Psalm 25:6c-7 – Lots of Remembering

Here is my literal translation of these verses:

“On you I wait/hope all the day.

  Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from [the] ages.

  Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellions.

  According to Your loving-kindness may You remember me, in accordance with Your goodness, YHVH.”

As you might note from my “bolding,” the word “remember” occurs three times in these few lines. Repetition is always cause for pause in Hebrew.

Remembering is an interesting thing. The first thing that probably catches all of our eyes is the “Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellions.” It sort of jumps off the page. I think I’m probably typical if I relate that my “remembering” haunts me. It seems like my memory incessantly conjures up all of my sins and stupidity and bludgeons me mercilessly. It seems seriously to be almost non-stop. I wish I could “remember not the sins of my youth!” But then I guess what hurts is the fear that the rest of the world doesn’t “forget.” I certainly need for those around me to not “remember the sins of my youth.” I cannot be loved unless people choose to not remember my sins. I am keenly aware that my sins hang like a wall of ice ready to cut off every relationship I might have hoped for. They are there. And I certainly don’t forget them. But relationships depend on forgetting.

But then this same boding stands between me and God. I desperately need His help. I desperately need His love and grace. I desperately need Him to answer my croaking prayers. But there are my sins. I’m such an idiot. How He can stand me is itself a grand enigma. But I still need Him. Then I face those times where it seems He isn’t answering my prayers. What is the first thing that comes to mind? My sins. I am confident that the penalty of my sins was paid by Jesus. I know it is true that because of Him there is no way that God could love me more and nothing that could possibly make Him love me less. Yet still, this is a relationship. And my sins do frustrate the intentions of His grace.

What to do? Take it to Him. It’s okay. Tell Him. Lord, I need You to not remember my sins. I can’t forget them. I fear people around me hold them against me. But You. You are the God of my deliverance. I can’t save myself and I can’t even deliver myself. Here am I. I can’t change my past. I can’t promise anything for the future. I just desperately need Your help. Albert Barnes asked, “Who is there that cannot with deep feeling join in this prayer?”

Then it is interesting to go back to the passage and note again that the word “remember” occurs three times. The “sin” thing is only one of the three(!). In the first it is God’s hesed, His loving-kindness that is called to memory. And then David notes that it is “from the ages.” Here is something significant about God. He doesn’t just choose to be loving. He is loving. And He always has been. And He always will be. As we bounce up and down and thrash from side to side, blundering along in our foolishness, He is utterly unaffected and unchanged. He just goes on being our loving God. His love may move Him to draw out His rod and give us a good spanking. Or it may move Him to step into something and rescue us. But regardless of what kind of response we may perceive, He goes on unchanged. He is a Rock of love. His love is “from the ages” or “from eternity.”

The third remember is “Remember me.” Remember Your loving-kindness. Please don’t remember my sins. “May You remember me.” Ah, and so it gets personal again. It’s me and You.

That’s where it should be. All this “remembering” wears me out. I’d rather just sit in His lap, bury my head in His big chest, and enjoy the love and warmth and the security of Him.

The Priority of Love

As I read through and study the Bible I keep running across verses that emphasize the importance of love. In my current study of Psalm 25, David prays, “Lord, show me Your ways…” What is His “way?” I am more and more convinced that it is first of all a way of love.  In younger days I would have agreed with this statement but then I would have been quick to add, “…but it is a holy love!” and felt it important to remind everyone how important it is to “keep the rules.” The truth is that, like a true Pharisee, “keeping the rules” was more important than love. I’m ashamed now that I ever allowed myself to be part of their camp. The Pharisees were Jesus’ most bitter enemies. And why did they hate Him? Because He didn’t “keep the rules.” And what did He do? He loved. But that didn’t even register on the radar screen of their legalism. I want to be like Him, not them. Consider what He Himself says in His Word:

Matthew 22:37-40: Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

John 13:34,35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Romans 13:8-10: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

Galatians 5:6: “…The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

Ephesians 5:1,2: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, …”

Colossians 3:18: “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Psalm 25:4-6 – Pondering Deliverance

I have been offering my literal translation of these verses:

“Cause me to know Your ways, YHVH. Train me [in] Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth.  Train me because You [are] the God of my deliverance. On you I wait/hope all the day. Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from ages.”

Looking closely at these verses, it’s interesting that David adds the “because You [are] the God of my deliverance.”

He’s saying, “Show me, lead me, teach me … because You are the God of my deliverance.”

I want to think about the “because.” The word translated “deliverance” is an interesting word. It is commonly translated “salvation” which is completely legitimate. I choose instead to use the word “deliverance” since, in Christian circles, we assign “salvation” to the actual event of being born again. But, as important as that is, I think the point in this verse goes on to include all of the daily deliverance that goes on throughout our human existence. I experienced salvation over 30 years ago. I desperately need deliverance today!

I think it is cool that the word itself is derived from the Hebrew word Yashah which is where Yeshua/Jesus comes from! The word picture is “to make wide.” It is the opposite of being pinched and smashed, crushed, bound up. To experience “Yasha” is to be brought out into a wide place where you’re free to jump and move. I love that picture because that’s how life is. All of our troubles and problems, other peoples’ cruelties, our own bad habits, whatever, hold us down and hold us back. It all crushes the very life out of us. But what we’re asking God to do is to Yasha us, to bring us out into a wide place where we’re free. And that is Who He is – the God of our Yasha(!).

David asks God for all the leading and teaching “because You are the God of my deliverance.” Certainly, ultimately only God can deliver us. And sometimes it is simply miraculous. But notice how, with the “because,” David connects the leading and teaching with God’s deliverance. In fact, to know God’s ways, to be trained in His paths, to travel in His truth is to be delivered, is it not? Would it not be reasonable to say that the number one way God wants to deliver us is that we walk in His way? If we walk in His way, we certainly avoid a lot of trouble. “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He will make even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Prov 16:7). Certainly many times, the only way out of trouble is to follow God’s way.

Sometimes it is totally okay to just beg God for deliverance. You know what I mean – I don’t care if it takes a miracle … just SAVE me!!! But it is equally valid even in our troubles to be asking God to teach us His way and realize that the learning may actually be the path to deliverance.

The good news is that He is the God of our deliverance; not just our hero, not just a powerful friend. God. Our deliverance is provided by One Who is far above this world, far above the people, the rulers, the powers, the sickness and everything else that so often oppresses us.

No wonder David adds, “On You I wait/hope all the day.” As I pointed out in an earlier post, the word translated “to wait” also means “to hope” so I just put both in the sentence. As I try to learn God’s ways, as I fail miserably, as I flounder around, my heart is waiting on God to somehow, someway bring me out of this. My heart’s hope is ultimately in Him.  

If He delivers me, I’ll be delivered. Whether it is through me walking in His way or if it just flat takes a miracle, still, it will come from Him. I’m such a blockhead, I won’t even learn His way unless He teaches me and even if He teaches me, I’ll chicken out and fail somewhere along the line. Even if I know His way, I need Him to help me actually do it. And then I desperately need His blessing on my doing. I NEED Him. On Him I’m waiting/hoping all the day.

Along another line, I don’t know how much of deliverance we can be assured we’ll see in this world. I wish I could believe that, sooner or later, in this world, He’ll deliver me from all the things that crush me. But Hebrews 11 makes it clear that while some

“³³…through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the alien…”

Yet others

“…wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented … these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, …”

I think part of His being the “God of my deliverance” is that I leave the timetable up to Him. I wish He would just deliver me from it all today. But He might not. In fact, I may die still afflicted by some of the things I’ve been begging Him to change for years. But then, to die in Christ is to live forever – finally totally delivered. God will make good on His promise to save me to the uttermost, whether in this world or the next. But bottom-line He’s God and I’m just a man. The schedule is His.

I just pray for His sufficient grace that, whether He delivers me or not, that I might love well.

“On You I wait/hope all the day.”

Psalm 25:4-6 – A Lament for Discipleship

I have been offering my literal translation of these verses:

“Cause me to know Your  ways, YHVH. Train  me [in] Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth.  Train me because You [are] the God of my deliverance. On you I wait/hope all the day. Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from ages.”

The word translated “train” is “lamad.” It would be one of the Hebrew synonyms for “to teach.” However, its semantic range definitely includes more than just the idea of passing along knowledge. It includes the idea of staying with the person, working through their attempt to apply the teaching, going through it again and again until they’ve “got it.” In a local school setting, it would be more analogous to the wrestling coach than to the Algebra teacher. The Algebra teacher can teach the lesson then some people pass and some flunk. The wrestling coach shows the boys a move, then gets down on the mat with each boy individually and works through it again and again and again until that boy can do it smoothly, effortlessly. (I realize this is an oversimplification – I personally had an Algebra teacher who sat on the bleachers in the gym with me and helped me learn Cartesian coordinates. But you get my point).

Lamad is more than just passing along knowledge. It is actual, practical training. Interestingly, in Hebrew, an oxgoad was called a “malmad.” Hebrew was written in all consonants, no vowels, so Lamad was actually lmd. You can see the lmd in “malmad.” So, hopefully you “get the point” (no pun intended). To “lamad” could never be satisfied with simply passing on knowledge. It was to teach and then stick with an oxgoad. “There you go. Now let’s see you do it.”

In the Christian realm, the word for this is “discipleship.” I think we would all understand that “discipling” is more than just teaching. Somehow it has to include more than just passing along knowledge. To “disciple” someone involves the actual “life” training; staying with the person until they’ve “got it.”

My lament is that such activity is almost a forgotten art, and that not only in the church but in the rest of the world as well. Having said that, I hope this post does not come across as negative or hopeless. That is not my intent. I hope it comes across as simply factual and thought-provoking. If, in fact, discipleship or “training” is basically a forgotten art, it will only be revived if individual people join my lament, then resolve that, within their own sphere of influence, they will endeavor to change.

My lament is that basically “training” doesn’t happen anymore. Everyone today thinks you should be able to offer a class, stand in front of who-knows-how-many-people, give them the information, then turn them loose to do wonders with it. Once in a while, maybe, that works. But again and again and again in my life I have sat in such classes, received the info, the outlines, the tables, the charts, only to go back to my office and realize I don’t know how to put the info into practice. I don’t “get it.”

My father “trained” me. He showed so many things to my brother and me. He taught us things like how to take our bicycles apart clear down to the bearings, repack them with grease, and put them back together again. He taught me how to do vinyl siding. And my step-Dad did the same. He explained how to hang gutters, then came to my house and worked right alongside me.

But that is about it for my life. Basically, the last time anyone (other than my Dad or stepdad) actually “trained” me to do anything was in college. Our TA’s had office hours where you could go in and sit down and say, “I don’t understand how to do this problem.” Then they would actually take the time to walk through it and I would actually “get it!” I thought at work there would be older engineers who would explain things to me, like those TA’s. Mentors, you know. But that has not been my experience. And from talking to others, no one else has found anyone willing to “explain” things. Basically, you’re on your own.

It’s too bad. That’s not the way God is. Think about it. When He came to earth and lived as a man, what did He do? Called twelve disciples. And how did he “teach” them? He lived with them. He taught them orally, but then He was right there with them, constantly explaining things, answering their questions, cheering their successes, correcting their faults. He is THE discipler, the trainer. To be like Him means to be more of a discipler, trainer, wherever we might have opportunity, whether it’s our kids, our grandkids, at work, amongst believers, even in our community.

I am so much the richer for every single time anyone ever took the time to “show me” anything. As I go about living my life, I find myself feeling so confident as I do something that someone once “showed me” how to do. On the other hand, it seems like with the things where no one ever “showed me” and I just sort of “figured out” on my own, there’s always a sense of doubt, a feeling that I’m “not sure I’m doing this right.” And that is true though I’ve been doing those things for 30 years. There’s still a hesitation, a lack of confidence. Even if I “show” someone else, I am tempted to say, “I don’t know if this is the best way to do this, but it works for me …” Truth is it probably helps them enormously. Now they’ve been “shown.”

That’s my life anyway. It’s the way I see things. Maybe it isn’t the way others see it. If someone stumbles across this post and you totally don’t see what I’m saying … hey, it’s a free country! But if it does make sense to you and you too would lament for discipleship, then resolve with me that, as you work through your days, be praying the Lord would help you to see the opportunities to “show” someone else, to be a trainer, a discipler, even in the little unofficial, unstructured, unplanned moments of life. We’re asking Him to “teach us His way.” Jesus made it clear that His “way” means living a life of being willing to “show” others how.

You and I can’t change the world. But we can change us. And maybe someone will be the richer for it!

Psalm 25:4-6 – More “Ways … Really!”

In my last post I offered my literal translation of these verses:

“Cause me to know Your  ways, YHVH. Train  me [in] Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth.  Train me because You [are] the God of my deliverance. On you I wait/hope all the day. Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from ages.”

I noted there what an important concept is this simple thing God calls our “way.” Again, TWOT says, “[In the Bible,] the contrast is between the way of sin/death and the way of obedience/life. These exhaust the options available to man. Man makes his own choice but he cannot choose his own consequences … The way which one chooses determines one’s destiny.”

“… No wonder the Lord admonishes us in Haggai 1:6, “Consider your ways …”

As I noted earlier, the Bible is filled from cover to cover with verses referring to this business of our “way.” There are a number of passages that especially touch my heart and I would like to quote them:

Gen 18:19 – “For I have known him, that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

Exodus 33:13-15 – ¹³ “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” ¹⁴ And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” ¹⁵ Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here”.

Joshua 1:8 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success”.

Psalm 119:9 -- How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

Psalm 139:23,24 -- Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxious thoughts and cares; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Proverbs 14:12 -- There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

Isaiah 55:8,9 -- ⁸ “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”.

“Lord, cause me to know Your ways. Train me in Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth. Train me.”

Really.

Psalm 25:4-6 – Ways … Really!

Here is my literal translation of these verses:

“Cause me to know Your ways, YHVH. Train  me [in] Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth.  Train me because You [are] the God of my deliverance. On you I wait/hope all the day. Remember Your mercies YHVH and Your loving-kindnesses because they [are] from ages.”

“Cause me to know Your ways.”

“Your ways.”

A “way” is a very important thing.

Back when I was studying II Peter 2:15,16, I stopped to ponder this concept of “ways.” I said there: “It strikes me that this thing of a “way” is a frequent subject throughout the Bible … In fact, it is frequent. A quick perusal of Strong’s Concordance shows the words “way” and “ways” occur hundreds of times. Logically speaking, a “way” is extremely important because “ways” always lead somewhere. In order to end up at the right destination, one needs to travel in the right “way.” No matter how much a destination may be desired, one will not arrive there unless they travel in the right “way.”… No wonder the Lord admonishes us in Haggai 1:6, “Consider your ways …”

Interestingly, commenting on the Hebrew word for “way,” TWOT says, “The contrast is between the way of sin/death and the way of obedience/life. These exhaust the options available to man. Man makes his own choice but he cannot choose his own consequences … The way which one chooses determines one’s destiny.”

I think that paragraph is worth several reads.

When we would sincerely pray, “Lord, cause me to know Your ways,” that prayer should be no mindless cliché(!). When I ask Him to teach me His ways, I’m asking for life itself! To fail of His way is to die, though I live. To walk in His way is to live, though I die!

My mind is kind of reeling with the enormity of it all.

I’m always on some “way” – every minute of every day. I am actually on a path as I go about my work, stop at the grocery store, run into an old friend, have a flat tire, answer the phone, eat my supper. But what way? The Lord’s way or any other? There are only two options. As TWOT said, “These exhaust the options available man.”

We actually desperately need the Lord to help us walk in His way, because the alternative is fatal! “… The way which one chooses determines one’s destiny.”

But again this is a very practical thing because I’m doing it all day every day.

Interesting the progression in the Psalm: “…cause me to know Your ways,” “train me [in] Your paths,” “cause me to travel in Your truth,” “train me.” The word I’ve translated “train” is more than just to teach. It is the idea of someone teaching you but then staying with it to work through it with you over and over until you’ve “got” it. There’s no interest here in any simple “head” knowledge. This is intensely practical business. I not only need to “know” the right way, but I need to very specifically and deliberately incorporate that “way” into my daily life.

We see that David is quite serious in his prayer here. It is no cliché to him!

Psalm 139:23,24 is a similar prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
         Try me, and know my anxious thoughts and cares;

And see if there be any wicked way in me,
         And lead me in the way everlasting.

Interesting too that Jesus said, “I am the Way …”

Interesting too that the Lord made it simple when He told us to love God and love each other; that fulfills the Law. My “way” is a way of love. Love to God and love to others. Minute by minute. All day. Every day.

I guess when I first read these verses, the enormity of it all didn’t impress me. Had I prayed the prayer then, it probably would have been at least somewhat cliché. But I don’t want it to be cliché. I want it to be real.

So let’s try it again.

“Lord, cause me to know Your ways. Train me in Your paths. Cause me to travel in Your truth. Train me.”

Really.

Psalm 25:1-3 – Real World Talk

Again, here is my literal translation of these verses:

[Given] to David: To You, Yahveh, I lift up my soul. My God, I trust [recklessly] in You. Let me not be ashamed. Do not let my enemies triumph over me. Also, do NOT let ones waiting for/hoping in You be ashamed. Let be ashamed ones dealing unfaithfully without cause.

I have become more and more convinced over the years that preaching today does people an enormous disservice by focusing almost entirely on “church” and utterly failing to address people’s everyday lives. With all due respect, I think that those in full-time ministry have developed a severe case of “in-grown eyeballs.” Their world centers around the church-building and its programs. And so their preaching does the same. But, sadly, as I’ve lamented before, the fact is that the average lay-person will spend no more than maybe 3 hours a week at the church building. They spend the other 165 hours of their week in a real world – a real world where those same people need desperately to be equipped to know how to live out their faith – the real world of their workplace, their families, their grocery stores, their mechanics, a world of pressing deadlines, bills to be paid, grass to be mown, runny noses, and soccer games. God help me, as I study the Bible, I am trying desperately to bridge that gap in my own life. What I’m reading MUST apply to my life all day every day or it really means nothing at all. It needs to change me as I live in that real world. It needs to make me different, make me like Christ, whether I happen to be inside the four walls of a church building or sitting in a meeting at work.

I say all of this because I think even these first three verses have everything to do with my everyday life. I have read a number of commentaries, both from my own shelves and on-line, and they have offered many helpful insights. Yet not one of them made any connection to real life, at least nothing beyond the very general sentiments of trusting God in difficulty.

What I’d like to do here is offer a way I see the passage applying in my life. I believe my application is valid and hope it might be encouraging to someone else who stumbles onto this post.

The passage involves a stark contrast between those who “wait for/hope in God” and those who “deal unfaithfully without a cause.”

The word “bagad,” which I have translated “to deal unfaithfully” is a word that gets translated by others in a variety of ways. One of the most familiar to me is “to deal treacherously” as in Malachi 2:14 of husbands “dealing treacherously” against “the wife of their youth”. I feel personally that translations like “deal treacherously” lose their effectiveness in their very melodrama. Apparently, in the right context, the word could mean that. But even in Malachi 2:14, the problem is not that the man turned into some kind of arch-fiend and sold his wife into slavery or gambled her away to some ex-con. Even in the passage, the Lord says, “Yet she is your companion and the wife of your covenant.” The man’s heinous crime is simply that he failed to live up to his promise. He promised to be her husband, to take care of her, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, till death do us part. But she displeased him in some way so he packed her bags and pointed her toward the door. He simply was unfaithful. He didn’t keep his promises.

I believe the real and very practical meaning of bagad is simply “to deal unfaithfully;”  “to not keep one’s promises;” “to fail to follow through when others are counting on me.” Can I just pause and say I find that immediately far more likely than that I might “deal treacherously.” I don’t feel “treacherous.” But I am very, very capable of simply not doing what I said I would – whether out of forgetfulness, laziness, distraction, or whatever. I doubt if I’ll be “treacherous.” But I am all too often “unfaithful.”

Now why is that a big deal? It is a COLOSSAL deal. The very essence of our relationship with God is His faithfulness. He keeps His promises. He is Who He said He’d be. He does what He said He’d do. You can count on it. Jesus said, “I am the Truth.” We build our lives, hang our eternal souls, stake our hopes on His promises. And He is absolutely, 100%, totally, unwaveringly dependable. Faithful. He won’t disappoint you. He won’t leave you ashamed. In fact, as I just learned in II Peter, it is through His "very great and precious promises" that we are allowed to "particpate in the divine nature!" So much is built on the fact that He keeps His promises!

You and I live in a world where we MUST do the same. We count on God. Others count on us. They base their plans on what we said we’d do, who we said we’d be. In a sense the entire human race is like a house of cards built on our mutual promises.

So then there are the others. They’re not like God. They “deal unfaithfully without a cause.” Can I say again in warning, don’t lose the practicality here by being melodramatic. We’re not looking here at some kind of monsters. We’re talking simply about people who don’t keep their promises, who don’t do what they said they would. The monstrosity is in the sin itself. Unfaithfulness, the simple act, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant, is itself a MONSTROUS sin. And why? As I said above, because we all depend on each other – to do what we said we would. Again, the whole human race is like a house of cards built on our mutual dependence. And simple unfaithfulness is the death of it all.

Back to our passage. David is praying as one of the people who is sincerely trying to live faithfully. It’s a precarious thing. It’s often uncertain. Just trying to be who I’m supposed to be, do what I’m supposed to do, to live with integrity. I have to make a lot of hard choices. I have to make promises. I have to present myself as a person of integrity, a person of sincere and good intentions. But I live in a world where it can all blow up in my face, turn out not at all as I planned, leave me looking like a liar, a charlatan. On the other hand, even as I’m going about trying to be faithful, I live in a world where others have no such intentions. They make the same promises as me, present themselves the same way, yet have no intention at all of living up to it. And they usually are the ones who seem to succeed. They’re the ones who get rich. David says, “No, no, no. Lord, please don’t let me be ashamed. Don’t let the people who are trying to be faithful be the ones who end up ashamed. The ones who ought to do down in shame are all these slinky jerks who go around promising people the world, then just using them. May those be the ones who end up ashamed!”

This antithesis is patently obvious in my business world. I am an engineer. I work particularly with small towns. I want to be their engineer. I want to help them. They need an engineer who cares, who is sincerely watching out for their best interests. They need someone who will help them plan projects that really will benefit the town. They need someone who is always available to answer questions, give them advice, and simply provide them with the technical expertise that they cannot possibly have on their own. The same is true of Town attorneys, but I’m not one, so I won’t go there. But I hope you see my point. And although we have to be paid and we have to make money (my creditors  insist on it!), yet it’s not about the money. It’s about sincerely providing a real service to meet real needs. I sincerely believe I can trust God that if I’m faithful to take care of my clients, then, in the long run, they’ll take care of me.

Let me not be ashamed (!).

On the other hand, everywhere I go I am literally awash in an ocean of others’ unfaithfulness. These poor little towns (and pardon me now if I seem to get melodramatic) have been raped for years by engineers and salesmen who have promised them the world, been more than happy to take their money, but utterly failed to look after their best interests. It is heart-breaking to see the junk they’ve been sold, the messes they’ve been left with, the money they’ve paid for nothing. I don’t want to be that way. Even if by sincere failure on my part. To fail is to fail whether the intent was sincere or not. I don’t want to be ashamed.

As I related in my last post, I’m working on a project right now that MUST succeed. There is no plan B. I walked into a hopeless situation where 350 people could lose their jobs and, based on my knowledge of engineering, I offered them a solution that I sincerely believe will work and will work well. I’m sure it will. And based on my recommendations, they are now spending $30,000 to see if it will work.  I sincerely believe it will. I’m sincerely pursuing this for their benefit. Yes, I’m getting paid, but that isn’t what it’s about. Others have made many, many, many similar promises, have pawned themselves off as someone who cares, only to let them down and run off with their money. I don’t want to be like them. I really do want to help. But I could fail too.

And so I pray,

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. My God, I trust [recklessly] in You. Let me not be ashamed. Do not let my enemies triumph over me. Also, do NOT let ones waiting for/hoping in You be ashamed. Let be ashamed ones dealing unfaithfully without cause.

For whomever might have stumbled across this post, I hope you see what I mean. This passage is NOT just some general nice sounding religious words. This is a very real and heartfelt prayer in a world where I desperately need my God to carry me in His arms, to bless the work of my hands, to honor me so that I can in turn honor Him by doing my work well and being a real benefit to those who depend on me.

O my God, I trust in Thee. Let me not be ashamed. Let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Psalm 25:1-3 – Nice Psalm

Here is my literal translation of these verses:

[Given] to David: To You, Yahveh, I lift up my soul. My God, I trust [recklessly] in You. Let me not be ashamed. Do not let my enemies triumph over me. Also, do NOT let ones waiting for/hoping in You be ashamed. Let be ashamed ones dealing unfaithfully without cause.

Lots of things cross my mind as I’ve pondered these verses.

First of all, this Psalm has a characteristic opening which says simply “To David.” Once when I was studying the Psalms with a Rabbi, I said something attributing a Psalm to David, at which time the Rabbi most emphatically corrected me, pointing out that the Hebrew says “to David,” not “by David.” He suggested that someone else wrote it and perhaps presented it to David. I had to acknowledge that his translation was correct. It does say, “To David.” On the other hand, I knew there was some explanation. Interestingly, in Matthew 22: 43-45, Jesus very clearly recognizes David as the author of Psalm 110:1. He says, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?" Also interestingly, Psalm 110 begins with the same “To David;” yet Jesus unequivocally recognizes David as the author.

So why is it “to David?” I think Jesus explains it in the passage quoted above when He says, “…David, speaking by the Spirit …” I doubt not one whit that David was far too humble to claim authorship of a Psalm. He was all too aware that the Psalms were given to him, and so, in that humility, he never signed them “By David” but rather “To David.” Simple explanation, in my humble opinion.

Then I notice that David says, “To You, Yahveh, I lift up my soul.” This is in stark contrast to Psalm 143:3, where he says, “The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground.” That is why we have to constantly “lift up our souls” to the Lord. We have an enemy who is constantly crushing us down to the ground. David says in Psalm 27:13, “I would have fainted except I believed …” Satan and this world and even our own sin natures work quadruple over-time to knock us down, in a million different ways: “You’re no good. You’ll never make it. You’ll never amount to anything. See, you just can’t win, can you? What’s the point of trying? Give it up, stupid. That’s what you get for hoping. Of course you’re angry. You should be. Go ahead, let them have it! Go ahead, you deserve it! Go ahead. Give in. Why fight it any longer?” On and on, day after day, ad nauseum. Spurgeon said, “Very often, the soul cannot rise, [it is] more like a burrowing mole than a soaring eagle.” I personally can imagine no other cure than to “lift up my soul to the Lord.” “Much of what they’re saying may be too true. But You are my strength, my hope, my shield. By grace let me walk today. By grace give me the victory of love. To You I lift up my soul.” Apparently I find life very much like David did. Guess things haven’t changed much in 3000 years.

Another thing I love: In v2, he says, “I trust in You.” “Be-ka batakti.” I love the Hebrew word Batak. Simply translated it means to trust. But the Hebrew picture is far more colorful. It means to trust recklessly. It means to leave nothing in the bank. It’s like the “trust falls” the kids like to do. I hope that is how I trust the Lord: recklessly. He certainly deserves it.

Then he says, “Let me not be ashamed.” This is an important point, I think, where we have to shift cultures. In English, to be ashamed can be a very personal, private thing, the bad feelings I have when I deeply regret a course of action I pursued. But that is very, very American. We are first and foremost individuals. There is almost no sense of community in our souls. Yes, I am an American. Yes, I may be part of a team. But I am very much an individual within those communities and I expect to be recognized as such.

From what I have read of history and certainly from reading through the Old Testament numerous times, I am often amazed at how much more the ancient world was truly a community. People saw themselves first of all as members of a family, of a village, of a nation. I think we saw that in the Beijing Olympics even with the opening ceremonies, where there was an amazing number of Chinese able to perform together in perfect harmony and rhythm. As I watched that performance, I thought to myself, “You could never do that in America. You couldn’t get that many people to perform together in a group so large that they completely lose their independent existence". What this all comes down to is this word “shame.” In Hebrew it is not a private word for feelings I have sitting alone in my room. It is a very public word. It describes the feelings I have when I know I have failed and everyone else knows it too … and they’re all standing around pointing at me.

David is saying, “Lord, I want to trust recklessly in You. But if I do so, I fear my own failure. I fear people mocking and saying, 'Trust in God? Ha! See where it got you?'” The problem is that, even if what I’m doing is good, I have an infinite capacity to screw it up and make a mess of everything. I desperately need God’s help to actually succeed, to stick it out to the end, to overcome the obstacles, to not lose heart in the middle, to see it through to a successful end. I have projects at work right now where that is exactly what I’m praying. They must succeed. One in particular we are pusuing specifically because I said it will work. $30,000 from now, it had better work. If it doesn’t, I’ll be ashamed for recommending it, for wasting their money. And I’ll also be ashamed in the community sense because it simply must work. It is critically important.

So, although, we are very individual in America, public shame is a very real threat. While I hate the private feelings of regretting my own failures, I like that this Hebrew word is so much bigger. And I’m glad I can pray, “Let me not be ashamed,” and mean it in that very large public sense. The simple fact is, I fear that too.

There is much, much more to say, but I’ll end this post by noting that David adds, “Also, do NOT let ones waiting for/hoping in You be ashamed …” I don’t know if he means “Don’t let them be ashamed because of my failure” or just in general he’s thinking of others. Either way, he’s thinking of others. There’s that community thing again. And it’s a good thing. I hope when I’m praying, and especially when I’m praying out of suffering and anguish, that my heart is big enough to remember that people all around me are suffering too. David obviously was like that. Jesus certainly was like that. I should be too. Also, for whatever it's worth, I capitalized the NOT because it is the most emphatic Hebrew word for "Not." If anything, David was more concerned for others than for himself! "Let me not be ashamed, but let them NOT be ashamed." finally, I love the word translated wait/hope. It interestingly means both in one word. That is why I translated it with both.

Very encouraging Psalm. Thank you, Lord.

II Peter – “Good-bye, Old Friend!”

As I mentioned in my last post, one of the reasons I chose to study II Peter was to ponder its similarity to Jude. There was no question in my mind that Jude is chiastically ordered and I wondered if II Peter is also … and then whether the two were interrelated.

Also as I mentioned in the last post, as I have waded through II Peter, I did in fact find a considerable amount of repetition and often that repetition does appear to be symmetrical around the center of the book, all strongly suggesting order and likely chiastic order. I am especially intrigued when the center of the book is in the area of the reference to Balaam and his greed – which is the apex of the chiasm in Jude.

However, all of that said, I simply cannot see the pattern. Lots of repetition. Repetition that often appears symmetrical. Repetition of highly significant words like “promise” and “diligence” and the “Coming.” But for all my staring and diagramming, I just can’t see the pattern. So I think I’m going to have to close the file and move on.

It is possible that the “order” used is something I’m not familiar with. Pretty much I only know to look for chiasms. There’s no question in my mind that there is in fact some kind of order going on. I just can’t see it.

Here is where I give it my best shot, pray about it, and at some point decide that now simply is not the time. If I live long enough I may come back. It may be that I have to learn some other things, grow in some other ways, know God better, then it will fall off the page in my lap.

The fact is, I have learned so much from this book. There may be more to learn if I can discern an order. But regardless, the journey has been a sweet refuge sitting at the feet of my Lord. He reminded me how much He loves me and intends to do me good (“grace and peace be multiplied to you). He explained that it is by His promises that I actually participate in His divine nature – very great and precious promises indeed! Then He laid out for me the seven virtues of 1:5-7 and explained their meaning. I particularly was struck by the concept of “group love” and have tried to remember that as I deal with the many, many different “teams” I work with day in and day out. Once again, it appeared that, if there is a chiasm, the apex centers on Balaam and his greed. In Jude I concluded that greed is the supreme symptom to watch for in those who would propose to teach the Word – whether it is greed for money, or perhaps (as in the fundamentalist camp) for power and applause. People who give any evidence at all that they’re “in it for themselves” are utterly unfit to be teaching the Word, and, in fact, according to Jude and Peter, they’re dangerous(!). Finally, it was great being reminded that “the end of it all” is quite in God’s hands. It is thrilling to me to ponder this earth and the entire universe recreated in its original perfection and then to have forever to explore its magnificence. There will definitely be some awesome camping trips! And I’m looking forward to exploring the universe – “to go where no man’s gone before”(!).

According to my records I started my study of this book on August 11, 2009. Today is January 15, 2011. It has sure been fun. But it’s time to move on. So … good-bye, old friend. Till we meet again … The Lord and I have plans to meet in Psalm 25. Only He knows what delights He has awaiting me there. He's quite the tour guide, you know! So, off we go!

II Peter – “Pondering Order”

One of the reasons I chose to study II Peter was to ponder its similarity to Jude. There was no question in my mind that Jude is chiastically ordered. II Peter 2 in particular is obviously very similar to Jude, such that people have pondered for years whether Peter is copying Jude or Jude Peter or if perhaps both are referencing some other document. Regardless, the similarities are undeniable. After observing the very clear chiasm in Jude, the thought occurred to me that maybe II Peter is also chiastically ordered and that the two chiasms were deliberately related—perhaps one the mirror image of the other, like the top and bottom v’s of an X.

(For whatever it’s worth, once again, I want to assert that such investigations are not mere academic exercises. The text we’re considering is the Words of the living God. If there is order present, it is deliberate – and since it’s His Word, it’s Him being deliberate. He’s using order to provide emphasis, to communicate His truth in some way. Now, since His truth is logically fractal, one does not have to discern that order to “understand” Him. As anyone would read or study the Word, every little nugget we grasp, every individual piece of the fractal pattern we see is divine truth and when we know the truth, the truth sets us free. But, to understand more is to know Him better … and that is my goal. It’s not a matter of knowing Him at all. It’s a matter of knowing Him better. If the order is there, it is His order, it is deliberate, and to understand it is to understand Him a little better, to think just a little more like Him, to see the world just a little more through His eyes. So, just in case anyone is wondering, I don’t think it is at all a frivolous academic exercise to ponder the order of Scriptural text. I intend it to be intensely practical).

So, is there an order to the book of II Peter?  And is that order somehow tied to Jude?

I don’t know. I think there is order in the book itself, although I don’t see it yet. But I “smell” it. There is considerable repetition of terms within the book. I noted about 25 Greek words that get repeated in ways that look suspiciously like ordered terms.

In particular, there are two phrases that get repeated, one word for word, and the other very closely. In 1:20 and then again in 3:3, the Greek words identically say, “…knowing this first, that ...”. In the NIV, 1:20 is translated, “Above all you must understand that …” and 3:3 gets translated, “First of all, you must understand that …” The two phrases are obviously similar in English, but they are identical in Greek. Their position on either side of chapter 2 looks suspiciously ordered and deliberate.

The other repeated phrase has to do with “stirring you up to remember” and is in 1:13 and 3:1. Interestingly, in Jude 5 and 17, there is also reference to “remembering” and there the two references serve clearly as level D in the chiasm(!). In 1:13, the phrase is “διεγειρειν ύμας εν ύπομνησει” while in 3:1 it is “διεγειρω ύμων εν ύπομνησει”.

Then another very interesting repetition is the word and concept of “coming.” In 1:16, Peter asserts, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ …” Then specifically what the scoffers challenge in 3:4 is His coming: “They will say, ‘Where is this coming He promised?’” Of course chapter 3 centers entirely around the fact of verse 10, “The Day of the Lord will come …” (although “coming” is a different Greek word there).

Other interesting repetitions include the word “promise” (1:4,2:19,3:4,9,13), “diligence” (1:5,10,15;3:12,14), “destruction” (2:1a,1b,3; 3:6,7,16), and words for “remembering/forgetting” (1:9,12,13,15;3:1,2,5,8).

Then, interestingly, the list of virtues in 1:5-7 contains exactly seven virtues.

I strongly suspect that chapter 2 does somehow correspond to the chiasm in Jude while chapters 1 and 3 serve as some kind of (perhaps) chiastic border around it.

I still don’t see anything for sure but I do see a lot of indications that the order is there. So I’ll keep staring at it for just a bit longer before I close up my file and head off to another delicious study.

II Peter 3:17,18 – “Conclusion of the Matter”

And so I come to the end of this book. My very literal translation of the final two verses of this passage would be as follows:

“Therefore, you, beloved, knowing [these things] beforehand, beware that you do not fall of your own stability, being led away by the error of the lawless, but keep on growing in [the] grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him [be] the glory both now and into [the] eternal day. Amen.”

There are two identical statements in the book, in 1:20 and 3:3. Both say “continually knowing this first …” In 1:20, we must “continually know this first” that “No prophecy of Scripture is of its own interpretation but …” while in 3:3, we must “continually know this first” that mockers will come mocking, asking ‘Where is this Coming He promised?” and following their own desires.

In both cases what is in question are God’s promises. We must believe God’s promises and act on them. Mockers mock at God’s promises and follow their own desires. That is the antithesis of the entire book.

Another way this is expressed is that false teachers and those who follow them ignore God’s promises to their own destruction (2:1a,b,3;3:16) and thus become part of the final destruction of the entire material universe (3:6,7,10,12).

Alongside this, the passage warns us that believers are in danger of imbibing the same error, of “being led away by the error of the lawless” – of failing to remember and act on God’s promises. Peter warned us in 1:9 that we are quite capable of being “blind, near-sighted and forgetting the purification of our old sins” and this comes from failing to be diligent to provide along with our faith virtue, self-mastery, etc. (1:5-7), which in the current passage equals failing to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Also in the current passage, failing to grow causes believers to “fall from their own stability.” Believing God’s promises and acting on them makes us “stable.” Disregard (whether deliberate or slothful) of God’s promises leaves us sinking like Peter on the waves.

So, rather, believers, “knowing all this” are to “look forward to the Day of the Lord” (believe God’s promise) and thus be diligent to be found by Him “spotless and blameless” (3:14). God gave us His “very great and precious promises” that we might “participate in the Divine nature” and “escape the corruption in the world through desires” (1:4). That is another way to express our “stability” – to “participate in the Divine nature” and “escape the corruption in the world through desires.” To not “beware,” to “be led away” by the error of the lawless, is to lose sight of God’s promises, to fail to act on them, to fail to be diligent to grow in grace, and thus be left to follow only our desires, to participate not in the Divine nature but instead the corruption and thus destruction of this world.

All of this keeps leading us back to His admonitions in chapter 1 to “remember” those “very great and precious promises” and “be diligent to provide with our faith virtue …”

So what do we do with all of this? To “remember” His “very great and precious promises” first of all requires us to give earnest heed to the Scriptures. I must be constantly reading and studying the Scriptures that His promises might “ride herd on my heart” (Deut 6:4). But I need to do more than just read and study. I have to be diligent to be thinking through those Scriptures – to be asking how they should apply in my life. I need desperately to see my life through God’s eyes. What is really “right” and what is “wrong?” What am I thinking? Why do I do the things I do? Am I making my choices in light of His promises? Or am I forgetting them and instead making my choices based simply on my own desires? I need God’s Word to cast His light on these questions and help me be honest, to not be “blind” and instead to see the truth about myself. And then I must act on that knowledge.  From back in 1:5-7 I do that by:

For this very reason, make every effort to furnish along with your faith manly resolve; and with manly resolve, knowledge; ⁶and with knowledge, self-mastery; and with self-mastery, endurance; and with endurance, godliness; ⁷and with godliness, brotherly kindness; and with brotherly kindness, love.

Once again, what does this mean? For me, the fact is I am facing what to me (like everyone else) are very fiery trials even as I type. There are many things right now weighing heavily (crushing to be precise) on my heart. I feel the pain. I feel the fears. I feel they’re crushing the very life out of me. I’m deciding on some course to follow. What will I do? How will I deal with those things? “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I, I chose …” “I chose …” I chose what?

I chose what? Is that not the very question? Every moment of every day I stand at the two roads and I choose. Again and again and again. Choose what?

Choose to see it and believe God’s promises and act accordingly? To choose to provide with my faith manly valor, …” Or choose instead to follow some self-devised plan to somehow “escape” or “conquer”?

Ahhhh (or “ow”), God help me as I face these trials – at this very minute – to cling to Your promises. I don’t want to sink in the waves. I don’t want to suffer the destruction of this world’s rottenness. I want to participate in Your nature – to love, to live truth. God help me not to “jump ship” on You. Help me not to choose the path of my own self designs. Help me to choose the path that is lit by Your promises. Whether they make sense or not. No matter how much I fear. God help me. Help me. Help me.

That is the conclusion of the matter.

If I succeed, and I guess whether I do or do not, like the book closes: “to Him be the glory both now and into the eternal day. Amen.”  What more can I say? Without Him, I am nothing. Without Him, I’ll surely fail. God give me the victory of love and truth. Today. In these trials. In this pain. You will have Your Day. May I somehow be to Your glory then. May I somehow be to Your glory now.

“…to Him be the glory both now and into the eternal day. Amen.”

God help us.

II Peter 3:17,18 – “Progress in Perfection”

My very literal translation of this passage would be as follows:

“Therefore, you, beloved, knowing [these things] beforehand, beware that you do not fall of your own stability, being led away by the error of the lawless, but keep on growing in [the] grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him [be] the glory both now and into [the] eternal day. Amen.”

While studying this passage I made what is to me a most profound discovery. It doesn’t necessarily derive exegetically from the passage itself but I would like to record my thoughts nonetheless and then come back to the passage in another post.

What particularly caught my eye was the second imperative of the passage: “… keep on growing …” Growing. An interesting concept. Progressive sanctification or more commonly “christian growth” is, to me, an undeniable reality. A person is born again at some point, then spends their earthly existence “growing” in grace, looking forward to that final time when Christ returns and “when we see Him, we will be like Him.” Again, I think it undeniable that “perfection” cannot be attained in this life. I cannot ever stop being a sinner as long as I live in this Adamic body. Only when I am freed of this flesh and given a new body will I be able to live without sin.

All of this seems to me undeniably Biblical and tidy. However, there is within it all something quite untidy and which has perplexed me for years. My quandary particularly focuses on a passage, Hebrews 2:10, that says, “For it was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings”.

Jesus “made perfect?” How could He be “made perfect” when He already was? He was born perfect. He’s God. He can’t be anything else. Even apart from the passage itself, I’ve puzzled over the fact that Jesus had to “learn.” He had to. He was born a little baby, became a toddler, grew into a boy, then a man. The very process itself involves learning. But how can you “learn” if you’re already perfect? Doesn’t “learning” imply progress? And if I learn something today, doesn’t that mean that I somehow was lacking yesterday? I find all of this quite perplexing. A few years ago, while asserting my resolved conclusion that we cannot be “perfect” in this life, yet, based on Heb 2:10, I offered the wild extrapolation that perhaps there is some sense in which it is actually possible to make progress in perfection.

“Progress in perfection”? The words seem almost oxymoronic. But what do we do with Jesus? What do we do with Heb 2:10? And beyond that, the question grows even larger. What about us? We will be “made perfect” to enjoy Heaven forever. But we are not infinite like God. We are finite. The very fact of our creation, that we had a beginning, makes us inextricably finite. And if we’re finite and God is infinite, then no matter how much we know of Him, there will always be more to know. Even if “perfect,” finite beings by definition must “progress” in their knowledge of that which is infinite – a process that is itself infinite, since finiteness will go on infinitely and never reach infinity(!). Is not “knowing God” inextricably a process – a process of continual learning – even in a perfect Heaven? Does it not seem logically necessary to conclude that, in fact, there is some sense in which it must be possible to make progress in perfection?

It suddenly struck me that the answer to this question is yes. There is a sense in which one may progress in perfection(!).

Here is another place where I think our hopelessly obligate linear logic binds us to the ground like lead weights. Since we see everything linearly, this then this then this, we see perfection as a destination to be reached, like moving from left to right on a number line or climbing to some point on an x-y graph. We see it as something one progresses toward until it is finally achieved: the perfect apple pie, the perfect piano concerto, the perfect “10.” I suggest herein is the root of our problem: Perfection is not a destination but rather a pattern. The logic is fractal, not linear. The logic of perfection is not linear; it is not a destination to be reached; it is a pattern – a pattern that can grow forever and still be the same pattern.

Consider a tree. At some point you look and see a tree. Is it a perfect tree? Basically yes. Obviously in this cursed world, we must allow for the reality of deformations, malnutrition, insect infestations, etc.; but given that is true, is not a tree basically a perfect tree? It has a trunk, it branches and grows leaves. A tree is a tree. But if you come back in two years what will be true? It has grown. It stands taller. It has limbs and branches it didn’t have two years ago. So is it “more” perfect? Of course not. It just is perfect. It’s still a tree, with a trunk and branches and leaves. But it has progressed. It’s progress doesn’t mean it was somehow “less” perfect two years ago. And the fact of its progress doesn’t make it “more perfect” now. It’s just still perfect.  How can this be? Because it is the pattern that’s perfect. And the tree can progress within its pattern, be more than it was, and yet not be “better” – just “perfect” because it perfectly fits its “pattern.”  It very naturally progresses in perfection!!

The very immediate and salient application of this truth is our own spiritual “growth.” Here is a place where I think we must distinguish between our created being and the curse of sin. Sin mars the image of God in us, yet that image remains. That image itself is perfect. And that image very specifically is the image of Christ. What is an “image”? It is a pattern. Here I propose that the image of Christ is patently not a destination but rather a pattern.

Here again, I will offer a wild proposition: our charge to “grow in the image of Christ” is inherent in our createdness. Even without sin, Adam and his race would have enjoyed the wonderful prospect and charge to progress, to actually know God better and better, to learn more and more how to be like Him, to grow in the likeness (the pattern) of Christ. Even without sin, and so it will be in Heaven, we will forever be learning, be progressing, as us finite creatures endlessly plumb the depths of our wonderful God’s being, and we, like the tree, add “branches” as it were to the pattern of the likeness of Christ. We will be constantly “taller” and constantly adding “branches” to that pattern, that perfect pattern – thus we’ll progress in perfection(!). It is part of our very createdness to progress.

Sin’s presence and effects mar the pattern. But, as is true throughout God’s perfect creation, it can only mar the pattern. It is not part of the pattern itself. It is “in addition to.” Sin is, in a sense, an overlay. The pattern itself is still perfect. Human beings should be progressing in the likeness of Christ with or without sin. As in every way, sin adds a complication to this process. It’s like the insect infestation for the tree. It mars the pattern. Part of a tree “growing” as a perfect tree is the challenge to prevent or to resolve insect infestations. In this world, part of me “growing” in the likeness of Christ is my need to be constantly “putting off” the sinful habits I’ve learned, the recurring and frequent sinful choices I might make, and I must constantly battle the very presence and existence of my own sinfulness.

But all that said, the image of Christ is still the image of Christ. I think this explains why even a new believer, still deeply marred by their sinful lifestyle, yet can glow with the likeness of Christ. We see that glow and, granted it’s maybe clouded here, short-changed there, yet it is still there. Any true believer knows what I mean. The likeness of Christ – that very beautiful sweet something – is very real whether you get to see it like a new believer's diamond in the rough or perhaps like the polished gold in an aged, godly person. It is the likeness of Christ either way and it is beautiful. That likeness itself is perfect.

In this world, the presence of sin’s marring confuses our understanding of our pursuit. In order to grow in Christ’s likeness, we must, at the same time, put off sin and grow in grace. The putting off of sin may perhaps be a linear pursuit. One by one we must recognize our sinful habits and conquer them. And ever victory certainly makes the likeness of Christ in us more apparent. But is the likeness of Christ not a perfection in itself? And rather than being linear it is absolutely fractal, a pattern to be expanded and enlarged. Now I’ll stick out my neck and call that, in itself, a progress in perfection. It is something that will go on in Heaven even without the sin problem.

So what is the bottom line of all of this? I suspect that we have done a poor job of distinguishing between God’s perfect creation and sin’s marring. I propose that there is some godly value in being able to look at people (along with the rest of creation) and see the perfection of their creation while at the same time owning a very healthy respect (and disdain) for the sinfulness that overlays and mars that perfection. Somehow we need to recognize God’s perfection and encourage people to grow in it while at the same time also recognizing the presence and effects of sin, calling it what it is, and dealing appropriately with it.

I suspect the ramifications of all of this go far beyond these initial observations and conclusions I’ve offered. But I am persuaded the basic idea of “progress in perfection” is legitimate. I think that, to see the world this way is to see it more clearly through God’s eyes.

And isn’t that really what we’re looking for?

II Peter 3:15b,16 – “Hard to be Understood?”

My very literal translation of this passage would be as follows:

“…just as the beloved brother of ours, Paul, has written to you, according to the wisdom given to him, as also in all [his] letters, speaking in them concerning these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable contort, as [they do] the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

Peter apparently intends to reinforce his admonition for people to “bear in mind that the patience of the Lord means salvation,…” (v15a) by appealing to the apostles’ solidarity. The false teachers unfortunately greatly confuse the common folk, because they seem to teach from the Bible too, but come to very different conclusions. One of their favorite subjects has always been the things “hard to be understood.” They seldom teach on that which is all too clear. The things “all too clear” leave no room for them to weave their deceptions. Even while Peter condemns the false teachers (all of chapter 2), the existence of the “things hard to be understood” remains. What are we to do with the things “hard to be understood”?

First of all, Peter acknowledges that there are these “things hard to be understood.” One could ask, “Why is it particularly Paul’s writings in which Peter finds these ‘hard’ things?” Interestingly, look back at my literal translation and note there is no “his” in the Greek. It is merely understood (hence I put the word in the [  ]). The thing is anyone knows there are “hard” things all through the Bible. That isn’t at all disputed.

Rather, acknowledging them, Peter goes on to say the problem is not that the “hard” things are there, but that false teachers, who are “the unlearned and unstable” contort them, and that to their own destruction. So the problem is not with the Scriptures, not even with the “hard to be understood” parts of the Scriptures, but rather with the morally responsible agents handling them. In the false teachers’ case, them impiously contort the Scriptures (again see all through chapter 2 and the book of Jude, among many other places). The problem is with hearts that have no intention of acknowledging the King.

So, first of all, we ought not be dismayed by the seemingly infinite preponderance of charlatans, quacks, idiots, and bald-faced liberals who flood the earth with a hopeless cacophony of their confusion. They may in fact have twelve degrees but they’re still “unlearned” and, since they’ve never ever “built their house on the rock” they remain “unstable” though they’re allowed to sin for a lifetime.

Second, of all, we should pause and consider this whole business of “hard things.” What are we to do with it? These men handle the “hard things” “to their own destruction.” Should we somehow be intimidated ourselves from reading and studying the Scriptures, lest we handle them to our own destruction?

One of the great and championed doctrines of the Protestant Reformation was called the “Perspicuity of Scripture.” Contrary to the “magisterium” teaching of the Catholic Church (which said only the clergy could understand the Scriptures), the Reformers insisted that the Bible was written in such a way as to be clear for anyone to understand.  That doctrine in particular drove them to translate the Bible into people’s mother tongues, so anyone literate could read for themselves and enjoy the life-giving power of the Word of God.

As I have studied this matter and looked up passages to support the Perspicuity of the Scriptures, I am driven to say: I have been reading and studying the Bible myself for over 30 years. To my knowledge not a day has gone by in the last 30 years that I did not spend some time reading from the Bible. Proof-texts aside, I feel qualified and confident to assert that the entire Bible from cover to cover invites the simplest to hear its message and live. “Wisdom has built her house … ‘Let all who are simple come in here!’ she says to those who lack judgment … Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding’” (Prov 9:1-12). “Now what I’m commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond you …No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth, and in your heart so you may obey it” (Deut 30:11-14). I have always and will continue to encourage anyone and everyone to open the Water of Life and read it for themselves. It is the very personal message of a very personal God intended to very personally impart life to every man, woman, boy, and girl who would personally drink from it. Even the Bereans were commended because they “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). I could multiply texts to support this doctrine but, what I’m saying is, “Read it for yourself. See for yourself if it does not speak clearly to you from cover to cover. See if you ever get the feeling that God somehow didn’t intend for you to read it.” I guess I’m calling the Bible as its own witness and challenging anyone to be the judge. It is clear. It will speak to you. It is alive. It is powerful. Read it yourself.

But what about the “hard things?” As anyone would read from cover to cover, will you find things “hard to be understood?” Yes, you will. I remember the first time I read through the Old Testament. I have to confess there was much I did not understand. But there was also much I did. And it benefited me greatly. What truly amazed me was to read through it again a year or two later and realize how much more I did understand. Since then I have read the entire Bible through from cover to cover so many times I have long since lost track of the number. I still find many things “hard to be understood.” But I also find it constantly speaking to me, teaching me, correcting me, guiding me, and, again and again, I still find it true, “When you know the truth, the truth shall set you free!”  

But they are there. Why are they there? The first and most obvious reason is exactly what I’ve found as I read it through over and over: Jesus told His disciples, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Yet, when He, the Spirit of Truth shall come, He shall guide you into all truth” (John 16:12,13). “…you cannot bear them now.” Truth must be learned. And learning is a process. As the writer of Hebrews expressed, “Strong meat is for the mature, for those who, by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern good and evil” (Heb 5:11-14). There will always be much in the Bible that I find “hard to be understood” simply because it is the Word of God, the infinitely deep well of divine truth, from which I may draw and draw and draw and draw and never plumb its depth. I personally do not find the “hard things” intimidating or discouraging. I honestly find them exciting. To find things I don’t understand means I might … if I read and study and pray. And if I don’t, I read and study and pray on, and still someday I might. In the meantime, the Lord is saying to me, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now …”

Another reason there are hard things is because there are some things He actually does not intend us to understand (yet). In John 14:29, Jesus told His disciples, “I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.” “…so that when it happens …” When it happens. While I believe we all should study every verse of prophecy we can as long as time and life allows. We should strive to understand it. We should even try to put it together into some kind of logical order. Yet, what Jesus’ words should do is humble us. His words should make us hold our understandings with humble, gentle, kind hearts, with open hands saying, “Perhaps I don’t have it all put together correctly. I’ve tried to give it my best shot. But the most important things is that I know the Scriptures themselves, that, ‘when it happens’ I’ll be moved by the Scriptures and not by my own understandings. It simply is true that, particularly in prophecy, there will be truths that are “hard to be understood” precisely because they weren’t meant to be understood … until it happens.

Of course we could discuss the problem of spiritual enlightenment, that “the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God” (I Cor 2:14). It will ever be a problem of our fallen nature that we must humbly and prayerfully inquire of the Author to understand what He meant. To not do so is an evil presumption, a “barging in where angels fear to tread.” To approach the Bible with anything less than a humble, teachable spirit guarantees there will be much that is “hard to be understood.”

And then we need to add that a “humble, teachable spirit” of necessity includes the intention to come away obediently applying truth to one’s life. The man who “built his house on the sand” heard the Word just like the other. The difference was that he “did not put it into practice” and his house came down “with a crash.” Anyone who studies the Scriptures without the intention of personally meeting the Author, of personally receiving His loving message, of personally embracing and applying whatever truth He might show him, guarantees he’ll find therein many things “hard to be understood.”

So then let us acknowledge the presence of “things hard to be understood” but let us give ourselves humbly, obediently, and diligently to the reading and study of the Words of the Living God. While others may presumptuously peer into the Ark and pay for it with their own destruction, may we eat the Bread of Life and live.

II Peter 3:9-15a – Blameless and Spotless

⁹[The] Lord is not being slow of promise as some are reckoning slowness, but [He] is being patient into you, not purposing that any perish but [purposing] all to have room into repentance;

¹⁰but [the] Day of [the] Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens shall vanish with a roar and [the] elements will be dissolved burning intensely and [the] earth and the works in it shall be burned up.

¹¹Thus all these things being dissolved, what sort [of persons] ought you be in holy livings and godlinesses;

¹²looking for and eagerly desiring the coming of the Day of the God, through which [the] heavens will be dissolved burning and [the] elements are melting burning intensely?

¹³But, according to the promise of Him, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

¹⁴Wherefore, beloved, looking for these things, be diligent to be found by Him to be spotless ones and blameless ones in peace,

 ¹⁵and reckon the patience of the Lord of us [to be] salvation …

Interestingly, forms for the word translated “be diligent” (as in v14) occur 5 times in this book (1:5,10,15;3:12,14). Obviously, He expects us to be diligent. While it’s true that “without Him we can do nothing” (John 15:5), on the other hand it is abundantly clear that it is our part to “be diligent.” “I can’t, but I must, and, by His grace, I will.” 

And what is it we’re to be diligent about in this particular passage? “…to be found by Him to be spotless ones and blameless ones in peace …”

First of all, it is important to note that the reference “spotless and blameless” is a sacrificial word.  Jesus is “the Lamb without blemish and without spot” (exact same Greek words as our passage) in I Peter 1:19.  Lambs brought to sacrifice were required of course to be “without blemish and without spot.” In their case the matter was physical, of course. No crippled or maimed animals were suitable for sacrifice. In our case, it is clearly spiritual. We are to see our lives as living sacrifices, to be like our Lamb Christ, and thus be diligent to “be found by Him to be spotless ones and blameless ones in peace …”

But what does that mean? Spotless and blameless. If we leave the words hanging in space, we are free to assign them whatever sort of morality appeals to us. But what does the Lord mean? We should always strive to let Him define His own terms. Consider the following passages that address the same issues and use the same Greek words:

Phil 1:9-11

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ…

Phil 2:14,15

¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”

James 1:27

²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I Thes 3:12,13

¹² May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. ¹³ May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Once again, I think it is enormously significant what He says … and what He doesn’t say. Christianity today is suffocated under all the things people would tell you make you so you are or are not “spotless and blameless.” But, have we lost sight of what God really thinks, in filling our minds with all those seemingly appropriate “rules” and “standards” and “applications”?  “We by our traditions have made the Word of God of no effect.” Look again at just this tiny smattering of passages. The big issues to God are whether we love, and clearly that love is not just good intentions – it expresses itself in real, observable efforts to actually do good for those who need it, in watching our mouths and the words we utter. 

I need to be diligent to keep my heart loving. To not love is to be spotted by this hateful, cruel world. To keep on loving, like Jesus, is to keep oneself unspotted by this world.

It is so easy to reduce “unspotted” to matters of how we dress, the music we listen to, how many times a week we attend church services, or what does or does not go down our throats. But in so doing we miss the real point, and fail the real mission: to love.

It is incredibly liberating to cast off all the extraneous “touch not, taste not” and all the other Pharisaical “rules” and realize my mission is to love.

But then it becomes a challenge to make that love a constant reality – to be diligent about it(!). Then again, what if everybody did?

Lord, help us to be real, to be truly “blameless ones and spotless ones in peace” as we keep ever in mind that “the Day of the Lord will come.”