Cheap Grace

Easy-believism or cheap grace (first popularized by Dietrich Bonhoeffer) has been a constant misconception of our faith.  Salvation is indeed free, but not cheap!  It will cost something and you will be tested.  The most obvious one that some won't be willing to pay is to turn from a life of sin, like living in sin and not being willing to change that lifestyle.  If we want to live godly in Christ, we will suffer persecution, according to Jesus.  We must be willing to seek first the kingdom of God (cf. Matt. 6:33) above all other priorities, dreams, ambitions, and whatever is ours--because all ultimately belongs to Him, because Jesus doesn't want these things--He wants us as living sacrifices (cf. Rom. 12:1)!

That's what He meant when He said we must deny ourselves and follow Him.  We don't know where He will lead us or know God's laid out a plan for our whole life at salvation but must be willing to do His will, whatever it is in the complete surrender of our wills to His.  Jesus also said that we must love Him preeminently above family, friends, children, spouse, and even self.  In the last days, men will be lovers of themselves (cf. 2 Tim. 3:2), or "looking out for number one!"

Jesus did everything He could to discourage insincere followers and make salvation "well-nigh impossible."   But it is worth the cost to follow Jesus through thick and thin and the reward is eternal. The more abundant life we experience begins in the here and now, as we live in light of eternity with God's blessing in all we do in His name.  True prosperity isn't necessarily higher income, not even fame, or power.  What being prosperous entails is God's blessings on our ventures and helping us to find what He will bless us in.  The disciples were inquisitive about what their reward would be since they gave up everything to follow Him, and Jesus said that it would multiply not add (like ten times, instead of ten more).

Jesus had no trouble attracting admirers or people who wanted to be buddies or sidekicks, but He was looking for disciples who would devote their lives to the learning of Him and be following Him--this is what He meant by those who worship God in Spirit and in truth.  Jesus said that if we abide in His Word we are disciples indeed (cf. John 8:31).  Don't be someone to whom Jesus might say, "You have sacrificed nothing!"  This is an awful rebuke of a disobedient life, and some believers may be saved as if by fire and by the skin of the teeth, so to speak.

The reward that we strive for is everlasting and we should be inspired by athletes who make great sacrifices and strive for a temporal prize that fades away.  One of the metaphors that Christ uses for the believer is one of an athlete--we are to exercise discipline in our life and set our eyes on Jesus and finish the race He has set before us.  If athletes can endure the discipline and think it will be worth a temporal prize, so much the more should we be inspired to make sacrifices for eternal prizes in Christ's kingdom, and even the ultimate sacrifice, because we are considered worthy to suffer for His kingdom (cf. Philippians 1:29).  

The prize we seek is worth more than anything on earth and we should be willing to sacrifice anything on earth to gain it--God doesn't ask everyone to make great sacrifices, but He does expect them to be willing to do so.  Nothing on earth (fame, fortune, power) is worth losing our soul for and Jesus said succinctly (cf. Mark 8:36), "What shall it gain a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?"  One soul is worth more to God than the entire world! You cannot put a price on salvation nor on the joy that a believer has in Christ.

Jesus never made it seem easy to be a bed of roses to be a believer and admonished us to count the cost, but "all these things shall be added" unto us if we follow Christ. The problem with most seekers is that they want the benefits without the Benefactor.  We are not to get a martyr's complex either, thinking that the more we suffer, the more spiritual we are, or that we gain salvation through suffering or martyrdom--Jesus isn't calling us to die for him, but to take up our cross and follow Him regardless of the results and through thick and thin.  We are called to deny ourselves and this is the unique sacrifice of Christianity, and the one that makes it unattractive to some, because they are unwilling to heed Christ's "hard sayings." When we suffer for His sake, we shall in His glory--no cross--no glory!
Soli Deo Gloria!

Friend Of Publicans And Sinners

"The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray" (Proverbs 12:26, NKJV--italics and boldface mine).

"...to depart from evil is understanding"  (Job 28:28, NASB).

"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil"  (cf. Proverbs 8:13).

"You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean" (cf. Lev. 10:10).

"A people without discernment will come to ruin"  (cf. Hosea 4:14).


Jesus was called the "friend of publicans and sinners" but did not say that of Himself ("You are my friends if you do what I command you," Jesus, in John 15:14, ESV), it was only assumed since He went where they were and was not afraid to get down and dirty with mankind. Jesus said that His friends were those who obey Him.  But it's the sinners who admit it that are closer to Him than those who think they're righteous   He was with them but did not condone their behavior, nor alter His mission to save man from sin.  He was not influenced by their sin, which is not something we can boast:  "Do not be deceived:  'Evil company corrupts good habits'" (1 Cor. 15:33, NKJV).  Note that He saved and loved us before we were His friends.

Are we to justify our friendship with the world as being like Jesus?  He who is the friend of the world, is the enemy of God, according to James 4:4. If we spend most of our time with sinners and little of it with God's people, who will influence us the most?  Jesus could be exposed to sin and no corrupted by it because He is holy, but we are highly influenced by our surroundings and environment, not to mention the kind of people we choose to associate with.

We can not justify watching sinful programs that are indecent, lewd, suggestive, disgusting, and risque, because we are "friends of sinners" (like Jesus).  Show discretion in entertainment choices.  Don't be like Demas who loved this present world and departed from the faith.  God has given us a discerning mind to know good and evil and we are to use it, to be wise as serpents, but innocent as doves.

You are what you think about.  It is also said that you're not what you think you are, but what you think you are. "Keep [guard] your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring [flow] the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV).  "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he," Prov. 23:7    Be aware of the wiles of the devil and don't be ignorant (cf. 2 Cor. 2:11). "Come out from among them and be separate."2 Cor. 6:17.    

We are all vulnerable and susceptible to Satan's influence: He is the god of the media, entertainment world, academia, and even this world-system, and we are not to be influenced by this, but come out of it and be separate--that is what holiness is about.  "....without holiness shall no man see the Lord..."  (cf. Heb. 12:14).  We are to be cheerful that He overcame the world (cf. John 16:33).   He who walks with the wise will become wise, according to Solomon and a "companion of fools suffers harm."   Soli Deo Gloria!

True Conversion

We are not born free and innocent (with a tabula rasa or blank slate) as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and others allege, we are born in slavery to sin and in bondage; Augustine said that we are "free but not freed."  That is interpreted as meaning that we retain the ability to make choices, but they are limited and defined by God (only if I throw a ball, do you have the choice to catch it!).  We have lost our "liberty" in other words.  Adam had the ability to sin, and the ability not to sin, while after the fall only had the inability not to sin--or he could only sin!   Only Christ has the inability to sin and proved it at the temptation from Satan. On the other hand, we are constantly in a state of rebellion!  When we are saved, it is irresistible and efficacious, because no one is able to resist God's will (cf. Romans 9:19) and grace is sovereign and reigns (cf. Romans 5:21).

God doesn't control us like a puppet on a string--we are not automatons--and God never forces with an outside influence us to do something we don't want to do; however, He made our nature and we act accordingly (God is the one who made us so choleric or melancholy, for example). This is seen by analogy when you observe a dove eating seed and a raven feasting on carrion--note that they both eat according to their desires and what they want; i.e.,  they are both acting according to their nature, which God created.  We were not consulted in the makeup of our nature--God is the Potter and we are the clay in His hands.

Our will has been compared in analogy to a prisoner in jail who has the privilege to play poker with the guys, or to smoke in the lounge, but not to go out to exercise, except when given permission, and certainly, he cannot leave the grounds at will, nor does he have free rein, and you could also compare our will to a man on a train playing cards and not knowing where he is going or where the train is headed and must be awoken by the conductor to make him cognizant of this.  However, you can be converted, even in jail, as the Lord's freeman and be free in spirit--remember, analogies can break down if over-analyzed.  We don't need free wills to be saved!   We need wills made free!  

Today's parlance defines conversion as merely a change to a more "responsible lifestyle" to cope with your life; however, in authentic conversion (which involves regeneration, faith, and repentance), our whole being is converted--even our wills are depraved and unable to please God.   Conversion is more than an acceptable way of having a nervous breakdown, and of "getting religion." It is a change from the inside out so that the person becomes a new person with new desires of the will, as well as a new heart for the things of God and a new comprehension with the intellect of His will and what pleases Him. Only man has the heart to love God, a mind to know Him, and a will to obey Him and all must be converted:  Our whole nature is involved, not just our emotions--so don't think you are saved just because you "love Jesus." He may simply be a Jesus of your own creation, imagination, or fabrication.

We must obey (an act of a will made free) Jesus to prove our love, as He said, "If you love Me, you will obey My commandments." If we are disobedient, it proves we do not believe:  "Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes"  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, martyred by the Nazis). The two are linked and correlated and so our wills must be changed to be willing to do God's will--after salvation, we learn to obey!  We are able to make the choice as to whether we are willing to do God's will as a sign of positive inclination, but no one is inclined to come to Him apart from the wooing of the Spirit, according to John 6:44, ESV ("No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him..."). John 6:65, ESV says, "... [N]o one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.")

Naturally, we do not love God and are not inclined to come to Him in love, we are incapable of comprehending the gospel message apart from being enlightened, and the eyes our heart is opened, and we do not want to obey God, because of a rebellious will that we are born with, as we are born in sin and are not sinners because we sin, but sin because we are sinners!  We are only acting according to our nature, and our nature needs conversion--no one is good and does God's will!  Our wills are in defiance or you could say we are volitionally defiant and out of God's will and plan as lost sinners until we get converted, and are found by Christ the Great Shepherd.  We can do no good as lost sinners to please God and all our works are as filthy rags according to Isaiah 64:6.  We were lost but now are found (by God--i.e., we didn't find Him at our salvation!).

Conversion involves the whole person which means the whole heart (which represents the whole being of man in Scripture--emotions, will, and intellect).  God makes the unwilling, willing and all God's people shall be willing (Psalm 110:3 in the ESV says,"...Your people shall offer themselves freely in the day of your power").  Paul says it plain as day in Philippians 2:13 that God is always at work within us to make us willing to do His will and in Col. 1:29 that God powerfully works within him.

If it were not for Christ, none of us would be saved nor have the desire (had He not softened our heart and turned it from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh according to Ezekiel 36:26. We were not more meritorious than others, more intelligent, talented, nor willing!  We were destined unto salvation according to the good pleasure of His will.   No one can take credit for his salvation as Jonah said, in Jonah 2:9 that "Salvation is of the LORD." This means we didn't even cooperate and do anything--if we had to do anything, we would mess it up.  God does all the work and gets all the glory as He gives us the gift of faith.

Jesus told His disciples, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" in John 15:5 and this means we are helpless to do God's will and our wills are in bondage, as Martin Luther declared in his book that shook the Reformation era, The Bondage of the Will.  He said that calling our will free was too grandiose a word for it and is misleading--God is ultimately in charge and in control of our destiny, not us, as He is the One who chose us--we didn't choose Him (cf. John 15:16).  Believing you came to Christ of your own free will is like taking credit for your salvation and giving yourself some of the glory that alone belongs to God--if you came to Him alone, you probably left Him alone, too.  Jesus through the power of the Spirit compels us to come into His Father's house (compelle intrare).

And so when you say you have "free will" be sure to make it clear what you are positing, because you don't have the power, will, nor the inclination to please God or do His will of receiving Christ apart from the grace of God.  We do retain the natural freedom to make choices like what we want to eat, but spiritual and moral freedom is curtailed and limited because of our total depravity, which includes total depravity of the will, as part of the makeup of our human nature.  In summation, Paul said, "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy" (Romans 9:16, ESV).  Soli Deo Gloria!

What Seems Like Bigotry

"The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10, NASB). [Jesus came for the riffraff, the scum, the outcast, the ragamuffin, and even the flagrant public sinners!]
"This man receives sinners, and eats with them" (Luke 15:2, NASB).

Some Christians give Christ a bad rap by their homophobia and hatred of the LGBT community. They believe these people are "perverts" and their sins should be outlawed.  I do not believe in legislating morality or criminalizing people with "sin laws."  Laws are only what the general public believes is wrong and we must not forget that legality is not morality.  The big issue confronting the public today is of transgender people using the restroom of their inclination, whether it is the same as their birth sex or not.  Imposing Christian "Shari'ah law" on the unbeliever is a violation of rights as equal citizens.  This is not a "Christian" nation (it is secular) and we cannot usher in the millennium by legislation, executive order, or court order--Jesus will when He comes in glory.  We live in a multicultural nation with many religions that all have equal protection under the law to worship according to their own conscience as long as it doesn't break established law.  It is true that many of our forefathers were Christian, but the "times, they are a-changin'," according to Bob Dylan.

This type of bias affects other areas of our culture as well:  Some people refuse to accept mentally ill, handicapped, or disabled individuals.  It seems like they believe it will rub off on them, like the Pharisees wondering why Jesus ate with publicans and sinners and touched the unclean lepers. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was only allowed to minister to the "untouchables" of the Indian caste system.  We are called to reach out to people and build bridges, not tear them down.  It doesn't mean you share in their sin because you associate with them (guilt by association).

The problem with some Christians is that they are legalists:  They see sins, and not sin!  The problem is not that people drink, lie, steal, cheat, fornicate, or gamble, but that they have a sin nature that Christ can deliver them from.  We all must repent of our sins and be restored to a relationship with God so we can overcome our sins.  We all have a dark side that is exposed to no one like the moon and all our righteousness is as filthy rags (cf. Isa. 64:6).   We are in no position to judge because we all have "feet of clay" and must say:  "There but for the grace of God, go I," as George Whitefield said when he saw a man go to the gallows.  Soli Deo Gloria!

In Adam's Fall, We Sinned All

The title is from The New England Primer and shows how Adam represented us all in his willful sin. He was posse non peccare and posse peccare or able not to sin and able to sin according to Augustine. God gave him the free will to choose to love Him; however, it is not that Adam chose evil as some suggest, but that he chose self over God.  He was the head of his wife and is the head of our race and we would've done the same thing.  His sin was a prototype of all sin in rejecting God's divine nature.  Especially His wisdom, love, justice, and omniscience.  

They rejected God's authority, doubted His goodness, disputed His wisdom, repudiated His justice, contradicted His truth, and spurned His grace (someone has said). Eve was deceived and may have been confused, but Adam knew what he was doing and chose to be on Eve's side rather than God, probably because of his love for her and not wanting to lose her to death.

God had every reason to place a test in the garden (note that the first sin was committed in a perfect environment) and there was only one command to obey--anyone could've kept it.  God, for sure, didn't want obedience without love and wanted man to love of a free will or voluntarily  (I use the term free will sparingly because of Martin Luther's book The Bondage of the Will (De Servo Arbritrio) in which he says it is too grandiose of a term.  (By the way, Calvin was in agreement.) There is a natural will and a spiritual will.  Free will has been debated since St. Augustine of Hippo, who said we are "free but not freed." He meant we do have free will in a sense, but no liberty.  

Our nature is enslaved to sin and even the will is depraved and unable to please God. God gave Adam free will that we don't have anymore and he sinned.  It is reckoned that he represented us and we have been deemed sinners because of him.  Yes, we had free will in Adam and blew it when we chose self and became sinners by nature, by choice, and by birth.  Sin is our birthright and there is no escape!  There is no position of neutrality for our will--it is tainted with sin (cf. Rom. 1:32; 7:15).

God was not inviting trouble or taking a chance on the so-called "risky gift of free will" because He is sovereign and omniscient and had planned for this to happen and took it into consideration--there was no plan B.  If we are reckoned sinners in Adam we have become enslaved to this sin in our whole being (total depravity) and Adam lost his free will and got an enslaved will. Only God has the ultimate free will (a term not mentioned in Scripture except for free will or voluntary offerings) and yet God is unable or not free to sin or be the agent of evil.  We, on the other hand, are incapable of doing good or anything that pleases God (cf. Is. 64:6). The Arminian believes some do desire to repent and be believe the gospel, while the Reformed tradition holds that God quickens that lost desire within us.

We don't need free wills to be saved, we need wills made free.  God's salvation went according to plan and we love Him because He first loved us!  God chose us, we didn't choose Him (cf. John 15:16).  God's dilemma:  No one chose Him, and so He was obliged to elect some according to His purpose and grace and the good pleasure of His will (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9;  Eph. 1:5).  You may say:  "I came to Christ of my own free will and by myself [without any wooing or divine intervention]!" That person probably left Christ all by himself too.  What God is able to do is make the unwilling willing ("[For] it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure," says Phil. 2:13, ESV) and God can turn that heart of stone into a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" ("Ezek. 36:27, NKJV). Remember:  We are called and chosen unto salvation as Mathew 22:14 says, "Many are called, but few are chosen." Our destiny is ultimately in God's hands; God reserves the right to have mercy on whom He will--He isn't obligated to save anyone or it would be justice and not mercy (cf. Rom. 9:15).  Romans 9:16 says:  "So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy."

Now, after the fall, man is non posse non peccare (unable not to sin or only able to sin!) according to Augustine.  [Note that we are not talking in reference to the natural faculty of choice but spiritual will.]  God doesn't coerce us or force us to do anything we don't want to do by any outside force (called determinism), but His grace is irresistible or efficacious and does God's will.  Adam had the inclination to do good but lost that at the fall--man is still human, not an automaton, but has lost this inclination to do good. We are free to act according to our nature, but God made us the way we are like clay in the hands of a potter, and determined our nature.  

Adam chose against God, but He saved him anyway.  We are free in our state of sin in that we are voluntary sinners and our real freedom is to choose our own poison.  Romans 9:19 says that no one can resist God's will--His omnipotence overpowers us.  There is "not one maverick molecule in the universe" that is left to chance--God doesn't play dice with the universe, according to Einstein, and leaves nothing to chance.

You cannot say, "From now on, I will be good."  All things being equal, that doesn't last any longer than a diet with good intentions.  Apart from the Holy Spirit ("No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him," says John 6:44, ESV) without His wooing, no one can choose Christ, and God must intervene and work grace in our hearts.  We are slaves to act the way we want to and are in rebellion against God in our old sin nature.  We are indeed free to choose whatever we desire, but we do not desire Christ without grace.  "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know..." (John 7:17). That work is called redemption and causes us to repent and believe the gospel in the process known as conversion.  A spiritually dead man cannot believe or choose anything spiritual.  God must open our spiritual eyes to the truth ("I was blind, but now I see").

The essence of freedom is self-determination and we do make a decision ourselves and in this sense, we are still free. We never act by compulsion or as a programmed robot, but willingly.  We sin according to our own volition.  But whenever you look at a sinner you should say, "There but for the grace of God, go I" as George Whitefield said.   We can thank God for changing us and softening our hearts by grace ("... [Gr]ace might reign through righteousness," says Rom. 5:20).

Let me cite an everyday example of wooing:  In the process of courtship you fall in love and entice your lover to marry you (by an act of free will, of course), and you never interfered with her free will but got her to marry you and get your will done--she couldn't resist your proposition and was converted!

We all can act naturally according to enlightened self-interest in our old sin nature.  A sure sign of genuine saving faith is a heartfelt love for God and this is impossible without a relationship with Him--no one loved God before salvation.  We are not elected because we want to believe or we do believe (that would be merit-based and is called the prescient view, which Rom. 8:29-30 militates against), but we believe because we are the elect (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13, 1 John 5:1, Rom. 8:29-30). 

In the Reformed tradition of the order of salvation or ordo salutis, regeneration precedes faith!  Scripture clearly says, "We love Him because He first loved us." The unsaved, lost, and unregenerate man has no desire to repent, believe in the gospel, and choose Christ or he would have something to boast in his salvation before God.  No one will say, "I wanted to believe, but couldn't!"  This is because Reformed theology teaches that if left to ourselves, none would choose Christ.

Salvation is totally of God and He gets all the glory.  Soli Deo Gloria! According to C. H. Spurgeon the essence of Reformed theology is:  "Salvation is of the Lord, [it is not a cooperative venture, as theologians say, "monergistic, not synergistic"]" says Jonah 2:9.  God must change us and do a work of grace and regeneration, quickening our spirits to believe and repent because we have no inclination to obey God before salvation--we must be born again.  When we are saved we are set free: "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed (cf. John 8:36)." We are not born free, we are set free--we are born slaves!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Our Snake Oil

In antiquity, myrrh was like snake oil that was touted as the panacea for anything or the cure-all for everything from colds to bad breath much like Apple cider vinegar is today. We know today that they were just gullible and unscientific and didn't even have the rudimentary medical knowledge, which resorted to superstition such as eating gizzards or drinking urine.  If there was any cure, aspirin, for example, it was accidental, pure happenstance, or chance.  The Chinese were further along with their alternative medicine of acupuncture.  Jesus was given myrrh at his birth as a gift and that is why--it was celebrated for its medicinal value.

Now Christ is our cure-all (not meant in a derogatory manner of speaking) for what ails us--sin, which is the root cause of all our ailments.   He is the answer to our dilemma and dual predicament. We have a problem with what we've done (our sins) and must be forgiven and justified by the blood, and we have a complication due to the way we are in our old sin nature (our sin cleansed by the sanctification of the cross of Christ).   We must then be forgiven for what we've done and changed from what we are. We must put our faith in the person and work of Christ (knowing Him as Lord and Savior), who paid a price we couldn't pay, on a debt He didn't owe! Greater love has no man than this:  That he lay down his life for his friend!

We lose focus when we think of salvation as our helping God out in saving us, or in cooperating--it is not synergistic, but monergistic and that means God does all the work--it is passive and not a cooperative venture,  as we receive the gift of salvation apart from any works we've done (cf. Titus 3:5) and any merit we may think we deserve--grace means simply that we cannot add to it, we didn't earn it or deserve it, and we cannot ever repay it!  

All we have to offer Him is brokenness and strife, all of our sin are to be cleansed in the blood of the Lamb who is worthy--"our righteousness is as filthy rags," according to Isaiah 64:6.  We are quickened unto faith and repentance as the gift of God and these are not works as Catholics claim. They are God's gift, but we do them, God doesn't do them for us--we have to make good and take the leap of faith, and show the fruits of repentance per Acts 26:20 that prove it.

In short, it's not what we do for God, but what He does for us that is key and the focus of our attention.  I'm not against merit or good works, just against those done in the flesh for salvation and apart from the Holy Spirit.  God ordains good works for us to do per Eph. 2:10, "that we should walk in them."   However, God rewards us for what He does through us--how amazing!  His work in us because we are simply vessels of honor used by Him for His glory ("... the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever," according to the Westminster Confession of 1646).

Let me add that the Reformers' theology and the rallying cry of being saved through faith is summed up in Jonah's cry: "Salvation is of the LORD." It is not a cooperative venture, nor an independent one, but a passive one whereby we receive Christ as Lord and Savior and subsequent salvation as a free gift.  Salvation is either of us, of us and God, or of God alone; the only way to be sure of it is for it to be of God alone, for we are sure to foul things up. 

This is contrary to the tradition of man that says we must qualify for heaven by our deeds.  It is human instinct to be incurably addicted to doing something for our salvation, as the Jews asked Jesus:  "What shall we do, to do the works of God?" Jesus said, "This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent" (cf. John 6:28-29). It's grace all the way as John 1:17 says, "The law came through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."   Soli Deo Gloria!

Disgusted With Our Sin...

"[Therefore] I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes"  (Job's repentance, Job 42:6, ESV).

"Depart from me O Lord, for I am a sinful man"  (Peter's sudden awakening).

C. S. Lewis' catch-22:  "We must see how bad we are to be good, and we don't know how bad we are till we've tried to be good."

Ovid:  "I see the better things and approve them, but I follow the worst."

"Why is it that I know what is right and do what is wrong?" Pierre in War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

There comes a time to throw in the towel and declare spiritual bankruptcy and stop trying to save ourselves.  But before the good news a little bad news is in order:  We must get a realistic handle on sin and call a spade a spade; that entails not inventing pretty un-offensive names for it like weaknesses,  mistakes, or habits--we are all as guilty as sin and must come clean and own up to this. The verdict is in:  "Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil" (cf. John 3:19).   God levels the playing field and judges all equally guilty of Adam's prototype sin as our legacy as well as individual fault as a result of our inherited old sin nature or original sin.

Sin is the roadblock that hinders fellowship and a relationship with God and creates a chasm or schism between us that only Christ can bridge.  We are not only guilty of breaking God's law (definition of sin), but His heart--the law breaks us too!   We shouldn't be afraid God will hurt us, but that we'll hurt Him.  We are in the predicament of not being able to clean up our act and get our house in order in preparing for salvation--we must come as we are for a changed life, not with a changed life. 

To define sin we must call it by its biblical terminology:  lawlessness, iniquity, lack of faith, missing the mark, rebellion, trespassing, lack of love, autonomy or independence, and transgression.  When Adam ate the proverbial apple he doubted, disbelieved, and disobeyed.  His prototype sin rejected God's authority, doubted His goodness, disputed His wisdom, spurned His grace, repudiated His justice, and contradicted His truthfulness according to one theologian--that about covers the bases!

Why are we so bad?  If evil were yellow, we'd be all yellow.  Actually, we are not as bad as we can be because of God's restraining grace and whenever you see someone worse than you, you should acknowledge that there, but for the grace of God, go you, in George Whitefield's words.  We justify ourselves and don't think our sin is so bad, but the other guy is guilty.  

We are not as bad as we can be, but as bad off as we can be--that means we are totally separated from God in our whole heart, will, and mind and need total redemption of our soul.  Our thoughts are evil, our imagination is depraved and runs wild, our emotions are sick, and our wills are stubborn and selfish:  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"  (Jer. 17:9, ESV).

Sin is not just our actions, but those we thought or intended, and our attitudes, both of commission and omission as the Anglican Book of Common Prayer addresses this:  "We have done those things we ought not to have done, and we have left undone those things we ought to have done." We all have feet of clay or weaknesses not readily apparent, but that God sees.  The sinner flatters himself too much to hate his own sin, according to Psalm 36:2.

The unbeliever is a sinner in the hands of an angry God, according to Jonathan Edwards preaching on Deut. 32:35 (ESV) saying:  "Vengeance is mine and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly." We all have an inner sense of ought and the Law is written on our hearts according to Rom. 2:15, so that we are without excuse and stand accountable to God.  We must realize our state of sin to be saved:  It is not that we are good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation.

The mandate or imperative from God is to repent and the goodness of God is meant to lead us to repentance according to Romans 2:4. God doesn't desire for any to perish, but for all to repent and gives man time and space to do it.  He commands men everywhere to repent (cf. Acts 17:30).   But the problem is that we cannot work ourselves up into repentance, it is the gift of God as he changes our hearts upon the hearing of the Word by grace.  Both Acts 5:31 and 11:18 attest to God's "granting" repentance to the Jews and Gentiles respectively.   

We don't need a Jewish Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement, but a change from the inside out which is not turning over a new leaf or making a New Year's resolution. We need progressive repentance that continues our entire life.  We need forgiveness from all that we've done, and deliverance from what we are.  This is because we are born sinners and we sin because we are sinners, we are not sinners because we sin. What God orders is true contrition, not just regret or feeling sorry--we have to be willing to turn our back on our sin and renounce it, counting the cost.

The good news is that Christ paid the penalty we deserve by dying in our stead and rising to the Father to prove His victory and show us hope eternal.   God has solved the sin question by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  As a priest, he saves us and redeems us, as a prophet he dispels our ignorance, and as our king, he sets us free from sin's dominion.  

Why should we try to be good to please God when all we have to do is accept the free gift of salvation offered to all who put their faith in Christ?  It's not a matter of our good deeds outweighing our bad ones, but all of our righteousness counting as naught and coming to the Father with nothing to offer but ourselves and our sins in faith willing to do His will.    Soli Deo Gloria!

Do You Qualify?

Have you ever wondered if you were good enough for heaven?  Did you ever think you were on probation or on your scout's honor to do your best till Jesus comes or you die?  The fact is is that we are never good enough to be saved, but must realize we are bad enough to need salvation.  We cannot compare notes at our judgment as if we would be graded on a curve and think that we have a advantage over someone less fortunate.  "Who makes you to differ?  What do you have that you didn't receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7).  God doesn't grade on a curve and if He were to mete out justice to all, none of us would be able to escape hell; salvation is not because we deserve it, that would be justice, not mercy. 

The requirements for heaven are to have the righteousness of Christ, and the only way to get it is by imputation or God just reckoning it to our account.  We are not just forgiven of our wrongdoings and brought to a place of neutrality, but given the righteousness of Christ to boot--actually we are declared righteous or reckoned as righteous, but we are not made righteous, which would be different. We tend to think that God is looking for our achievements, or even cares about them, but God is looking for our obedience. 

Religion is about man's achievement; Christianity is about God's accomplishment.  Religion tries to reach out to God, while, in Christianity, God reaches out to man.  God doesn't even call us to success but to faithfulness.  What the world regards as success, I am saying, is not how God sees it.   You cannot be a man of the world and a man of God, they are mutually exclusive.  John exhorts us not to love the world (cf. 1 John 2:15) are not to be of the world (John 15:19).

People shouldn't come to their judgment and tell God about all the works they did, even if they were miracles, (Matt. 7:22) because Christ may say He never knew them.  We are not to put our faith in our works--works are no substitute for faith and works don't save--only faith in Christ saves. It is the object not the faith that saves.  Let me repeat:  Faith doesn't save; Christ saves.  

We live in an era when people applaud faith, even blind faith and most don't care what your faith is as long as you have it.  When someone says, "Keep the faith," it is meaningless and has no spiritual value. The reason the people are rejected who did great works in God's name is because they put their faith in their works and not in Christ.  They had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge as it says in Rom. 10:2. You can have a lot of faith, but if it is misdirected, it does zilch and is worthless. 

Who gets saved, but the lowest bidder!  It is not the person who says he meant well, and was sincere, and did his best and believed the right creed, but the person who comes to God with nothing to offer and knows his wretchedness and knows he is at God's mercy, saying:  "God be merciful to me, the sinner." The way up is down in God's economy!   Don't think so highly of yourself!  You cannot think too lowly of yourself in God's eyes (actually humility is not thinking of self at all!), because you are just that:  Your righteousness is as filthy rages (cf. Is. 64:6).  You must despise yourself, hate your life, and realize you have nothing to offer God.

It cost a lot to be saved, and Jesus never made it seem easy, but it cost more not to be saved or to ignore His gospel message of being saved solely by grace, through the instrumental means of faith, in the object of Christ as Lord and Savior--God gets all the glory and the authority is the based on the Word of God.  Anything less is heresy, and corruption of the gospel and not evangelical in emphasis, but influenced by false teachings [the three heretical twists of the gospel's purity].   

"Salvation is of the Lord," (Jonah 2:9) and of the Lord alone (we contribute naught)--that is its essence. God has done it all--"It is finished!" Reckon it as a done deal.  There are religions galore that emphasize our achievements; however, Christianity stresses divine accomplishment, not human achievement!   Soli Deo Gloria!

How Low Can You Go?

Salvation is not offered to the highest bidder, or the most qualified, or the most eager, most intelligent, wisest, or moral person; au contraire. Christ doesn't offer to save, He saves!  It goes to the lowest bidder, as it were, the one who realizes he is unqualified, (we can do nothing to qualify or cooperate for our salvation).  We are bad, but not too bad to be saved.  We are as bad off as we can be, but God's grace is as great as can be.  Instead of saying, "God, I'm not that bad after all!" we need to say, "Lord, I have done nothing to deserve salvation, and You would be just to sentence me to hell, but I appeal to your mercy and grace at Christ's expense on my behalf."

Catholics believe we cooperate with God and somehow merit our salvation of which we are qualified by our faith.  Having faith doesn't qualify us to be saved, but means we are saved and regenerated.  God doesn't elect us because we have faith (that would be merit and a conditional election), but unto faith or to grant us faith.  We can do naught to please God or gain His approbation.  Someone has said, "God must have chosen me before I was born because He sure wouldn't have afterward."  If God chooses us because we have faith or in some way are better than others, then it is not a gift, but a reward.  That would be the institution of merit for salvation.  According to His purpose and grace, He saved us, and not because of anything in us that was good, for there is none good.  No one earns it, deserves it, nor can pay it back!

A person must see himself as a vile sinner who is unworthy of grace and in God's hands, at His mercy, to be saved, he must literally throw himself on the mercy of God, realizing he cannot save himself.  His life has gotten out of control because of his sin and he is convicted by the Holy Spirit of his depraved state.  When I say, "How low can you go?" I mean that you must be humbled to get saved and stop thinking so highly of yourself, that you're an alright guy or good man.  Romans 3:12 says there is none good.

We are enslaved to sin and cannot please God, because our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  When we get saved, we are set free spiritually and have a restored fellowship with God that had been severed at the fall of Adam.  Regeneration makes possible a living faith and repentance and we are completely passive in the process:  Our part is to act upon the faith that God gives us and prove it is genuine.  God's gift, our act!  The worse off you see yourself and the least qualified you think you are, the closer you are to the kingdom of God and it is within your grasp.  Ego can get in the way, but we need to swallow our pride and realize that He must increase, as we decrease.

When we realize it is not about "us" then we have made a spiritual breakthrough and know that it is all about Jesus.  Paul strove to preach Christ, and Christ crucified, not himself.  The more one's thoughts are aimed at Christ to glorify Him the more glory God gets and the more involved the Spirit gets.  It grieves Him to dwell on ourselves and be egocentric or self-centered.

By going low I mean your opinion and judgment of yourself in comparison to others in respect of your sins.  The sinner who prayed, "God be merciful to me, the sinner" in Luke 18:13 was on target when he realized his depravity in God's sight.   Paul thought he was the chief of sinners and John Bunyan wrote, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. That's what grace orientation does to you--it makes you feel unworthy and forever grateful.  Jesus said, "He that is forgiven much [realizes it the most], loves much!   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Judas Factor

We have a lot to learn from the arch villain, and nemesis of Jesus, Judas Iscariot, who even fooled his fellow disciples.  There are people in the Bible that are the paradigm of evil, as well as an exemplar of virtue, not to mention the paragon of character Himself, Jesus-- otherwise, we wouldn't know what to think about when we contemplate ourselves in light of God.  The fact is:  Some people are bad examples and some good, but all our examples, just like some are vessels of honor and others of dishonor.  The Bible pulls no punches, it tells it like it is and doesn't gloss over the evil when it happens or paint a pretty picture--that is evidence it is a true portrait without spin or bias like historians of the time were wont to be.

The Bible's main message of salvation in Christ is that we are all sinners and in need of salvation, and that no one is too far out there to be saved if they repent  (cf. Is. 1:18).  For example, consider the king Manasseh, who was probably Judah's most wicked, and yet he finally repented and knew that the LORD was God.  Judas' sin was not so bad that it was not redeemable, even though Jesus did divinely prophesy that it would be better had he never been born. Remember:  Jesus knew he was not going to repent and never did believe in the first place (he was a devil from the get-go).

We need to see the Judas in all of us, just like Robert Louis Stevenson saw Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in himself.  We are all totally depraved and every part of us is infected with evil--if evil were blue we would be all blue.  Our hearts are evil--i.e., our emotions, our wills, our intellects.  We can't think straight, we have wrong or bad feelings (that we shouldn't go by), and we have a disloyal, unwilling, and rebellious spirit or will.  We are not all as bad as we can be, but as bad off as we can be--this is God's perspective, not ours (humanists still believe man is basically good and even deify him).

Can any Christian honestly say that he has never betrayed someone or been interested in ulterior motives that may be financially rewarding--everyone wants a friend with benefits nowadays.  If we were one of the 12 would we have loved Judas? He is in the Bible for a reason, and not just to despise or look down on.  This is why there is a Judas plot or conspiracy in all of us--even Peter said, "It is I?" in conviction.  There is a latent Judas in all of us.

Judas was in it to cash in and had no real spiritual ambition or interests. The Word doesn't fully divulge his motives, the disciples, in fact, never saw it coming; but I would judge him as the opportunist in the motley crew or band of 12.  I believe that when he appraised the situation as only a spiritual empire or kingdom, and that they might have to go to their deaths following him, he wanted out, but out in an honorable way (to himself)--to save face, you might say.  We all have to pick sides and cannot forever remain neutral when it comes to Christ's beckon call on our soul's allegiance. 

Judas was surely a likable and trustworthy fellow that gain the approbation of his peers and this shows that personality should be discounted when it comes to spiritual competence and faithfulness and how much God can use a person.  He was the one in charge of finances and this showed a high level of trust from the others not to mention Jesus whom he likely ingratiated and kissed up to.   Remember that Satan was tempting Judas and we are probably have never been so tempted and are not in a position to judge (only Jesus knows all the criteria of judgment).

Judas ultimately chose his own way over God's way. We are all guilty of doing our own thing! "I did it my way" is a familiar philosophy today and everyone wants to be their own lord and run their own life, not giving up its ownership to God. Choosing our way is choosing death.   And the choice is between life and death that God gives us ("...Behold I set before you the way of life and the way of death," says Jer. 21:8).  Jesus had claimed to be "The Life" just as Thomas a Kempis famously said, "Without the way, there is not going, without the truth, there is no knowing, and without the life, there is no living."  One of the biggest lessons in life and one of the facts of life is that we have to realize we don't know everything and do a lousy job of running our lives, with no input or counsel from people wiser than us.  There is a principle:  Education is going from an unconscious to a conscious awareness of our ignorance.

Judas failed in his scheme and realized it too late.  He was filled with remorse (which isn't good enough and this means he was sorry about the consequences of his actions, but probably still justified himself (2 Cor. 7:10 says the sorrow of the world produces death).  We need to be more than sorry or have regrets; we need to come clean and do a 180, a U-turn, or about-face--facing up to our wrongdoing.  In contrast, Peter's sin of denying the Lord was equally bad, but he truly repented and owned up to it and believed Jesus could forgive him.  Judas had absolutely no faith in the Lord and didn't think Jesus could ever forgive him of his dastardly deed.

Why did Jesus even give the invite to the Passover Meal?  Then again why did He even choose him?  Because Jesus loves the worst of us (cf. Eph. 3:19) and gives us all the opportunity we need to repent and it is us who gives up, not Him. The invite shows us that we should extend invitations to those who are searching and are even enemies whom we are commanded to love, in the hope that we will be able to reach out to them somehow--bless those who cannot pay back!  Jesus knew he was a devil from the beginning by divine knowledge from the Father, but He knew the Scriptures had to be fulfilled too. 

This was a wake-up call to the disciples to show that they can be fooled and to make them all the more aware of charlatans, quacks, bogus friends, sham believers, and false prophets under the guise of good (for even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light).  Doesn't it show Jesus' patience and love when he even honored him to the end by serving him the bread first--even saving him face as he left in case he changed his mind?  (Jesus knew all things were possible with God.)

Jesus is looking for disciples who love Him and are after His own heart like David.  Judas had no love, except for his own ambitions and plans, being a materialistic person who wanted to sell Jesus out to get "something" out of the deal and take sides.  We all have let Jesus down and his example is in Scripture to warn us that our old Adam has the tendency to "sell out" or "cash in" and take advantage of people or even manipulate them as we love things and use people, rather than use things and love people.  When you are this way, it only means that you are short-sighted and don't have a grasp on eternity or see life in light of eternity.  Things won't last, but people and relationships will!  Judas died with no relationship intact.

All in all, when push comes to shove, we must ultimately and willfully love the ones least worthy of it--they may even be more "un-lovable" than our enemies (cf. Jude 22,23)!  In conclusion, let's concur that Judas had no one to blame but himself and that is the way it will be at the Great White Throne Judgment.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Should We Be Proud?

Notable and applicable verses on being proud:

"Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low; tread down the wicked in their place"  (Job 40:12, KJV).
"He is proud, knowing nothing..." (1 Tim. 6:4).
"Let the proud be ashamed, for they treated me wrongfully with falsehood..." (Psalm 119:78).
"God stands against the proud, but favors the humble"  (James 4:6b, CEB).
"The LORD detests all the proud of heart..." (Proverbs 16:5).
"Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin!"  (Prov. 21:4).
"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall"  (Prov. 16:18).
I shouldn't have to remind you that pride is one of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins of Roman Catholicism.

Paul said that he'd speak of nothing but of which Christ has accomplished through him in Romans 15:8.  The whole point of our achievements is that they amount to zilch in God's eyes:  "All our righteousness is as filthy rags..." (Isaiah 64:6).  Salvation in Christ is about God's accomplishment, not our achievement(s).  "To obey is better than sacrifice" as King Saul found out, who had manifold achievements, but only half-heartedly followed the LORD and disobeyed.  The point must be clear that God wants our OBEDIENCE (according to our opportunities and gifts),  not our achievements!

There is no place for boasting in God's presence nor in man's, because "apart from [Christ] we can do nothing" and all that we have accomplished, He has done through us (Isaiah 26:12). Bragging is a work of the flesh and has no place in the godly behavior.  That is another way of glorying in something, and all the glory goes to God unless He is sharing His glory.  Satan's sin was his pride (he lifted up his soul) and that was because he was proud in his estate, and he got booted out of heaven because of it.  God lists the sins that are an abomination to Him and that He hates in Proverbs 6:17:  "A proud look..." is mentioned first

Don't ever let God find pride in you because you will fall into the condemnation of the devil (he will probably say, "There you go, you're just like me!") and you will be severely disciplined by God if you are a believer, and punished in hell if you are not.  We do not deserve anything we have got or have achieved because if we only did it in our own strength, it is nothing:  "...' Not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit,'  says the LORD Almighty" (Zech. 4:6).

There is a difference between taking pride in one's work and being proud or having pride.  We must do our work as unto the Lord, and our work doesn't define us, but how well we do it does.  This is the work ethic, that all work is to God's glory and work is not a curse but helps us become more like the image of Christ.  Galatians 6:4 says:  "Each person should test their own work and be happy with doing a good job and not compare themselves with others." When we are proud or boast we are comparing ourselves with others and setting up an artificial standard other than Christ.  The KJV says:  "Let every man prove his own work, then he shall have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another."  Being braggadocio is always sin but I'm not saying we think less of ourselves; we are to have good self-esteem and God-confidence too.

George Whitefield was asked what he thought of a man going to the gallows:  "There but for the grace of God, go I."  We are to think more highly of others not less of them and realize that we are all one in Christ.  He has leveled the playing field and we cannot boast, but we are blessed and should be thankful that God has made us a vessel of honor.  There is no place for an elite in Christianity, but we are one family and no one can say he has no need of another member.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Exposition Of Operation Fig Leaf...

Satan hasn't changed his tactics since tempting Eve with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She ultimately didn't choose good vs. evil (she had no idea what they were!), but self vs. God.  This initial sin was only indicative of all that would follow in many ways.  Rejecting the wisdom of God, the trust in His providence and provision,  and the fellowship of Him vs. Satan, et cetera.  All sin was represented in some capacity in that prototype sin.  

We would've done the same thing and ditto Adam and Eve--they were our representatives and we are in effect in solidarity with them or in Adam as the official head of the race.  Satan didn't have anything against being good, it was only in an ungodly way apart from God's plan. What is evil, but deprivation or negation of good--it cannot exist without there being good in the first place. Being good without God, that's all. That's what religion tries to do: make you decent, respectable, honorable people without God--or ultimately knowing Him.

Christianity is simply Christ and taking Him out of the equation leaves nothing to live for--it is nothing.  You can have Buddhism without Buddha, but not Christianity without Christ you disembowel it as someone has said. The kind of people the world looks up to and admires are the ones who have made good for themselves and achieved the "American dream" et al.  Those living the good life or becoming a success in the eyes of man. 

People judge a splinter group by their character and say, "They are such fine people."  Newsflash:  Christ didn't come to make bad people good, but dead people alive!  "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins..." (Eph. 2:1).  Christianity is not a system of dos and don'ts or a system of ethics, though orthopraxy (right behavior) is the application of orthodoxy (right beliefs).

He wants us to have an "abundant life" and "all these things shall be added unto us" as we seek His kingdom and righteousness.   He gives us "richly all things to enjoy" so God is not a killjoy trying to keep us from having fun.  Evil is just this:  leaving God out of the picture and trying to do it alone without Him.  It's a do-it-yourself proposition.  Sin can be seen as rejecting God's plan and declaring your independence to do it your way.

We're incurably addicted to doing something for our salvation according to Charles Swindoll and are naturally religious (we have been called Homo religiosus or a religious man).  What sin is that Adam and Eve chose was to put self into the center of our existence and live for self--there's no more sure way to personal disaster--the happiest people have learned to serve [live for others], says Albert Schweitzer. True humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less according to Rick Warren.  

The aftermath of the fall was a cover-up and hiding from God and man is still up to this old escape mechanism.  We won't take responsibility and own up to our sins. We have to come clean and renounce all sin in our lives and be willing to let Christ transform our souls from the inside out--not turning over a new leaf or making a resolution, but surrendering the will to God's will.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Justified Anger

"God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day" (Psa

lm 7:11, ESV).

"The LORD is slow to anger..." (Num. 14:18, ESV).

"...Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger" (James 1:19, ESV).

"But now you must put them all away:  anger, malice, wrath, slander..." (Col. 3:8, ESV).

"Now the works of the flesh are evident:  ...fits of anger..." (Gal. 5:19-20, ESV)

Anger is an emotion that we all have and there is nothing wrong with it in its proper place.  What I'm primarily concerned with is anger among believers, not unbelievers.

We've all heard of "righteous indignation" (not a biblical term), and believe we have it when we get angry, no matter what, as a "defense mechanism."  God is angry with the wicked every day (cf. Psalm 7:11--through a better translation in the NIV says, "God is a God who expresses His anger every day"). "Like the rest, we were by nature the objects of wrath" (Eph. 2:3, NIV).  He never got angry at Adam when he sinned because Adam was His son.  God's wrath is averted by the blood of Christ--"...When I see the blood, I will pass over you" (Ex. 12:13, KJV).  Jesus had something to say about what anger is equated with, in case we justify ourselves when angry at someone.

We never have the right to play God and express wrath directly at a brother:  Jesus said in Matthew 5:22 (NIV) "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment..."--anger is on a level with murder and Jesus didn't justify, since He internalized sin .  He had displayed the right to get angry in the temple, for instance,  and this is "righteous indignation."  He urged us to pray for and love our enemies, lest they are judged for said behavior.  "Cease from anger, forsake wrath," says Psalms 37:8. Paul says in Galatians 5:19 that "fits of anger" are a work of the flesh.

What then is "righteous indignation?"  Well, what gets God angry? Getting angry at things and circumstances that are inherently unfair or unjustified, e.g., poverty, racism, terrorism, discrimination, etc.  Jonathan Edwards sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, shows that unbelievers are on dangerous territory.  God never gets angry at us, but about us, what we do, and prunes us in love, He doesn't punish us in anger.  Loving parents don't lose their cool and express outrage directly at a child, though he is in the wrong and needs the rod of correction--they shouldn't discipline till they have got control of themselves.

We are never justified in getting angry at a brother and must strive to always keep the peace and be peacemakers.  "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Rom. 12:18, NIV).  We must do everything in our power to restore fellowship when a chasm or cleavage occurs and to take the initiative even when it's not our fault.  "But I tell you that anyone [no exceptions] who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment..." (Matt. 5:22, NIV).  N.B. I checked out all the translations:  CEB, NASB, NIV, ESV,  and the NLT all agree that there is no excuse, though the KJV and NKJV say one can get angry if he has "cause."  Searching the Scriptures I cannot find one legitimate person having "righteous anger" except possibly Moses when he came down from Mt. Sinai--he was in authority as the priest over the people.

When we become believers we are "delivered from the wrath to come" (2 Thess. 1:10), and the sign of the unbeliever is that "the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36).  To conclude the matter: being angry at your brother only demonstrates that you are only a man, and one who has not learned to be controlled by the Spirit--possibly even a fool ("A fool gives full vent to his anger").   Soli Deo Gloria!

Strange Fire...

God speaks of His Way, he is deadly serious: My way or the highway!

God is really big on instructions, so it follows that He likes it when we follow them.  The book of Leviticus is a "how-to" book, you could say, (or God's instruction manual--Torah, for instance, means revealed instruction) just filled with them.  It is reasonable to assume that a godly person follows instructions and doesn't try to do things his way.  Like some are wont to say:  If all else fails read the instructions!  This is bad mentality and disastrous spiritually as Nadab and Abihu found out when God consumed them with fire for offering a sacrifice their own way and making a fire their way which God called "strange fire" and God judged immediately He was so angry.   They became examples of those who "do it their way."  Frank Sinatra became famous for singing "I Did It My Way" and I'm sure that now after he has died that his song led many astray and that he was dead wrong!  It is a serious thing to disobey God's instructions and we are responsible for what we have the opportunity to know as David found out when the transported the Ark of the Covenant and when it tipped the person bearing was struck dead because He didn't follow protocol.  What do you think Bible?  "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth." Disclaimer:  The Bible is more than an instruction manual, praise the Lord!

God is a God of order, design, and precision and instruction, not chaos or confusion.  We become more godly (God wants you to get organized and be orderly!) by following this pattern and God making us in this image of Christlikeness.  We cannot have everybody doing their own thing as it says in the last verse of Judges:  "In those days there was no king, everyone did as he saw fit [what was right in his own eyes]" (Judges 21:25).  Jesus said there was a "way" and He was it.  Knowing Jesus is knowing the way and the first believers were called followers of the Way. 

In the Army you learn that there is your way and the "Army way"  and you learn this lesson pretty fast--you become a quick-study!  "There is a way which seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are the way of death" (Prov. 16:25).  "For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray and have not known my ways."  Do you know the Way? In another passage it says:  "But my people do not know the rules of the LORD" (Jer. 8:7).  Jesus is the logos or logic behind the cosmos and God has a plan for everything under heaven according to Proverbs 16:4:  "The LORD works out everything for his own ends--even the wicked for a day of disaster."

People that don't know God are always offering "strange fire" before the Lord and trying to please Him their own way by good works, ritual or religion, morality, philosophy, ethics, etc.  and not by faith alone.  Nothing that the unbeliever does can please God, for it is all dirty and filthy rags in His sight according to Isaiah 64:6.  Do it God's way or don't do it at all because there is no reward for man's way or works.  God only rewards what He does through us as His vessels of honor.    Finally, the reason God gives instructions is to test our obedience and see if we are serious about being His followers:  Israel repeatedly refused and failed to follow instructions--isn't this something we learn in kindergarten?

Jesus condemned the Pharisees, though they followed the instructions, for the same reason God judged Amaziah, (he followed the law, but not with his whole heart).  The Pharisees were culpable for externalizing the law and going the motions, as it were, and not doing it from their heart.   Today, in our churches we see many who have "memorized the Dance of the Pious" also and have no inward reality--this is exactly what Malachi rebuked Israel for in being frauds at worship.  We are to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.  No one achieves this perfectly in time but in eternity we will be glorified to have the capacity.

What is sin, but doing something our way instead of God's way ("We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..." (Isaiah 53:6).  It is vain and useless to fight God and do it your own way because God is never frustrated and knows what He is doing and can turn curses into blessings and make everything turn out for the good (cf. Rom. 8:28).   Job 42:2 says:  "I know that you can do all things, and no plan of yours can be thwarted."  As William Cowper said, "God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform."  Soli Deo Gloria!

So, Are You A Sinner?

"If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar" (1 John 1:10).
"For everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness, sin is lawlessness" (per John).
"And who fain would serve Thee best
Are most conscious of wrong within."
John Stott:  "It is no use giving us rules of conduct; we cannot keep them."

That's a loaded question and not so easily expounded upon. First of all, according to R. C. Sproul, the renowned Reformed theologian, we are all sinners in that we sin and we sin because we are sinners, we are not sinners because we sin (i.e., we are born with the inclination to sin or with the cards stacked against us). We are born in sin (Psalm 51:5 says, "Surely, I was sinful at birth....")  You could say we lie because we are natural born liars and we don't become liars when we tell our first lie.

We are deeply flawed and radically corrupt and deformed in our heart, mind, and will by depravity, and are inherently evil, not basically good, as humanists assert.  My pastor says that God no longer "classifies us as sinners [though we really are]."  He also says, "Sin no longer defines us."  This means that we are above it and God no longer holds it against us (Psalm 32:2 says, blessed are those "whose sin the LORD does not count against them."

This may also seem like a trick question:  Either way, you answer it, you can be refuted!  N.B. that the Bible calls Christians "saints" and sinners are generally referred to those who are lost in their sin and not overcoming it. An exemption is Gal. 2:17 calling Christians sinners ("...we ...find ourselves also among the sinners").  We are no longer slaves to sin, nor under its power as believers.  We don't have the right to live in the flesh because we are forgiven, but the power to live in the Spirit.  Martin Luther, the renowned theologian, and pastor who inaugurated the Reformation said that we are at the same time sinners and just.  God reckons us as just as righteous as Christ because He sees us in Christ as our position.  In the Bible, when it calls people "sinners" it is generally referring to the lost or the unjust--that doesn't mean Christians aren't sinners who have reached "perfectionism" or "entire sanctification" (cf. Psalm 119:96 says, "  To all perfection I see a limit;" Prov. 20:9 says, "Who can say, 'I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin'?"

The titanic struggle that Christians have is to overcome sin; even pagan writer Ovid wrote that he "sees the better things and approve them, but he follows the worst:"  This is exactly what Paul was referring to in Romans 7 when he said that nothing good dwells in him and said, "I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it but is sin living in me" (Rom. 7:15-17).

The key to conquering sin, and we are more than conquerors in Christ, is to keep our eyes on Jesus and stop trying so hard--but learn to trust!  The more we try to stop sinning in our own strength, the more enslaved we become, because we are reinforcing it (my pastor says).  Some good ideas to avoid sin is to keep busy, especially in the work of the Lord, and to think of things of good report and of virtue as Phil. 4:8 says.   There's always a way of escape according to 1 Cor. 10:13 and we never have to sin anymore.

It is important to realize how bad of a sinner we are and that we have no hope of saving ourselves, but throw in the towel and give up the ship to Christ as one's captain.  We don't realize how bad we are till we try to be good, and, conversely, we can't be good until we realize how bad we are.   This is a catch-22 to reflect on.  We are not as bad as we can be, but are as bad off as we can be--even Hitler loved his mother and wasn't as bad as he could have been and he is considered by many to be the paradigm of evil along with Judas.

This is God's estimation of man, not man's estimation of man!  Our sin, no matter how much or how little is enough to condemn us, because to God sin is like antimatter to matter.  I am grateful that even though I am a great sinner, I have a great Savior!  I just keep short accounts and "move on" as my pastor says.  I don't live in the past.

The devil accuses you of sin, but the Holy Spirit does an open and shut case against you and there is no argument.  We all have feet of clay and have weaknesses not readily apparent. But God doesn't grade on a curve!   Jesus sees through the veneer and exposes our dark side that we want to hide--He is the only one that really knows us better than we know ourselves even.  God doesn't grade on a curve!  Yes, we are bad, but not too bad to be saved!  We are never good enough to be saved, in other words, but bad enough to need salvation:  ironically, some people don't even want to admit they are sinners because they "haven't done anything that bad."

We often compare ourselves with others who seem worse and get proud:  "Compared to Saddam Hussein I am a saint!"  We may think of ourselves as just a "run-of-the-mill" sinner, but we should be comparing ourselves to Christ who is the express image of His glory and the divine standard:  "Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48).  Caveat:  God doesn't grade on a curve;  the standard is is perfection, the test is direction!

Well, what is the biblical definition of sin?  In the study of hamartiology sin is from the Greek word hamartia, a marksman's word for "missing the mark."  It is suggested that one shoots at a target and misses the bull's eye.  When one misses achieving this standard he "sins."  There are both sins of omission and commission.  When God says in negative terms:  Thou shalt not, and we do, it is a sin of commission  When we fail to do God's will and leave something undone, which we should have done, it is also sin--this is a sin of omission.  Having a mind and willpower makes us able to sin.  Basically, sin is nonconformity to the law of God, anything not of faith, when we know the right thing to do, and fail to do it, any transgression, trespass, or perverted act.

Some things may be sin for one brother and not another.  We can sin against a brother (cf. 1 Cor. 8:12), but basically all sin is against God and only His forgiveness brings salvation from past, present, and future sins.  Any act of unbelief is a sin according to 1 John 5:10.  Sin is also lawlessness according to 1 John 3:4.  The Anglican Book of Common Prayer adds: "leaving undone that which I ought to have done."

However, Jesus internalized sin (the Pharisees had "externalized" sin by reducing it to what can be seen by men like fasting; eating kosher; ceremonial washing; et cetera), saying that "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts."  It is not a matter of having clean hands, but a clean heart to be pure in God's eyes.  "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7).  Sin is a disease or an illness and we cannot say we have a little sin no more than we can say one is a little pregnant!  In short, when we sin against God, we violate His nature and holiness; when we sin against man, we violate his humanity and dignity as a human in the image of God, according to R. C. Sproul.  He goes on to say that all sin is an act of treason to overthrow God.  I have heard it said, that sin is "man's declaration of independence from God."

It is a grave mistake to rename sin with pretty names to be less offensive like:  shortcomings, errors, mistakes, habits, vices, et cetera.  Billy Graham says that this is like relabeling a poison and calling it the Essence of Peppermint, which would make it more dangerous to the kids.  The closer you get to God the more aware you are of sin:  Samuel Rutherford said, "Pray for a lively sense of sin, then you'll have less sin."   Great saints have often discounted their holiness and downgraded themselves out of humility:  John Bunyan wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners."  Paul called himself "the chief of sinners."  A good definition from Charlie Riggs is "any thought, word, omission, action, or desire contrary to the Word of God."  The whole purpose of the law is to make us cognizant of our sin not to be a way of salvation, or a code to live by for good measure--we are incapable of keeping it:  "For by the law is the knowledge of sin"  (Rom. 3:20, Phil.).  The Law measures us, it doesn't save us!

To become Christians we must be willing to turn from sin (repentance) and turn to God (through faith in Christ by grace).  We need not only to be against sin in theory but renounce sin and any individual sins God has laid on our hearts.  [Believers are still sinners, by the way, according to Gal. 2:17. and John says in 1 John 1 that "if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us in v. 8.] We need to repent of all our sins, not just the ones we don't like and keep our pet sins. Legalists see sins and not sin (God can make us a new person with a victory over it by putting a new man in the suit, not a new suit on the man):  Our problem is the old sin nature, or our sinful flesh or carnal man.  We must be changed (passive case) from the inside out (i.e., God does it!).  This is due to our solidarity in Adam and what's known as "original sin" (therefore sin is universal (termed the universality of sin) and the common-held belief that nobody's perfect--as they say, "To err is human."

We don't try to be the Holy Spirit and convict people of their sins, that's the role of the Holy Spirit alone.  In due time He will show them the error of their ways:  thus we have so many Christians doing what we wouldn't because they haven't matured to our level yet.  It is the consensus that we all grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Pet. 3:18).  We go from glory to glory and increase in Christ-likeness as we grow and mature according to 2 Cor. 3:18. ("...we are transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory....").

Albert Camus said that "the absurd is sin without God."  This is true:  if there is no God, there is no absolute value system and everything is only relative.  No one can say with certainty that something is a sin.  We need a divine standard to appeal to:  some call this "natural law"--this is what convicted the Nazi war criminals who claimed they only obeyed the law of the "Fatherland."  We all have a conscience and an innate sense of right and wrong which makes us culpable for our sin.  Dr. Karl Menninger wrote a famous book: Whatever Became of Sin?  Even psychiatrists are starting to use the word again and think that "God" may have a point!

There is a very well-known preacher of a megachurch that refuses to preach on sin because he regards it as a "killjoy word."  I recall Calvin Coolidge, the man of few words, coming home from church and his wife asking him what the sermon was about:  "Sin."  "What did he say?" "He was against it!"  If  I make any point, I want you to be sure that God cannot tolerate sin in His presence (Satan was booted out of heaven) and His eyes are too pure to behold evil (Hab. 1:13). God is just and must do something about the sin question.

But God is love and also gracious and has found a way out of the dilemma.  The gospel message is that God has solved the sin problem through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  If we truly repent of our sins and receive Christ as our Lord and trust Him as our Savior we will be delivered and rescued from the coming wrath or calamity of God (1 Thess. 1:9).    Soli Deo Gloria!

Problem Of Depression

Depression, according to Dr. Gene A. Getz, is when we dwell on the past, misinterpret the present, or anticipate the future all in a bad light.  It is caused by unhealthy thoughts in most cases, though it is possible not to know the reason:  Refer to Psalm 42 and 43 where the psalmist wonders just why he is so "downcast."   It is popularly defined as impression without expression equals depression.  Sometimes the blues are called the doldrums or being in the pits or in a funk.

The problem we have today is not that we have a new problem labeled "depression" which was somehow invented by the psychiatrists in this modern age to define a new phenomenon, but that we don't want to admit our problem or weakness and keep it all to ourselves until it is too late and we are victims.  Many veterans are committing suicide and they have learned to cope in the most trying of circumstances, but find civilian life unwelcome and unsettling and can't readjust or acclimatize back into the common society, which is another culture shock.  Job, Jonah, and Elijah all had death wishes and we have their records in Scripture to warn us or show us that it is not unusual or something God can't deal with or heal.

The problem with depression, is not that we get it, because most will at one time or another ("Song sung blue, everyone knows one"), but how we cope with it (we all have coping mechanisms that "work" for us, some are just self-destructive like binge eating)--what is the therapeutic thing to do and is this a helpful solution, or part of the problem?  If we go shopping, eat, sleep, gamble, drink, withdraw, or get into trouble every time we get depressed, it may become an ingrained habit and become part of our nature.  "Sow a thought, and reap an act; sow an act and reap a habit; sow a habit, and reap a character; sow a character, and reap a destiny.'  We are what our thoughts make us up to be:  "For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7).  It is important what we make out reality to be and our viewpoint, regarding reality and how we adjust to it.  We cannot live in a fantasy world but must be realistic.

Depression, to some, is a choice:  they choose to have a pity party and wallow in their self-pity, just not able to cope.  But in some cases, it is more of an inherited trait or personality trait, and not a flaw to be ashamed of, but something that can be helped.  We may not choose to be depressed, but we do choose how we react to it and how to cope.  Psychiatry today is focusing more on the positive thing to do and depending less on trying to figure out the reason for the depression.  Living a healthy lifestyle is the cure, not understanding ourselves.  The Greek axiom of Socrates, "Know thyself" may be valid for success, but we need to interact with others and get help if we are to overcome our depression--by the way, knowing the Lord is even more vital.  People who need people are the happiest people!  "I get by with a little help from my friends," sing The Beatles.  You'd be surprised at how much a good friend can get you out of your depression simply by talk therapy.  Things tend to work them out if we give them a chance.

Some people are known to have "bipolar disorder" and abnormally have highs and lows due to some inborn. inherited trait, but this per se is not wrong or a "sin" but how they deal with it and what happens when they are in their periods of depression or euphoria.  They may even frown upon someone feeling "too good" for their own good.   Creative people would often rather stay that way because they find creativity has a lot to do with their feelings. It is not good to rely on feelings but some people are more maudlin and sentimental; others are more stoical and less demonstrative in their feelings and don't even relate to their feminine side--they want to "be a man" or act like a man and be "tough."

We don't want to get out of touch with our emotions and harden our hearts, but God desires a tender heart that is in tune with Him and his feelings.  Great men in the Bible also were in touch with their feelings and were not ashamed. Sometimes all we need to do is to get it out in the open and express ourselves in the interaction with others by having and making friends--we don't want to end up loners who live in their own little world without any fellowship or interaction with people they are in touch within their circle of friends or sphere of influence.

Ted Turner says that "Christianity is for losers."  They say that it's a crutch!  Everyone has a crutch of some kind--no one is an island that needs no one.  We all need each other--only God is a rock.  The Buddhists say that we to face up to our own karma and we only get what we deserve--what goes around, comes around.

We all are meant to be a religious people that can only find fulfillment in God--a vacuum that only God can fulfill. Augustine said only God can meet our needs for this longing of the soul.  Men are said to be Homo religiosus or a religious being.  We will worship something, whether it is God or not doesn't matter, it will be something (fame, fortune, power) or someone (heroes, family, friends, lovers), but letting anything take God's place is idolatry and breaking the first commandment not to have any gods before our God in His rightful place.  When we learn to depend on Christ in our daily walk we have certainly matured and we all must learn that we are all part of the body of Christ and are in this together.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Going By Your Conscience?

Are you justified in obeying your conscience?  Can it be wrong?  Is it innate and inborn or developed and nurtured?   Do we inherit it or is it God-given because we are in the image of God?  I posit that we do not instantly know right and wrong from birth ("Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies" [Ps. 58:3]).  The conscience is different in each individual and may be destroyed or muffled by ignoring it or highly fine-tuned by obeying it when we say we have a sensitive conscience.  The criminal in jail for stealing may condemn someone for "stealing" his cigarettes.

Jiminy Cricket said to always obey your conscience.  This only is safe if our conscience is edified by the Word of God as Martin Luther testified to the Pope and Charles V at the Diet of Worms:  "...my conscience is held captive to the Word of God, and to go against conscience is neither right nor safe."  It is no excuse to claim your conscience approves, because it can be wrong or if you have a clear conscience it means God is pleased with you--the Word of God is the standard, not you nor your conscience.

R.. C. Sproul defines conscience: The inner awareness or consciousness of right and wrong and the ability to apply sets of standards or norms to concrete situations.  This may be right and may be wrong.  Do all people know the same sense of right and wrong?  Does it happen at once or do we reach an age of reckoning or accountability that God demands we choose Him or the ways of the world?   Some people let their religious beliefs or convictions interfere with their conscience and violate it and become fanatics for a cause.  Conscience does convict us and God speaks through it:  "I speak the truth in Christ ...  my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 9:1).

The very essence of sin is to do what you know is wrong: "..to him who knows to do right and wrong, to him it is sin" (Rom. 14:23).  Isaiah 7:15  says that the child will one day be able to distinguish good from evil.  I deduce this means that it is developed over time and can be seared, scarred, hardened, or ignored because he reaches that time of the decision to go one way or the other.

What I see the conscience as is not a set of standards, but the ability to develop them and it is part of being in the image of God. Good advice from Paul:  "I strive to keep my conscience clear before God and before man" (Acts 24:16).   An analogy is that we are born with the ability to speak, but must develop and nurture or train and practice to perfect it.  God simply doesn't expect much from a young conscience as the well-refined one.  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Drawing The Line

Where do human rights and religious freedom conflict?  Many Christians are against gay marriage and rightly so, for it is not biblical (Lev. 18:22; Rom. 1:27; 1 Cor. 6:9) nor sanctioned as God's plan for man.  But all humans have rights bestowed by God, such as the right to survive which includes the right to look for work or to eat.  We are all sinners and it would be like saying you don't want to serve an alcoholic or a felon.

One cannot deny basic rights conferred by God because said person is a sinner who offends you (this is not promoting or approving their lifestyle).   It would only be prejudice to refuse some service at a restaurant because everyone has a right to eat and this doesn't conflict with any doctrine or teaching of Scripture--all humans are to be treated with respect and dignity as they are all in the image of God, even though marred and tarnished.  Now if the government told a preacher he had to perform a gay marriage, he has the right to refuse--but he may do at his peril and lose his privilege to marry!  He must be willing to pay the price for standing up for right and wrong (we believe in absolute right and wrong--some things are always right, some always wrong).

 No one should be forced to participate in gay marriage in any way that makes him an accessory such as making the wedding cake or taking pictures either (if this is interpreted as their endorsing it like having his name on it or getting publicity).  Why? This clearly goes against sound doctrine and is evil  (male and female He created them ... and said that it was very good). The freedom of religion is not absolute--one cannot say that he has the right of polygamy in America or that he is cannibalistic, for instance.  But all rights have limits (one's rights end where another person's begin): one cannot yell "fire" in a theater either. One must be very careful in legislating that could cause discrimination because that is morally wrong.

But the constitution guarantees the free practice of religion and it cannot restrict its free exercise or force someone into a creed or practice.  Forcing someone to be an accomplice in evil is clearly going over the line morally; I am not a homophobe and do not even object to gays in the military as long as logistical problems are resolved, no one is forced to get "intimate" with them, and no one's privacy is invaded.  But the government crosses the line in forcing the military to "celebrate" or even associate with gay pride in the service which I interpret as "endorsing" it.  They have a right to pride, but not in making me an accessory or accomplice.

In conclusion, the example of a caterer supplying cake to the wedding being interpreted as "endorsing" it (i.e., putting our name to it or making the news or getting publicity--note the example that Paul brings up about the meat sacrificed to idols--for conscience's sake don't ask) would be wrong, but just supplying food or cake to any sinner is not a sin because that is not "endorsing" it.  Let each act according to their own conscience, but if they act in civil disobedience, they must suffer the consequences.   You have to draw the line somewhere:  everyone could be considered an indirect accessory, even the truck driver that brought the dough, but when they "endorse" it in a legal sense we draw the line--we cannot be forced to give our approbation or imprimatur to evil.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Parameters Of Sin

You can't always determine whether some habit or activity is a sin per se, but anything not mentioned specifically or implied in Scripture is not sin and we shouldn't get a guilt complex--Satan likes to accuse and condemn, but the Holy Spirit demonstrates an open-and-shut case without a doubt and there "is no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus" according to Romans 8:1.  What is the nature of sin, but to be a violation of the nature of God--sin cannot coexist with the divine nature of God in His holiness, just like matter and antimatter.

Sin estranges us from God (one need only read Isa. 59:2 says, "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God...."  Alienation of affection or a broken relationship is the idea--we can't get along or agree with others about it and make enemies.  We are God's enemies as sinners!  Sin also enslaves us because we are the servant and slave of sin before we get set free in Christ (cf. Rom. 6:14, "For sin shall have no dominion over you..., and "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed," says John 8:36).

We are dead to sin as believers and under the Law of Moses (any thought, word, action, omission, or desire contrary to the Law is a sin).  The Law has lost power to condemn and judge us as believers--we are no longer "under the Law" according to Romans 6:14. Does this activity enslave us, do we control it or does it control us?  Moderation is the key, anything in excess might be a sin or going overboard (C. H. Spurgeon was asked when he'd give up smoking:  He replied, "When it becomes a problem!").  Idolatry is one of the essences of sin and putting anything in the place of God or making a god out of it is sinful--the key is to keep God in His rightful place in our lives and always first and foremost in priority--not just important, but first place.

It is not our job to convict our brother of his sins, but it is the sole role of the Holy Spirit.  The preacher is not to get personal or use someone as an example without their permission if he is a member of the church.  Some people may say that smoking is not a sin, but it certainly estranges us and enslaves us just like a vice or sinful habit would, but I am not on a crusade against smokers, who may be trying to quit and are aware of their shortcomings and failures.  Something may be sin to one person and not to another: "For whatever is not of faith is sin," says Rom. 14:23 and James 4:17l says, "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it., it is sin for them."   These verses imply a conscience, though not explicitly stated.

The only sin against the body is adultery according to Paul in 1 Cor. 6:18. Therefore to say that smoking is a sin because it's bad for you is fallacious reasoning, and one could go on to say that meat is a sin because it causes heart problems due to its cholesterol, or being out of shape and not exercising is a sin because we should glorify God in our bodies.   Soli Deo Gloria!