Ex-vangelicals: The New Pharisees

In John 9:13-34, the Pharisees angrily questioned a man Jesus healed of blindness. They wanted to discredit Jesus, insisting He couldn’t be from God because He healed on the Sabbath.(1) 

When the man’s parents verified that he was born blind and the man called Jesus a prophet, the Pharisees ignored this evidence, commanding the man to “give glory to God by telling the truth.” 

When the healed man further defended Jesus, the Pharisees childishly insulted him. No matter how much proof they had of Christ's power and character, they would not believe.

We see similar attitudes today. Atheists insist Christians are fools to believe there’s a God. Many people reject the obvious proofs of God and depend on human wisdom or false religions. 

But I think the incredibly popular ex-vangelical movement most clearly mirrors the Pharisees. Raised in Christian homes, ex-vangelicals cut and paste Scripture to create a Jesus in their own image, claiming they are the true followers of Christ. Like the Pharisees, they suppress the truths staring them in the face and reject the true Jesus (Romans 1:18-21). 

We must face these false prophets like the healed man faced the Pharisees, standing firm and defending our Lord (Jude 3-4).  

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(1) It's important to note that in this passage some Pharisees in the group disagreed, saying, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” We'll talk more about that in our next post in this series.

Some helpful posts about ex-vangelicals:

Muddled Views of God, Scripture, and Women: This post explains the beliefs shared by Rachel Held Evans, a NY Times best-selling author. 

Behold, He Stands at the Door: This post shares a popular ex-vangelical meme that seriously mocks our Lord.

Don't Be Misled: This post debunks two popular ex-vangelical beliefs.

If you've purchased Wisdom for Life, I suggest you read or reread Day 92 to reinforce the truths in this devotion. 

If you haven't purchased Wisdom for Life, check out the sales on Lifeway, Amazon, and CBD.

 

 

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Are You His Servant or is He Yours?

In Weird Question, we talked about the disciples' question about the man born blind. In When the Mud Fell from His Eyes, we talked about Jesus healing the blind man. The next section, John 9:8-12, tells us about the immediate results of his healing.   

Seeing the world for the first time, the man returns to his neighborhood. People look at him and ask, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 

Imagine their shock and excitement when he explained his healing. They wanted to find Jesus and learn more. 

We sometimes think that Jesus healed and fed people simply to serve them, but the main purpose of His signs and wonders was to prove He's the Messiah who can heal our souls (Acts 2:22). 

I imagine most of the blind man’s neighbors searched for Jesus to find out more, and some probably became Christians. But we also know that many people who followed Christ simply did so for personal benefit. They wanted to be healed but they didn't want to commit their lives to Christ.

In John 6:26, Jesus pointed out that many of the 5000 He fed, followed Him selfishly, simply hoping for a free meal.  

Even after we've asked Christ to be our Lord, we can slip into this selfish mindset. It's good from time to time to examine ourselves and ask if we're focused on how we can serve our Lord or focused on how He can serve us. 

Let's never forget that He's prepared specific things for each of us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

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For more insights on this subject, see 5 Productive Projects for Christians and Why We Are Clay Jars.

If you own Wisdom for Life, I encourage you to read or reread Day 82 for further insights.

If you haven't purchased Wisdom for Life, check out the sales on Lifeway, Amazon, and CBD.

 

 

When the Mud Fell from His Eyes

After answering the disciples' Weird Question, Christ healed a man born blind:

“He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.”  John 9:6-7

Why did Christ use this unusual method when He could simply have said, “Be healed”? 

Some Bible scholars believe He did this because stirring mud was seen as a “work” forbidden on the Sabbath. Christ was proclaiming man-made Sabbath laws as excessive and pointless (Mark 7:8). 

Some scholars believe Christ was showing that healing can take many forms, letting us know He’s the Healer even if our healing comes through medicine and doctors. 

 

I believe that one important reason for this unusual method was based on Christ's understanding of the man being healed. Perhaps it was important that the man participate in the healing. Perhaps God knew that there were certain things that would be on his mind as he was led to the pool. Perhaps there was significance in the man using his own hands to remove the mud, seeing his surroundings for the first time in his life. God didn't simply want to heal the man. He wanted to save him.

God knows each of us personally and deals with us individually. We may not always understand his methods, but we can trust His wisdom, love, and purposes (1 Corinthians 13:12).

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I encourage you to read Can You Hear the Shepherd's Voice as a reminder of how deeply God cares for us. And Anytime, Day or Night will also encourage you.

 

 

Jesus Answers a Weird Question

In John 9:1-5, the disciples ask a weird question when they see a man who was born blind: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents?” 

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

Many people today ask the same weird question the disciples asked, assuming if a Christian is sick or facing difficulties, they must deserve it. That's how Job’s friends judged Job's tragedies even though Job lived a godly life (Job 1). 

We humans are good at creating formulas, trying to understand things beyond our understanding.

Jesus healed many different people, some who were sick because of sin (John 5:1-14), some who had faith (Mark 5:25-34), some who were healed because their friends had faith (Luke 5:17-26), some who exhibited no faith before their healing (John 9), some who glorified God after their healing and some who didn't even thank Him (Luke 17:11-19).

Jesus cares deeply about us, but His main purpose in signs and wonders was to prove He is the Light, the Messiah, the Son of God (Acts 2:22). 

We can't fully understand the workings of God (1 Corinthians 13:12). We don't always know why someone is sick, why someone is healed, or why a faithful believer is not healed (e.g., 1 Timothy 5:23).

Are you struggling with an unanswered question or unresolved difficulty?  

Never forget that God works all things for the good of those who trust Him (Romans 8:28). 

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See A Message About Healing. It involves a faithful believer who was not healed. And Did Christ Link All Healing to Faith? offers additional insights.

If you've purchased Wisdom for Life, I suggest you read or reread Day 54 to reinforce the truths in this devotion. 

If you haven't purchased Wisdom for Life, check out the great sales on Lifeway, Amazon, and CBD.

 

A Collection of Devotions about Overcoming Worry

Saturday Collection: These devotions address fear, worry, stress, and anxiety. You'll find some repetition if you read them all, but God tells us that repetition is good for us...a "safeguard" to keep us on track. You can use them for individual or group study.

 

Deception of Discouragement 

Scripture says we become deceived if we don’t apply James 1:22 to our lives. I sometimes fail to apply it in the area of worry.

 

Worry is Based on a Small View of God 

Something tiny and seemingly insignificant destroyed this 400-year-old tree. It's a good analogy for worry. This 1-minute devotion explains.

 

90% of the Time We're Wrong 

Scripture gives us an incredible cure for worry. This 1-minute devotion explains.

 

Jesus is Not a Sedative 

Jesus is no sedative! This 1-minute devotion explains why He is more like an "IV" injecting Truth into our souls.

 

Thanks! I Needed That! 

This 1-minute devotion offers 6 biblical truths that can help us get back on track when we get side-tracked by anxiety, fear, and frustration.

 

Biblical Key to Overcoming Fear and Worry 

Often the things that cause the most fear are things without a “time limit.” This 1-minute devotion explains how we deal with those things.

 

A Sinful, Unnecessary Waste of Time 

When faced with problems, don’t waste your time doing what most people do.

 

Scriptures for Overcoming Fear and Worry 

Let God's Word Transform You by reading, memorizing and meditating on these Scripture verses about fear and worry.

 

5 Ways to Overcome Nighttime Fears 

This 1-minute devotions offers practical advice for overcoming fearful thoughts when we wake in the middle of the night.

 

To Fear or Not to Fear: That is the Question 

This devotion explains how healthy fear is needed to overcome unhealthy fear.

 

3 More Things that Steal Your Peace 

One of these three is worry, and the other two can lead to worry. Scripture helps us overcome all three. 

 

God’s Rule for Overcoming Worry 

We can't overcome worry without applying the principle in Matthew 6:34. This 1-minute devotion explains.  

 

The "Personally Opposed" Excuse

How often have you heard the statement, “I’m personally opposed to ______, but I won’t impose my views on others.” 

If we’re talking about something like a method of gardening or a weight loss program, this statement is fine. But when it’s something moral, it shows hypocrisy, weakness, and compromise. It’s the same as saying, “My beliefs aren’t worth defending or promoting.” 

You won’t hear someone saying, “I’m personally opposed to the murder of innocent people, but I won’t impose my values on others.” That's because murder isn't socially acceptable.(1)

But when it comes to immoral behaviors promoted by culture, people want to straddle the fence, acting as if both the moral view and the immoral view have equal validity and are simply a matter of opinion, not a matter of right and wrong.

But any Christian who tries to straddle that fence is wrong. You can't put one foot on the narrow road and one foot on the broad highway (Matthew 7:13-14). 

Paul explains the Christian response to such things:

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

When Christ is our Lord, immoral things offend us, and we cannot help but warn people of their danger and seek to stop them. 

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I encourage you to read Hard Things and Stand Up and Die for two different situations when someone stood firm against enormous odds.

(1) I should clarify that our culture is in favor of murdering innocent unborn children. But they haven't yet approved murdering other innocent people.

 

Peer Pressure Has No Age Limit

Many years ago when our children were in their preteens, we moved to a new city, and my daughter joined the youth choir at our new church.  At the first practice, a girl made fun of my daughter's shoes and all the other girls snickered. 

I thought of this a few weeks later when I began volunteering at a local VA nursing home in the same city. I'd visit patients, pray for them, and offer to read an encouraging Bible verse before leaving. 

One of the patients was a 100-year-old man, and he enjoyed our visit. But he asked me not to read the Bible because his friends might see us and think he was religious.

That's when I realized peer pressure has no age limit. It happens to 12-year-old girls and 100-year-old veterans. 

That was many years ago, but peer pressure continues to promote conformity. Christians are being pressured to reject our Christian values as outdated, irrelevant, or hateful. But we have this confidence: even if we live for 100 years, we'll never be sorry for rejecting worldly lies and promoting biblical truths. 

Jesus gave us this wonderful promise: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12).

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For more encouragement, see A Great Crowd Cheering Us On.

One Compromise and Then Another and Then Another...

Compromise kills faith. 

In the Old Testament God’s people were always trying to combine God’s commands with pagan practices. They didn’t start by sacrificing their children to pagan gods, but one compromise led to another and then another and eventually they justified child sacrifice. Does this make you think of something our culture has justified?

The book of Judges offers a glimpse of such compromise when the people “did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6, 21:25).  

This describes our modern culture as well. In the last few years, I've seen professing Christians compromise God's commands in countless little ways. They start with one small compromise, but it never stops there.

Scripture warns us about such times in history when professing Christians “no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching.” Instead, they “follow their own desires” and “look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:1-5).  

 

What are your ears itching to hear, dear reader? I hope they are itching to hear the full and accurate gospel.

We must not underestimate the size of the spiritual battle we face and we must not underestimate the importance of reading, studying, sharing, and defending God's Word.

 

Take time today to ask God if there are any areas where you are compromising biblical principles. If He reveals something, seek His help to fully repent and return to the truth. 

 

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To read about a time when I had to repent of compromise, see God Wins All Wrestling Matches.

Seeking to Understand Mysteries

I have an analytical personality. It's a good quality when it inspires me to do research and find answers. But it frustrates me when something is beyond my grasp.

I’m content not fully understanding things like electricity, cell phones, and computers. But I want to know everything about God, and sometimes that's not possible.

This used to trouble me until I discovered the wonderful truth in 1 Corinthians 13:12:

 

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

 

Our lives on earth involve some mystery, but one day those mysteries will make sense. And even more importantly, everything God does is good. His wisdom is perfect. His Word is trustworthy.

Electricity, cell phones, or computers sometimes let me down, but God never does.

“Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].” Hebrews 11:1 AMP

If you're struggling to believe God for a situation in your life, take time today to ask God to give you that confident assurance in things you can’t yet see or understand. 

See 3 Things to Remember When We Think God has Let us Down.

 

If you've purchased Wisdom for Life, I suggest you read or reread Day 93 for some additional insights about faith that can handle mysteries.

If you haven't purchased Wisdom for Life, check out the sales on Lifeway, Amazon, and CBD.

When I Walked Out of the Darkness

I don’t have a dramatic conversion story in that I wasn’t addicted to drugs or involved in crime before being saved. But as an unbeliever I still lived in the dominion of darkness: 

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14  

Even if you were living a relatively moral lifestyle before you were converted, you were still in the “dominion of darkness,” where human minds define right and wrong. 

 

But when we are saved we rejoice in 1 Peter 2:9: 

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  

When saved we enjoy the light of our Savior: 

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” Jesus, John 12:46  

What a wonderful thing to know that “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). 

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. today and it was dark in my house and outside, but when I got out of bed, I was walking in the light even before I turned one on!

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8 

 

May these verses brighten our day!

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Read about my excitement about the Bible when I left the dominion of darkness: God Wrote a Book. I think you'll also enjoy my thoughts in this 1-minute devotion: Sitting in the Dark.

 

If you've purchased Wisdom for Life, I suggest you read or reread Day 15 to remember how God predicted the light of Christ long before He came.

If you haven't purchased Wisdom for Life, check out the sales on Lifeway, Amazon, and CBD.