Flipping Tables?

 “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.”

(Philippians 4:5 ESV)

In the modern Christian Church in America, something of which we’re routinely reminded is that Jesus flipped tables. This, of course, is a reference to his cleaning of the temple. And it’s true that he, indeed, flipped tables.

This, however, is often used as an excuse for our demanding, angry, and unloving behavior. It’s used to excuse the fact that we often behave like complete jerks to the world around us. And this is not an appropriate way to use the example of Jesus.

Looking at the gospel accounts, he likely cleansed the temple on two occasions, one at the beginning of his ministry and the other at the end. But this is not something that characterized his life and ministry. 

While Jesus taught truth, he also loved those who surrounded him. He was kind toward sinners. And, typically, his anger was reserved for the religious authorities, who were misleading the people, denying them the grace of God.

While we must stand firm under the authority of God’s Word, and while we must not compromise truth, we are called to behave in a loving manner toward our neighbor. And we see the attitude that we’re to display in the verse above.

Paul says that we’re to let our reasonableness be known to everyone. The word translated “reasonable” also means gentle, kind, or tolerant. These character traits, then, are to be evident to everyone around us.

Rather than being argumentative and insulting to those who surround us, rather than demeaning them and behaving in a condescending manner, we’re to be loving toward them. And it is possible for us to be loving and faithful to God’s Word at the same time. The two are not mutually exclusive.

There are times when righteous anger may be appropriate. But it’s safe to say that those times will be few. What should be displayed on a regular basis is kindness, gentleness, and reasonableness.

The Blessing of Labor

 "If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me."

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Labor is something that’s become a dirty word for most of us in modern society. We view work, in any form, as drudgery. We view responsibility as something beneath us. And we want nothing more than to free ourselves from it. We want nothing more than to eliminate it from our lives.

We seek to do so as we gain wealth. As we gain the ability to let go of certain responsibilities, hiring others to do them for us, we take advantage of it. We may hire someone to mow the lawn. We may hire someone to clean our home. We may hire someone to shovel the snow. Or we may hire someone to watch our children.

We also hope and plan to do so, as we grow older and retire. We set money aside throughout our career, investing it, hoping that it sufficiently grows. And when we have enough, however we define that, we plan to stop working.

Our ambition is to have no responsibility whatsoever. Our goal is having the ability to do whatever we want whenever we want. We dream of a life where we are governed not by alarm clocks or schedules, but simply our own desires.

Labor, however, is a good thing. It’s a blessing. And, as we see in the passage above, it is fruitful.

In making this statement, Paul is talking about life and death. And, in doing so, he notes that departing to be with Christ is better by far, when compared to life in this world. But life, he says, means fruitful labor for him.

Life meant that he was able to serve the Lord. It meant that he was able to serve his neighbor. And Paul sought to do so, first and foremost, through the ministry of the gospel.

This, he noted, was necessary for them, his readers. They needed the labor, they needed the ministry, he had to offer. And, for that reason, he was convinced it was not yet his time to die.

Our labor may take a different form from that of Paul. Yet, the same truth remains. Life means fruitful labor for us.

For as long as the Lord provides us with life in this world, we are able to serve him. For as long as he provides us with life in this world, we are able to serve our neighbor. We are enabled by God, in this way, to be a blessing.

And this is something that should never be despised. It’s something from which we should never flee. It’s something of which we should never aspire to rid ourselves.

There will come a day, of course, when we may no longer be able to work as we once did. We may no longer be able to have a career. But even then, in some capacity, we are able to serve and to be a blessing.

The Authoritative Word

 ‬‬

“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

(‭‭Revelation 22:18-19 ESV)

Among those of us who believe in the authority of Scripture, there is a strong emphasis on its inerrancy. There is a strong emphasis on its infallibility. And this is both right and fitting.

Scripture, after all, is God's Word, and not that of man. As God is perfect, so too is his Word. And as God is unchanging, so too is his Word.

Believing as we do, we react strongly when others take from God's Word. We react strongly when people seek to alter his Word. And we react strongly when people seek to strip it of its meaning.

When those of the liberal Church, or those of society, want to deny the clear teaching of Scripture, the hair on our neck bristles. When they argue against the clear teaching of Scripture, our stomach turns. And when they take a position that contradicts Scripture, we find it upsetting.

However, as we see in the passage above, not only is it wrong to take from God's Word. It’s equally wrong to add to it. It’s equally wrong to read into Scripture our own ideas and beliefs.

This is why Jesus reacted so strongly to the religious leaders of his day. Their tendency was not to take from God's Word, but to add to it. And they did so by making their traditions, they did so by making their teachings, as authoritative as Scripture itself.

Their interpretation of God’s Law became as authoritative as God’s Law. It was equated with God’s Law. And therein lies the problem.

This, you see, is the mistake we often make in the conservative Church of our day. We tend to add to the Word of God by way of legalism. We, at times, read into Scripture. And we make our understanding or our interpretation as authoritative as Scripture itself.

If we truly stand under the authority of God’s Word, and if our faith is guided by God’s Word alone, we will do neither. We will not take from it. But neither will we add to it.

Why Did God Save Us?

 ”But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,“

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Most of us are very familiar with the gospel message. We know that God sent his Son into the world. We know that Jesus died in our place, paying the penalty of our sin. And we know that he rose from the grave, standing victorious over death. 

The way it’s stated in Ephesians 2 is that, when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together in Christ. He, then, raised us up with him, with Jesus. And he seated us with him in the heavenly places.

We learn from this message that we played no role in our salvation. It’s something that he did. It’s a work that he performed for our blessing.

Nothing about us contributes to it in any way. And nothing we’ve done contributes to it in any way. It results from God’s grace alone. And this grace is received through faith in Christ.

This message, of course, is very comforting. It’s very reassuring. And it fills us with peace. But it also begs the question: Why did God do this? 

What we find is that it had everything to do with God and nothing with us. It has everything to do with his nature, and nothing with our own. And it has everything to do with his character, and nothing with our own.

According to the above passage, he did it because he is rich in mercy. This, in other words, is God’s nature. It’s part of his character. There’s nothing about us that caused God to extend this mercy. He did so because of who he is. He did so because he is merciful.

He did so also because of the great love which which he loved us. It, then, has nothing to do with our love for God. His love for us is the reason he saved us. His love for us is the reason he gave us new life.

As God’s nature, as his character is unchanging, this provides us with assurance. As God is, and will always be, merciful, our salvation is sure. And as God’s love for us is unchanging, our salvation is sure.

Upheld

 "Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.“

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There are times in life when we disapprove of others. We disapprove of something they’ve said. Or we disapprove of something they’ve done.

This is especially true when they are our leaders. It’s especially true, in that case, because everything they say and do is before us. Our leaders, as we often say it, live in a fishbowl.

It doesn’t have to be a moral issue that leads us to disapprove of them. Nor is it always a matter of right and wrong, for which they must be held accountable. It may, in fact, be the sin of our own heart leading us to do so.

But our disapproval leads us to speak against them. It causes us to be critical of them. And it may motivate us to challenge them.

This is what was happening in the passage above. Miriam and Aaron, we find, spoke against Moses. They did so, asking if the Lord spoke only through him. They did so, asking if the Lord hadn’t also spoken through them.

In this way, they were putting themselves on equal footing with Moses. They were claiming for themselves an authority equal to that of Moses. And the reason they did so was because of the Cushite woman Moses had married. 

There is some debate as to whether this refers to Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian, whom Moses married after fleeing Egypt, or if he had married another. The Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that this woman was a Cushite princess, named Tharbis or Adoniah.

We also do not know why Miriam and Aaron disapproved of this woman. Was it because Moses was already married? Or was it, as some suggest, because she was black?

Although there are several unanswered questions, none of them ultimately matter. What is clear is that Miriam and Aaron disapproved of Moses’ wife. And, for this reason, they spoke against him.

The Lord, however, heard. He heard what was said by Moses’ siblings. And he upheld Moses before them. 

Moses, after all, was chosen by God. He was appointed by God for a purpose. He was called and appointed by God to bring his people out of Egypt, the land of slavery, and into Canaan, the land of promise.

As we consider the actions of Miriam and Aaron, we must realize that, whatever reason we have to disapprove of others, it’s known to God. Whatever we speak against others, God hears. And whenever we seek to bring others down, God is not unaware.

We must not, like Moses’ siblings, seek to bring others down. Nor should we bad-mouth or malign them. We should seek, rather, uplift them.

We must do so realizing that it’s God who has placed them where they are. We must do so realizing they’ve been chosen and appointed by him. And we must do so realizing that God himself will uphold them.