Fools For Christ's Sake

 "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise"  (Ephesians 5:15, KJV).  
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable [to be pitied]"  (1 Cor. 15:19, KJV).   
"We are fools for Christ's sake..." (1 Cor. 4:10, NKJV).
"If we are out of mind, it is for God; if we have a sound mind, it is for you"  (2 Cor. 5:13, HCSB).

This is a highly misconstrued proposition; namely, that we (should or have to) look like foolish bumpkins or buffoons for the sake of the gospel.  "Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools..." (1 Cor. 4:10, NLT).  This is not to be interpreted that we are fools in reality, but our hope of eternal life and the subsequent turning our back on what the world has to offer, in exchange for a heavenly prize and the belief in the supernatural and eternal soul makes us looks foolish to the appraisal of man.  Hosea 9:7 says that the prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools (cf. NLT). When we seem foolish, it is only to bring glory to God.

This doesn't give us a license to be unwise or not to be savvy of the world's ways and have good common sense and wisdom.  The fool in the biblical sense is really one who doubts God's existence in his heart, not one only who is naive or a simpleton.  We are not to flaunt our faith (neither are we to privatize it either, for that matter), or to wear our religion on our sleeves in showy religiosity.  People are not to look at us and frown that we Christians are a kooky lot and fit for the asylum because of bizarre behavior.  We are not to become offensive Christians or have a bad testimony due to ignorance and stupidity, but the offense is to be in the cross per se, not us, the messengers of the good news. Christ is the true offensive Rock that makes them stumble, not us!  We need no pseudo-offensiveness, which we create our own to make false barriers to the truth.

This implies that we are wise men who seek the Lord, and not fools who act or live foolishly!  Our faith is what's so offensive and foolish, not our walk or manner of living. Paul said that if we are sane it's for their sake, if we are insane, it's for Christ's sake.  Fellow believers should never seem insane or foolish to our estimate or impression.  I'll give you a for instance:  we seem like party-poopers or people who don't want to join in on the fun of eating, drinking, and merry-making like the others (but seek to live in light of eternity and seek to please our God).  It seems foolish. to have such faith and give up what the world has to offer for a heavenly reward.  The natural man lives for the here and now, while we set our eyes on the prize for which Christ calls us.

In summation, we don't want to create false barriers and stumbling blocks for the seeker of truth by appearing to be fools in our behavior instead of godly wise.  For example, we don't write signs all over vehicles warning our fellow man to repent, but let God open doors!  WE ARE NOT CALLED TO BE CORNY OR ODDBALLS!   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Jesus Freak

"Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach ... Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil"  (1 Tim. 3:2,7, ESV, emphasis added with italics). 
"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation..."  (Isaiah 52:7, NLT).
"The best measure of a spiritual life," says Oswald Chambers, "is not the ecstasies, but the obedience." [Don't go by feelings, they are as variable as a weather vane in a whirlwind!]

By way of definition, I define a Jesus freak as one who has sold out lock, stock, and barrel and serves God with reckless abandon, loving God with his full heart, mind, and will.   Being a so-called "Jesus freak" (note that respectable people are usually not freaks by definition), and it isn't something you advertise, by wearing attire to that effect (don't tell me or announce it, show me and prove it--don't toot your own horn or brag, let another do it for you!): it's something you demonstrate by your daily witness and share with your testimony.

Jesus didn't go around advertising or promoting the fact that He was the Son of God or even Son of David (a Messianic reference), but He didn't deny it either. Nicodemus, for example, recognized that God was with Him!  The prophet Daniel had the reputation of great integrity and piety in his faith, but he neither flaunted it nor privatized it.  We are never called to show off our faith or to look for trouble, but to look for open doors and in the process never to privatize our faith or hide it from the public either.  There comes a time to make a stand for Jesus and show our Christian colors, and there are times to keep it to yourself.  According to Isaiah 52:7 (quoted above),  even the feet are welcome of those who preach the gospel, and the key is that we are not to be offensive Christians, but only to bear the offense of the cross itself! I'm afraid they have a "zeal for God, but not according to knowledge" (cf. Romans 10:2).

If you are really a Jesus freak, you shouldn't have to tell someone, they should be able to discern it by your life's witness, whether you're a hypocrite or not.  It's not a good idea to put Christian lapels on and try to make airs that you're one of the few real Christians who aren't ashamed of Christ.  We must be sensitive to the One who opens doors no one can shut, and not strive to force them open by ourselves.  We don't shove our religion down people's throats or push our faith on others, whether they are willing to accept it or not.  The divine order is to pray to God about a person's salvation, before talking to that person and salvation about God!

Christians aren't called to be "freaks" in the common meaning of the term, but to have a sound mind and witness, and life that cannot be reprimanded or frowned upon.  One example I should bring up:  Putting Christian-promoting bumper stickers on your vehicle, when you have bad driving habits, bringing disrepute to Christ's name, which is really taking His name in vain. Now, all I'm saying is that we don't just tell our neighbor we're "Jesus freaks," but we become "Jesus freaks."  How would it sound if you went around saying, "Hi!  I'm a genius!"

Real Jesus freaks don't need to advertise--it's plain to be seen--there's evidence!  I hope by "freak" one doesn't mean eccentric or oddball, as this is never a good testimony (even though John the Baptist was), but just a fully-devoted, Spirit-filled follower of Christ!  If we really are, God will open the door and the Holy Spirit will anoint you, and it won't be you speaking, but God in you.  I've seen people trying to promote Christianity and have a glum or sullen countenance, and this is a poor advertisement for Christ and does more harm than good. "For the joy of the LORD is your strength" (cf. Neh. 8:10).

Scripture admonishes us not to practice our piety before men (cf. Matt. 6:1-2), to be seen by them and this means to let God open the door and trust Him for the opportunities and He'll make you a fisher of men!  There are certain "sound barriers" in witnessing, and we must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading, and be filled with the Spirit  (an example is the first mention of God, sin, salvation, faith, Christ, and finally the plan of salvation and the invitation as barriers to be broken down). Witnessing is to be natural, and not forced unto people when they're unwilling to hear the good news.

God absolutely must prepare a person's heart for the gospel to have any effect and it is only by His wooing that someone will come to Christ, not our persuasiveness or cleverness or gimmicks.  In short, we must earn the right to witness and it must not belie our testimony and conversation in life or lifestyle (we wait for God to open the door)--though there are exceptions to the rule, which only proves there is one.

In the strict sense of the word, all believers are freaks and this is not our home--our citizenship is in heaven (cf. Phil. 3:20)--for we are in the world, but not of it (cf. John 15:19).  The spiritual man is appraised by no natural man:  "The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment"  (1 Cor. 2:15, NIV).  The world is bound to even hate us (John 15:18, ESV, says, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.").  The world will reject you: "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted"  (2 Tim. 3:12, NIV).

However, as we willingly and openly confess Christ, we don't wear our religion on our sleeves and display a sort of offensive religiosity or superstition--we aren't Jesus freaks by virtue of claiming to be one, we must walk the walk as well--and the world's observing!
Soli Deo Gloria!   

How Faith Is Caught

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation [offering it and making it available] for all people"  (Titus 2:11, ESV).  

Some Secular Humanists believe faith is caught much the way one catches a cold; i.e., by hanging around believers and becoming "infected." Richard Dawkins wrote The God Delusion to elucidate, expound, and articulate this premise, and he believed we must be cured of our so-called illness or "mind-virus" that only those naive enough fall prey to; which is just like Freud saying religion is either a neurosis, or even a psychosis that must be healed by therapy.

The Bible does say that walking with the wise makes you wise, but no one gets faith by osmosis or being in the right crowd (it doesn't just rub off on us!), and we certainly don't inherit it either; no one gets in automatically, as from heredity or lineage, but must go through a turnstile or individually, one by one! It isn't who you know that bears any weight with God!  God's open invitation to "[taste] and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8) is valid for all who desire to know Him, and the proof of the pudding is in the eating! 

We aren't converting to a creed or adherents to a philosophy of life, but followers of a person we can have a relationship with and know individually--we are converted to Jesus!  Scripture says in Romans 10:17 (NIV) that "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."  Preaching is God's methodology of choice and the Word is His seed that He plants into our souls and causes us to grow into faith.  Preaching isn't the method of the madness but opens doors and we are born through the power of the Word (1 Thess. 2:13, ESV, says,  "And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers"). God opened Lydia's heart to respond to the gospel (cf. Acts 16:14).  God quickens faith within us and awakens us by regeneration to believe in Him and repent of our sins.  God opens our hearts (cf. Acts 14:27).  

The problem why some don't believe is that they refuse to repent:  they love their life too much to want change or transformation; i.e., they love sin, especially their pet sins and think the price is too high to get saved from them--the price for not repenting is higher! People don't have an intellectual problem but a moral one--that they don't want to live their lives for God!   You must have penitent faith (or believing repentance, if you will) to respond to the gospel message--you cannot come on your own terms!

It is true that believers encourage each other and can enable or build each other up by edification or a prophetic word, but God doesn't save groups or churches en masse, but only one by one!  The Bible challenges the skeptic to search for God; for God is no man's debtor (Matt. 7:7 says, "seek and you shall find") and God is always willing to authenticate Himself:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good..." (cf. Psalm 34:8);  Peter says in 1 Pet. 2:3 (NLT):  ".... now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness [goodness]," meaning God never disappoints anyone and no one will ever be put to shame because of Him, but God will make him a vessel of honor, doing His work.

Faith isn't something you have, it's something you do and see--our testimony must not be jeopardized! James would testify that you can see his faith by his works, while Paul said the flip side: "I'll show you my works by my faith!"   Faith is knowledge in action; it's not believing despite the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences, they say. It's important to have good role models during the formative years and to plant seeds in the youth, even if they aren't saved yet because God guarantees fruit if we don't give up (cf. Prov. 22:6). Parents are in the unique position as role models and authority figures to stand in the place of God or, in loco Dei, in Latin, and they can influence the character and attitude of their children most during their innocent (cf. Deut. 1:39 mentions an age of accountability by inference) and formative or impressionable years.

But the Bible makes it plain that faith is not rubbed off or caught like a fever, but the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to hear the Word of God as it's preached and expounded.  Again, faith isn't inherited, but parents in the unique position of having more direct and indirect influence, and leaving lasting impressions they'll never forget, even in old age!  For example, a child may recall:  "I remember how Grandma used to always say grace before meals and say a good-night prayer to bless everyone in the family!"

Someday conviction will catch up with them and the Hound of Heaven will come knocking at their door to be let in for salvation and fellowship.  The key to remember is that children are experts at spotting insincerity, acting, pretense, and hypocrisy--you cannot pass on a dubious faith as a lasting legacy!  The problem with most children is that they have grown up to be just like Dad, and that is not good news in some cases!

Every family needs its own Great Awakening and spiritual rebirth, regardless of whether parents are believers--only planting seeds of the Word are guaranteed fruit, not worldly wisdom or common sense.  Just like Socrates suddenly awoke from his dogmatic slumber, you never can tell the potential in a person who gives his life to Christ--and we all have unrealized potential that God sees in us as vessels of honor.

It all boils down to conviction of the Holy Spirit: "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts"  (2 Pet. 1:19, NIV).  In the final analysis, it's not always how big your faith is, but how thorough your repentance.  Soli Deo Gloria!

My Utmost For His Highest Or Work Ethic

"And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart.  So he prospered'  (2 Chron. 31:21, NKJV). 
"... [F]or they have wholly followed the LORD" (Numbers 32:12, KJV).
"...[F]or the people had a mind to work" (Nehemiah 4:6, NKJV).
"...I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease...?'" (Neh. 6:3, NKJV).  
"The best use of a life is to invest it in something that will outlast it."  (William James, Psychologist, and Humanist) 

If anything is worth doing, it's worth doing right!  Scripture admonishes us to do our work heartily as unto the Lord and not as people-pleasers (cf. Col. 3:23).  We don't brown-nose our way into God's graces and ingratiate God; we are willing servants, or bond-servants, and do everything in the name of the Lord (i.e., for His glory and according to His will).  Paul says in 1 Cor. 10:31 that whatsoever we do, it should be to the glory of God.

Work is our basic calling in life and it is not a curse, but a blessing and virtue to show us the nature of God at work through us, using us as vessels of honor.  We should enjoy our work for this reason, that it's a gift of God to give fulfillment--but don't let your identity be tied to your job, because jobs don't last, only purposes do!  We can never gain the approbation of God, but are forever in debt (i.e., we cannot pay Him back, because grace is something we don't deserve, cannot earn, and can never repay).  

John 3:27, NLT, says that "God appoints each man's work"--we all have a calling to fulfill and some of us are called into special ministries, but He anoints us for the task at hand.  Work is worship (anytime we offer ourselves to God's service!), and all work is dignified if done in the right spirit.  It's not what you do, according to Mother Teresa, but how much love you put into it!

We all have different gifts and the same Spirit decides which one (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11), not us, and it's for the benefit of the body at large, but we all should have the same Spirit anointing us as we are united in the Lord to do His work--primarily to complete the Great Commission.  God isn't looking for halfhearted followers or lukewarm believers, nor even timid workers who are afraid to "get down and dirty with mankind" or to do the dirty work of serving (remember Jesus and the order of the towel in the Upper Room!).

It was said of Joshua and Caleb that they wholly followed the Lord!  "The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him..." (2 Chronicles 16:9, NLT).  Caleb says upon entering Canaan:  "... For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the LORD my God..." (cf. Joshua 14:9, NLT).  We need Christians with spunk and gusto, who will hustle for the Lord with all their might!  It was also said of Pete Rose, who was called "Mr. Hustle!"

It is important to realize the gravity of serving the Lord, and we must take it seriously and not do a halfhearted job:  "Cursed are those who refuse to do the LORD's work..." (Jer. 48:10, NLT); "Cursed is he who does the work of the LORD, with slackness..." (Jer. 48:10, ESV).  God hates laziness and we must endeavor to always do our best and not slack off or grow lax in the faith, enduring to the end of the race set before us.  He who is given much; much will be expected of him:  "... Everyone to whom much was given, of him, much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Luke 12:48, ESV).

We are never to play the let's compare game and commend ourselves with ourselves, for we all have different responsibilities and no one is in a position to judge us except our Lord (2 Cor. 10:12, ESV, says, "... But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement.  How ignorant!"

They say that attitude determines altitude and we all have the freedom and ability to choose our attitude toward our work:  either enjoy what you are doing or learn how to in the Spirit; not everyone has the liberty to engage in what they enjoy naturally, but we can find meaning in menial work as Bro. Lawrence, the seventeenth-century, Carmelite monk, endeavored to do and wrote The Practice of the Presence of God to prove this reality and possibility.

To conclude with a verse and word to the wise:  "I replied, 'But my work seems so useless!  I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the LORD's hand; I will trust God for my reward''  (Isaiah 49:4, NLT);   What's more, note:  FAITHFUL SERVANTS NEVER RETIRE FROM THE LORD'S WORK.
Soli Deo Gloria!