Tag: the Gospel

The Christian and the Confederate Flag

On By joshnnomiIn christian livingLeave a comment

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For the past week or so there has been an uproar to “take down that flag”, in reference to the Confederate flag which flies in many places across the Southern States. The cry comes from Democrats and Republicans, from liberals and some conservatives, even Dr. Russell Moore President of the ERLC of the Southern Baptist Convention issues the call to take down the flag.

Now we all know a flag didn’t make a young man shoot people in a church prayer meeting, it was his beliefs which led him to commit such a heinous action. His worldview corrupted his thinking when he open fired on the church prayer meeting. His worldview was his overarching passion at that instant and it caused him to open fire.

I currently reside in Arkansas, a transplant to the South via California. My love for Southern living is abounding everyday. I also know some very godly down to earth Southern folks who see the Confederate flag, not as a sign of racism but a symbol of Southern pride, a heritage marker which says I am a Southerner and proud of it.

Yet on the other side we have hate groups which have embraced the Confederate flag as a symbol of hate and white supremacy. A symbol of a race war, which unfortunately is the predominant message. Before I moved to the South, that is exactly how I viewed the Confederate flag as an Hispanic American. When I moved here I was offended to see the flag flying proudly.

Until I met some of these Southern people, who have loved and embraced my family and I. People who do what they can to help you when your in a bind. People who love and embrace my children as their own.

As I sit back and contemplate on all the fuss concerning the Confederate flag, I see it from three perspectives now. There are people who view the Confederate flag as just a people proud to be from the South. Where people are extremely polite, the tea is good, and the Southern food is great, among other things. To them it’s a marker which says, I am Southern and I am proud of it.

At the same time their are those who use it as their symbol of racism and hate. A symbol for a race war. Hate is what they are selling and the Confederate flag is their brand. There is no denying this.

There is yet another perspective, I believe Paul the Apostle helps us in this area, when writing to the church in Phillipi, he begins warning them about those who say you need Jesus + circumcision for salvation. Paul tells them,

though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (ESV) Philippians 3:4-8

Paul says you think you have confidence in your circumcision, let me tell you my heritage, because if any one should have confidence it is me.

1) Circumcised on the eighth day
2) Of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews
3) As to the law, a Pharisee
4) As to zeal, a persecutor of the church
5) As to righteousness under the law, blameless

If anyone can take pride in his heritage, it is Paul. He was the standout, the Hebrew of Hebrews, as he puts it.

Now I know most Southerners out there don’t believe they need Jesus + their Southern heritage for salvation. But look what Paul says in verse 7,

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Did Paul gain from his heritage? Sure he did, if all the Old Testament points to Christ, there must be gain from his heritage. Is there gain being raised in the Bible belt of the South? Sure there is, but notice the very next phrase, I count it as loss.

Why?

Christ is so much more than the heritage you bring to the table.

Paul goes on to say he counts all things, his heritage, money, wealth, fame, future, all things loss because knowing Jesus is worth more than anything. The joy of knowing Christ surpasses anything you bring to the table, by far, there is no comparison.

Paul not only says Christ is worth so much more than all things. Paul goes on to say all things are rubbish and are worth giving up for Christ. The ESV translates the Greek word Skubalon as rubbish but other translations use dung, or as I say, it is all a pile of poo compared to knowing Christ.

Paul says everything I perceive as gain is skubalon, now here is an even bigger statement, in order that I may gain Christ. Paul, very clearly, points out I must give up whatever I put my pride and rightousness in, to gain Christ. As believers, our identity is in Christ, and everything else is a distant second to Him. Christ becomes what defines who we are, above being a Hispanic American, father, husband, wife, mother, or even a Southerner.

For the Christian, Christ is our supreme pleasure and the proclamation of the Gospel is our mission.  If this is true of believers, then we must decide to take down the flag because it is “stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother (Rom. 14:13) ”  I would also contend, not only is it offensive to some of our brothers and sisters in Christ, it may prevent an unbeliever from hearing the Gospel.

Paul continues in Romans 14, “For if your brother is grieved by what you eat” or by what flag you fly, “you are no longer walking in love (Rom. 14:15).” Love for our neighbor becomes the motivation of the Christian. We must be Gospel people who are uncompromising when it comes to the truth of God’s Word. We also must be Gospel people who submit to God’s word by loving our brothers and sisters in Christ who are deeply offended by the Confederate flag.

Why?

For the Christian, the flag which should be fying above all others is the Gospel which has granted us access into God’s kingdom. Every other flag is secondary to Christ and the Gospel. Here is what Paul says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking” or which flag you fly “but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit… So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food (or a flag), destroy the work of God (Romans 14:17-20).”

Remember it’s all skubalon compared to the privilege of knowing Christ.

Until Next Time

Soli Deo Gloria

Meditation Monday: Jars of Clay

On By joshnnomiIn Uncategorized2 Comments

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On Sunday we were back in 2 Corinthians, specifically in 4:7-15.

Great passage of Scripture to meditate on. There is so much to unpack. For me, what continues to come to mind is Paul calling believers “jars of clay.” These jars of clay were nothing to brag about. They were not finely made chest, they were jars made of clay. But what is a jar made for?

Containers
In my house jars are made to contain stuff. They are for storage. The jars can contain anything from my wife’s valuable enchilada sauce or the leftovers in the back of the fridge the kids forgot to get rid of. Basically, jars are containers. Now get ready, because Paul calls Christians jars of clay which contain a treasure. As jars of clay we do not hold the rotten leftovers in the back of the fridge, we contain the glorious treasure of Jesus and the Gospel.

Transporters
Jars are not only used as containers,  they are also used as transporters. We use jars to safely transport stuff one place to another. So not only are believers containers of Jesus and the Gospel, believers should be transporters of Jesus and the Gospel.

All For The Glory of God

As Christians we need to realize the treasure and mission Christ has blessed us with and called us to. We are to be containers and transporters of the Gospel in this world. The Gospel is the hope of the world and we are the jars of clay who contain and transport the message of the kingdom.

Why?

God uses plain jars of clay to house the most valuable message, in order that, God’s glory and surpassing power can be on display. It’s all about Him, God uses us not because we are so great but because He is so great. Praise God for this wonderful privilege and grace to be containers and transporters of the Gospel to the world.

Until next time
Soli Deo Gloria

Don’t Just Sit There, Do Something!

On By joshnnomiIn Uncategorized3 Comments

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Have you ever been involved in one if those peculiar situations? You know the one I am talking about, where one person or group is the victim of a wrongdoing but everyone just sits and watches. You know what is happening is wrong but for some reason you just sit and watch and don’t get involved. Your conscious may be screaming “don’t just sit there, do something!”

The situation that is happening to the group of believers that Jude is writing to is that some “people have crept in unnoticed.” These people slithered their way into the Church, maybe into positions of leadership, teachers or deacons. Jude is interesting here, because he tells us very little on what these false teachers are teaching. He doesn’t give us a point for point rebuttal of their errors. What the rest of the book of Jude informs us about is the character behind the false teachers. Jude is teaching believers how to recognize false teachers. You know what astounds me? Much hasn’t changed, but I am getting ahead of my self.
What are these false teachers teaching?

These people are referred to by Jude as “ungodly” and these people “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” This is the only description Jude gives us of what they are teaching, which seems to be some sort of libertine theology “go ahead and sin God’s grace will cover it.” In doing so they deny the Lordship of Christ because they are not submissive to His Word and the commands of The Lord Jesus Christ. Other than this brief description Jude moves on to focus on their character. But what we are going to focus on today is Jude’s forceful echo all the way from the first century, “don’t just sit there, do something!”

A First Priority Issue

When Jude sat down to write his letter, he tells us his intentions were to write about our “common salvation.” Now we can all agree that salvation is of vital importance. The salvation of a person is a matter of heaven and hell, it is a first priority issue. Yet, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Jude “found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith,” The words Jude uses here are critical to understanding his urgency. Jude’s use of necessary and appealing are important. Jude is saying, “I wanted to write to you about our salvation, but I am compelled to say this first so I am begging you to listen to me please,” If salvation is a first priority issue, Jude makes it very clear, contending for the faith that saves us is also a first priority issue. But what exactly is Jude asking of us? What is this verse implying?

Contend for the Faith

The word contend that Jude uses is an athletic term. In a couple of days our nation will be enveloped by a little event called the Super Bowl where the Seahawks and the Broncos will play a football game to find out who will be this years champions. In this game they will each do everything possible, within the rules, to keep each other from scoring points and score more points than the other. They will contend for the right to be champion of the NFL. This is the term Jude uses, he uses “fighting words.” Jude is telling us, when necessary; fight, defend and contend for the faith against these false teachers.

Secondly, Jude isn’t asking us to fight for the sake of fighting. Jude tells us to contend for “the faith.” Jude has a specific set of beliefs, a creed, in mind here. Maybe something like 1 Corinthians 15:3-4,

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Jude wasn’t the only New Testament writer to use “the faith” to refer to objective truth, which is the gospel. When Paul was telling his story to the Galatians he says,

They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” (Gal. 1:23)

Jude is imploring us to fight for the Gospel, for truth. Now the assumption Jude is making here is that his audience actually knows “the faith.” We are Jude’s audience now, do we know the Christian faith? Do you know the “what” of the Gospel? Do you know why you believe the Gospel? Can you defend it against false teachers in and outside the church? Jude’s assumption is yes.

Finally, Jude tells us that “the faith” “was once for all delivered to the saints.” Why is this important? The false teachers that were slithering into the church were claiming to have “new revelation.” They were coming claiming an authority that did not belong to them. Jude told this group of believers “the faith” is a done deal already delivered, so if any one tries to add to the Gospel, defend it and drop them like a bad habit.

My friends, take Jude’s exhortation seriously and know what you believe and why you believe it. Also be ready to stand up and defend it. When false teachers come to your church, your home or into your world “don’t just sit there, do something!”