Living On The Edge Is Not Life In The Middle

THE EDGE

I'm not a danger man. I generally play (everything) safe. Of course, what I call "safe", Kim calls "boring". But 'safe' doesn't have to be boring - although I can understand why some prefer to live on the "edge" because it brings an element of excitement, a different perspective, and a surge of adrenaline. When it comes to spiritual things, I'm not sure the 'edge' is the place we are most effective...

Matthew 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few..

Maybe when it comes to outdoor adventure, going up to the edge is an expected part of the experience. But the gravitationally consequential cliff-top edges usually have fences near their edges for a good reason. Jesus gave an "edgey" picture in His Sermon on the Mount (the Beattitudes) when He said that the way to (eternal) life was narrow and hard. For me, it's not too hard to imagine a not-too-far-away scene of a high mountain trail bounded by a steep cliff where many an impetuous traverser had met an untimely end. Christ's words would have painted a very graphic depiction of what spiritual peril looked like.

The old King James Version translation of this verse uses the word "strait" for the modern word "narrow". For us Tasmanians, we are very familiar with what a strait is (as distinct from something that is "straight"). It carries the idea that there is a narrow way through bounded by barriers. Jesus said that eternal life was like this. As we walk with God the path is bounded by two great barriers: 1. Love for God, and 2. Love for others. Upon closer investigation we discover that both barriers bear both barrier markings. God has bounded the path of those who follow Him with these two great safety barricades. Step over either one and the follower of Christ is no longer loving God or people. Keep as close to the middle of the strait and you can only love God and others. So who would want to live on the edge of the strait knowing that the closer to the edge you get the further away from fellowship with God you get at the same time? But is it wrong to go up to the edge? I actually think this is perfectly the wrong question. The one who wants to love God, live for Him, walk closely with Him, does not ask how close to the edge they are allowed to get before it's "wrong".

1Thess. 5:22 Abstain from every form of evil.

There are lots of things that are 'permissible' for a Christian that are also not beneficial or the best way to love God and others. Over-eating, alcohol consumption, gambling, or swearing, might be included in any such considerations.

1Cor. 10:23 ¶ "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up.

Avoiding such things might invite the charge of "Legalist" (which is an ironic charge if you think about it). Legalism is not merely avoiding certain things and neither is "freedom" partaking of such edgey things.

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Outcries may come. "Grace!" they cry, "Grace allows me to live on the edge of the path of Life. Your condemnation of my edgey lifestyle is mere legalism!" But "grace" is not permission to live however you want - rather, grace is the power to live as you should (1Cor. 15:10b).

The Master Christian Essayist, F.W. Boreham, writing in 1914 about "Escapes- Not Hairbreadth" (Mountains In The Mist), makes some observations about risky up-to-the-edge living. Boreham eloquently draws on other great writers and even the recent sinking of the Titanic to set up his pastoral comments about risky-up-to-the-edge living.

"Every minister knows that there are no questions more frequently presented to him that those relating to the questionable pastimes or amusements. 'Is there any harm in this?' 'May I play at such and such a game?' "Is it right to go to such and such a place?' 'Is it wrong to take part in this, or that, or the other?' It all arises from our insensate craving for hairbreadth escapes. Even children love to walk on the edge of the kerb, to creep near the brink of a precipice, and  to lean far out of a high window." [Page 240] 

F.W. Boreham goes on to draw an analogy between risky living and spiritual indifference toward God. The man who lives with careless indifference towards the commands and heart of God and then self-confidently assumes he can escape the consequences of such living may be in for an eternal surprise. "On a memorable occasion", continues Rev. Boreham, "the late General Booth was stepping from his carriage to enter a well-known public building. As he did so a drunken man staggered stupidly towards him, and in scarcely intelligible accents exclaimed, 'Say, General, what are ye going to do with the like o' me?' The crowd gathered quickly round to hear the General's answer. The General laid his hand on the drunkard's shoulder, and replied, 'My friend, we can't do much for you; but we're after your boy !' That is a piece of very sage philosophy which I commend to all parents and teachers." (page 242)

If you're on the edge, it's not too late to come back. If you've crossed over the edge and felt the peril of it, then God's grace can also bring you back. If you're pastor pleading with edgey people, call to your people from the middle of God's strait and narrow path, not near the edge.

Father, please help me to pastor by grace to bring Your people into the fullness of Your grace for their lives. Give me the pastoral wisdom to know how I am to live in the middle of the path of Life. Please Lord, empower me with Your grace to draw more people into the middle of  Your will - not merely the edge of it. And Lord I pray that this will result in Christ being seen in us and many coming to know Him.  Amen.

Eph. 3:21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ps. Andrew

FORGIVEN, CLEANSED, AND FREED

First John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Have you neglected to ask God for forgiveness? Have you been slow to seek cleansing before God? (2Cor. 7:1) Is your heart soft toward God? (1Peter 3:8) Does your soul burn with devotion for Christ? Are you struggling to be excited about the things that God has created you to be excited about - His glory, His heart for the lost, His church for you, His Word, His presence? Have the things of this world dulled your affection for worshiping Jesus? Do you have a "a need to perform" mentality when it comes to feeling accepted by God and others?

Today I preached at a regular monthly speaking engagement I have had each month for the past fourteen years. It has been rare that each month all the members of this small monthly congregation are together again for a time of hymn singing worship and my preaching. And every time I preach there I am very mindful that these dear precious senior men and women may not make it to our next monthly service. I preach with the burning thought that any of these people could rehearse any of my sermonic sentiments as they draw their final breath and experience their final heart beat. It's in these moments that I want my monthly congregation to recall that being forgiven by God, cleansed by God and freed from hurt/guilt/shame/regret is theirs for the asking because of the wonderful, glorious, grace of God.

When we too are on our bed of transition from this life to the next, I hope that we can lie there with the knowledge that we have asked for and received from God forgiveness, cleansing, tenderness of heart, and passion for His glory and cause. I hope that today we will do busines afresh with God. Not the kind of business where we can offer God anything in exchange for anything from Him. But the kind of business where we accept and seek all that Christ has infinitely worked for us.

The unbelievable message of Christianity is you can have peace with God through no effort of your own! Oops, did I say "unbelievable"? Sorry. I meant "truly unbelievable". This is because when God saves us, He does by His grace, and with that grace comes faith (trust and belief in God) and God's love-

1Tim. 1:14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

This means, that even the faith to believe in God is a gift!

Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

We are made "right" with God through no effort of our own. It is the grace of God that establishes our relationship with God, But it is the grace of God that enables us to maintain our fellowship with God. None of us know when our last breath or heart-beat will be. It may be tonight. I pray that before that time we will each fully surrender afresh to Almighty God and dedicate ourselves to making Him more glorious before our world.

Amen.

A Caring Community...

Rejoice with those who rejoice, wrote the Apostle Paul, and weep with those who weep. There is a sense of community that the New Testament describes of the church that is probably found nowhere else other than in a family. In a healthy church, just like in a healthy family, we share each other's joys and each other's pain. We "carry each other's burdens" as Paul said in Galatians 6.

How would you like to be cared for? Some of us, like me, are beset with fierce independence. We struggle to let others in too close. We struggle to truly open up and let others see just where we are struggling. While independence is a necessary virtue for responsibility-bearers it can be an unfortunate handicap as well in this instance of allowing others to care for us. Then there are those who are responsibility-shunners and feel so dependent upon others that they are easily disappointed with others- despite how much care they are shown. How would you like to be cared for?

Of all the words that can compliment a church- strong, influential, genuine, Biblical, Spirit-led, there is in my opinion none nicer to hear than: caring. While we want to be worthy of all those compliments, I especially want our church to be caring.

1Cor. 12:25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

The opportunities to "care for one another" (1Cor. 12:25) in our church family are growing. One of the most practical ways for this to take place is in our Bible Study Groups. Our Bible study Groups are led by very caring leaders and I often hear stories of how group members have met together for a meal or social gathering and shown care for each other. In some instances, Bible Study Group members have taken meals around to one another when they sensed that this would be appropriate. In other instances within our church I have heard of some men getting together to do some handyman maintenance on a single mother's house. In yet another instance some time ago, a Bible Study Group organised to purchase a car for a struggling single mum. And just recently, one group helped with the costs of getting someone in our church family to an interstate funeral of a family member. This is caring.

Luke 6:38 talks about giving and not being being worse off for doing so. It seems that the more we care, the more we are cared for. The Bible is not just about information that makes us wonder in aweful amazement, it is also a handbook for how we should and can care for each other given to us by the most caring Person in the universe. Even when we think that no-one else cares, God always does.

Amen.

EROTICA IN THE BIBLE?

Almost without exception, preachers promote the idea that the Song of Solomon is loaded with sexually erotic symbolism and allegory that extols the joys of monogamous marriage. If this be true then it is completely out of step with the overall revelation of God's story of redemption!

The story goes, according to some preachers, that Solomon sees a girl, falls in love, takes her, has his way with her and she is entirely complicit with this erotic liaison. The language of the Song of Solmon, these preachers argue, is allegorical so as to show some decorum about what is usually not often talked about: the act of sex between a husband and his bride. I would like to debunk this myth and propose a different story that not only fits perfectly with the text but also the overall message of Scripture...[more]

THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS...

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
Hebrews 12:15

I’ve sometimes wondered why Australians tend toward bitterness as a strategy for handling disappointment. Perhaps this started with our ‘Diggers’ in the trenches of Gallipoli. Two mates would be fighting side-by-side in the trenches when one of them would be shot dead. His mate would then look down on his fallen comrade and exclaim that he was a mongrel anyway!

I recently stubbled across an autobiography of a Bible teacher I had heard and enjoyed a few years ago. I learned that his life had been filled with tragedy. A year after becoming a Christian he married another new Christian who betrayed her marital vows and left him with their 3 month old daughter. She divorced him and remarried, twice. He then married againa few years later when he was 27. A few months of being married came to a tragic end when his new wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident. A few years later he married again. This time his marriage lasted and he and his third wife went on to have 4 children. But as I continued to read his biography he began to highlight the faults of his wife. He shared things about his wife that husbands should never disclose. I stopped reading and re-read this portion to Kim and then remarked to her that he though he was about to say this marriage ended too. And sure enough, as I read on, he went further in his criticism of his wife became self-justification and then he wrote: "She left me." A root of bitterness had occured and this was most obvious with his self-justification.

This also happens with Christians and their disappointment with a church. A believer is happy and connected with their church and then gradually some root of bitterness occurs. The believer who was previously so happy and even proud of their church but allows a root of bitterness to grow and then sees every little fault or deficiency with their church is as huge in order to justify their bitterness.

But this disappointment strategy is not just limited to military comrades, spouses, or churches- God Himself is the most common target of bitterness. As people dispute with God over His standards of right and wrong they hear a "nice" voice in their head that affirms their objections to Him- "Has God really said?...He doesn't want you to enjoy yourself because He knows that the moment you do this you will become like Him!"

The safeguard against bitterness is love. Love covers a multitude of sins, shortcomings, faults, and offences.

"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
1Peter 4:8

The root of bitterness sprouts into a deadly weed that climbs up its victim and chokes the life out of them. It destroys fellowship. It ends marriages. It divides churches. It estranges people from God.

But bitterness can neither take root in love or climb up around it to choke it. Therefore, for us to build strong friendships, healthy marriages, great churches and a joyful relationship with God we need to-

clothe ourselves in love
(Col. 3:14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.)

wear a breastplate of love
(1Th. 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.)

ensure that our love is genuine for others
(Rom. 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.)

always be a debtor of love
(Rom. 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.)

walk in love by being considerate of what offends another
(Rom. 14:15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.)

strive in prayer for one another by the love that the Spirit places within us
(Rom. 15:30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,)

This doesn't happen naturally. It demands constant vigilence- that is, we must be continually correcting ourselves when we detect the root of bitterness and the diminishing of love for others. King David did this when he detected discouragement setting in-

Psalm 42:5 ¶ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation.

For us to battle the enemy's seeds of bitterness requires constantly asking God for His grace. It requires humility when we most naturally feel like justifying ourselves. It also requires overlooking offences by not dwelling on them and not retelling them to others (eg- "Did you hear what they said and did to me?"). By doing these things we can avoid the root of bitterness. But what do we do when the seeds of bitterness have already taken root in our souls? If we suspect that something bitter has entered our soul then we should ask God and our church community for help. By meeting in our church community small groups where we share our hearts and pray for needs- both ours and the other groups members', we are tilling the soil of our soul. This disrupts weed growth and promotes good growth.

If however, you suspect that there is bitterness in your soul and you have stopped asking God for deliverance from it- and ceased to be a part of a discipleship (small) group- there is no hope. Hebrews 12:15 is a dire warning against allowing the root of bitterness. According to this verse, if we fail to uproot the sprouting seeds of bitterness we will (i) fail to experience the grace of God, (ii) cause trouble, and (iii) become defiled (in our thinking and behaviour). Therefore, let us guard our souls against bitterness and its fruit (malicious gossip, slander, hate). I suspect that as we continue to experience this season of church-growth that the Enemy will prowl around our church community with a dirty big bag of seeds and sow them willy-nilly in the hope that someone's heart is unguarded and that he can turn their heart against their friends, family, their church, and their God. May God help us to guard our hearts and to fill our souls with love for our friends, family, church and Himself.

After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!
2Corinthians 2:11 THE MESSAGE

Andrew Corbett