Step One in Any Struggle

As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
~ John 8:30-32 (NKJV)

To believe in Jesus, stay in His Word, and follow Him as His disciple is to know the truth.

Truth is freedom—from sin, from death in its every form, and from every other lie that would hold us captive to fear, pride, and lust.

Whatever today's struggle, seeing it in full truth, through the eyes of God, is the first step to overcoming it.

Father in Heaven, we are not worthy of the least of all the mercies and all the truth You have shown Your servants. Please, this day, set us free from whatever lie holds us captive by showing us afresh the truth to defeat it, and enable us to glorify You in the process.

Comments are welcome and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Blame Game

"Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act..."
~ John 8:4 (NKJV)

Perhaps being a woman makes me both less inclined to draw attention to the power femininity holds over men, and more sensitive to how often the blame for sin is laid at the feet of vulnerable women.

Consider the Bible's many examples of the latter:

• Judah demands that Tamar be burned for pregnancy by harlotry, though he is the man guilty of hiring her (Genesis 38)
• The numerous warnings against the "evil / immoral / adulterous woman," "seductress," and "harlot" contained in Proverbs, a book largely composed by Solomon, the son of a man who committed adultery with Solomon's mother
• The above example from John, when Pharisees present to Jesus the woman caught in the very act of adultery, though the man they also caught is mysteriously absent
• Paul's observation that "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." (1 Timothy 2:14)

Do you detect the irony in that last verse? There is no honor in lack of discernment which permits any person to be deceived. But if Adam was not deceived, how much greater is his dishonor for sinning with full knowledge?

"But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."
~ Matthew 5:32 (NKJV)

Jesus turns the tables on the Pharisees who drag the adulterous woman to Him for stoning. He does so again in the above passage from Matthew, when He points out a reality of patriarchal culture: a woman divorced by her husband remained largely dependent on men for support, and had little choice but adultery or harlotry. Jesus says men cause such adultery with their divorce.

The pendulum has now swung the other way in a society that pounces on the shortcomings and outright abuses of men, and gives an understanding nod to the sins of women. The fundamental church counters with its generally pharisaical or patriarchal view.

Except in a court of law, the blame game doesn't produce a winner.

... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ...
~ Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

God doesn't play the blame game. He merely convicts each of us of sin where we have yet to see it.

And then He points to the cross and to His Son, offering His Holy Spirit's power to overcome.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
~ Romans 8:1 (NKJV)

Comments are welcome and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Why War from God?

"Most of God's people are content to be saved from the hell without;
they are not so anxious to be saved from the hell within."
~Robert M. McCheyne

Image source: Battles of the Bible
by Chaim Herzog & Mordechai Gichon
Fall River Press ©1978, 1997

"How can Christians say that God is loving if He ordered war ... and even the killing of children?"~ Anonymous

There's no single or simple answer, but at least one basic principle applies.

God sees the end from the beginning. Where evil has taken root, He does not need to allow it to grow to maturity before He knows what kind of fruit will come of it.

The remainder of my answer appears at Bullets & Butterflies.

Question of the Week: Do Christians Sin?

"Good and Evil: The Devil Tempting a Young Woman"
Andre Jacques Victor Orsel 1832
Image source: art.com

Is it true that Christians "can't" sin?
~ Hannah Meyer

This question usually arises from 1 John 3:9-10. Here's the Analytical Literal Translation (ALT) text:

Every one having been begotten from God is not practicing sin, because His seed abides in him, and he is not able to be sinning, because he has been begotten from God. By this are revealed [who are] the children of God and the children of the devil: every one not practicing righteousness is not from God, and the one not loving his brother.

Here is why the child of God, born again in Jesus, does not sin.

God's Word reproduces spiritual life in His children, not sin.
To be "begotten from God," is to be born again through the seed of God. Whether seed is of a plant, human, or God Himself, "seed" implants and reproduces life. God's seed is His Word (logos, Greek for "word"), whether manifest as Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), or as the living sayings of God from the Bible (Hebrews 4:12). If the Word of God is implanted in a person and takes hold, the spiritual life of God is reproduced in His new child.

God's children gain the legal standing of Jesus—"righteous."
Those who receive God's seed—His Word, Jesus—and allow it to reproduce spiritual life are born as immortal, spiritual beings. God does not call us His children as only an affectionate metaphor. We receive a legal status of child and heir. We receive Jesus' life (sinless) in place of our life (sinful). Our standing before God is changed from "sinner" to "righteous." We are no longer guilty of any sin. No matter what we do, it is not counted against us as sin.

God's children grow in likeness to God, hating sin ...
Though we gain a new spiritual status, we continue to live in sinful flesh, which dies. As we grow in likeness to God, sin is something we will become increasingly aware of (see Romans 7:15-20), continue to repent of, and hate enough to not willfully practice. Paul describes the situation of sinning but hating it as "wretched," and comforts us with the words, "Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

... while practicing righteousness and love.
Children of the King are royalty, who are not judged by the law, but are instead members of His court, outside the law. However, the King holds His royal children to a higher standard of character than mere duty to obey the law. We are to behave as royalty, like the King Himself, out of love for our Father. And though we are no longer subject to the death penalty of law, we are subject to the discipline of our Father, Who takes a dim view of His children defaming His name with bad behavior.

A shorter explanation might modify the cancer mantra and simply say, "I may have sin, but sin doesn't have me."

For further information on this topic, readers may be interested in
"Lie of Hell #2: No More Worry About Sin."

: : :

This post originally appeared at Bullets & Butterflies. To see ongoing dialogue in comments posted there click here.

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

No Longer a Slave

Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
~ Galatians 4:7 (NKJV)

If one views captivity as natural, freedom from slavery will not be desired, nor will liberty be valued even when offered as a free gift.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Generational Sin?

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future. We make discoveries about ourselves."
~ Gail Lumet Buckley

"The LORD God [is] merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."
~ Exodus 34:6-7 (NKJV)

"Does this biblical curse still exist today?"
~ Bud Ezekiel

As surely as the Lord is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth—yes, sin is indeed visited upon successive generations.

This is most obvious when people imitate the same sin they observe in the world, often in a context which makes sin look normal. Another explanation for the same negative behaviors occurring in multiple generations is genetic predispositions being passed on in the flesh. (Those related to some forms of mental illness are one example; the human disposition to sin is another.)

But what about spiritual factors? The Bible says God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). When otherwise inexplicable forces seem to be powerfully at work for evil, presence of the devil (a demon) is a possibility. Evil spiritual forces may even follow a generation in the person separated from a parent, such as by death or adoption.

The person belonging to Christ is inhabited by the Holy Spirit, and need not fear being possessed by a demon. Yet we can still be influenced, tempted, and attacked by demons:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
~ 1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)

God has not left us powerless against sin:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
~ 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV)

Iniquity is visited upon our generation by the devil, the world, and our own flesh desires. Knowing that the devil is an adversary out to get us should prompt daily training with the spiritual armor provided by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:10-18). Such practice readies us to defeat temptation, regardless of its source.

A closing thought is that with God, even His curse works for our good.

Christians will face sin which feels irresistible. We are then frustrated by seeming inability to overcome sin and its inevitable suffering. But like a pregnant woman compelled by love to overcome the temptation to take in unhealthy substances which can hurt her child, the realization that our sin hurts others besides ourselves works together with love to compel us to muster the resistance we cannot otherwise find.

Those in Christ are members of one body. Any sin to which we yield is visited upon our natural and spiritual family. There is no such thing as a sin we can "get away with."

ADDITIONAL NOTE TO READERS ~
If it wasn't absolutely clear above: we are not powerless against sin, no matter what word is used for it, no matter its source in our lives. Next week's question will be about the different words for sin / kinds of sin, and about overcoming sin.

Tomorrow: Generational Blessing.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image Source: corbisimages.com

: : :

This post originally appeared at Bullets & Butterflies. To see additional comments click here.

As Far as the East is from the West

"Nearness to God is the foundation of a creature's happiness."
~ Isaac Watts

As Far as the East is from the West
#salvation

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
~ Psalms 103:11-12 (NKJV)

In Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin... Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
~ 1 John 3:5-6,9 (NKJV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

The north and south poles are 12,436 miles apart. No such extreme point exists between east and west. The distance between them is not infinite. The two are simply opposed to one another without measurement.

The Hebrew word for transgression is pesha. It means the sin of rebellion, revolt, or to throw off authority. Such rebellion puts us in opposition to God—as opposed as east and west.

When we come to fear the Lord—to recognize Him as Almighty God and stand down from opposing Him—He makes available the mercy of Calvary. There God took the transgression of man upon Himself and removed it "as far as the east is from the west." God now draws near.

God once stood afar off. Now sin is far removed. Sin once tightly bound us. He is now tightly bound to us. Sin was once deeply inside of us. He is now inside of us.

Holy God will not have sin where He resides. Thus sin cannot be in us. Never.

If we commit sinful thoughts, feelings, words and actions, how are they not sin? Because they are no longer attributed to us. No matter what we do, it is no longer counted as sin, for then it would also touch Him.

This is no license to permit sin to abound—a topic of Hebrews 10:26-29 and well-covered in other posts here. It simply describes the liberty in which we walk as new creations.

Precious Abba, what words could we offer in gratitude for what You have done? You have taken what is most disgusting in our lives, filled with death, and exchanged Yourself—fullness of lovingkindness, goodness, light, peace, life, joy, love. We stand in awe.

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Photo from facilities.pps.k12.or.us

Restitution

"When you live in the past, it costs you the present."
~ Carol Baird

Restitution
#encouragement

"When a man or woman commits any sin ... he shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the LORD ..."
~ Numbers 5:6-8 (NKJV)

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."
~ Luke 19:8 (NKJV)

The Lord’s law given through Moses directed that restitution include additional damages. He also provided not only that restitution be paid to a surviving relative, but that in the absence of one restitution be made to God—for He owns all people and therefore all debt, and God has no statute of limitations after which no restitution is appropriate.

In Jesus we may obtain forgiveness for sin itself. But like Zacchaeus, in our freedom from sin’s debt we realize the desire to also restore others. If restitution for past sin can be made, it is fitting to do so.

When one considers all the trespasses for which one might pay restitution, the past becomes an oppressive burden too heavy to bear. But our compassionate Deliverer makes allowance for restitution which time or distance or resources prevent making. He allows us to pay to Him the restitution which sets us fully free from the past. (And when we forgive others, we are likewise set free from being debt holders by releasing collection to God.)

How is restitution paid to God? Like the hymn author who gratefully recognized the great and amazing grace he’d received, each of us can say, "Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be."

It is a debt paid back in love.

Father God, we thank You for making allowance for ALL the debt of our sin. Thank You for the precious blood of Your Son, for which we cannot too often express our gratitude. Thank You for granting freedom so fully. Thank You for compelling of us our debt of love with Your love.

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Exhibit E: Christ Crucified

Our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with ... There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
~ Romans 6:6; 8:1 (NKJV)

But we preach Christ crucified.
~ 1 Corinthians 1:23 (NKJV)

If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin... If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen ...
~ John 15:22-24 (NKJV)

If I could choose only one chapter from the New Testament from which I could share, it would be Romans 8, arguably the most powerful passage of the entire Bible.

Having set the scene in his case for Christ, Paul now pulls out all the stops with three more exhibits. The greatest one is Christ Himself and His crucifixion.

Christ attested to Himself with His words and works. He spoke wisdom (and wit) greater than any man. He performed miracles utterly impossible for anyone else. His greatest work was accomplished in being crucified, and thereby overcoming the sin responsible for all injustice, all human suffering, all affliction and disease.

Once a person feels the weight of condemnation for sin, it is a burden too heavy to bear. Christ shouldered that crushing load at the last supper, evidenced its horror at Gethsemane, and did away with it at Calvary. The "body of sin" is an encumbrance we are no longer meant to know.

When we go to the cross with Jesus Christ, allow ourselves to be covered with His blood, and become identified as His, God stamps us "NO CONDEMNATION." We may not fully achieve God's perspective of such a thing in this life. We may continue to lay claim to sin which is no longer ours. We may cower under the oppression of knowing the harm our sin has wrought. Nonetheless:
We
are
not
condemned.

If this is not a case for Christ, what is?

Father God, we are frail children of dust. We hear the words which say we are not condemned, we perhaps believe them with our minds, but we cannot fathom how to make them real in our hearts. Please enable us to see ourselves as You see us—no better, no worse. Thank You for Your Son—Your beloved Lamb—and for His precious blood.

Feedback appreciated! Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Health and Healing

"Behold, I will bring [Jerusalem] health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth... I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities ... Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.' "
~ Jeremiah 33:6-9 (NKJV)

For whom the Lord loves He chastens.
~ Hebrews 12:6 (NKJV)

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ ... and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
~ Ephesians 2:4-6 (NKJV)

I fear I shall sound repetitive. Yet God's Word is repetitive. We are slow to understand. Slow to believe. Slow to live out the truths God manifests to us. So like the loving Father He is, He gently reminds us over and over of the truths we need.

Yet again, the "weeping prophet" Jeremiah is confronted with the great sin and punishment from God which was his burden to witness. Yet again, the Lord assures that His intent as Jerusalem is rebuked with suffering is to restore her to health and healing, because of His great love.

God dealt with our sin in the blood of His Son. He has made us alive—past tense. He has raised us up—past tense. He has made us sit in the heavenly places—past tense. He has already accomplished the work of our health and healing. He continually reminds us that it is ours.

Father, You are rich in mercy and great in love. You grant to us abundance of peace and truth. The health and healing of our souls lies in Your great compassion for us. Please impress upon our hearts with great clarity the life and place of being raised up and the seat with You in heavenly places which is ours.

Your feedback is appreciated. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

New Creation

"Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice."
~ Jeremiah 31:4 (NKJV)

Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with [idols of] stone and wood.
~ Jeremiah 3:9 (NIV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

The Bible's metaphors are often truly outrageous. When God refers to Jerusalem as "virgin of Israel," He does so as He pours out punishment for her spiritual adultery with idols. The title seems as ridiculous as putting a robe over a harlot and then calling her pure and chaste.

The Lord was speaking to her in the way He yet intended to bring to pass. He was looking to the future, when His adulterous people would again be pure and virginal. This work is fully completed in Christ, who makes us a new creation, restoring to our souls the purity of sinlessness.

I personally know many people (myself included) who continue to wrestle with the stain of past sin. Even if our mind embraces the Word of God which says we're made new, we're painfully aware of all the old.

It is so important to distinguish between temporal and eternal consequences, between feelings and truth, between the way we see ourselves and the way God sees us. If He has the audacity to call an adulteress a virgin, it is within His right to say so and within His power to make it so.

If He says anyone in Christ is a new creation—born again as pure, sinless, and holy—then it is so.

Lord, thank You, thank You, thank You for cleaning away the stain of sin with Your own blood. Thank You that the debt of past sin is paid in full and nothing more need be done to wipe it away. Please make the truth for our souls also true in our hearts and heads. Please increase our faith and ability to believe You, that we may go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.

And we know that all things work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose...
Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called;
whom He called, these He also justified;
and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us? ...
Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?
It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns?
~ Romans 8:28,30-31,33-34 (NKJV)

Your feedback is appreciated. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.