Chapter 8 ~ A Heavenly Exchange

Who are you gonna call?

Ghostbusters?

That phrase has survived for nearly 32 years. A recent remake had that phrase on my brain. A silly movie about a group of people who have the means to rid their clients lives of ghostly invaders and save them from the havoc they are causing. A little shot of this and a little bit of that and finally,

sometimes with much effort, the "spirit" is gone.

Christianity is like Ghostbusters.

We are all infected (born) with a "sin nature", an invader who was not intended to be there in the beginning, and we're not too efficient when it comes to being good. And we need a “sin-buster” to take care of our infection. Nothing else will do.

May I ask you a direct question, have you taken advantage of Jesus' "sin-busting" offer?

Let me get a little “close to the skin” here?

If you were to face God today, for whatever reason, death, rapture, twilight zone, etc. and he asked you this question, “why should I allow you to enter heaven?”, what would be your answer?

Sorry for the “preachy” sound to this post, but I think it is relevant to the chapter we just read. As a believer, follower, of Jesus, this is one of the most important questions we can answer. It brings comfort and assurance to those who can answer affirmatively, "I ask Jesus to forgive me and live in my life."

Any other answer and you're caught in the trap of this chapter.

Max states, “All of us occasionally do what is right. A few predominantly do what is right. But do

any of us always do what is right?”

NO, Max, I don't.

If this question makes you uncomfortable, please consider why. Maybe you need to revisit what you believe about Jesus and salvation. Possibly you need to take care of that need, today.

NOW… if you’ve accepted God's gift of salvation, I want to take this chapter’s topic to a place Max doesn’t go. But I think it is a good direction and it still fits within his theme.

Has anyone besides me ever heard the term "holiness"?

Previous generations used that term a lot, today it is used in some circle but not others. I believe it is because the teaching/emphasis of this amazing life has been placed in the hands of the wrong person.

Who was the group living in Jesus' day known for the "righteous" (another name for holy)

behavior?

Which group of religious people were recognized for all their good?

When Jesus came to earth, which segment of the population resisted him most?

The answer to all three questions is the same. The Jewish religious leaders of the day. Yet, those men, who should have known better, insisted on a "form of godliness".

Paul, the man who was converted in mid-stream of a murder assignment, writes these words about all the "holy" choices, "So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths...Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ..." (1). Paul wasn't addressing worldly sinners who needed to be saved, he was reaffirming to those who were saved of the importance of Christ instead of their "stuff".

This was not an isolated incident, listen to his words to another group of believers. "Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? ... I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." (2)

That would be good, if there were only two groups of believers who were fighting this battle of "holiness". It didn't stop there, in another letter to believers Paul writes, "We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort... For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous (Holy) through faith in Christ." (3)

Paul seems to get a little more pointed, "You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires." (4) (emphasis mine)

Lest you think that one of the churches got a reprieve from this thinking, look at the admonition to these believers "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago...Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy...God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ (5)

And this last thought, "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law....For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." (6)

Why all this emphasis? Because one of the things that keeps me and you from loving and being loved is the belief that somehow, some way, WE HAVE DONE SOMETHING TO IMPRESS GOD and other haven't. Their behavior bothers us. Their lack of "discipline" shows too clearly. They just are "Christian" enough.

Well how "Christian" is "Christian" enough?

The next time someones sin makes you angry or disgusted, remember, it may just be your "Holy" showing. Or as I look in the mirror, my self-righteousness.

Comment away...

(1) - Letter to believers known as Colossians, Chapter 2:16,18-19a (NLT)

(2) - Galatians 3:1-3, 5b (NLT)

(3) - Philippians 3:3, 8b-9

(4) - Colossians 2:20-23

(5) - Ephesians 2:8-9, 1:4-5

(6) - Galatians 5:1, 4