Month: May 2020

We’ve reached the end of the series and I hope you have enjoyed studying the theology of love as much as I have. Last week, we talked about salvation and how love is ultimately what is required in order to be saved. This week, we’ll be talking about why love is the standard by which we will all be judged and why that means that ANY doer of the law can and WILL be justified. 

Earlier in the series, we talked about God’s reason for bringing us into existence despite knowing what the consequences would be. We established that it was because of sin that mercy was brought into active exercise. Again, unconditional love without someone undeserving to give it to is essentially just talk. Thus, I believe it’s fair to conclude that when all of this began, God had something to prove: one, that His love truly is unconditional; and two, that unconditional love is the only way to have a life more abundant. Revelation 15 describes a scene where a song is being sung:

“And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations!

Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Revelation 15:3-4

In order for the lyrics of that song to ring true, God has to show that He is all of those things. For such praise to be given, He has to reveal why He’s worthy. How are His ways “just and true”? Are His rules fair? Is the method of salvation consistent and fair for everyone, no matter what? I believe they are, but foundation is key, and it is especially critical to have proper context when thinking about the final judgment. 

First, we have to understand that love is true freedom. If God is love and everything He does is out of love and the law is a transcript of His character that is fulfilled through love, then I think it’s fair to conclude that heaven is a society based on the principal of love. “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.” Galatians 5:13-15. A society built on love depends on everyone caring about everyone else. A society built on love polices itself because love does no harm to another. A society built on love doesn’t have to protect people from each other or from themselves because love is self-sacrificing. Everyone lives out the principles of loving God above anything else and loving your neighbor as yourself. There is no room for things like selfishness, greed, envy, or self-righteousness. People who understand unconditional love now will be able to appreciate that kind of society. People who don’t understand unconditional love now and don’t care to probably wouldn’t enjoy heaven so much. 

Second, we have to understand that we don’t have to save ourselves. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. I didn’t ask to be here. I didn’t ask to be the person that I am. I didn’t ask to be flawed and finite. But here I am. If I put my child in danger, isn’t it my job as a loving parent to save them? And if I leave them to figure it out on their own or create a bunch of hoops they have to jump through in order to be deemed worthy of salvation, what does that say about me? If God is love, He has to be the one to save us….because not only are we incapable of saving ourselves, but we shouldn’t have to. 

Lastly, we have to understand that judgment is not based on moving targets of who knew what, when and varying standards of morality depending upon who you are and where you come from. Judgment is based on the one standard…the one rule…that always has been and always will be universal: love.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46

This is the reason why we started the One Rule Church. This is the reason why I felt it was necessary to create a space where people could maintain their respective beliefs while coming together in agreement about the one thing that matters more than anything else. Perspective is always limited to what we can see and no human being anywhere is capable of having a complete perspective on an infinite God. I don’t believe for a second that the God who confused the languages and scattered the people at the Tower of Babel abandoned everyone in that moment and then eventually chose to only reveal Himself to Abram (who was a “heathen” at the time, mind you). There are so many religions in the world and most people on this planet feel the need for some sort of spirituality or belief in a higher power, but that’s coincidental? And the golden rule…love….is fundamental to every world religion in existence today, but people have to hear the gospel and specifically believe in Jesus Christ to be saved? The Bible says otherwise. 

“For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

“For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” Romans 2:12-29

 Conclusion

It’s there in black and white. It’s the same thing Jesus said to the rich young ruler. There is no “good deed” that any of us can do to be saved and we have not been called to be obedient to a man made list of do’s and don’ts. That’s pharisaical. We have been called to ask the question, “What is the most loving thing I can do in this situation?” and to do that. No matter how hard it gets. No matter how much we may not feel like it. No matter how much easier just sticking to a list would be. We have been called to love each other the way that God loves us. And it is BECAUSE of our differences….it is BECAUSE of our flaws….it is BECAUSE of our humanity that mercy is called into active exercise in our lives every single day. If you believe that God is a God of love and you believe that it is our privilege to love each other as He loves us, then you know salvation isn’t about ego. It’s not about being right and punishing people who didn’t see. It’s not about looking for any reason to keep people out of heaven. It’s about looking for any reason to let them in. And that’s the difference between people who love and people who don’t. Heaven isn’t a reward for the people who did everything right (prodigal son’s older brother, anyone?) and Christianity isn’t some exclusive club that you have to be a part of to get in. Heaven is about God redeeming His children…all of His children…and reconciling us to Him. If we can’t learn to love each other and respect our differences and leave the authoring and finishing of faith to God on earth, how we can expect to be happy doing it in Heaven? I can’t speak for anyone else….but I don’t want to miss out and I don’t want to wait until the last minute to figure it out. I want to experience true, Godly freedom right now. Don’t you? 

We’ve almost reached the end of the series and I really wanted to use these last couple of videos to talk about a topic I avoided earlier on. I left his until the end because I wanted to lay the groundwork for what is probably the area where I differ from mainstream Christianity the most…and that area is Salvation. 

I know I keep saying this, but what we believe depends entirely upon who we believe God to be, and that includes how we conceptualize what determines whether we are saved or lost. If you believe God created you for selfish, obscure, or arbitrary reasons, then you may believe in a God that feels justified in setting moving targets regarding what constitutes “righteousness” and burning people for all eternity if they reject Him. However, if you believe that God is a God of love who allowed freedom of choice to be exercised in a way that would give Him an opportunity to demonstrate the true depth of His love, then your conception of salvation and what it looks like should reflect that, and that’s what I’m going to talk about today. 

What Must I Do to be Saved? 

We’ve established that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and that God is a God of unconditional love. We’ve established that God gave us freedom of choice, knowing what the consequences would be, so that He would have the opportunity to demonstrate the depth of His love by sending His to be the propitiation for sin itself. We have established that it was BECAUSE of sin that mercy was brought into active exercise. We’ve established that unconditional, Godly love is the fulfillment of the law and thus, it is the way we overcome sin. And we’ve established that God’s plan accounts for the decisions He knows we’re going to make and that community is about love, encouragement, support, and creating invitations to hold each other accountable, not behavioral modification, judgment, and presumptions. Why does any of that matter? It matters because it informs the answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?” 

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Matthew 19:16-22

This passage is crucial because, again, it helps establish a foundation.  The man asked, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?”Jesus’s response was, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.” Jesus then told him to keep the commandments, which is stated more than once throughout the Bible, and when the man asked “Which ones?”, Jesus named the Ten Commandments, adding “and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But here’s where it gets interesting. The young man said “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” And to that Jesus responded, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Now a lot of people think that passage refers to material possessions, but I believe this young man is an example of what it means to be “lukewarm.” Stay with me. 

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.” Revelation 3:14-18

Now let’s go to John chapter 9. One fine Sabbath day, Jesus healed a man who was born blind and it sent the Pharisees into a tizzy. I won’t read the whole thing, but when you have time, you should read it because the shade the Pharisees were throwing to everybody was completely out of pocket. They even cast the man who was healed out of the synagogue because he said that He believed that God was with Jesus. This is what Jesus had to say about that:

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” John 9: 35-41

So what do these passages of Scripture have to do with each other? The rich young man came to Jesus asking what good deed he needed to complete in order to be saved. He essentially asked how he could “earn” his salvation. Jesus’ answer may seem straightforward, but if you know that love is the fulfillment of the law and that it’s a character trait…a state of being that only God can make manifest within a person….then you know what Jesus was really saying to him. But if there was any doubt, it should have been removed by Jesus’s response to the young man saying, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Because at that point, it became clear that the young man was lukewarm. It became clear that the young man was neither hot nor cold, because he was unable to see that he wasn’t perfect, which meant he was unable to TRULY see his need for a Savior. He came to Jesus seeking what DEED he needed to complete to be save….what LIFESTYLE he needed to live to be saved….what he could do within his own strength to be saved…and he thought he pretty much had it under control. But the problem the Laodiceans had in Revelation…the problem the Pharisees had in John 9…and the problem real “lukewarm” believers have today is the belief that they are “rich,” have “prospered,” and are in need of nothing, not realizing that they are “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”And Jesus essentially says the same thing to both: Follow me. Because following Him is a direct path to a life of love, which in turn is a direct path to salvation. 

Love isn’t some abstract, intangible theory that you can’t really base your way of life upon. It’s a principle that has been explicitly outlined in Scripture over and over and over again. It’s not a coincidence, an afterthought, or a caveat. It’s the essence of God’s character. It’s the fulfillment of the law. It’s the reason for our very existence and the ONLY way anyone get anywhere spiritually…the only way any of us build a lasting, meaningful relationship with our Creator….is by letting go of what we’ve been conditioned to believe and opening our hearts and our minds to the fullness of who God wants to be for us. “What is the most loving thing I can do in this situation?” isn’t an easy question to ask, but I don’t think there are very many scenarios where the answer is something displeasing to God. Love is the one thing in this life that transcends literally any barrier human beings can think to put in front of it. It overcomes time, space, religion, culture, gender, race, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, and so much more. It is a universal law that everyone who has ever existed has had the opportunity and the capacity to experience and understand. And history has always been defined by those who acted out of unconditional love and self-sacrifice, and those who acted out of selfishness and malice or indifference. Love always has been and always will be the standard by which all of us will be judged. No exceptions. No excuses. 

This week, I challenge you to ask God to give you eyes to see. I challenge you to ask God how you can let go of what you think you know that may be holding you back from seeing and knowing God more deeply. I challenge you to stop trying to be perfect and live “right” and to start trying to surrender daily and follow the Lamb wheresoever He leads. I challenge you to ask God to show you the breadth and depth of His love and to enable you to share that love with others. 

Next week, I’ll be concluding the series by explaining why love is the standard by which we will all be judged and why that means that ANY doer of the law can and WILL be justified.