Bishop Potter of New York used to tell on himself. On one occasion he was sailing for Europe and found that he was to share a cabin with another passenger whom he did not know. After he had met his cabin mate, he went to the ship’s purser and asked if he could leave his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. He explained that normally he would not do that, but he had been to his cabin and had met the man who was in the other berth. He said that judging from his appearance, he was afraid that he might not be trustworthy. The purser took his valuables to store in the safe and said, “I’ll be glad to take care of them for you, bishop. The other man has already been up here and left his valuables for the same reason.”[1]
That story shows that how often we judge others and things from their appearance based on our own opinions and have reached the wrong conclusions. Throughout the entire book of Judges we find the repeated cycle of misery: Israel falls into sin and idolatry – Israel is enslaved – Israel cries out to God – Israel is delivered – Israel falls into sin again. This pattern did last for about 350 years. At the very end of the book the author diagnoses the root cause of this cycle of misery in this way: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (21:25, ESV)
This problem goes back to its very foundation, the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were made for God, to depend on him and to be sustained by him and trust and obey him. But Adam and Eve didn’t like that. When they were asked, “Who is Lord – God or self?” They didn’t choose God; instead, they chose to be independent, self-sustaining people who would do what is right in their own eyes. The result was miserable. Adam and Eve lost a sense of peace and rightness and direction and wholeness and authenticity. They got adrift and restless like wandering sheep. They got confused like the people of Babel. They became like dry bone. Adam and Eve and their descendants became hypocrites like Pharisees. We became hypocrites who pretend to have the harmony between our inner self and our outer lives, but we do not really have. We try to appear confident when we're scared, peaceful when we're anxious, healthy when we are sick, intelligent when we are ignorant, concerned when we are apathetic, devout when we are indifferent. We try to appear differently to others than what we really are inside. Of course, we don’t like it. We have a desire to be authentic, not hypocritical, but we don’t know how. We just don’t have power to break the vicious cycle of misery. And the root cause of the vicious cycle is sin, which is deliberate independence from God – doing what is right in our own eyes!
The Lordship of Jesus Christ
And Jesus did come to deliver us from the power of the vicious cycle, the power of sin. That is why Jesus came. In verse 9 Paul says “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” When we trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are saved. Salvation doesn’t just mean to get to heaven after we die. It means we become inwardly and outwardly what God aims for us to be here and now. That is abundant life Jesus promised (John 10:10). When we live under the lordship of Christ, we enjoy true freedom of authenticity – the harmony between our inner person and outer lives. We become authentic. We experience a sense of forgiveness and reconciliation with God, with life, with ourselves. We experience a sense of being at home in our homeland. We experience a sense of purpose, direction, and goal. We experience a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. We experience a sense of being a whole person created to live for God’s glory. And we no longer get swayed, adrift, confused, restless, anxious by what other people think. Through Jesus Christ we become authentic.[2]
The Weak and The Strong
And it happens not only at the personal level, but also at the interpersonal level. In the church of Rome there was a major stumbling block in enjoying authenticity. There was a sharp division between the weak and the strong. Here “the weak” has nothing to do with character, but with faith. The weak refer to Jewish Christians who continued to follow certain Jewish regulations such as food and days. As for food, they kept the Old Testament food laws, eating only clean items. Often they abstained from meat altogether. As for special days, they observed both the Sabbath and the Jewish festivals. They were conservative-minded Christians who were sensitive to certain disputable matters. On the other hand, “the strong” refer to Gentile Christians who had no Jewish religious background. For them, every food is clean. There’s nothing wrong with eating meat left over pagan temple services, because idols aren’t real. And also for them, all days are the same. They were liberal-minded Christians.
The problem was the natural attitudes of the weak and the strong toward each other. The weak condemned the strong who did eat everything. On the other side, the strong despised the weak who didn’t eat meat. The weak and the strong didn’t get along well. And this still happens today. There are many issues where the Bible either silent or not clear about what to do. So on some non-essential issues, called “disputable matters” (v. 1, NIV), godly Christians differ. In Paul’s day, certain diets and special days were big issues. And for today, examples are like this [3]:
- Contemporary music accompanied by guitars and drums is from the devil! We should only sing hymns accompanied on the piano and organ.
- It is sin for Christians to drink any alcoholic beverages or use tobacco!
- Christians should have nothing to do with Christmas and Easter, which are pagan holidays.
Living under the Lordship of Christ… How?
The question is, “How do we live under the lordship of Christ?” How is it possible? It is possible by the work and power of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.’” (1 Cor 12:3b) Jesus himself also says, “When the Spirit of truth comes… he will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (16:13). So the role of the Holy Spirit is to extol, magnify, glorify Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us desire and power to live under the lordship of Christ.
So, in Ephesians 5:18 Paul exhorts us, “Be filled with the Holy Spirit.” To be filled with the Holy Spirit means that we allow him to occupy and control every area of our lives. How much of you does the Holy Spirit have? Here are two glasses of water and two packets of Alka-Seltzer to class. Now I am dropping a packet of Alka-Seltzer, with the wrapper on, into one glass… And now I am plopping an unsealed packet into the second glass. You can watch it fill with fizz. You see, both glasses have the Alka-Seltzer, just as all Christians have the Holy Spirit. But notice how you can have the Holy Spirit and not his filling.[4] Our goal is to be filled, empowered, controlled with the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
Then, how are we filled with the Holy Spirit? The key is obedience. We are filled and empowered with the Holy Spirit as we obey his promptings. It was the Holy Spirit who was with God when God created the heaven and earth. It was the Holy Spirit who did come and breathe on those slain, dry bones, and make them live and stand up on their feet – a vast army. It was the Holy Spirit who filled Jesus’ disciples with power and joy and peace. The very same Spirit of God is with us and within us. And he still speaks today. If we are willing, we are able to hear his voice. He helps, guides, convicts, warns, corrects, comforts, encourages us. For example, you may be convicted to drop a conversation or leave a place that is questionable. Perhaps there is someone who comes to your mind during the day. Call or visit that person. The Spirit will give you the right words to encourage that person. Perhaps the Holy Spirit may guide you in a certain direction. Whatever it is, do so right away, happy way, all the way. And as you do, the voice of the Holy Spirit becomes stronger in your life.
The old choice, the old question that Adam and Eve had is still before us today, “Who is Lord – God or self, Christ or Caesar?” Let us say it with conviction:
Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way;
Hold o’er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
[1]
H.A. Ironside, Illustrations of Bible
Truth (Moody Press), 115, quoted in Steven Cole, “Getting Along in Spite of
Our Differences” (Romans 14:1-4), https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-92-getting-along-spite-our-differences-romans-141-4
[2]
I must give credit to John Piper how he expounds the meaning of “authenticity”
that we enjoy in and through Christ Jesus. For more details, please refer to
his sermon, “Jesus Is Precious Because Through Him We Become Authentic,” https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/jesus-is-precious-because-through-him-we-become-authentic
[3]
Steven J. Cole, “Lesson 92: Getting Along in Spite of Our Differences” (Romans
14:1-4), https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-92-getting-along-spite-our-differences-romans-141-4
[4]
Adapted from James Emery White, Long
Night's Journey into Day (WaterBrook, 2002)
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