“Word for Today” – Romans 4 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
To study to become a pastor, I went to seminary in St. Louis. And over the course of my educational career, beginning in grade school and stretching all the way through seminary, I always looked forward to my academic breaks with a sense of eager anticipation. This was especially true in seminary, because I was a long way from my home in Austin. And I can still remember, the first day of every extended break, waking up at 3:30 am, hopping in my truck, and hitting the road for a thirteen and half hour trek home.
Because I drove this route from St. Louis to Austin many times, I became quite familiar with it. I had appointed stops and would even buy the same snack foods every time I made my journey. I also noticed that things seem to change slower in the country, even if that country has an interstate racing through it, than in the city. This was especially true of billboards. There was one billboard in Missouri on I-44 which, over my four years in seminary, never changed. It read, “Waiting for a sign from God? Here it is.”
More than one person, especially in a time of trial or crisis of faith, has asked God for a sign. Disappointingly, I have heard far fewer stories about how God did deliver a sign than stories of how he didn’t. Indeed, many of us intuitively know that it is dangerous for us to ask for some heavenly omen because, more often than not, we’ll be disappointed.
The animated cartoon character Homer Simpson, who, although not a particularly astute theologian, is funnily folksy, once offered this prayer: “Dear Lord, the gods have been good to me. For the first time in my life, everything is absolutely perfect just the way it is. So here’s the deal. You freeze everything the way it is, and I won’t ask for anything more. If that is okay, please give me absolutely no sign. Okay, deal. In gratitude, I present you this offering of cookies and milk. If you want me to eat them for you, give me no sign. Thy will be done.” Although we would never pray such a crass prayer as this, this is the way many of us by default operate: God is not in the business of giving signs.
In our reading for today from Romans 4, Paul argues that a person is made righteous not by what he does, but by faith in Christ’s salvific work alone. Indeed, Paul says that even those before Christ were justified by their faith and not by their works. For instance, Abraham: “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about – but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’” (verses 1-3). Abraham’s faith, Paul says, not his good works, made him righteous in God’s sight.
In order to bolster his argument, Paul continues by noting that Abraham was declared righteous by God before he himself had done anything righteous. Thus, Abraham’s righteousness could not have come from anything he had done: “Under what circumstances was Abraham’s righteousness credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before” (verse 10)!
In first century Jewish society, circumcision was the ultimate “sign” that a person was a child of God. As Paul says, “Abraham received the sign of circumcision” (verse 11). But now, in Romans 4, Paul is arguing for a new sign that a person is a child of God. And this is a sign that is not done by human hands as some righteous work, as is circumcision, this is a sign that is effected by God himself: the sign of faith. This is why Paul writes, “Abraham is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them” (verse 11). Paul says, in order to be a righteous child of God, the sign you really need is faith in Jesus Christ.
So perhaps it isn’t such a bad thing to ask for a sign from God after all. But this sign will probably not come in an experience that rends the heavens or in a voice that rumbles into your soul. It probably won’t even come in large words plastered on a billboard along some country boulevard. No, the sign from God that you most need is a sign that you already have: faith in your heart. Thank God for that most precious sign today.
“Word for Today” – Romans 3 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
In 1954, Stanford social psychologist Leon Festinger published a paper titled, “A Theory of Social Comparison Processes.” In this paper, Festinger hypothesized that “there exists, in the human organism, a drive to evaluate his opinions and abilities.” This evaluation is accomplished by “comparison respectively with the opinions and abilities of others.” This evaluation can involve both “upward comparison,” where a person evaluates themselves against someone who is more advanced in a particular area than they are, and “downward comparison,” where a person evaluates themselves against someone of a perceived lower status than they are.
Interestingly, in the moral realm, most people tend to engage in “downward comparison.” “At least I’m not as bad as her,” a person might say. “I would never do what he did,” another might opine. We engage in this kind of “downward comparison” because it allows us to feel secure in our own moral righteousness rather than suffering guilt that inevitably results from our immoral sinfulness.
Our reading for today from Romans 3 leaves no room for the kind of “downward comparison” that many of us like to engage in. Rather, it brings out, with stinging clarity, the depths of our immorality: “There is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood” (verses 12-15).
The language that Paul uses here is gripping. He begins with the depravity of human throats, tongues, lips, and mouths. He then drops to our feet. The implication is this: From our head to our toes, we are sinful, we are not good, we are unrighteous, we are wicked, and we are depraved. And no amount of “downward comparison” can rescue us from our plight.
Happily, Paul does not leave us in this sorry state of sin. For he continues:
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. (verses 21-24)
True righteousness, Paul maintains, does not come from comparing ourselves to others who are morally “inferior” to us, but from faith in Jesus Christ. True righteousness is “apart from the law.” That is, it is apart from what we do and connected only to what Christ has done.
Thus, there is no room for boasting by comparing our morality to the morality of another. As Paul writes, “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? O n that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law” (verses 27-28). The upshot, then, is this: no one is better than anyone else. For the ground is level at the foot of the cross.
With this in mind, today, when you are tempted to engage in “downward comparison” and compare your extraordinary performance to the lesser performance of another, can you pause and instead celebrate what you share in common: the righteousness that comes from Christ? Although this may be humbling, for you can no longer engage in comparisons that allow you superiority over another, it is also liberating, for you no longer have to fret over someone who is “better” than you. For our superior righteousness comes not from ourselves, it comes from Christ. And I think I’d rather have his righteousness than mine anyway.
“Word for Today” – Romans 2 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
The other day, I was having a conversation with a friend about the merits of Kindle, an electronic unit from Amazon.com on which you can purchase, download, and read books. “I don’t know if I could ever read a whole book on a computer screen,” I told my friend. “It doesn’t look like a computer screen, though,” my friend informed me. “It’s designed to be easy on the eyes.” “I still don’t know,” I responded skeptically. “Well,” my friend finally said, “I think it’s pretty cool. Although I don’t do a whole lot of reading.”
As much as it frustrates me, because I love to read, I, like my friend, don’t read as regularly as I’d like to. Commitments, appointments, and the affairs of daily life cut, sometimes deeply, into my reading time. That is why today’s text from Romans 2 is of special interest to me:
Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them. (verses 14-15)
Paul here speaks to those who have not had a chance to catch up on their reading. In the first century, it was the Jewish people who were the keepers of the written law of God. And they were fervently devoted to reading it, parsing it, and memorizing it. Indeed, an ancient rabbi would have the entire Old Testament memorized. The Gentiles, on the other hand, were not familiar with the Word of God. For they lived in a pagan context in which there were no readily available Bibles. Thus, any Gentile convert to a nascent first century Christianity had some reading to catch up on – the whole of God’s written revelation!
Paul, however, in these verses, says that even those who do not read Scripture have some knowledge of what it says: “Even though they do not have the law…the requirements of the law are written on their hearts.” In theological parlance, we call this “natural law.” That is, even someone who has never read the Bible still has a basic “moral compass,” as it were, because God has etched his laws into each and every human heart. That is why, for instance, societies, whether Christian or not, consider murder to be wicked. It is part of God’s natural law. The first century Jewish philosopher Philo states it thusly:
The world is in harmony with the law, and the law with the world, and the man who observes the law is constituted thereby a loyal citizen of the world, regulating his doings by the purpose and will of nature. (On the Creation, 3)
In other words, Philo maintains that there is an unwritten inexorable order to this world, by which people are encouraged to live and by which we judge. And that unwritten inexorable standard is natural law. C.S. Lewis states similarly:
Everyone has heard people quarrelling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merely unpleasant; but however it sounds, I believe we can learn something very important from listening to the kind of things they say…[For in quarrels, a man is often] appealing to some kind of standard of behavior which expects the other man to know about…It looks, in fact, very much as if both parties had in mind some kind of law or rule of fair play or decent behavior or morality or whatever you like to call it, about which they really agreed…Now this law or rule about right in wrong [is] called the law of nature. (C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity, 3-4)
Standards that are not written, but simply known, agreed upon, and assumed. These are the standards of natural law.
Evil, therefore, has no excuse. One cannot say, “I didn’t know it wasn’t okay not to murder.” Or, likewise, “I didn’t know I had to tell the truth.” Yes, you did know. Even if you’re not much of a reader. Thus, we all stand convicted by the law of God. For what we do not know from the pages of Scripture we know from the guilt which riddles our hearts.
It is for this reason that Paul writes the book of Romans. For Paul knows that Jews and Gentiles alike stand condemned under God’s written and natural law. But Paul wants to free them from this condemnation and bring them into salvation in Jesus Christ. As Paul later writes, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law [whether written or unwritten] of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).
This, then, is why we should read: for although we can know God’s law apart from reading the Scriptures, we cannot know Jesus apart from reading the Scriptures. Without the Scriptural gospel, we stand condemned. What’s written on our hearts can lead us only to despair and not hope, only to guilt and not joy, only to slavery and not freedom. So perhaps it’s time for us all to do a little more reading of and a little bit more listening to the gospel. For it is in the gospel that we find hope and healing from Jesus. And that’s something I love to read all about. I hope you do too.
“Word for Today” – Romans 1 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
Kids are funny. A couple of weeks ago, we had some friends staying with us who brought with them their two children – a two year old daughter and a six month old son. They were both endearingly precious and hilariously entertaining as we experienced all the idiosyncrasies that young children can bring.
Around supper one evening, the two year old, named Allie, wanted some cheese which, her father informed me, is her favorite food, as it is mine. As a fellow “cheese-head,” I happily went to the refrigerator to get Allie some cheese. Upon delivering the cheese to her, her mother gave a gentle reminder. “What do you say, Allie?” she asked. Allie turned beat red and dropped her face to the floor. “What do you say?” her mother reminded again, this time in a mildly more serious tone. In her best sheepish voice, Allie replied, “Thank you.”
I have found that there are two things that children are regularly remiss to say: “Thank you” and “I’m sorry.” What’s fascinates me, however, is that it’s not just children who have a hard time giving gratitude and offering apologies when they’re due. Adults have this problem as well. Sure, we may not turn beat red and drop our faces to the floor, but just try to get a politician to admit a massive mistake. Or consider how many times we have selfishly taken credit for something when we really owed those working behind the scenes a hearty and public thanks.
As we begin reading through Romans, Paul, in Romans 1, opens with these words: “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you” (verse 8). Paul, without a red face and a downward countenance, without any prompting and prodding from his mother, and without any smug tributes to his own accomplishments, says “thank you” to God. And notice, it’s the first thing he does: “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you.” Paul, it seems, is very liberal and quick with his gratitude.
Sadly, all too often, thankfulness is not a primary posture of our hearts, but a fleeting addendum to our souls, loosely appended to our prayers to God and our relationships with others. We pray to God concerning all our of our pressing needs and overwhelming worries and then wrap up with, “Oh, by the way, thanks for all your blessings, God.” Or, a friend helps us with a daunting and challenging task, lending their elbow grease when it is needed the most, only to receive from us a couple of days later, “Oh, by the way, thanks for your help the other day.” And thankfulness gets relegated to a paltry postscript again and again.
Rather than subtly tucking his acknowledgments away in some footnote or endnote to his epistle, Paul opens his letter by proudly announcing his gratitude. “First,” Paul opens, “I want to say thank you.” Shortly, Paul will wade into the tough stuff of life. For instance, in verse 18, when he writes, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men.” Shortly, Paul will confront sinners (cf. 1:18-32) and demand righteousness (cf. 6:17-18) and ask for assistance (cf. 16:1-2). But now is a time for thankfulness.
So how about with you? Is a thankful heart a hallmark of your habits, or a mere obligatory appendix to a lengthy laundry list of requests and complaints? Today, begin your activities with a “thank you.” Put thankfulness first. Who knows? You may spend so much time being thankful that you find you don’t have much time left over to fuss and fret over the worries and cares of this life. Less time to fuss and fret? Why, that’s something you can be thankful for right there. I bet you can find more.
“Word for Today” – 2 Timothy 4 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
“A boy scout is always prepared,” the old saying goes. I was never a boy scout. And it shows every once in a while.
Every Christmas at Concordia, we hold a drive-thru nativity. Literally thousands of people drive through our campus from station to station as we share the blessed story of Christ’s birth for people to enjoy from the comfort and warmth of their cars. Fortunately, this year, unlike in some years past, it was comparatively warm outside. In fact, one evening, it was warm enough to walk around without so much as a coat. You have to love those balmy San Antonio Decembers! But even in San Antonio, it is only a matter of time before a cold-snap hits in the “dead” of a Texas winter. And one did hit the following Tuesday.
Unfortunately, the following Tuesday was the day which we had scheduled to take down our drive-thru nativity sets – all ten of them. Thankfully, a hearty group of our church elders volunteered in the biting cold and piercing wind to help with the breakdown. They all came wearing Carhart jackets and overalls with thick gloves and woolen caps. They, apparently, were boy scouts. I came in a light leather jacket. I, as I already mentioned, was not.
I was miserable. My fingers went numb. My ears turned red. Even my tongue began to freeze to my mouth making it difficult for me to talk. Something unheard of for me! As I broke down sets, trying to stave off what I was sure to be immanent hypothermia by drinking coffee by the gallon, I kept thinking to myself: “You knew it was going to be cold today and you were going to be outside. Why didn’t you come prepared?”
“Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). These are some of the closing words penned by the apostle Paul to the young pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 4. And Paul’s admonition is that of a true, blue boy scout: “Be prepared in season and out season.” Bring a coat in the summer and a tank top in the winter. Never come unprepared.
But Paul is speaking of something much more profound and significant than mere preparation for inclement weather. He is speaking of the preparation that is involved with sharing God’s teachings. For Paul warns, “The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (verse 3). Paul reminds us that we need to be ready and able to refute false doctrine and confront those who would seek to tear down the gospel, for many will try. Are you prepared?
Of course, no one can be perfectly prepared to refute every objection and counter every attack. Thankfully, this is not what Paul calls for. The Greek word for “be prepared” is ephistemi, meaning literally, “to stand by.” This, then, is Paul’s call: not to have any and every answer for any and every theological question, but to “stand by,” ready for action at a moment’s notice. Ready to learn new truths about God’s Word. Ready to comfort a friend in need. Ready to share the gospel with someone who needs to hear it. So stand by. After all, your standing on the message of the cross could be the very stadning that changes a human heart.
“Word for Today” – 2 Timothy 3 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
Have you ever had one of those experiences where someone begins talking to you as if they’re your long lost best friend and, although you know you should remember who they are, you’re honestly clueless as to their identity? Once, I received a phone call from a number I did not know. In fact, it was from an area code I did not know. The caller began, “Zach?” “Yes,” I responded. “Hey,” the man on the other end of the line continued, “It’s Rufus.”
I have known a lot of people over the course of my life: Justins, Marks, Pauls, Joshs, Jamess, Josiahs, and even a couple of Jedidiahs. But I have never known a Rufus. But Rufus seemed to know me. So I played along. “Oh hi, Rufus,” I said with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness in my voice. “What’s up?” “I was wondering if you got that fax I sent you,” Rufus continued. Rufus? A fax? I was totally lost. I finally cracked. “Who is this again?” I asked. “Rufus,” the man replied. “And who are you?” “Zach,” I said, “Zach McIntosh.” “Oops,” Rufus responded. “I was trying to get a hold of a Zach Allen. Sorry! Wrong number.” And we both hung up the phone.
Honestly, at the end of our conversation, I breathed a sigh of relief. “So I’m not going crazy,” I thought to myself. “I really don’t know a Rufus.” But then I read our text for today from 2 Timothy 3: “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth – men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected” (verse 8). Jannes and Jambres. Am I supposed to know these guys? I don’t remember them from the story of the exodus. Thankfully, I shouldn’t remember them. Because their names are not actually in the story of the exodus.
Paul, in naming Jannes and Jambres as men who oppose Moses, draws from an ancient Jewish tradition which names Pharaoh’s magicians who compete against Moses and Aaron in Exodus 7:10-12:
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
Notice that in the original text of Exodus, Pharaoh’s magicians remain nameless.
But now consider this text from the Targum of Jonathan, a second century commentary on this passage:
Moses and Aaron went unto Pharaoh, and did as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron threw down the rod before the sight of Pharaoh, and before the sight of his servants, and it became a snake. But Pharaoh called the diviners and magicians; and they also, Jannes and Jambres, magicians of Mizraim, did the same by their burnings of divination. Each man threw down his rod, and they became snakes; but were forthwith changed to be what they were at first; and the rod of Aaron swallowed up their rods.
Pharaoh’s magicians now have names. And Paul quotes these names in today’s reading.
Why is this important? Because it means that Paul was a man thoroughly familiar with his Scriptures and even with what other people had said about the Scriptures. He had read his Bible. He had consulted his commentaries. He had sat at the feet of great Bible teachers. That is why he knew even the lesser known names of Jannes and Jambres. Because he had so diligently studied theology. And Paul encourages us to do the same:
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (verses 14-17)
Paul says, “Continue in what you have learned.” Keep on studying the Scriptures. Keep on peering into God’s book. Keep on discovering new things about the Bible. For the words of Scripture are the words of God. That’s why Jannes and Jambres matter. Not because they’re historically important. They’re mere blips in the history of God’s people, and godless blips at that. But Paul takes the time to remember and mention them because they relate to Scripture. And for Paul, there is nothing more precious, more life-giving, and more worthwhile than God’s Word. Is the same true for you?
“Word for Today” – 2 Timothy 2 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
My first birthday after Melody and I got married, she presented me with a card which was supposed to express her undying affection, allegiance, and affinity for me. Because Melody and I were friends some ten years before a “romantic spark” developed between the two of us, she gave me a card that read appropriately, “You’re not only my husband, you’re also my friend.” What a sweet affirmation of a marriage that is grounded not merely in quixotic attraction, but in steady friendship.
But have you ever had one of those instances where your eyes inadvertently switched around two words while you were reading them? This is what happened to me. The card read, “You’re not only my husband.” But I read, “You’re not my only husband.” Two little words – a world of difference. Thankfully, as soon as I read the card, I knew I had misread the card. So I did a double take. Melody and I laugh about my misreading to this day.
Words matter. That is why newspaper editors meticulously review columns. That is why presidents carefully craft speeches. That is why pastors carefully prepare blogs. Because words matter. A good word can paint a picture, enrapture a spirit, or grip a soul. Conversely, a misused word can cause confusion, cast doubt, and wound hearts. Because words matter.
In our reading for today from 2 Timothy 2, Paul warns against a reckless use of words: “Warn before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and ruins those who listen” (verse 14). Paul pens this verse against a backdrop of a heresy known as Gnosticism, a Greek word meaning “knowledge.” This heresy taught if a person could gain secret knowledge concerning matters such as good, evil, the cosmos, and mystic spirituality, one could become enlightened and ascend to a higher spiritual plane. This religious system taught such secret knowledge through cryptic writings and rituals. Not surprisingly, such enigmatic writings and rituals led to quarreling over what it all meant. This is why Paul warns against quarreling about words. For such quarreling is of no value. It does not solve Gnosticism’s riddles. And besides, Gnosticism isn’t true. This is why Paul finally calls its teachings “gangrene” (verse 17).
In the midst of Gnosticism’s many and baffling words, Paul invites us to concern ourselves with the Word: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (verse 15). There is a Word of truth and it is God’s Word of truth. And unlike the Gnostics, we ought to be careful and conscious of how we use this Word. We ought to “correctly handle” God’s Word of truth. What does this mean? It means standing on the historicity and accuracy of Scripture. It means sensitively and compassionately sharing God’s grace with those who are crushed by the cares of this world. It means voraciously and unapologetically proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. For words matter. And how we handle God’s Word – that really matters.
So today, be careful what you say. Be careful what you write. Be careful what you text. Ask yourself, before firing off an email or carelessly making a phone call, “How can I reflect God’s Word in my words?” And then choose your words cautiously. Because your words, used carefully, may just be the words that someone else needs to hear – for their encouragement, for their conviction, and, by the power of God’s Spirit, even for their salvation.
“Word for Today” – 2 Timothy 1 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
The other day, I was having a conversation with a very bright and well-spoken professor from the University of Texas. He was bemoaning the fact that recent events in America’s political landscape had shifted his campus at Austin from a more “liberal” and “tolerant” stance to a more “conservative” and “close-minded” one. I could hardly contain my disbelief at his analysis. “Really?” I asked with a clear strain of skepticism in my voice. “Yes,” he continued, “But I don’t really talk about my political views much. Most Texans are too conservative for me to feel comfortable in voicing my opinions to them. And besides, there are two things you never talk about: politics and religion.”
This well-educated, well-informed, well-spoken college professor had just excused himself from any meaningful conversation concerning issues of government and faith with an old, tired, and, if I do say so myself, seriously lacking cliché: “There are two things you never talk about: politics and religion.”
As oft-repeated as this cliché might be, I would contend that it is baldly false: both in its description of reality and its promotion of certain values. In its description of reality, it is false because, despite its claim, people do talk about politics and religion…constantly. A quick channel surf through cable news networks and religious channels demonstrates this in spades. I would also say that this cliché promotes false values in that there are serious issues of our day which must be addressed. And politics and religion both have something to bring to the table. To forfeit our right to speak of these things means to forfeit contributions that we can make to meaningful, history altering, and life saving conversations. Unless we wish either to deny reality or to compromise our values, we must talk about politics and religion.
Of course, I suppose you would expect to read as much from a pastor. After all, isn’t it my job to talk about, at the very least, the religion side of this cliché? Actually, it is not so much my job as it is my mandate. In our text for today from 2 Timothy 1, the apostle Paul reminds the young pastor: “Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord” (verse 8). “There is something that you must talk about, Timothy,” says Paul, “and this is the gospel of our Lord. No cliché excuses for lapsing into quietism.” Thus, talking about Jesus is much more than my career. It is my commission.
I would say that talk about religion is needed now more than ever. Pastor John Ortberg, in a blog for Leadership Journal, alerted me to this telling statistic: “The recently released American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) indicates that…the single fastest-growing category when it comes to religious affiliation is ‘None,’ which grew from 8 percent to 15 percent since 1990.” In other words, when people are asked about their religious beliefs, rather than identifying themselves as Evangelical, Muslim, Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, or even atheist, they simply say, “I don’t believe much of anything. When it comes to religious commitment, or even religious hostility, I have none.” This is probably because, when asked, there are two things those surveyed don’t want to talk about: politics and religion.
In the midst of such religious apathy, we are called to be different. We are called to testify to our Lord. So get to talking. With grace, compassion, and sensitivity, of course, but get to talking. After all, we are talking about the most precious message there is: the message of “God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace” (verse 9). And that’s a message worth talking about.
“Word for Today” – 1 Timothy 6 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
Amidst the many health fears that are swirling around the recent swine flu outbreak, an outbreak which the World Health Organization is now ominously calling a pandemic, there are also some financial fears. Although pharmaceutical stocks are understandably soaring, other portions of the economy are not faring nearly so well. Some countries like Russia are restricting imports for fear of the spreading pandemic. The airlines are hemorrhaging capital as people cancel flights to Mexico, the epicenter of this worrisome outbreak. Wall Street, it seems, once again has the jitters.
Jitters about money are nothing new: Not in the past two years, and not in the past two millennia. Such jitters can, however, invite us to a kind of “gut check” on the position that money holds in our lives and souls.
“The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). These words from Paul to Timothy have been quoted and misquoted countless times. Because of the widespread misuse of this famous passage, a couple of observations are here appropriate in order to guide us in a proper understanding of Paul’s instruction. First, it is the love of money, not money itself, which Paul warns against. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this verse quoted as, “Money is the root of all evil.” Wrong. Money itself is not evil. It’s the perverted desire for money, also known as greed, which is evil. Thus, jitters about financial downturns are perfectly appropriate and even understandable, for we are called to be responsible with the wealth that God has entrusted to us. And watching this wealth evaporate in a tide of financial uncertainty is never fun. However, if our jitters over the latest financial effects of the swine flu pandemic reveal that we are more concerned with the pandemic’s financial effects than we are with its human effects, we have crossed the line from managing money to loving it. And that is sinful. For the people who are suffering from this dreaded ailment must be more precious to us than the money that is lost from it. After all, we are called by Jesus to love people. People belong in our hearts. Money only belongs in our checkbook.
Second, it is important to note that the love of money, although it is “a” root of all evil, is not “the” root of all evil. There have been some who have told me, quite glibly, “I don’t love money. I don’t have a problem with greed.” For argument’s sake, let’s grant that for a moment. That does not mean that there is not another root of evil which can plague a person’s soul. By using the indefinite article “a” rather than the definite “the,” Paul reminds us that we, as sinful, fallen, broken human beings, have the propensity to multiply roots of evil ad infinitum. If the love of money isn’t a person’s particular root of evil, there is sure to be another root lurking not too far away. Arrogance is not an appropriate response to Paul’s warning here. For Paul’s warning indicts us all.
With this in mind, perhaps today is a day for a bit of soul-searching. Ask yourself, “What roots of evil are growing in my life?” Then confess them to God, asking for his forgiveness. And, above all, remember that you need not be enslaved by these roots of evil. For you are a beloved child of God, set free from sin by Christ’s cross. Thus, as Paul promises, you can “flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (verse 11). Roots of evil need not take root in your heart. For your heart is not a place for sin to grow, it is a place for Christ to dwell. Praise God that our hearts are Christ’s home.
“Word for Today” – 1 Timothy 5 – www.concordialutheranchurch.com
This past weekend, we had some friends, who were attending a wedding here in town, stay with us in the not-so-lavish accommodations of our two bedroom apartment. The inadequacy of the lodging aside, it was a great time. I had a chance to catch up with a friend of mine who I went to seminary with. And while some of our conversation was lighthearted and jocular, some of it was more subdued and serious. Our conversation took on an especially weighty tone Sunday afternoon when my buddy and I were talking about some of the temptations which war against our souls. I expressed to my friend my own shortcomings and how I can sometimes arrogantly boast in what I do well while simultaneously trying to downplay what I do poorly. “Don’t worry,” my friend retorted, “You’re not fooling anybody. Even though you may try to cover up your shortcomings, we still know what they are.” I chuckled at my friend’s response. Mainly, because he was absolutely correct. I can try to manage my image and make myself look better than I really am all I want to. But I’m not fooling anybody, especially those closest to me. For they know that I am a sinful, flawed, broken individual.
In our reading for today from 1 Timothy 5, Paul reminds us that, in spite of our best efforts to cover up our sinfulness, we’re not fooling anybody. Paul says, “The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them” (verse 24). Paul says that, for many of us, our sinfulness is so apparent that our reputations precede us. There’s no use trying to plaster on an air of phony righteousness in front of others, for word about us has already gotten around. But even if some manage to maintain a veneer of piety for a good long while, Paul continues, “The sins of others trail behind them” (verse 24). That is, we will be found out for who we really are, even if it takes a while. We’re not fooling anybody.
Contrast this with what Paul says about good deeds: “In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden” (verse 25). Paul says, just as our sins come to light, so do our good deeds, even if our good deeds are not at first readily apparent. In fact, good deeds, by their very nature, are often not readily apparent, but are done clandestinely, for this is just as Jesus commands:
Be careful not to do your “acts of righteousness” before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4)
Truly good deeds have a secretive edge to them, says Jesus. In fact, I have found a fascinating dynamic that seems to regularly work in the hearts and lives of God’s people: Those who do the most good are often the least boastful about their “acts of righteousness” and the most honest about their sins and follies. Conversely, there are others who are not nearly so concerned with the “acts of righteousness” that Jesus commands, but will gladly announce and receive kudos for any good work that they might do while, at the same time, working vigorously to cover up their transgressions. I am ashamed to admit that, all too often, I fall into this latter category.
What, then, is the upshot of Paul’s admonition in 1 Timothy 5? Simply this: Honestly confess your sins and do good in Jesus’ name. Don’t try to fool anybody. After all, it won’t work anyway. For this is the condition of every Christian: he is a sinner who transgresses God’s law while also being a saint who does Jesus’ “acts of righteousness.” And thank God we’re all in this condition together. For it is this universal condition that allows us to offer Christ’s forgiveness to each other in our sin, all the while encouraging each other with Christ’s righteousness.
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