Called to a Higher Standard

Last week our country breathed a sigh of relief when our Navy SEALS found and killed the terrorist, Usama Bin Laden. People all over the Western world took to the streets to celebrate the death of the wicked man. There is no question that he was a bad guy and it is good thing for our way of life that he is no longer on the scene. I’m glad he is no longer a threat. I wish the problem of Usama could have been solved another way. No, I wasn’t rooting for him to be arrested. I wish he had had a change of heart. I wish he would have sought the forgiveness of Jesus and repented of his very wicked ways. I know this sounds pretty pie-in-the-sky, but Jesus came to make pie-in-the-sky possible. After all, my sins have been forgiven, and I repented of my sins. Granted, the sins of the 12 year-old I was when I repented were rather paltry compared to the barbarity of Usama. However, my sins were worthy of the same penalty as his: “for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Romans 6:23. So he could have been forgiven by God. I wonder if he could have been forgiven by the rest of us. This is where the rubber meets the road in Christianity. Jesus made Himself very clear in regard to this. In His great Sermon on the Mount he asserted:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)

Since Jesus lived among us and as one of us, He knew this would be difficult for you and me. Rejoicing at the death of an enemy and the desire for revenge are natural instincts for human beings. However, Jesus calls His followers to live at a level above animal instinct and human society. He calls us to be like Him and to go “the second mile” in regard to forgiveness in our relationships. Jesus knew that the alternative to forgiveness would accomplish nothing good. Actually the standard set in the New Testament for Christ followers is very demanding.

“Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. ‘I'll do the judging,’ says God. ‘I'll take care of it.’ Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.” Romans 12:17-21 (MsgB)

It seems so illogical to us until we see it from Jesus’ perspective. He knows that continuing to hate your enemy succeeds only in multiplying hateful people. Here’s how: if you are offended or hurt by someone and you choose to retaliate, the act of retaliation can transform you and fill you with hate. Further, retaliation can often cause a group of friends to choose up sides for a fight. If you are a parent full of hate, you can saddle your children with your hatred. We see that carried to the extreme in the ethnic hatred of certain parts of the globe. It is being bred now in the Middle East toward us, and I fear among us toward them.

Jesus knew loving your enemies would be difficult. and that it would make you different. Jesus’ way takes courage and more. It takes self-control, forbearance (making the choice not to retaliate even when it is justified), forgiveness, and God’s kind of love. This is what it is to be truly holy, to be a citizen of His Kingdom, and a mature child of God.

I salute the SEALS that courageously did what had to be done to put Mr. Bin Laden out of the terror business. They did a tough job that was necessary. I just wish that somehow it would not have been necessary. Bin Laden chose to pull the tiger’s tail and he found the tiger had teeth. We can only speculate what other consequences he is now discovering.

As Christ-followers we need to remember what Jesus meant when he said:

"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I'm saying is, grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.” Matthew 5:43-48 (MsgB)

Good for What?

God calls us to be holy:
"I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy." Leviticus 11:44a (NIV)

"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)
It is not that he calls us to be better than any one else. He calls us to be like him: holy. Some Christians have decided that this impossible, and believe that God meant this as hyperbole, and that he doesn’t really expect us to be holy. Consequently, the lives of these Christians are no different than those of the non-Christian society that surrounds them.

Others have accepted the challenge and do their best to be seen as holy. However, their brand of holiness often gets hung up on superficial things. They tend to equate looking holy with being holy. Their attempts at this kind of holiness drive them to concentrate on the way their lives appear to others. A few demonstrate this in the way they dress; others show it in the forms of entertainment they choose, or by their selection of food and drink. These people have a list of activities that they have labeled sinful and, for them, the essence of being holy is abstaining from the things on their list. When I was young, some preachers were determined to make us holy by keeping us from using tobacco, drinking, dancing, gambling, and playing cards. Some went farther and prohibited the watching of television, and the wearing of jewelry. These preachers left me with the impression that if I kept myself from doing these things, I would automatically be holy. Then I would be a real Christian, and I would be fit for heaven. This quest to become holy started on the outside of life, with the hope that the inside, my soul, would somehow follow.

Now please don’t get me wrong. I do not want to argue the merits of any of the actions on the list that was labeled as the big sins. My point is that, when it comes to holiness, these actions are largely beside the point. At worst they are a symptom of sin within, and prohibiting them does not make a person holy, any more than putting a band-aid on a laceration makes it heal. The healing of the laceration must come from the inside out. It is the same with the healing, or sanctification, of the soul. (Sanctification literally means to become holy.)

The most dangerous aspect of this outside-in attempt at holiness is that it relies on the individual to force himself to conform to the image that the preachers set forth as holy. Most of the preachers probably didn’t mean for it to come out this way, but it did. A lot of folks who heard them thought they could earn heaven by quitting bad habits and staying away from certain “dens of iniquity.” Many stumbled and fell, and thereby thought they missed their chance for heaven. They began to believe that following Christ could never be for them. Again, I am not advocating bad habits, or iniquity dens. It is just that heaven is not something we can earn or deserve, it a free gift of God, given to us by his incredible grace, at the price of Jesus’ blood.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) >God gives us heaven, not because we are so good, but because He is so good.

So then, where does holiness come in? It comes in as we submit to the Holy Spirit and allow him to remake us from within. (See Romans 12:1-2 & Galatians 5:22.) Biblical holiness is an inside-out proposition. As the Christ-follower continually submits his life to the Lord, he takes on the characteristics of Christ, and, in effect; becomes holy as He is holy. Part of becoming holy is being a person of integrity, with high morals and ethics, but there is more to it.

How does anyone know that another person is holy? The often ignored next verse in the Ephesians passage tells us that God has good works he wants us to do.
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10.
It’s not a list of works we can check off, but it is a way of living, a life emphasis that pours from the work the Holy Spirit is doing inside us. Please carefully note: the works themselves don’t earn us the saving love of God. We do the works because we have received the saving love of God.

Too often people who call themselves “Christian” don’t do these works. They refrain from doing bad things, but that is not enough. They are being good, but what are they good for? Who is helped by their lives? Are they sharing the salvation they have found with people who need it, or are they so afraid of being contaminated by the fallen society around them that they have no affect at all? Too many of them hole up inside the walls of the church. Non-Christians see them as rigid judgmental people, their only friends are Christians. Some spend most of their lives sheltered from sinners, when it is sinners Jesus came to save, and sent us to bring to him. These “Christians” may be good, but they are good for nothing. Strong words? Yes, but what else can you say about people who are under orders that they refuse to carry out those orders.

What are these orders? What are the works God has for us to do? There is no mystery here. Jesus made it very plain: we are to love God, love others, be witnesses of the love and salvation we have received, and make disciples. These are broad concepts and he equips each of us to do specific things to get this work accomplished. This is where we can start looking for the work he has for each of us in particular to do. Whatever your assignment is, it will come under these overarching orders.

What kind of holiness are you seeking? Outside in? Or inside out? Are you trying to impress non-Christians with what you don’t do, or with what you do? Are you known first for the standards you hold, or first for the love you give? Are you good for something?

The challenge is to be holy as God is holy.