Recognising the Fat Cat of Legalism.

  Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."

                                            Mark 4 v 30- 32.

    We are fortunate to have a small wood backing on to our garden. Different birds will often be seen resting in the branches of the trees. When the neighbour's cat joins the party, the birds take flight. Birds rather wisely don't rest in branches alongside cats.
  The picture in this parable is of the birds of the air resting securely in the branches of the tree that grew from a mustard seed. There are no unfriendly cats lurking in the branches. As Christians, we are called to rest in the branches of the Kingdom of God, finding in Christ that 'yoke that is easy and burden that is light.'
   Why do so many Christians live outside that place of rest? Why do so many of us live in the branches of the Kingdom of God with agitation, insecurity, and unhealthy activism as the characteristics of our lives? What cat has got amongst the pigeons?
   I would like to suggest that the fat cat of religious legalism is the most destructive spirit which the devil has used to rob many of us of the joy and peace of resting in Christ. Many of us are more the slave to religious piety and human tradition, rather than the 'doulos' of Christ.
   At its heart legalism is the exaltation of law, formula, and red tape as a doctrine of justification by works, rather than a justification through faith alone in Christ. I have listed a number of ways in which this legalism appears, and some of the spiritual insights that can help us catch this cat and keep it off the back of our lives.

1. Promotion of knowledge over love.

     There are five references in the New Testament to 'knowledge puffing up, but love building up.' These are 1 Corinthians 4 v 6, 4 v 18, 8 v 2, Colossians 2 v 18, and 1 Tim 3 v 6.
      Knowledge is not a substitute for love. We can have great knowledge of the Bible, and have had great personal insights in the Holy Spirit, but without love we gain nothing. One of the characteristics of a knowledge or experience driven legalism, is the desire to impress others with what we know or have experienced, rather than inspiring people into a greater passion and personal revelation of Jesus for themselves.
    True spiritual knowledge is the fruit of love, and will in turn inspire others in their pursuit of Jesus. In the Colossians 2 v18 reference, the issue is a false parading of spiritual experience as a sign of the Lord's approval. If the temptation in more conservative circles is the displaying of Bible knowledge in a wrong way, in charismatic circles it can be the wrong displaying of experience and inappropriate use of spiritual gifts as a means of securing our authentication.
   A measure of true spirituality is how much is concealed, not how much is displayed. What we share needs to be the tip of the iceberg, not the hidden roots. The hidden life is the rewarded life, but the legalism cat will often tempt us in an opposite direction, that of performing and displaying our knowledge and experiences to win the approval of men. When we do this, our motive is not love, and we can become 'sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.' Birds won't rest secure for long in these type of branches.

2. Misunderstanding of covenant.

      The basis on which God accepts us is unconditional covenant grace. If the story of the Prodigal tells us anything, it is that we can't earn our passage or ticket to grace and favour. Even when we are in ' the distant land', far away from the Lord, His love for us is not based on our getting our act together. The Prodigal returns with a pre planned script of intent, only to see it effectively ripped up in the loving embrace of his father.
    The 'ifs' and 'thens' of scripture in relation to covenant are there to help us grow in the quality and depth of our relationship with the Lord. They are not contractual obligations that need to be kept in order to secure God's grace and love, but rather our invitation to respond to, and live in the benefits of, that love and grace.
    Take the verse in 2 Chronicles 7 v 14, often used as a rallying cry for prayer and revival.

'If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.'

     This promise is given to a people who are already redeemed. Israel had been set free from Egypt, not because they had kept the law ( it was given after their deliverance), but on account of the Lord's grace and mercy towards them. Promises like the one quoted in 2 Chronicles are given to an already redeemed people. Even if the Israelites ignored the Lord's word, (and they frequently did), it would not change the basis on which He loved them, beautifully defined in Deuteronomy 7 v 7-8:

' The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.'

     The foundation of our relationship with the Lord, is unconditional grace. We embrace the 'ifs' and 'then' clauses of scripture to grow in the depth and quality of that relationship, but not as a means of trying to earn our ticket or right of passage. God's love for us is not conditioned on whether we read the Bible, attend church meetings, pray, fast, tithe and so on. The subtle cat of legalism tries to convince us to the contrary. It is because God loves me unconditionally, that I can and want to change. I don't change in order to secure God's favour; rather His unconditional favour inspires me to want to change.

3. Preoccupation with externals.

   'Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations- "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle," which all concern things which perish with the using- according to the commands and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.'

                           Colossians 2 v 20-23.

   Legalism preaches external conformity and behaviour, without internal transformation of the heart by the Holy Spirit. Man looks on the outside, but God looks at the heart. Legalism will disciple people into a system of living, but not into the Author of Life. The Psalmist cries out to the Lord, 'With you is the fountain of life, in your light we see light.' Legalism sheds light on our behaviour, but does not impart the life that brings true light to all men.
   It is too easy to point a finger at outward behaviour and habits, and ignore the appalling pride and covetousness that can be hidden in our own hearts. We can forget how patient and gracious the Lord has been with us. We can easily fall into the trap of 'straining out a gnat, and swallowing a camel.' We can strain out a gnat on dress code in church, for example, but ignore the camel of injustice that endorses a theology that silences women from participating fully in the life of that church. The birds of the air will not rest in peace alongside these sort of cats in the branches.

4. The finger in every pie syndrome.

    One of the motives behind legalistic drive is the desire to be in a position of control and influence over people. Sometimes this can be insecurity; we simply want to be needed as 'God's Fixers', putting things right in a way that no one else can. Our identity is driven by the need to make ourselves indispensable, the very opposite of what we should be doing.
   Two of the signs of this syndrome are the inability to say 'no', and the inability to delegate to others who are better equipped to do the task in hand. Self protection often lies at the heart of the 'finger in every pie syndrome.'
   Why were the Jewish leaders so afraid of Jesus? What motivated Herod to have put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under? What motivated David's brothers to pour scorn upon him when he went to confront Goliath? What motivated Tobiah and Sanballat to ridicule Nehemiah? Why were Darius' officials so angry with Daniel? It was a combination of fear, self protection and insecurity.
    Fear that someone more important, or more graced than them was now on centre stage. Defending their own self interests, rather than promoting the interests of others. Insecurity, in that they would not necessarily know where they would now fit in to the overall scheme of things. We are the Lord's servant first, and only secondly the servant of men. The finger in every pie syndrome turns this principle on its head. We become a slave to what people expect of us, rather than prioritising what the Lord has called us to. We become more concerned with what others think about us, rather than how the Lord sees us. Saying 'no' becomes impossible, and delegating to others is seen as a potential risk too far.

5. Rose tinted view of history and tradition.

   Do not say, "Why were the former days better than these?" For you do not enquire wisely concerning this.

                                   Ecclesiastes 7 v 10.

   This is one that I particularly have to be careful of. In a nostalgic way, I often look back on the past through rose tinted glasses remembering all of the selective Match of the Day highlights, but conveniently overlooking the less attractive elements of history.
    It is only very recently that I took the plunge into social networking, emails and mobile phones. First class letters and landlines were my primary means of keeping in touch with anyone outside a one mile radius from my home. That has now changed. My regret is that it took so long to make the change.
    The primary reason I backed out of doing school assemblies back in 2005, was that all the schools I went into were replacing the old fashioned overhead projectors with laptops and projectors. I was intimidated by technology, and reasoning that the old ways were the best ways, I bowed out, and let others go in.
     I would justify not having a mobile phone, or not using email with all kinds of silly nostalgia. The reality is that I was getting caught in a time warp of my own tradition, and I needed to change. The rest is now history. I've even found myself going back into one or two schools to take assemblies with YouTube clips and the like.
   The reason I give this personal example is to illustrate how powerful and stubborn we can all be in resisting change, citing history and tradition as our convenient get out clause for change. You wouldn't be reading this short paper if I hadn't thrown off the shackles of my own prejudice against technology... I write these blogs on my smartphone during the in between moments of the day. If we are not careful we can become a slave to our own little institutions and mindsets, rather than be a servant of the Holy Spirit.
     What self made institutions and mindsets are perhaps preventing you from being a more fruitful servant of the Holy Spirit? Legalism is defined as the exaltation of a formula or red tape at the expense of life and grace. One of my potential red tapes and formulas is 'the past is best.' Getting progressively freed up from this is helping me to sit more comfortably on the branches of the tree. The legalistic cat of 'the past is best', is slowly being starved to death.... I hope!

PS.   This will be the last blog until September. Thanks.

Prophecy in the Local Church

An old man was relaxing at his hundredth birthday party when a reporter went up to him. "Sir, what is the secret of your long life?" The man considered this for a moment, then replied, "Every day at 9.00pm I have a glass of port. Good for the heart." The reporter replied, "That's ALL?" The man smiled, "That, and cancelling my voyage on the Titanic."

     Quite a handy insight! There are times when having inside information is helpful. Prophecy is one of the ways in which we get to hear the inside of God's heart.
      I have found the following principles helpful in navigating the waters of testing and responding to prophecy in the local church. These are coming from the perspective of someone who eagerly desires the gift of prophecy, and for that gift to be regularly exercised in our  discipleship.

1. The Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.

    Taken from Revelation 19 v 10, it is always Jesus' life and testimony that is revealed in prophetic ministry, and not the channel of that blessing. John was so impressed with the angelic channel of blessing, he was tempted to worship the messenger rather than the Lord. We are no different. We honour those who serve faithfully in the prophetic, but it is the Lord alone who takes centre stage.
      The Testimony of Jesus is one of edification, encouragement, and comfort (1 Cor 14 v 3.) We are now under the New Covenant, and our prophesying should reflect that covenant of grace and truth (Hebrews 1 v's 1-4, 8 v's 7-13.) The emphasis in 1 Corinthians 12 is on gifts demonstrating the Lordship of Jesus, Chapter 13, the Love of Jesus, and Chapter 14, the Life of Jesus. So, for example in Chapter 12, the gift of healing is a demonstration that Jesus is Lord over sickness.
   Sadly, gifts can be used outside the remit of love, but 1 Corinthians 13 gives us the Mount Everest of motivational attitudes to aspire to in our use of spiritual gifts. Prophecy is to impart the Lordship, Love, and Life of Jesus. It is not to be used to try and wrongly correct or coerce people onto our wavelength. It is a gift to inspire greater love and worship of Jesus.

2. There will be different ways in which the gift is administered.

    There are different gifts, different ways of administrating those gifts, and different effects that those gifts have on people. Some will prophesy with a reflective and cautious tone, others will be very direct, others will offer a scripture, others might write down what they felt God was saying to them in a prayer time, and read it out.             There are a variety of different channels reflecting our different backgrounds and temperaments.
     We must not reject what the Lord is saying because we don't like the channel through which the prophecy is packaged. We are called to test, weigh and the embrace what the Lord is saying, and many a time the Lord has spoken to me through channels that I would not have chosen. It is a measure of His Lordship and grace that He can and often will use the least likely channel to bring blessing.

3. Resting in the Lord's Presence.

     One of the hindrances to hearing the Lord is being over worked and stressed. We need to cultivate rhythms of sabbath rest, where we intentionally seek the Lord in prayer. The Lord can give words in meetings without us having spent time in prayer, but growing in the prophetic is more the fruit of intentional prayer than anything else. Prayer is not simply the place where we speak to the Lord, but also where He speaks to us.
   Many of us who pray are probably a lot more prophetic than we think. How often have you heard someone pray and thought that what they were praying was as much a prophetic word from the Lord, as it was a prayer to the Lord? Jesus was intentional about prayer, and we all need to find the life rhythms that best fit our circumstances. Prophetic ministry is speaking out revelation rather than speaking out accumulated information. The Lord loves to speak to us and through us to one another, and a sustainable prayer life is foundational to that end.

4. Where we sit determines what we see.

    If you are sitting at level two in a block of flats you will see more than if you are on the ground floor, but less than if you were seated in the penthouse. The Psalmist asks the question, 'Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?' He then answers his own question by listing certain qualities that when established in our lives, enable us to ascend that hill. These qualities are:

Clean Hands
Pure Heart
Not worshipping idols
Not swearing by what is false

Psalm 24 v's 1-4.

   As we prioritise values that honour the Lord, we grow in spiritual sight. We begin to see prophetically at a deeper and higher level.
   It is also important that prophecy sits under rather than alongside scripture. As we submit prophetic insights, dreams, pictures, words, and visions to scripture we will get greater depth of clarity and insight. The prophetic gift is not in competition with the scriptures. The scriptures will help us get greater clarity in testing and weighing what is said.
    That clarity will also come as we sit alongside godly men and women who will help shape our understanding of the prophetic. No one has a monopoly of revelation. We all prophesy in part. Submitting to others what we feel God is saying is a safeguard, and they may add helpful insights to what we have seen (Proverbs 15 v 22, 18 v 17.)

5. Wisdom on timing and application.

   When we see or hear something, we need to ask for the Lord's permission to speak. Sometimes what we sense is to be kept in our own heart for further reflection. We sometimes need to know the right timing and context to share something.
   If what we are sensing is directional for the church, then we need to leave it with those entrusted with the pastoral oversight to weigh and, if appropriate, to implement. There are also times when we receive a word in one context, but its fulfilment is in the distant future and in a totally different context.
    Take the dreams that Joseph had in Genesis 37. He received authentic revelation in Canaan, but it would be over thirteen years later in Egypt that these dreams would come to fulfilment. Joseph had in mind being top dog in his family setting, but the Lord had in mind him being Prime Minister of Egypt.

6. We prophesy in part.

       We are panning for gold in prophetic ministry. There will always be packaging from the person that needs separating from the nuggets that are from the Holy Spirit ( Proverbs 25 v 4, 11.) Some of that packaging can be what I would call an old covenant fear factor, a fear that if I get it wrong I have become a false prophet.
    We will get things wrong. Preachers and teachers of the Bible will get things wrong as well. Our fear of being wrong needs to be displaced with a love, faith, and conviction that the Lord wants us to eagerly desire the gift of prophecy. We can learn from mistakes, in the safety that if we are following the way of love no real damage will be done.

The Hand that Signed the Paper

The hand that signed the paper felled a city;
Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath, Doubled the globe of dead and halved a country;
These five kings did a king to death.

The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder,
The finger joints are cramped with chalk; A goose's quill has put an end to murder That put an end to talk.

The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,
And famine grew, and locusts came; Great is the hand that holds
dominion over Man by a scribbled name.

The five kings count the dead
but do not soften
The crusted wound nor stroke the brow;
A hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven; Hands have no tears to flow.

Dylan Thomas 1914-1953.

    The hand that signed the paper has often with the stroke of a pen changed the entire destiny of individuals and nations. Wars have been declared, death camps sanitised, racial prejudice legalised, religious crusades commissioned, political ideology imposed, and nation rebuilding rationalised, through the power of the 'five sovereign fingers'.
   Today a more subtle but equally sinister hand has signed the paper authorising a social reconstruction and redefinition of marriage. In the name of that all important cross party ideology 'Inclusivity', the Government has considered it necessary to change the whole meaning of marriage. Is it the responsibility of elected members of parliament to redefine what constitutes marriage?
    Marriage is sacred. It is an institution created by God that predates secular government. In Eden, the first marriage was between a man and a woman, who both reflected the image of God together. Adam and Eve were called, as joint image bearers to:

  'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

                                            Genesis 1 v 28

    Eve walking alongside Adam is the full expression of God's image, and a healthy reflection of that image to children growing up in the family. As two different but complementary image bearers, marriage defined this way becomes the primary foundation for a healthy society. This definition of marriage instituted by the Lord, preceded the introduction of government.
    Government is given as a gift of common grace after the Fall. It is part of the medicine that God injects into a fallen world to slow down the inevitable spread of sin and lawlessness. Sin is presented in the Bible as a spreading virus that will continue to mutate until the Lord's return. Paul spares no punches in painting a picture of what society will look like at that time:

   'But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.'

                               2 Timothy 3 v's 1-5.

   We are exhorted to pray for government and those in positions of civic authority in order that... 'we might lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour' (1Timothy 2 v's 2-3). God's desire is for government to endorse His principles for life as part of the restraining order on the spread of sin and lawlessness.
     The inclusivity card played by the Government in relation to gay marriage is beyond that jurisdiction. Civil partnerships protecting their liberties and human rights as citizens is permissible, but not the redefining of that which is sacred. The hand that signed the paper has bred a fever, one that will mutate into something far more destructive as the years of reaping what has been sown evolve. What price would you give me on us discussing the plausibility of legalised polygamy in five years time?
     Whilst concerned at what the Government has legislated, of greater concern is the acceptance of this new arrangement within supposed evangelical churches. I can understand an unregenerate politician playing situation ethics with God's design for marriage, but not someone from within the Body of Christ.
     The problem I think is in a misunderstanding of the nature of inclusivity. We can be in danger of seeing universal inclusivity as meaning the same as the universal, conditional invitation that Jesus offers to everyone to follow Him. That invitation is conditional to all, irrespective of sexual orientation. The popular strapline that people need to 'belong before they believe' is only true to a certain point. All are welcome in a local church, but belonging to a local church is not necessarily an indication that anyone is following Christ. Some of the conditions to following Christ as His disciple include the following:

1. We are called to repent.

'From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
                              Matthew 4 v 17. 

    Repentance is far more than a one off historic act in our conversion experience. In 1 John 1 v 9, we read: 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' The word 'confess' is continual present tense, and conveys a posture of living continually under the renewal and cleansing of the blood of Christ. As we grow in grace we are sanctified through and through, and are grateful for the unlimited access to the Lord's mercy seat in Christ to ongoingly cleanse us from those attitudes, motives and actions that are not worthy of His Name.

2. We are called to take up our cross daily.

  'Then he said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.'
                                           
                                        Luke 9 v's 23-24.

    Paul spoke about carrying the death of Jesus in his body, in order that the life of Christ might be revealed through him ( 2 Corinthians 4 v's 10-12). Elsewhere Jesus spoke about entering the Kingdom of God through the narrow gate, 'for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.' He goes on to say that ' narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.'
     We are not promised an easy ride, and spiritual growth is often painful. It is not without reason that Jesus spoke openly about weighing up the cost before choosing to follow Him. David Pawson speaks of a number of things to look for in what he calls the 'normal Christian birth.' These include conviction of sin, repentance and regeneration, baptism in both water and the Holy Spirit, and a full and visible active serving in the Body of Christ. We can be far too hasty in accepting confessions of faith that are not genuine works of the Holy Spirit.

3. We are called to confess Jesus to others.

  'Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father who is in heaven.'

                               Matthew 10 v's 32-33.

  We are not called to some private hidden religion. Our faith is personal but not private. One of the ways of authenticating faith, is to go and tell people what the Lord has done for you. When you have met the Lord, you want to tell everyone about Him!
   In my own conversion, I can remember saying to my friend that I wasn't going to tell anyone that I had become a Christian, and neither was I going to church. Within a few days I was telling everyone who would listen, and the following Sunday began attending church. I had no church background, but when you have met with the Lord you want to tell others, and be around others who have experienced the Lord's grace.

4. We are called to change.

  'Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.'

                                  1 John 3 v's 9-10.

We shouldn't read into passages like this a striving for religious perfectionism. Pelagius was a British monk who wrongly taught that man can attain perfection through his own effort. Whilst most of us don't believe that, many of us still live as if it were true. What this passage means is that those who have become Christians will no longer have the primary desire in their life to sin, but rather to please the Lord. When we slip up it will be out of character with who we are. Living for sin is no longer the motivational drive in our lives, but rather living for the Lord.

5. We have to stumble over the offence of the cross.

'Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, " The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone," and "A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense" They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.'

                                    1 Peter 2 v's 7-8.

   Pride is the biggest obstacle to entering the Kingdom of God. All of us need our pride to be broken on 'the rock of offense'. The spirit behind the hand that signed the paper on redefining marriage is one of pride and arrogance. It is man effectively saying that we no longer need the Lord as our reference point, and that we have now come of age to go it alone without Him.

6. Entering the Kingdom of God is conditional on regeneration.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

                            Colossians 1 v's 13-14.

   This has already been touched upon. Entering the Kingdom of God is a supernatural act, a transferring out of the darkness of satanic bondage, and into a place of forgiveness and belonging to Christ (Acts 26 v's 17-18.) Universal unconditional inclusivity is a political and social construction, and not in my opinion, a Biblical one.
   Sooner or later we have to recognise that belonging to the Kingdom of God is conditional on repentance and belief, irrespective of our social standing or sexual orientation. We are called to respond to the invitation of Christ, and we can all freely receive or reject that invitation. This conditional universal invitation is wrongly being reinterpreted to mean unconditional universal inclusivity.
     The cross is God's great boundary statement, and we would be foolish to ignore the conditional 'ifs' of scripture on the call to discipleship. Jesus includes all in His invitation to follow Him, but few seem to choose to live up to that invitation and calling:

'For many are called, but few are chosen'

                                        Matthew 22 v 14.

  Unconditional inclusivity is more the fruit of a social reconstruction of Christendom than it is a calling to discipleship. The language and culture of political correctness seems to be the motivational drive behind it. The hand that signed the paper has sown a wind that will reap a whirlwind. Thankfully the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God, can't be felled by the hand that signed the paper. In all the present confusion, God will still have the final word.