August 27. 202

I will shortly be traveling for a time in the US. In order to do this it is important to be able to identify myself to the Border guard. I could arrive at the border thinking I know who I am and surely when the border guard sees me he will know, yep that Kevin Cleary Canadian Citizen. As convenient as it would be if this were the case the reality is the guard will want proof. He will want some (to use his words) “documentation”. For this purpose, I have a passport it has my picture, identifies me, and proves I’m Canadian. This way I will have no problem crossing the border and continuing my trip.
     We as Christians have another aspect to our identity. We are God’s people. Just like our physical identity we need some documentation of our spiritual identity. Is there such a thing? Can we know we are God’s and can God identify us as his?
     The answer is yes! Unlike the passport that I have to carry with me the documentation from God is with us all the time. In Ephesians 1:13 Paul says we have been given the Holy Spirit as a seal. This is not the seal that keeps our food fresh; instead, it is like an identifying marker. II Timothy 2:19 points out (again making reference to the seal) that God know those who are his. It is comforting to know the saved have documentation before God. What about us though? Can the saved know they are saved? Is there documentation for us?
     When I approach the border, I find myself invariably touching my pocket or even getting my passport out to assure myself that I have everything in order. I say it’s because of the sign telling me to have my documents ready, but if that sign were gone, I know I would still be grasping my passport ready to hand it out the window open to the right page.
     Wouldn’t it be nice if there were documentation for our trip into eternity? There is, God has not left us to wonder about our standing before him. He has told us, what we need to do to have everything in order and keep it that way. This information comes to us in scripture. I Corinthians 2:6-16; John 16:12-14; II Peter 1:21; II Timothy 3:15-17 all inform us that God communicates to man through the Bible. And it is in this communication from God that we can find his promises to us consider I Corinthian 6:11 after listing a number of sinful conditions Paul points out that Christians no longer have their sins. A similar affirmation is found in Rom 8:31-39. Christians do have documentation, it’s the Bible. No wonder so many who are approaching death do so grasping their Bibles, they like me at the border want to know that everything is in order.
     Knowing then how to know that we are right with God, lets always keep our Bibles close not just grasping them but reading and loving them. Furthermore, let them reveal the true object of our love the Lord Jesus who is responsible for our salvation.
(Anyone who wants to know specifically what the Bible says about how to be saved see: Rom 1:16; 10:9-10; Acts 3:19; Acts 2:38; Rom 6:1-4; Gal 3:27)

~ Kevin Cleary 

 

August 13, 2023

(from a presentation by Jeremiah Tatum

How do you forgive when you have been hurt so deeply by someone you love so deeply? Why is forgiveness so hard? We often hear forgive and forget but its easier said than done.

1. Forgiveness is hard because forgetting is impossible. I know we’ve heard and been told to “forgive and forget.” I have counselled with Christian people who have said hatefully, “I will forgive them but I will never forget what they’ve done!” I have walked away knowing that there was no forgiveness there. But can we really forget? No. Will we forget? Impossible. But will we learn some things about trust? Yes. Will we learn some things about healthy boundaries? Yes. Will we lean on God more knowing that He alone will never leave us or forsake us? Yes. God wants us to remember so we can learn lessons and thank Him for His steadfastness.

2. Forgiveness is hard because trust is difficult to regain. If you have been lied to, if you have been betrayed, if you have been slandered, or if your loved one has cheated on you, there is a wound that has been created that goes all the way through. This wound rarely heals completely. Whenever a familiar moment arises that reminds you of the time trust was broken, the surface that has healed above that wound is removed and you begin to bleed again. Human beings have a hard time trusting because we tend to over-emphasize our own personal feelings. We categorize and compartmentalize faithfulness. We forget that we are not always trustworthy in all things. We decide that if our loved one has broken trust in an area that we feel is more significant, they can never truly be trusted again.

3. Forgiveness is hard because it is natural for us to try to protect ourselves. We build physical walls to protect our families, mental walls to protect our intellect, emotional walls to protect our hearts, and even spiritual walls to protect our individuality. Anytime a fortress has been penetrated we are prone to pack up and leave an area that was once safe, never to return. If you have been hurt bad enough even one time, you would rather experience anything than to be hurt in that same place all over again. We don’t want to be fools, so when we have been badly injured we wrap up and find a cave. There is no forgiveness for the one who has inflicted the pain when we are too busy sulking and licking our wounds.

4. Forgiveness is hard because everything is amplified when it is our loved ones who have been hurt. We would much rather be hurt ourselves than to have it be our spouse or children. Especially in cases where the sin was egregious and unnecessary and cast upon the innocent – we find ourselves seeking retribution and justice. We suppose that if we could see the guilty party suffer for what they have done at least we would have something to hold on to over which we had some control. It is hard to forgive when you are reeling. It is hard to forgive when you see the pain in the face of your pierced and yet sinless child.

We can’t forget, but God has promised He will forget our sins. We can’t trust, but God has forgiven us enough to trust us with the precious gospel and adopt us into His family. We can’t be vulnerable, and yet God has opened the gates of His eternal abode and invited us into His most intimate dwelling place forever. We can’t overcome the suffering of our loved ones, and yet God has forgiven us for crucifying His only Son.

Forgiveness is hard for one simple reason. We make it about us! God forgives so freely and perfectly because for Him forgiveness is about others. This is the love of God. When we deserved punishment, He chose mercy. When we deserved banishment, He chose fellowship. When we deserved nothing, He chose to give us everything. When we did what was unforgivable, He chose to forgive.

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” – 1 John 4:10

 

August 6, 202

What if someone discovered a document that held the secret to eternal life? Not only that, but it could tell you how to live forever in the best way possible for you and everyone around you. Would you want a copy? Imagine then they held a press conference in which they revealed a few titbits of their find then closed the interview by saying anyone who wants a copy can have it for $50,000. Would you start saving? Would you sell your possessions? Would you take a second Job? What would you give for this wonderful secret?

     In the days of the reformation this situation was not imaginary. There is after all a document that can indeed reveal how to live eternally in peace security and comfort. It can tell you how to navigate this life in such a way as to do the most good. This document ultimately tells you how to have a relationship with the most powerful being in existence. 

     You have probably guessed that I am talking about the Bible. In scripture we have the one and only God creator of everything we see around us, speaking to us. This revelation was not always as easy to come by as it is today. During the time that men like Wycliffe and Tyndale were giving us the first English translations, a bible really did cost about the equivalent of a year’s salary.  These early translators believed that everyone should have a copy and many paid with their lives to make their belief a reality. 

     Over five hundred years later their dream is more than realized as the Bible is easily available and sells millions of copies per year at far less than a year’s salary. For those of us who live in a time when the most important document in existence is so easily available has its low cost been misunderstood to mean low value. 

     We need to remember just what the Bible is and what it means to have a book from God. The inspired poet has done a great job expressing just how valuable the word of God is.

How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 

Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. 

 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 

I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules. 

I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word!

How blessed we are to have a word from the Lord, may we never forget it.

~ Kevin Cleary

 

July 30, 202

Last week we began thinking about what impact people’s life circumstances have one their current beliefs and practices. We noted that many have argued that we are who we are because of where we are born and what community we come from. Last week we noted many examples of people who changed despite their circumstances. This week I want to add a further point which is God’s revelation and expectation.

     God has spoken. Repeatedly in scripture God has revealed his will to men and expected them to understand it and respond. The most drastic example may be in the days of Noah. The only way people could escape destruction was to believe that the world was going to flood and be on board the ark. This had never happened before people would have no previous experience to demonstrate the truth of Noah’s claim except that God said it. The Old Testament is filled with examples like this. However the greatest example in scripture is no doubt Jesus. He came to earth challenging everything people thought. Some of his harshest criticism was for those who would not abandon their long held and well established religious convictions.

     God has not stopped speaking. People today are no different than they have ever been. Does God expect people to trust him and obey him today? How can someone who was raised thinking that salvation is by faith alone draw any other conclusion? How can someone who has worshiped for years with an instrument know any better? How can religious people who sincerely think they are doing right be condemned for making a mistake. Jesus himself explained that on the day of judgement many would say “Lord Lord we did all these things in your name” but would be sent away as unknown to Him. He goes on to point out that it’s not saying “Lord Lord” but doing the will of the father that identifies you as one of His. Should we expect people to accept what God has revealed and act on it before considering them Christians? God does, our place is only to recognize what God has said and communicate it. 

     I know this is not politically correct or even very popular. God does not call me to be popular he calls me to trust Him, to lean on Him and to take him at his word even if no one likes it. I vow to seek His face with all of my being, to accept His will and obey it whatever that means. Because I know he created me with the ability to understand truth and live it even if my circumstances would lead me another way. He calls all mankind to do the same.

~ Kevin Cleary

 

July 23, 202

     Everyone has a past, everyone has some collected experience and beliefs which inform their views of the world. It has become a popular notion in our time that people’s beliefs and behaviours are determined by their past. I recently heard someone say they were probably only a Christian because they were born to a Christian family in North America. He went on to conclude that he could not condemn someone born in Saudi Arabia for being a Muslim and God couldn’t either. 

     Closer to home those among churches of Christ have sometimes been heard to say “it’s because you are a member of a church of Christ that you believe as you do.” If you were from some other background you would believe that only mental assent was necessary for salvation. You would have no problem worshiping with an instrument. You would not take an issue with women in leadership. And you would only take the Lord Table a couple of times per year. 

     As I thought about this statement the first thing I did was recognize that there is some truth to it. We are affected by our circumstances. However the more I thought about it the more I realized there is more to the discussion. First can people do better than their circumstances would allow? Certainly they can and in some cases must. An abuse victim is expected to know and act better than to abuse someone else. In fact our society punishes them if they don’t. A student is expected to finish high school even if his or her parents didn’t. We consider it a bad thing that welfare recipients often come from families who were welfare recipients. And beyond my simple thoughts on the subject there is also evidence that people can and should move beyond their circumstances.

     Many people have been able to move past their past, Lots of people in my generation will tell you that they are the first in their family to graduate from university. They did this despite the fact that their parents and grandparents didn’t and in some cases didn’t place much value on doing so. Considering past history reveals numerous examples of those who defied their circumstances. Martin Luther was a Catholic through and through but changed when he began reading his Bible. He went so far as to nail 95 points of debate to the door of the Castle church in Wittenberg Germany. Abner Jones was a member of the free will Baptist church but became convinced that sectarian names and human creeds should be abandoned and that piety alone should be the test of Christian fellowship. Thomas Campbell was a Seceder Presbyterian until becoming convinced that their sectarian attitude was unchristian. Michael Behe was a convinced atheist until his close study of the human cell showed that it could not have evolved. My own grandmother was a committed member of the brethren in Christ denomination. After being challenged on some beliefs she read her New Testament in a day. The next day she was ready to be baptized into the Lords Church. All of these people and many others could be mentioned to demonstrate that people can and should base their beliefs on closely considered truth rather than on the dominant beliefs of their past.

~ Kevin Cleary