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Spare Change - October 2022

I have never met anyone that enjoys being disciplined.  I certainly do not like it.  I remember when I was a child and would do something wrong, I would do everything to cover up my “crimes” so my parents wouldn't find out.  Eventually they would find out and I would be punished.  It was always unpleasant, however, now as an adult I look back and I am thankful for the discipline of my parents.  Now I understand that they loved me, which translated into them wanting the best for me and meant teaching me to obey authority.  It is not just children that need discipline, though – we adults need discipline from time to time. Sometimes it is a boss, legal system, or some other authority in our lives and sometimes it is the Lord.  Yes, you read that correctly, the Lord disciplines His followers sometimes. Hebrews 12 teaches us this important truth:

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? Hebrews 12:5-7

The author of Hebrews is dealing with the issue of sin and the discouragement it has caused in some of the believers' lives.  The author spent chapter 11 giving examples of imperfect people from the Old Testament that were saved by grace through faith.  In chapter 12 he turns his attention to his audience to give them direct encouragement.  They are still struggling with sin even though they are redeemed people.  The consequences of their sin is giving them great discouragement.  The author helps them understand that these consequences are what God is using to discipline them. He is like a father that is trying to teach his children to obey.  

God wants us to obey Him and strive for holiness.  Right now, you might be saying, “But I thought God was full of grace and mercy, why is He disciplining me?”  First, a disciplining parent is a loving parent.  I am not talking about an abusive parent, rather one that is exercising biblical discipline to help their child to learn and grow into a godly
person.  This is what God is helping us to do.  Second, as John Piper says, Christianity has both a restful and wrestling side.  God’s word teaches us that when we come to Christ, we receive a great peace through the Spirit of God.  We also must wrestle daily in sanctification to throw off sin and pursue holiness.  This often seems like a wrestling match between the spirit and the flesh; however, rest assured Christ has won and will one day we will be made holy. 

In the meantime, it is our job to recognize the discipline of God and use it to rid our lives of sin.  We must remember that the discipline of God is a good thing.  The writer of Hebrews reminds us later in verse 11 -13 of the hope that discipline has: 

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.  Hebrews 12:11-13

My encouragement to you today is to be reassured that when we are disciplined by God it is because our Heavenly Father loves us.  We must receive that discipline like a child.  It will be unpleasant, but it is for our good.  So, we can all say, "Thanks be to our Lord and Father who cares enough to correct us when we stray!”

Student Ministry - October 2022

Dear Church Family,

One thing that has been on the forefront of my mind lately is the reality of evil in the world. We all know evil exists, but sometimes I think we are tempted to believe that evil is not a very prevalent or pressing issue. It almost seems like evil is something you see in TV shows, but it can’t really be all that bad in the real world, can it? People don’t really do evil like that intentionally, do they? But the sad and disorienting reality is that when you look at the real world and real people, evil is much more prevalent and problematic than we sometimes give credit. When you read stories of decapitations in broad daylight, parents murdering children, and corrupt people in leadership, it can make you wonder if we are the ones living in a TV show. But reality is stranger than fiction. And the point I’m really pushing is that people are evil. 

As soon as you say that people are evil, you can imagine someone automatically jumping up to say “no, people aren’t evil… they just do bad things sometimes. And let’s consider the circumstances. Maybe there is a reason for the bad thing they did. And if you think about that, maybe the bad thing they did wasn’t really that bad after all.” These are all excuses. A phrase I’ve been using for some years now is that there might be reasons for our sin, but they aren’t necessarily excuses. This means that just because we can understand why someone might do something when we put ourselves in their shoes, that doesn’t always mean that what they did was ok. We all have reasons for speeding on the highway, but extremely rarely do any of those reasons justify what we are doing. The same goes for the evil actions done by people in the world. The Bible makes it clear in Romans 3:10 that “There is none righteous, not even one.” We know that all people are sinful and capable of great evil. But until we really accept that fact, we won’t be able to make a bit of difference in the world.

Honestly, we see the world trying to make a difference to no avail all the time. Secular entities in the world (and even some non-secular entities) try to combat evil with all sorts of ideologies and philosophies, systems and services that ultimately fall flat. They may provide some sort of stay on the effect of man’s evil, but they do not solve it. Sometimes they even increase the amount of evil actions done by man. One need only look at the effects of socialism everywhere it has been attempted. No, these “solutions” do not work, and there is one major reason why… they ignore the real problem, the sinfulness of the human heart. And because they ignore the real problem, they also ignore the true solution, the gospel.

If the gospel is not the center of whatever ideology, philosophy, system, or service you provide, then you do not have a solution that will make a lasting difference. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can truly curb evil, because only the gospel changes the human heart. Consider how the gospel is the reality of the Son of God becoming man, living a perfectly holy life, dying for the punishment of our sin, raising to life on the third day, and giving the Holy Spirit and eternal life to those who believe in Him… it is that radical cleansing of a sinful heart and presence of the Holy Spirit that makes the evil man into a saint. No, not a perfect man, but a man with holy desires and a holy standing before God. That is what we need! We need new hearts that want to love God and live for Him! No system or service provides that unless it centers around the gospel. Likewise, no single person can make a change without the gospel being center to his life.

So, if you see evil in the world and it dismays you, remember the solution has been given. What we need to do is center ourselves around the life changing gospel of Jesus Christ and do all we can to bring it to bear on our own sinful hearts and the sinful hearts of those living around us. When we do that, God will change our hearts and theirs, and an everlasting impact will be made on the amount of evil in the world. And thankfully we can trust that one day, when Jesus returns, evil will be done away with for good. But until then, let’s be thankful He transformed our evil hearts before that day, and let’s shine the light of the gospel into our present darkness.