage to our expectations or “think-so” or “surely God…” mentalities?

Naaman was cleansed by his willingness to humble his pride, get in the Jordan River, and obey God’s command. As such, he stands as an example of great faith in God (cf. Luke 4:27). Will we have a similar faith– faith in humility, being willing to cast aside our own expectations and suppositions in order to obey the Risen Lord? Let us seek the same commendation of Naaman and obey Christ!

Ethan R. Longhenry