An Answer to the Zeal Problem

A friend of mine questioned how to deal with the problem of not being as zealous for God as once before. May you take heed to what I told her, and may it minister to you in someway.

“I went through that as well, but right about the time I started going to college (2009), I saw the same eagerness to learn and live what I was learning about God. The answer is......the Gospel. The Gospel is our power, our sufficiency, our freedom, our joy, our security, and soooo much more. The Gospel is as much for believers as it is for the lost. The Gospel is what first brought us our zeal, thus the Gospel is what will continue to bring and help us keep our zeal.

If a believer literally goes through the Gospel in their mind each day, in their prayer each day, and verbally talk it out loud to God or other believers each day, they will be compelled to Christ because of His amazing grace, relentless love, awesome power (etc, etc) displayed in the Gospel (2Cor. 5:14-15). If we are constantly resting in the origin of our zeal--the Gospel--then that zeal will be ever present--as we are ever present before the Gospel.

Just take a moment to think about what I'm saying in regards to the Gospel. And then notice how joy and gratitude rise within you from thinking on what all that God freely did. The Gospel is our answer.

The problem comes in when believers either don’t cognitively know the fullness of the Gospel or become content with only knowing the clichés of the Gospel. To think being able to recite Ephesians 2:8-9 or Romans 10:9-10 or "Jesus died for my sins & rose from the dead" is all the Gospel is, is a major reason people lose their zeal. (Sin--unconfessed sin, unrepented sin, practicing sin, and so on--is another major reason people lose their zeal).

I challenge you, just from the top of your head, to make a list of all you know Jesus did for you within the Gospel. Then make another list, just from the top of your head, of all the benefits you know you receive within the Gospel. Then make another list, just from the top of your head, of the actions and attitudes that are produced and displayed in your life from knowing these things about the Gospel. Now after you have these three lists, imagine how much more you can add over days and months and years of continuingly learning from and about Jesus. Tell me how can a genuine born-again believer not be zealous from daily reminding themselves of these things of the Gospel?

Personally, the more I learn about the Gospel, I cannot help being zealous for Jesus and following His desires!”

Here is a brief recap of the points of the Gospel:

• The Beginning [perfect Creation, perfect relationships, perfect fulfillment]
  
• The Fall [sin, death, separation, pain, issues, incompleteness]
  
• The Law [God's standard, our inability and our need for a Savior]
  
• The First Coming [God's gift for our dilemma]
  
• The Cross [God's grace & love & imputation, our adoption & justification & redemption--freedom from slavery]
  
• The Resurrection [enemy (sin & Satan) defeated, our victory, the power of the Holy Spirit--regeneration & sanctification];
  
• The Ascension [our hope in His eternal security];
  
• The Return/Second Coming [His ultimate justice (on sin and Satan) and our ultimate comfort]
  
• The Eternal Abode [our perfect fulfillment in His personal presence for all of eternity--glorification]
  

For every issue we face, our understanding, our comfort, our encouragement, our hope, and our motivation to change and be more transformed into Christ's image will fit somewhere in these points of the Gospel. Therefore I challenge every reader of this blog to sincerely meditate daily on these points of the Gospel through God’s Word, prayer, and journaling, and then observe an inner desire (zeal) for Christ begin to awaken again, or observe your already present inner desire (zeal) for Christ be reinvigorated, continue to grow, be strengthened, and move you to deliberately wanting and deliberately bearing more of Jesus’ character and desires in your life.

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*"A Gospel Primer for Christians" (Milton Vincent, 2008) is a powerful short and inexpensive book on the Gospel that every Christian must have in their personal library.

12/19/11

The Influence of Our Perception/Perspective

Today I wanted to briefly share something that has been on my heart lately, that is, the natural progression of our perception/perspective and its tremendous influence in our life.

Our perspective/perception is the steering wheel of our lives; it influences how we see, respond, think, and act toward people, places, emotions, situations, God, etc.

After I came to understand how severe this is, I made sure to briefly touch on it and place it within the first couple of pages of my discipleship book. It is now a constant mental discipline of mine. Allow me to share what I wrote.

"1. Perception: How we perceive things (see it) will determine how we receive it.

2. Reception: How we receive things (take it) will determine how we understand it.

3. Understanding: How we understand things (grasp it) will determine how we retain it.

4. Retention: How we retain things (digest it) will determine how we apply it.

5. Application: How we apply things (work it) will determine how we live.

This progression is so instinctive that it takes place without our conscious knowledge. It’s a natural progression. One triggers the next. Also, there is a pro and con approach in effect. The pro approach is if we perceive things the right way, then we’ll receive, understand, retain, and apply whatever that may be correctly. The con approach is if we perceive things the wrong way, then we’ll receive, understand, retain, and apply whatever that may be incorrectly. It is for this very reason we have to be careful how we perceive things because our perception has an influential affect on the process of how we apply what we see, hear, read, believe, learn, and think in our life." (Discipleship State of Mind, pg. xv, (c)2015)

We have to renew our mind (not simply the way we think, but even the way we go about thinking––our perspective/perception) or our perspective/perception will conform to anything else but the words, wisdom, truth, promises, and ways of God! Don't let your negative or unreasonable or unbilblical perspective/perception steer you (or continue to steer you) down a path of insensitivity, lack of being objective or balanced, unhealthy communication, false or assumptive judgments and conclusions, gracelessness, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, arrogance, and on this list can go. I have been guilty of these very things because of my perception/perspective, and at times still are. But by the grace of God, the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in my life, and a sensitivity to wanting to obey God's Word and be pleasing unto Jesus, how I perceive/my perspective of people, things, and God has come a long way and so can yours...if you desire to.

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Rom. 12:1-2, NLT)

9/21/11

The Need for Hermeneutics (Part 1 of 2)

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim. 3:16-17, NKJV)

How do you know what you believe is “the” truth? Is it by faith? Don’t other beliefs say faith is there answer too? How do you know which “Faith” is right? There has to be something that distinguishes one from another, truth from false, right?
     How do you know that what you believe in your belief is true? Is it by faith again? Wouldn’t that mean that anyone can say their opinion of their belief is true? How do you know what is truth in your belief, and can you be sure it is? There has to be something that distinguishes one from another, truth from opinion, right?
     In Christianity everything cannot simply be answered with “faith”. As I just showed, through those series of questions, faith cannot make those distinguishments by itself. There has to be some reasoning, evidence, and methods of distinguishing the “true Faith” from the “false faiths”, and the actual truth within a Faith from the falsehoods, opinions, misinterpretations, or misunderstandings within the same Faith. Christianity is the only belief to have reasoning, evidence, and methods accompanying our faith to show itself as true (i.e. apologetics). However, as for the internal distinguishments (i.e. polemics), it is most divisive. Yet, whatever we do agree on is only because of our understanding of the fundamental who, what, when, where, why, and how’s of our Faith’s origins (i.e. hermeneutics).

“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you...” (Lk. 1:1-3, NIV)

     So why have I shared all of this? Because as Christians we have been charged by the Word of God to learn apologetics (a reasoned defense of what and why we believe for those outside our Faith- 1Pet. 3:15), polemics (which is apologetics for false and bad teachings within our Faith- 2Tim. 2:24-26, 1Jn. 4:1), and hermeneutics (the method of how we properly interpret the Bible- 2Tim. 2:15). Though I must note, apologetics requires hermeneutics, polemics requires hermeneutics, and proper application of the Word of God also requires hermeneutics. You cannot sincerely read, study, follow, or teach the Bible without hermeneutics. And here’s why:

If you misunderstand verses and passages in the Bible and you seek not the proper method of interpreting it you will most likely misinterpret scripture, thus you will falsely apply the Bible, and possibly lead others astray. If you interpret the Bible based on your opinion in any capacity you will almost certainly misinterpret scripture, thus falsely apply the Bible, and presumably lead others astray.

Anytime we ask a who, what, when, where, why, or how question about something within the Bible we have just crossed over into hermeneutics. Furthermore, in order for us to apply, when we attempt to apply, and when we do apply anything the Bible tells us to do we have just crossed over into hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is a must for every Christian and inseparable for reading, studying, and applying the Bible! You cannot get away from it. Either you will apply biblical hermeneutics (the proper method of interpretation) or you’ll replace it for your opinion and your own interpretation—which will lead you and others in error.

     “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2Tim. 2:15, NKJV). The NASB says, “accurately handling the word of truth.” The NIV says, “a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” The actual interpretation of this single verse is exactly where the biblical concept of the method of proper interpretation (hermeneutics) is born. Paul prescriptively charges Timothy to study (be diligent–labor) to show himself approved by God, and as a master workman (or in our time it would be a skilled professional) would accurately, rightly, and correctly handle his tool or craft (just as Paul did at tent making- Acts 18:1-3; 20:31-35), so is Timothy to do so with the Word of Truth!
     For any Christian to know this and willfully choose not to accurately, rightly, and correctly handle the Word of Truth like Paul charged is disobedience and disrespect to God and the distinctive people of a distinctive time He chose to use to write this divine 66 book love letter we now have! Remember how Luke started his gospel, “they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,” and “I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning.” If within a couple of decades after Jesus Luke himself “carefully investigated everything from the beginning”, how much more us thousands of years later? For any Christian who now knows this and still believes that they don’t need or have to learn at least basic hermeneutics is in error, selfishness, and pride all to their loss. If this is you, I plead for you to repent from these sinful attitudes or suffer the consequences!

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2Tim. 4:3-4, NKJV)

     My fellow family of God, the only way to keep yourself from falling victim to 2Timothy 4:3-4 (and other scriptures alike) will be to follow the prescription of Paul in 2Timothy 2:15 so to properly follow the rest of Scripture. Just as God has given us the instruments of doctors, medicine, and so on to help us in our infirmities, He has given us hermeneutics (the method of how to properly interpret His Word) as the instrument the Holy Spirit uses to help guide us into all biblical truth (Jn. 16:13). This is to our benefit, and any true child of God is going to want to be led into truth by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14).

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“The How for Hermeneutics” (Part 2 of 2)
In Part 2 I will cover what exactly is hermeneutics and some “how to’s” for hermeneutics so all can be equipped and edified.

4/2010