Christianity As Putting On and Throwing Off

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Pastor Foley

The Christian life can be defined by what we put on and what we throw off.

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” commands Paul, “and make no provision for the flesh.” And, “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,” writes the author of Hebrews, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”

Putting on and throwing off is not only a spiritual matter, because what is in our spirits and in our minds is exactly what shows up on our bodies. What’s in our spirits and our minds impacts what we wear, what we show to other people about ourselves, what we seek to throw off from ourselves.

40 minutes north of here is the border between North and South Korea. On that border every day, there is a clash between two very different ideas of what you should put on and what you should put off. And it’s easy to hear, because they broadcast to each other over giant loudspeakers.

North Korea calls for people to put off any foreign influence and to put on Kim Il Sung. And North Korea is quite serious about that. It spends 40% of its national budget on all the ways people are to put on Kim Il Sung. There are 40,000 statues of Kim Il Sung. It’s impossible to walk from your home to school or your office without passing by these statues. But you must do more than pass by these statues. North Koreans must wear Kim Il Sung buttons, so that every time you see another human being, you are reminded of Kim Il Sung. You are created in the image of Kim Il Sung.

It’s a bizarre situation, and it affects the people of North Korea deeply. They look different than South Korean people. Not just because of the buttons, but because putting on Kim Il Sung shapes them in every way.

But is it really so different on the south side of the border?

South Korean society also answers the question of what we should throw off and what we should put on. And you can hear the South Korean answer to that question at the border also. Because at the border, what is broadcast into North Korea is KPOP. What is launched by balloon and drone and smuggled into North Korea is Korean dramas. And KPOP and Korean dramas have a very clear answer to the question of what you should throw off and what you should put on. The putting on part is easy: We should put on whatever the stars wear. Whatever clothing, whatever hairstyles, whatever words they use.

But there is also a throwing off. First of all, we are to throw off the clothing, hairstyles, and words that were used in last week’s popular drama, popular KPOP song, because those things are now out of date, out of style. And we also are to throw off all of the other things that are out of date and that don’t make us happy any more. Relationships, even marriages that have lasted 40 years. Now in Korean society we are told to throw these off. We throw off limitations on our morality because they make us unhappy. So we throw off the idea that we should not live together unless we are married. We throw off the idea that we should not have sex until we are married.

Now today there are new things coming to Korean society that we are going to be encouraged to put on and throw off. We are to throw off the limitations that sex should be between men and women and put on the idea that sex should be with whoever makes you happy. Put on whatever makes you happy, and put off whatever makes you sad. And then next week, when you are taught through Korean dramas and KPOP to be happy about something different and sad about something different, then throw off everything from last week and put on everything from this week.

It turns out that what happens on the north side of the border and what happens on the south side of the border are both problematic. In fact, they share a common root. The common root is that we are to throw off the glorious image of God in which we are created, and put on the tattered uniform of the human imagination, whatever it dreams up and idolizes that week.

And that is why, in truth, God is not welcome on either side of the border. On either side of the border he is thrown off, and you are urged to put something else on.

As Christians living in South Korea, we should not pretend that South Korean culture does not affect us. Of course it does. It affects us deeply. If you look at Christians, we look no different than others in South Korea. If you listen to us, we sound the same as others in South Korea. We are putting on what South Korean culture encourages us to put on, and throwing off what South Korean culture encourages us to throw off.

And very soon we will see the church struggle in South Korea. Because South Korean culture moves further and further away from any kind of biblical root. South Koreans are being urged to put on more and more things that are hostile to God and throw off more and more things that reflect his image. The South Korean church is both asleep and silent as more and more of these things slip into the church. And soon the South Korean church will have to face to question of homosexuality as a lifestyle and gay marriage as an acceptable form of marriage. The churches in America and Europe had put on so much of their culture and thrown off so much of God’s that when homosexuality and gay marriage came, they meekly put those on, too.

What about you?

What are you throwing off, and what are you putting on? Whose directions are you following in making that decision? If you think you can put on both the things of Christ and the things of popular Korean culture, you are lying to yourself. You know that when you get up in the morning you can only put on one outfit. What some of us do is to put on the things of Korean culture six days a week and then put them off one day a week so that we can put on Christ when we come to church.

But the thing that we must remember about putting on and throwing off is that the Bible teaches us that putting on anything other than Christ will ultimately make us miserable. It may make us happy in the short term, but that will never last. And we certainly see that in Korea. Worldwide surveys say that this is one of the least happy countries in the world to live in. Because we are always dissatisfied with what we have put on, so we throw it off and put something else on, and it doesn’t make us any happier.

But to put on Christ will bring you permanent joy. Yes, it will make you look and sound different in South Korean society. You will look and sound more out of place here than a North Korean would. But that is what you are called to do: Not to put on KPOP stars and Korean drama actors and actresses, but to put on Christ. It is a costly thing to put on. It will cost you more than designer clothing. Those who bear that image north of the border, it costs them their life. But the time is soon coming when those who put on Christ south of the border will suffer serious consequences for that, too.

Are you ready?

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What is the Purpose of the Law for Christians? Doing Matthew 5:21-37

Posted on April 1, 2017 by tdillmuth

Before reading this post on doing Matthew 5:21-37, please make sure to read our post on hearing Matthew 5:21-37. You can also see a quick overview of our DOTW Bible study method.

What action does God take in Matthew 5:21-37?

Matthew 5:21-37 is a part of Jesus’ most famous sermon, The Sermon on the Mount. Christ’s action throughout the whole passage is teaching, although this is not directly mentioned in these verses.

What action does God call me to take toward God? Toward others?

There are several direct actions that God calls us to take:

Vs. 23 – Remember that your brother has something against you.

Vs. 24 – Leave your gift before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Vs. 25 – Come to terms quickly with your accuser

Vs. 29 – If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.

Vs. 30 – If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.

There are also several indirect actions that Jesus calls us to take in this passage of Scripture. For example, Jesus says that whoever divorces his wife makes her commit adultery (vs. 31-32). This indicates (although never given as a direct command) that a man shouldn’t divorce his wife. Similar conclusions could be made with regard to anger and lust.

What actions did I take? Or, what actions will I take?

Jesus’ instructions in verses 23-24 are often skipped over in light of the more astonishing revelation that the command not to murder applies not only to outward acts, but also to inward anger.

The remembering and reconciliation that Jesus commands us to undertake is embedded within the setting of “offering your gift at the altar”. This gives us a picture of a formal religious ceremony whereby one offers a lamb or a pair of doves, given to God at the temple in Jerusalem.

As New Testament believers, this passage can remind us of Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 11:27 against eating the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner” and the need to examine oneself before eating the bread and drinking of the cup.

However, Augustine suggests that we can interpret this in a spiritual manner as well by saying,

And so we may interpret the altar spiritually, as being faith itself in the inner temple of God, whose emblem is the visible altar. For whatever we present to God, whether prophecy, or   teaching, or prayer, or a psalm, or a hymn, and whatever other such like spiritual gifts occurs to the mind, it cannot be acceptable to God, unless it be sustained by sincerity of faith, and, as it were, placed on that fixedly and immoveably, so that what we utter may remain whole and uninjured. (On the Sermon on the Mount, Book I, Augustine)

The implications of Christ’s command is that before one can meaningfully worship God, one must reconcile with a brother/sister in Christ. This would not only apply to formal worship within a church, but also our daily worship that takes place anywhere and everywhere. Worship that emphasizes praying and Bible reading would not be more important or effective than worship that is a reconciliation between two brothers in Christ. In fact, our praying and Bible reading could be hindered if we don’t remember and reconcile with our brother or sister in Christ.

Augustine also suggests that timing of reconciliation is of the utmost importance in these verses. Verse 22 shows a progression towards greater levels of punishment with regard to anger, thus making it important to deal with any anger or bitterness right away!

How do we fulfill Christ’s commands in Matthew 5:22-23? By taking every opportunity to remember our relationships with each other and by taking every step necessary to reconcile with each other.

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How Can We Know God?

Posted on March 31, 2017 by Editor

To watch other Voice of the Martyrs videos, visit the Voice of the Martyrs Video Page!

John 3:1-17

Often, we treat John 3:1-15 like a candy wrapper. John 3:16 and 17 are the candy and all of the other verses are the candy wrapper: we eat the “candy” and throw away the “wrapper”.

Many of us know John 3:16: “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Even the Nicene Creed quotes this verse, saying that Jesus is “eternally begotten of the Father.”

But read alone, John 3:16 and 17 raise more questions than they answer. For example, why would they need to emphasize that God loved the world? Who would argue against that? And why would they need to say that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world?” These questions can be answered by reading the whole passage in context, beginning with John 2.

In John 2, we see Jesus enter the temple during Passover. The temple is crowded—people are hawking oxen, sheep, and pigeons. Others offer to convert foreign money to local currency. John 2:15 tells us that Jesus made “a whip of cords” and used it to “drive [the hawkers] all out of the temple with the sheep and the oxen.”  Then Jesus “poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.”

Because of this, many Jews confront Jesus.

They ask, “what sign do you show us for doing these things?”

“Destroy this temple,” Jesus says, “and in three days I will raise it up.”

The Jews are shocked.

The author of John explains to us that Jesus was not talking about the temple building. He was “speaking about the temple of his body.” He was telling the Jewish people, “destroy my body and I will raise it up in three days.” But the Jews did not understand what he was saying.

To them, Jesus was a blasphemous, violent man who had chased salesmen from the temple (with a whip), upturned tables, and insisted that he would rebuild the temple in three days if it was destroyed.

From their perspective, the Son was violent. He did hate men and was eager to condemn them.

But John 3:16 asserts that precisely the opposite is true. Our own knowledge—based on sight, tradition, and reason—can completely deceive us.

Ultimately, John 3:1-17 is about more than a loving God or a Son who came to redeem humanity; it is about knowledge—the limits of human knowledge, and how one can overcome those limits.

After Jesus has caused commotion at the temple, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, comes to Jesus during the night. As a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a very important person and a very powerful person. Yet he humbles himself before Jesus.

“Teacher,” Nicodemus says, “we know you come from God, for no one can do the things you do unless God is with him.”

But Jesus rebukes him, saying, “Truly, I say to you, unless anyone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

At first glance, this response seems to be beside the point. After all, Nicodemus is asserting that God must be behind Jesus’ actions. How does Jesus’ response relate to Nicodemus’ statement?

Jesus is responding to Nicodemus’ claim that he “knows” Jesus came from God.

Jesus is saying, “Nicodemus, you could not possibly know where I come from. The only one who can know anything about the Kingdom of God is the person who has been born again.”

We are born into a fallen Creation. We are fallen and our eyes are blinded from the Truth. To combat our fallen nature, we use our reason to discover truth. Reason can show us many things about the world, but like us, reason is fallen. When we try to rationalize the character of God, for example, we will become very confused. This is why Jesus tells Nicodemus that we must be born again.

The character of God is not something that we can figure out on our own. Even if we read the entire Bible, we would be unable to understand God’s character. We lack the proper faculties. Reason, although a gift, is not enough to bridge the gap of our understanding. If we, like Nicodemus, said to Jesus, “I have read the entire Bible and have concluded that you must be the son of God,” Jesus would rebuke us too!

Almost as if to prove Jesus’ point, Nicodemus misunderstands Jesus’ admonition.

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asks. “Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

But if everything born into creation is fallen, then even a mother’s womb is fallen!

So Jesus must correct Nicodemus’ understanding. He explains that this new birth must happen through water and the Spirit—not through a mother’s womb. Water and the Spirit hearken back to Genesis 1: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

All was born from water and the spirit. But humans fell into sin and dragged all of creation down with them. All of Creation has been groaning since this moment, awaiting restoration.

Then came Christ, the restorer.

How does he restore? Through water and the Spirit, the same materials through which all was created.

You may remember our study of the Baptism of Jesus.

Many sinners came to John to repent of their wrongdoings. Despite being without sin, Jesus joined these people in line. When his turn came, Jesus walked up to John and requested to be baptized. John was shocked.

“I need to be baptized by you!” John said. “Why do you ask to be baptized by me?”

“John, baptize me,” Jesus replied. “For my baptism is an important step in the process of fulfilling all righteousness.”

Jesus descends into the water. When he ascends from it, we see water and spirit for the second time in scripture: the Holy Spirit descends upon Christ. In this occurrence, the Spirit isn’t hovering over all of creation; it hovers on Christ alone. This is an important distinction: The redemption of creation happens in Christ himself. Reborn, then, means to be born a second time—through baptism—in Christ.

Only through Christ can we know God, for Christ is the only one who “knows” heaven because he descended from it.

After explaining all of this to Nicodemus, Jesus references a story from the Old Testament: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”

When the Israelites were readying themselves to cross the desert, God directed them on a rather counterintuitive route. Frustrated, the Israelites spoke out against Moses and God.

“Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” They cried.

When they complained, God sent venomous snakes among the people. The snakes bit and killed many of those who had complained. As a result, the Israelites came before Moses and admitted they had sinned. They pleaded with Moses, “Please pray to the Lord, that he will take the serpents away from us!”

But God did not take the serpents away.

Instead, God says to Moses, “Make the image of a serpent and place it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

And that is precisely where John 3:1-17 brings us: To the recognition that the world is so completely fallen, so snake-bitten, that our instincts to navigate through it successfully (even religiously) will certainly leave us dead. We plead with God to remove the sin. But the problem is deeper than the sin-snakes that surround us: Something must happen to us—in us—in order for us to be saved. That something is a second birth, through the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit. Only in this way can we know God and be saved by him.

Anything less leaves us stumbling around in the night.

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