“Purity in Christ” (Exodus 20:14; John 21:15-19) - The 10 Commandments for Today VII -

“Purity in Christ” (Exodus 20:14; John 21:15-19)

- The 10 Commandments for Today VII -

What Is Adultery?

Recently, a grandson of Billy Graham, pastor Tullian Tchividjian has resigned after admitting an affair. He said that his wife had an affair, and in response, he sought comfort in a friend and their relationship turned “inappropriate.” He released the following statement to The Washington Post:

Last week I was approached by our church leaders and they asked me about my own affair. I admitted to it and it was decided that the best course of action would be for me to resign. Both my wife and I are heartbroken over our actions and we ask you to pray for us and our family that God would give us the grace we need to weather this heart wrenching storm.[1]

Tullian Tchividjian is the fourth Florida megachurch pastor to resign after having affairs. We are saddened by this news. At Sinai God said to his people, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Then, what is adultery? We tend to cross a legalistic line from clinical virginity to immorality. We are concerned about “lines,” whereas Scripture regards sin as a “condition” and only secondarily as an act. Adultery is a matter of the heart. Jesus deepens the meaning of the seventh commandment in this way: “You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). Adultery is a matter of the heart.

Press on to “Know” God

Hosea combats the spiritual adultery of Israel. He speaks on behalf of God, “Your hearts are divided; from now on you are to be found guilty. God will tear down your altars, he will destroy your stone idols” (10:2, ISV). The Israelites worshiped both God and Baal. Their hearts were divided. They thought, “I know God. I know his law.” But the Lord said to them, “There is no knowledge of God in your land” (4:1). And he said, “My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me” (4:6, NLT). The people of Israel kept going back to their old life just as Gomer did because they didn’t know God. They loved God and loved idols because they didn’t know God. So Hosea proclaims, “Let us know. Let us press on to know the LORD!” (6:3a) Here the Hebrew word [dy (yada) is used. It is translated in English as the word “know” or “knowledge.” But it means much more than just intellectually knowing about God. In Genesis 4:1 the same word yada is used: “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain…” The word yada means to know God intimately just as a husband knows his wife. Do you know God intimately?

Know God “through Jesus”

How can we know God intimately and personally? We can know God through Jesus in very personal and real ways. Hebrew 1:1-3 says, “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son… The Son radiates God's own glory and expresses the very character of God…” (NRSV). We can know God personally through Jesus. The gospel is all about the Son of God. There are three things that we must know about the Son. When the Apostle Paul preaches the gospel to the people of Rome, he starts to speak to them in this way: “The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David's family line, and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:3-4 NLT). First of all, he is “Jesus.” Jesus literally means “God is salvation.” In Jesus’ time this name was very common. In Hebrew it is “Joshua.” There were many people who had the name, ‘Joshua’ or ‘Jesus.’ The name “Jesus” refers to the fact that he is true man. Verse 3 says, “In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line.” Why is it so important that Jesus is fully human? It is because only human can be crucified and shed blood. Jesus has come to us in the flesh to die on the cross and to shed his blood for us. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Jesus is fully human, and he died to cleanse us from all our sins.

Secondly, he is “Christ.” In Hebrew, “Christ” is “Messiah,” which means, “the anointed one.” In Jesus’ time all the Israelites knew that the “Messiah” is the son of God. Christ is true God. Romans 1:4 says, “He was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Then why is it so important that he is fully God? It is because only God can be raised from the dead. In human history there is no one resurrected. Only Christ, the Son of God, can be resurrected. The resurrection of Christ is the essence of the Christian faith. 1 Cor 15:17 says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Amen! By the resurrection of Christ God demonstrated that Christ is righteous, and considers anyone who believes in him also righteous. Romans 4:25 says, “Christ was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Justification means to be made righteous. Christ became our sin, and we became his righteousness. Christ is the Son of God and makes us righteous by his resurrection.

“Do You Love Me?”

But it is not enough just to know that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully God. He is Our Lord! We must receive him as our personal Lord and Savior. One day Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16). Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. But it was not enough. When troubles came, Peter denied Jesus three times. And because of guilt he went back to his old life with six other disciples. But Jesus was going ahead of them into Galilee and waiting for them. He prepared breakfast for them. After breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter said, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs” (John 21:15). Jesus’ love melted Peter’s heart. And Peter received Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. Since then, Peter was able to go even where he didn’t want to go in the past by the love of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what it means to know Christ personally.

How can we keep our hearts pure from sin, from adultery, and from idolatry? The best way to be free from sin is to fall in love with Jesus and to continue to stay in love with him moment-by-moment. The Bible says, “Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin” (1John 3:6, NLT). I started dating with Joyce in March 2005. At that time I was not completely free from pornography. I made every effort not to fall into temptations. I moved my computer to the living room. I avoided being alone. But it didn’t work. When I was stressed, I fell again. But when I fell in love with Joyce, I began to have a consuming desire to keep myself pure. I wanted to be prepared as a pure bridegroom. So I prayed, “Lord, have mercy on me. Help me. Keep my heart pure from sin.” By the grace of God I continue to stay in love with Joyce and with Jesus day by day. By the power of the Holy Spirit I have been free from pornography for 10 years. When we fall in love with Jesus and stay in love with him, something very amazing happens. We begin to hate sin. We begin to grieve over our own sins. And we stop sinning by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“You Know That I Love You”

Last week I attended two conferences – the Korean UMC conference and NEUMC conference. During the Korean UMC conference one pastor shared his story with us. Recently he was asked to leave the church by SPRC after five years of his ministry. Of course, at first he was upset. But later he calmed down and asked himself, “What’s wrong with me?” He found what was wrong. It was something about his relationship with Jesus. As a pastor, although he did all kinds of pastoral duties and good works, he was not able to say, “Jesus, I love you.” That was a warning sign. He repented and asked God to help him experience the great love of Jesus Christ personally. His prayer was heard. He said, “Now I am looking forward to visiting church members. I can’t wait for Sunday service.” I could see he was truly transformed in Christ’s love.

Since I heard his testimony, God kept asking me one question, “Do you love me?” I wish I could say, “Yes, I love you!” but I couldn’t, because God exposed my divided heart. As a UMC pastor, from the beginning I made a commitment to itinerancy. For sure this helps me to deny myself and follow Christ. But sometimes this itinerant system serves as excuses for leaving the church when trouble comes. I have to admit that my heart has been divided for few days. I was thinking that I might not be a good fit for our church, and I was considering the possibility of pastoral change. But God revealed my spiritual adultery – “divided heart.” And he showed me how much he had loved me up to this very day. And he asked me the same question, “Do you love me?” I said, “Yes, I love you!” And he said, “Feed my lambs.” I wept. And I said, “Lord, I will love your people and serve them with all my heart until the day when you say, ‘Well done. Now it’s time to move on!’” If the Lord is willing, I will be buried here in this place. If the Lord is willing, I am ready to move on even today. God called each of us in this room and our church to be a pure bride of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that the love of Christ will dwell in you richly so that you may know him intimately and personally and be able to be free from sin always. Amen.

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[1] http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/06/21/billy-grahams-grandson-steps-down-from-florida-megachurch-after-admitting-an-affair/

“Live and Let Live” (Exodus 20:13) - The 10 Commandments for Today VI -

“Live and Let Live” (Exodus 20:13)

- The 10 Commandments for Today VI -

Three Simple Rules

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, had three simple rules that he lived by. Do no harm, Do good, Stay in love with God. It sounds pretty simple. Even a child can understand what it means. But if you have tried to live by these three rules, you would find that they are not easy rules at all. Likewise, the sixth commandment (“You shall not murder”) sounds very simple. Most of us don’t think of ourselves as murderers. We say, “At least I haven’t murdered anyone!” But keeping the sixth commandment means more than not murdering anyone. When we study this commandment carefully, we find that no commandment is more brutally violated. Then, what does it really mean to keep the sixth commandment? What would be its full implications for today?

Do No Harm

First, keeping the sixth commandment means doing no harm. Jesus says, in Matthew 5:21-22, “You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder” (MSG). Apostle John also says, “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1Jn 3:15). Do you ever get so angry that you’re out of control? Do you ever hate someone so much? I did. The sixth commandment covers our inward attitudes as well as outward actions. The Heidelberg Catechism rightly explains it in this way: “God hates the root of murder, such as envy, hatred, anger, and desire of revenge. He regards all these as murder” (A. 106). How easy we are to commit “murder of the heart”! So, the very first step to keep the sixth commandment is to do no harm in the heart. We easily feel it when others hurt us, but we do not notice how much we hurt others. Thomas a Kempis in his book The Imitation of Christ says, “A person who honestly examines his own behavior would never judge other people harshly.” If we truly resolve to do no harm, we can no longer gossip. We can no longer speak ill of others. We can no longer take revenge and must honor each as a child of God. It sounds simple, but it is not easy, because it does demand a radical trust in God’s presence and power. To do no harm is an act of disarming, laying aside our weapons and leaving room for God’s intervention.

God gave me a very special gift on my 29^th birthday. On that day I attended a one-day revival meeting held at my seminary. It was not a big gathering. There were about fifty seminarians. The guest speaker was an anointed preacher. After the message, he began to pray for each one of us. It was a prophetic prayer. I was amazed by the prayer that he prayed for me. For a long time I had several unresolved questions within me, and on that day God answered those questions through his prayer. I was so grateful. Right after that, I became curious about how the preacher would pray for others. So I eavesdropped. I knew most of the participants there because we studied together. In my mind I automatically classified each of them into several groups: ‘He is a devout Christian,’ ‘She is an almost Christian,’ and ‘I don’t know why this guy is here at seminary’ and so on. In particular, there was one person whom I didn’t like. Frankly speaking, I hated him. I even thought he was not worthy to study theology and become a pastor. But I was shocked when I heard how God blessed him through the preacher’s prophetic prayer. God loved him so much, took delight in him, and had a wonderful plan for him. The way God saw him was totally different from mine. That day God removed my prejudice, pride and judgmental spirit. It was the best birthday gift that I had ever had. Keeping the sixth commandment means doing no harm. And it starts in the heart.

Do Good

Secondly, keeping the sixth commandment means doing good. Martin Luther said, “This commandment is violated not only when a person actually does evil, but also when he fails to do good to his neighbor, or, though he has the opportunity, fails to prevent, protect, and save him from suffering bodily harm or injury.” Doing good is a proactive way of living. It means loving our neighbor. It means showing kindness and mercy to those who are hard to love. It means to commit ourselves to seeking good for those who consider us less than a child of God. That is what it means to do good. Probably, you remember the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). The priest and Levite saw the Jewish man in need, but they made a decision to avoid him. They broke the sixth commandment, not by killing, but by leaving the man to die when they could have helped him live. But when the Samaritan saw the man, he was filled with compassion. He got involved. He invested his own valuable time and money to provide what was needed. The most remarkable thing is that he did all this for someone who considered him less than a child of God. In those days Jews did not associate with Samaritans. But the Good Samaritan treated his enemy the same way he would treat a friend. There are many ways to keep the sixth commandment by doing good. We can pray for peace in the troubled parts of the world. We can be the voices for the voiceless – the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly. We can care for the sick and the dying. We can work to make laws that bring justice and promote life. We are called to protect life, one life at a time. We must at least do what we can. I am so grateful that many of you have already been doing something you can.

Every year hundreds of unwanted babies are abandoned on the streets of Seoul, South Korea. One pastor decided to save one baby at a time. Pastor Lee built the Drop Box outside his home for unwanted babies. The Drop Box sign reads, “This is a facility for the protection of life. If you can’t take care of your disabled babies, don’t throw them away or leave them on the street. Bring them here.” Pastor Lee’s son, Eun-man, was born with cerebral palsy and a severely disfigured face. This experience inspired him to become the father of many other disabled children in South Korea. Since 2009, Pastor Lee’s baby box has saved 600 children. He and his wife have adopted ten (the maximum number of children South Koreans can adopt) and also have up to 20 children in their care. Pastor Lee says, “The reason I decided to become their father was because God has adopted me.” He does pray, Lord, “I will die for these children.” I think Pastor Lee is a perfect example of what it means to keep the sixth commandment by doing good.

Stay in Love with God

How can we keep the sixth commandment? If you are prone to get angry, if there is someone you secretly resent, if there is murder in your heart, if you fail to do good to your enemies, then you are the ones who break the sixth commandment. The Bible says that anyone who is guilty of “hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions, and envy…” will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal 5:20-21). All of us are sinners. All of us are murderers. We are all in urgent need of the grace of God. John Wesley often referred to himself as a "brand plucked out of the fire" (Zecheriah 3:2). When Wesley was five years old, a fire broke out in his house. At that time he was left stranded on the second floor. He was rescued by a parishioner standing on another man’s shoulders. Only moments after he was rescued, the entire house exploded in flames. Ever after, for the rest of his life, John Wesley always remembered that moment, gave thank to God for his mercy, and referred to himself as a brand plucked out of the fire. God always said to the Israelites, “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there” (ex. Deut 24:18). God wants us to remember who we are and who God is. Once we were dead because of our disobedience and our many murderous sins. We were by nature children of wrath. But because of God’s great love for us, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. The Bible says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast!” (Eph 2:8-9) How can we keep the sixth commandment? By looking to Jesus, who loved us and gave himself for us. When we remember how he saved us, how he lifted us out of the pit of despair and set our feet on solid ground, we will become humble, and with deep gratitude we will live and let others live by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

When I Think about the Lord

(James Huey)

When I Think about the Lord,
How He saved me, how He raised me,
How He filled me with the Holy Ghost.
How He healed me to the uttermost.

When I Think about the Lord,
How He picked me up and turned me around,
How He set my feet on solid ground

It makes me wanna shout, Hallelujah,
Thank you Jesus!
LORD, you’re worthy

of all the glory, and all the honor,
And all the praise...