The Simple Complexity of Christianity

Anyone who’s done a study of religions knows they can be very complicated. They each have their own sets of principles and practices, rules and rituals. Anyone who says “All religions are basically the same” has never really given them a serious look.

 

The Bible states, “[God] has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The plethora of religions supports that statement, as humankind is always seeking – and even inventing – ways to know God and determine what happens after this life comes to an end.

 

Despite their many differences, a central premise of most religions can be described as “Do this, do that; don’t do this, don’t do that.” And if the adherents follow instructions, maybe they’ll go to heaven or wherever else the specific religion states its followers will spend eternity. But that’s not certain.

 

Unlike other religions, however, Christianity doesn’t say we must do and not do certain things to gain God’s acceptance and be assured eternal life. Instead of “Do,” the most foundational principle of Christianity says “Done.” That is, Jesus Christ has already done everything necessary for us to experience a growing, eternal relationship with God.

 

In fact, Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Two-thousand years ago, when Jesus died on a lonely cross on a hideous hill called Golgotha, He became the atoning sacrifice for all humankind. The Bible uses the Greek term, “tetelestai,” to state that our sin debt is “paid in full” or as Jesus said in His final breath, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Amazingly, He even died for sins we wouldn’t commit until centuries later.

 

It's as simple as that. But at the same time, we’re confronted with what I’d call the simple complexity of Christianity. The Scriptures repeatedly teach that there is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor and be assured of eternal life. For instance:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“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” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

 

Salvation, as followers of Jesus understand, is by grace alone. We can do nothing to earn God’s favor and love. Grace – receiving what we don’t deserve, and mercy – not receiving what we do deserve, are freely given.

 

Where the complexity enters in, however, is that we must respond. That is, just as a Christmas or birthday gift is of no value unless it’s received, we too must receive the Lord’s gift of salvation, forgiveness and eternal life. John 1:12 expresses it this way: “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right be become children of God.” 

 

Later in the gospel Jesus makes the famous declaration, “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The gift is free to all who believe, but we must receive it.

 

Speaking to religious leader Nicodemus, who was trying to figure out exactly who Jesus was, He said, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again…no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:3-5).

 

The apostle Peter elaborated in one of his letters, explaining, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). Again, this is not of our doing – it’s the sovereign work of God alone.

 

You’ve probably heard of someone being referred to as a “born-again Christian,” as if there are other kinds of Christians. In reality, referring to someone as a born-again Christian is equivalent to referring to a pet as a feline cat or a canine dog. You can’t be one without being the other.

 

At its heart, a key distinctive of Christianity from all other faith traditions is that of spiritual transformation. As Galatians 2:20 asserts, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

 

When we receive Christ and accept the gift freely given to us by the Father, a life-changing transformation occurs. As a similar verse tells us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

So, for us, it’s simple: All we must “do” is believe and receive the gift the Lord offers. The complexity comes in with the wonderful work of God making us into new creations, freeing us from the bondage of sin and enabling us to d become the people He has always intended for us to be. The question we each must answer is, ‘Have I truly received by faith this gift God has offered?’

 

If we have, then when Jesus says, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23), to obey can become as easy as breathing.

‘Why Do I Do What I Don’t Want to Do – and Not Do What I Want to Do?’

Over the years many passages of the Bible have intrigued me, but few have struck me more profoundly than Romans 7, in which the apostle Paul candidly confesses his personal struggles.

 

The verses that stand out most are Romans 7:15-17, in which he seems to complain, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.” 

 

There’s more to this sorrowful confession, but consider: These were the words of the apostle Paul. Not tempestuous, vindictive King Saul of Israel. Or Samson, who had a decided weakness for the ladies. Or King David, who was a murderer and adulterer despite being described as a man with “a heart after God.” Or even Judas Iscariot, whose greed and ambition caused him to become the greatest betrayer in history.

 

No, it was Paul, who became a new person with a new name after his dramatic, transforming encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. He was a pillar of the early Church, the fellow God inspired to write nearly half of the New Testament. This man of God felt it important to devote nearly an entire chapter to the question, “Why do I do what I don’t want to do – and why don’t I do what I want to do?” 

 

Perhaps you’ve asked this question of yourself. You have a bad habit or a ‘besetting’ sin you’ve wrestled with for a long time. You’ve resolved to stop it. But then you do it again. Or there’s something you know you should be doing, and with the best of intentions determine to follow through on it. But you don’t.

 

What’s the deal? Why do we, like Paul, find ourselves doing what we don’t want to do – and not doing what we want to do?

 

It’s a complex question, but I think Paul addresses the solution in the preceding chapter of his letter to the believers in Rome. Paul assures them, “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). 

 

Verses later he adds, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). Other translations, instead of ‘count,’ use the words ‘consider’ or ‘reckon.’ We’re to regard ourselves as dead to sin – no longer enslaved to it – but alive to God in Christ.

 

Some other verses that relate to this truth and help us to gain a fuller understanding include:

“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3).

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

 

Looking at these passages together, it seems there’s a choice we must make. We have been given new spiritual life by being “born again,” meaning the Spirit of Christ now lives in us, giving us a new nature. However, for whatever reason, God does not remove our “sinful nature” (also translated “the flesh"). We can either choose to appropriate the life and power of Jesus Christ in us, or we can continue to operate according to our corrupted, sinful natures.

 

In my admittedly limited understanding of technology, it’s like having a corrupted, malfunctioning operating system on a computer and installing a new, perfectly functional operating system. But instead of removing the old system, it remains and we must consciously choose which to use – the one that works as intended, or the one that keeps messing up.

 

Sadly, many believers don’t seem to realize they have a choice. They excuse their sinful stumbling as “Well, I’m only human” or “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” But if we believe the Scriptures, we aren’t ‘only human.’ We’ve been given a new spiritual life. And we’re redefined not as ‘sinners saved by grace’ but as “saints in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 1:1 and many other places) who can still sin. A saint, by biblical definition, is one who has been sanctified or set apart by God.

 

This is just scratching the tip of a ton of theology, but the reality for Christ followers is that while we can and will still sin, we don’t have to sin. It’s no longer, to use another computer term, our “default setting.” As Paul wrote in the passage above, “it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.”

 

This reminds me of a powerful statement from the Old Testament, in which Joshua was giving his final speech to the people of Israel. He admonished them, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

Once we understand that God – through His Spirit that dwells within us – has given us the capacity for faithfully serving Him, we too must choose whether to serve Him, or to continue yielding to our old habits and sinful ways. At times the flesh will prevail resulting in sin, but through the power of Christ in us, we won’t be able to say, “The devil made me do it.” 

A Notable Time When Politics and Faith Intersected

This being another Presidential election year, it seems appropriate to consider something that happened nearly 50 years ago. A new term burst upon the American psyche: “born again.” This came about during the 1976 Presidential campaign when surprise candidate Jimmy Carter declared during numerous interviews that he was a “born-again Christian.”

 

That comment, among others, ignited a media frenzy as political reporters and commentators scrambled for a better handle on the then-Georgia governor seeking the nation’s highest office. Other Presidents and candidates had been known for their religious affiliations, but perhaps never as publicly and boldly as Carter. Meanwhile, the term “born again” soon took on a life of its own.

 

Many people lacked understanding of the phrase or where it had originated, but that didn’t stop marketers from latching onto it for promoting their products, using it as a label for anything innovative. Suddenly we were hearing and reading about ‘born-again cars,’ ‘born-again businesses,’ ‘born-again strategies,’ even ‘born-again churches.’ A vital biblical term turned into an overused cliché devoid of its essential meaning. 

 

Thankfully, hucksterism hasn’t diminished even slightly the spiritual significance of being born again. We first encounter it in the Scriptures when Jesus Christ was approached by a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a prominent member of the Jewish ruling council. Nicodemus desired to get acquainted with this individual he’d heard so much about but wasn’t inclined to do so openly. So, he had requested a private meeting at night.

 

In the biblical account, Nicodemus quickly got to his purpose for meeting Jesus. “Rabbi, we know you as a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2). Seems like a reasonable question, right?

 

As was so often the case, Jesus did a sort of “end-around” in responding. “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again’” (John 3:3). There’s the term – “born again” – and perhaps like the reporters interviewing Jimmy Carter, a confused look must have appeared on Nicodemus's face.

 

He asked, “‘How can a man be born again when he is old?... Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’” Jesus gave a straight-forward answer: ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying, “You must be born again’…” (John 3:4-7).

 

Being a true follower of Christ means to be twice-born – born physically, and born again spiritually. This is why the apostle Paul declared in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Committing one’s life to Jesus doesn’t mean adopting a new philosophy or ideology; it means receiving a new life. The life of Christ living in us by His Spirit.

 

References to being born again don’t end with the gospel of John. In 1 Peter 1:3 the apostle once known as Simon writes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” If anyone understood what it meant to be born again, it was the one-time fisherman Simon/Peter.

 

He addresses this once more in the same chapter: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).

 

This does seem to raise a different question, however. Is there a difference between being a Christian and a born-again Christian as President Carter phrased it? Can one be a Christian without being born again? I would contend – as would many others – that the Bible teaches they are one and the same. To use both terms together is redundant. It’s like talking about a canine dog, a feline cat, or a time-keeping clock. 

 

The late Rev. Billy Graham wrote about this, asserting, “Just as surely as God implants the life cell in the tiny seed that produces the mighty oak, and as surely as He instills the heartbeat in the life of the tiny infant yet unborn; as surely as He puts motion into the planets, stars, and heavenly bodies, He implants His divine life in people’s hearts who earnestly seek Him through Christ. This is not conjecture; it is a fact. Has this happened to you? Have you been twice born? You see, the Bible says that unless we have this new birth, we are unfit for the Kingdom of God.”

 

One of the strongest biblical statements about this is Romans 6:4, in which Paul explains, “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” It is this new life that empowers us to live as the Lord commands.

God Is All About Making Things New

Just a few days into the new year, we still have an opportunity to focus on making a fresh start, closing the door on 2023 and being excited about some new beginnings in 2024. We might want to continue and build on some of our accomplishments over the past 12 months, but most of us have things we’d like to do differently or take a totally new approach.

Among the “new” things I’d like to be doing this year is spending more time reading and less time on “screens,” whether it be TV or my electronic devices. I want to tackle my stash of books with renewed enthusiasm. Reading requires action; screens foster passivity. It’s time for action.

New things you’d like to do are probably different from mine, but whatever they are, there’s no time to begin like the present. Out with the old and in with the new, as they say. Hope you find much success in whatever your new endeavors might be.

 

But have you ever considered that God is all about making things new? We see this in the very first chapter of the first book of the Bible. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). I believe the “big bang” scientists often speak about can be summed up in three powerful words: “And God said.” 

 

That simple phrase appears eight times in that opening chapter of Genesis, God speaking and creating: Light. Sky, earth and water. Vegetation. Sun, moon and stars. Myriad kinds of living creatures. And finally, man and woman. The Lord conceived what He wanted to create – brand new things – then spoke and it became so. Sounds simplistic, but I’m sure it was anything but that. 

 

God’s desire to make new things didn’t stop there. That was just, well, the beginning. He’s been conceiving and creating new stuff ever since. Take the Ten Commandments, for example. Until then, humankind was governed by an inner moral compass God had instilled, but those succinct commandments embodied how we’re to live and relate, both to Him and one another.

 

As we study the Scriptures, however, we discover the foremost “new” thing the Lord desires to create is you and me. When Jesus went to the cross to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins, that wasn’t the end of the story. Not by the longest of shots. His resurrection not only announced victory over death but also the promise of new life for all who would place their faith and trust in Him.

 

Nearly 40 years ago I was wrestling with what is often referred to as “the Christian life.” I couldn’t seem to get it right, no matter how hard I tried. Then during one life-changing weekend, a friend helped me understand a foundational truth: The Christian life isn’t difficult – it’s impossible! That is, in our own strength there’s no way we can measure up to God’s perfect standards. Or even close.

 

My good intentions and determinations to do better in my own strength would never succeed. As is true for every one of us. This is why Jesus said we must be “born again” (John 3:3,7). Becoming children of God doesn’t demand a “makeover” or some type of improvement program, but an entirely new life. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we're told, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

 

Up to that weekend, I had been wrestling with that latter verse as well as another, Galatians 2:20, which says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” I knew those two passages intellectually, but not experientially. Somehow, they didn’t seem to apply to me. 

 

Although I still struggled “in the flesh,” God wanted me to understand that in Christ I had been made new spiritually. Another verse, Titus 3:5, expresses it this way: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” 

 

I already had new life in Jesus Christ but hadn’t appropriated it. It’s still a challenge at times when, as Jesus said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). It’s a day by day, moment by moment process of learning how to follow Him in the power of His Spirit that lives in us.

 

This brings up another biblical reference to becoming new. Romans 12:2 offers the admonition, “Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Every day can be a battle, being bombarded with “the pattern of this world” through what we read, hear and see.

 

The only way we can win this battle is to “set [our] minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2). And we can do this consistently only through the power of God’s Spirit. Every day the Lord is busily doing new things – both in us and through us. If we were to ask Him, “What’s new?” I suspect He’d respond, “You have no idea!”

Looking for Evidence? How About Redemption and Transformation?

Like any media craze, the public’s fascination with “Duck Dynasty” and the folksy, country bumpkin-ish Robertson family has cooled somewhat. But Phil, Miss Kay and the rest of the Robertson clan remain fixtures in the American psyche, both for their duck calls and their downhome reality show antics.

 

Image from Wikipedia

The real story of how they arrived at such cultural prominence isn’t one that most viewers could possibly have imagined. Almost every episode has included some reference to faith, but until now not a lot was known about the harrowing journey the Robertsons traveled before God got their attention. The release of the theatrical film, “The Blind,” changed that.

Similar to recent Christian films like “The Chosen” and “The Sound of Freedom,” response to “The Blind” exceeded box office expectations, resulting in its nationwide run being extended by weeks. What impresses most about the excellent film is its depiction of the redemptive, life-changing power of Jesus Christ.

 

From time to time, we’ll hear someone demanding evidence of Jesus Christ, the existence of God, or why Christianity matters anyway. There’s lots of evidence – historical, archaeological, eyewitness accounts, and many other kinds. But perhaps the greatest evidence is the testimony of changed lives; individuals and families saved from absolute ruin and transformed into people filled with joy, hope, and unwavering faith and trust in the God with whom “all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).

 

In “Duck Dynasty” Phil Robertson is the kindly family patriarch, spinning yarns and pithy witticisms about life in general and faith in particular. The motto on his official website is “Faith. Family. Ducks.” But “The Blind” shows how lost and desperate Robertson and his young family were before a country preacher introduced him to Jesus Christ nearly 50 years ago.

 

Growing up in a wrong-side-of-the-tracks family, with an oft-absent father and mother suffering from mental illness, Robertson didn’t seem destined for a path from poverty to celebrity. After girlfriend Kay became pregnant, he abandoned a promising college football career to provide for his family. Alcohol, however, soon became his constant friend, along with all its destructive consequences.

 

Sometimes people must get so low in life that they have no choice but to look up. That’s where Robertson was – having lost his wife and family, home and business. Only then was he willing to hear about what Christ had done for him on the cross and respond by receiving God’s mercy and grace.

 

His story of redemption and transformation is just one of countless accounts given through the ages. There’s the apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul, a zealous Pharisee and persecutor of Christians who met Christ on the road to Damascus. Radically changed, Paul went on numerous missionary journeys proclaiming the Gospel message. In Pisidian Antioch the transformed apostle told synagogue rulers, “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus” (Acts 13:32).

 

The song, “Amazing Grace,” is well known not only in churches but also in concert halls: “I once was lost but now I am found, was blind but now I see.” John Newton, writer of those lyrics, penned those words from the depths of personal experience. One result of his conversion was renouncing the slave trade in which he once engaged and becoming an outspoken abolitionist, seeing slavery abolished in his native England before he died.

 

We could cite countless other examples. You probably know of some yourself – you might be one of them. Lives dramatically and eternally changed, not “cleaned up” but transformed by being born again spiritually, as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3.

 

In His parable of the prodigal son, the Lord told of a young man with the gall to demand his inheritance while his father was still living, then proceeding to squander the fortune and end up wallowing with pigs. The son, defeated and ashamed, returned home hoping to be accepted as a servant but his father ecstatically embraced him and declared, “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:24).

 

This story figuratively depicts the reception the Lord gives to each of His children who recognize the truth of Romans 3:10-12, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God…there is no one who does good, not even one.”

 

At that moment of discovery, many find God turning their despair into delight. Paul expressed triumphantly, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?... Therefore, 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 of sin and death” (Roman 7:24-8:2).

Ultimately, the Christian life is one of faith, not empirical evidence. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). But the amazing outworking of that faith – lives forever changed not by personal effort but by the transforming presence of Christ through His Spirit – should be enough evidence to cause even hardened skeptics to reconsider.  

It’s About Transformation, Not Information

As I’ve observed previously, somewhere along the line we became infatuated, enraptured, enthralled and obsessed with information. 

 

For years we’ve had access to news 24/7. In bygone days, we waited until the 6 or 11 o’clock news to find out what’s happened in the world around us. Now it’s readily available to us at the press of the remote on countless channels. We can access hundreds of news websites filled with information, some of it balanced, some of it extremely biased. If that’s not enough, we have numerous news apps available for our smartphones.

 

In the “olden days,” to learn more about a particular subject, folks would trek to the library, rummage through the card catalog and find the appropriate books. If they could afford it, parents would purchase Britannica, World Book, or Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedias. But who needs those anymore when we’ve got online resources like Wikipedia, a variety of search engines, and websites devoted to virtually any topic imaginable?

 

We’re saturated with information. The modern Church isn’t any different. In addition to the Bible – available in numerous translations with editions aimed at almost any demographic – we have commentaries, concordances, Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, not to mention thousands upon thousands of books, DVDs and audios. We have conferences and seminars, all designed to increase our biblical knowledge.

 

But I’m reminded of what the late Latin American evangelist Luis Palau said years ago when asked to contrast American Christians with believers in Third World countries. His comment that stuck in my mind was, “Americans are afflicted with the lust of the mind.”

 

Knowledge is a good thing. Certainly, the more informed we are about aspects of our faith, the easier it is to solidify our beliefs and communicate truths of the Bible to others. But as I read the Scriptures, I find the underlying message isn’t about information – it’s about transformation.

 

Many people with vast knowledge about the Bible don’t know the Savior presented in the Bible. Some that have consumed tons of information about doctrine and theology, when they stand before the Lord, will be greatly disappointed. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven…. Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

 

Information and understanding are important, but without transformation by God’s Spirit, we might be merely hoarders of biblical facts and stories. We're told in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” When we have a truly life-changing encounter with Jesus, we don’t just gain new values and perspectives; we receive new life.

 

That’s the message of Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God – who loved me and gave Himself for me.” To know Jesus is to experience new, transformed life spiritually.

 

This isn’t a concept readily grasped, even by established religious leaders. When Jesus was approached by Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council, the Pharisee was struggling to figure out who this miracle worker and spellbinding teacher truly was. When Jesus told him, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3), poor Nick was dumbfounded.

 

“’How can a man be born when he is old?’ Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit’” (John 3:4-5). He was referring to both physical, temporal birth and spiritual, transformational birth.

 

The Christian life isn’t about trying harder, trying to fix or improve ourselves. It’s recognizing that apart from the saving, life-giving power of Jesus Christ, it’s an exercise in futility. As He told His followers: 

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener…. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:1-5).

 

When the apostle Paul admonished Christ followers in ancient Rome, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2), he wasn’t urging them to seek information for the purpose of possessing more knowledge. They were to pursue a mind that had been transformed by the power of God’s Spirit.

 

Elsewhere Paul exhorted believers, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24).

 

Ultimately, God is not asking us to be good, or to become better. He wants us to be made new.

Testimony Reflects Our History – His Story in Us

“That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it!” These words were introduced to popular culture with a song by country music artist Collin Raye in 1993. Since then, I’ve heard numerous people use it; I’ve occasionally utilized it myself. But it begs the question: What is your story?

 

I was part of a small group recently talking about how to prepare a personal testimony. In case you’re not sure what a testimony is, it’s your unique story of how you encountered Jesus Christ – and the difference He’s made in your life since then. 

 

There’s a wonderful scene in “The Chosen,” the film series on the life of Jesus and His followers. In one of its first episodes, a radically changed Mary Magdalene sums up very succinctly what a testimony is: “I was one way and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.”

 

So, if you’re a follower of Christ – if you have been “born again,” as Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:3 – you’ve got a testimony to share with others, whether you realize it or not. Testimonies come in all shapes and sizes, some with high degrees of drama and some with very little. But for every one of us who knows Jesus, it’s part of our history – or we might say, His story at work in us.

 

One of the strengths of a testimony is it communicates the truth of God’s grace and mercy in a person’s life, doing so in the form of a genuine story. People might dispute one’s theology and spiritual beliefs, but they can’t argue with someone’s account of real-life experience.

 

Personal testimony was one method the apostles and first-century believers employed to communicate Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. Telling what He had done in their lives – how they at one time had been one way, became something very different, and that He had been the difference-maker. 

 

We find excellent examples in Acts 22 and again in chapter 26, where the apostle Paul, being held prisoner by Roman officials, first told a large crowd and then Roman King Agrippa about his unexpected, life-changing encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. 

 

Paul began by describing his “before,” citing his pedigree as a devout Pharisee and religious leader, then known by the name of Saul. He noted, “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth…. I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them…. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them” (Acts 26:9-11). A proud antagonist for sure.

 

He proceeded to tell of his divine encounter with Christ while traveling to Damascus to persecute more Christians there. A blazingly bright light from heaven suddenly surrounded him and his companions, and Paul heard a voice asking, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads…. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 26:1415). In other words, “Saul, you’re engaged in an exercise of futility. You’re no match for Me.”

 

Paul’s story didn’t end there. He explained how the Lord had transformed him from a one-time enemy of Christ followers to being zealous and outspoken as one of them, attesting to what Jesus taught and what He had done, ultimately dying as the once-and-for-all sacrifice to redeem people from the penalty for sin. 

 

His personal account was so persuasive that Agrippa commented, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” To which Paul replied, “Short time or long – I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become as I am, except for these chains” (Acts 26:28).

 

This brief biblical account gives the basic outline for an effective testimony of one’s faith in Jesus – what one’s life was like before Christ, how the individual met and committed his or her life to Him, and how He’s worked in their life since then. 

 

However, there are two other significant elements to consider. First, Paul was invited by Agrippa to tell his story. In a New Testament letter, another apostle, Peter, addressed this: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to live the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). The door had been opened for Paul to speak about his faith.

 

The second is reflected in how he closed his testimony. Paul wasn’t seeking to win an argument or a debate; his sole desire was for Agrippa and all who heard him to enjoy the same life-transforming type of experience that had happened in his life.

 

It’s really not very complicated. In essence, all we need to tell others is what Mary Magdalene described in “The Chosen”: “I was one way and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.” Putting it another way, as a friend of mine used to say, it's “one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

The Heart Disease from Which We All Suffer

Health has been on our minds a lot the past few years, hasn’t it? The pandemic sent us retreating into our homes. Now the news media are “encouraging” us with reports of a “triple-demic” – COVID, the flu and another respiratory disease called RSV.

 

Despite these health scares, the number one killer of people isn’t the coronavirus, cancer, stroke, acts of violence, kidney disease, car accidents or the flu. Year to year, the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States and around the world is heart disease. 

 

No wonder: The healthy human heart never takes a break. The American Heart Association says for most adults, between 60 and 100 beats per minute is normal. Let’s say your heart beats on average 70 times per minute. That means it beats 4,200 in one hour; more than 100,000 times in a single day! Extend that over the course of a full year and your magnificent muscle has thumped about 37 million times. Factor in a lifespan of more than 70 years, and your busy heart has been beating more than 2.5 billion times! 

 

I’m thinking about this because it’s my “anniversary.” Sixteen years ago, my heart was actually stopped – for about 40 minutes – replaced by a heart-lung machine during open-heart surgery. I received four bypasses and a new ascending aorta to correct a life-threatening aneurysm. But my heart has been faithfully doing its job ever since, beating well over 500 million times. 

 

I thank the Lord for that, because almost every day we hear or read about people who have suffered serious heart attacks or other forms of heart dysfunction. With how hard and long our hearts work, it’s a marvel that they keep going as long as they do.

 

Regular updates I get from the Heart Association remind me of the grim toll heart disease takes, but a different heart issue every one of us suffers from doesn’t get nearly as much attention. It’s the disease afflicting our spiritual hearts. As Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” The Amplified Bible expands on this stating, “who can understand it fully and know its secret motives?”

 

This isn’t referring to the muscle in our chests that keeps blood coursing through our bodies. It concerns that part of us controlling our feelings, our will and our motivations. As the prophet Jeremiah said, we’re all born with sick hearts spiritually.

 

Jesus Christ addressed this when He said, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

 

He does offer the cure, but as Jesus noted, not everyone is ready to receive it. “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them” (Matthew 13:15). He was quoting almost verbatim from Isaiah 6:9-10.

 

Let me ask you: If a cardiologist or cardiothoracic surgeon informed you that you had a very serious heart condition, but one that could be remedied, would you accept the cure? That’s exactly what I did in 2006, and God was gracious to keep a promise that I had read in Psalm 41:3, “The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.”

 

But even better than that, nearly 30 years earlier the Lord had started to address my spiritual heart condition. This is described in two places in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, including Ezekiel 36:26, where He declares, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

 

In a very real sense, this is exactly what happens when a person is “born again” spiritually, as Jesus termed in John 3:3, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” When that occurs, we experience what we find described in the Old Testament: “The Lord God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul and live” (Deuteronomy 30:6

 

I have not ceased being thankful for my skilled heart surgeon, Dr. Richard Morrison, his surgical team, and the cardiologists who have cared for me since the life-changing day my physical heart was repaired. However, that momentous event still pales in comparison to what the Lord has done in my life spiritually.

 

Hebrews 10:22 says it better than I could: “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” 

Have you had a heart checkup – especially if you’re advancing in years? I can’t recommend that strongly enough. But what about your spiritual heart? A “checkup” there is even more urgent. One day, no matter how well we take care of our human hearts, they will stop. But once you receive a new spiritual heart, it’s good for all of eternity! 

Time of Year for Making Old Things New

Did you know spring is like Christmas? In their own ways, they’re both a “most wonderful time of the year.” Springtime brings warmer temperatures; flowers are starting to burst forth; and nature as a whole is emerging from its winter slumbers. It’s a time for renewal, reinvigoration, even rebirth.

 

Before long we’ll be seeing those creatures both curious and wonderful – caterpillars – crawly little critters aspiring to become something bigger, brighter and definitely more beautiful: Butterflies. What an amazing thing: a fuzzy creature slinking slowly along the ground that somehow knows how to build a rebirthing chamber called a chrysalis, only to emerge within a few short weeks as something totally different, newly equipped with delicate, colorful wings for flitting from place to place. 

 

This is more than a scientific marvel. It’s a miracle, a profound example of God’s creative capacities. It’s also a glorious metaphor for spiritual truth – God’s grand desire to turn each of us into something totally new, unstained by sin and its consequences. In fact, 2 Corinthians 5:17 puts it this way: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 

 

Sounds like that one-time caterpillar that has wrestled out of its chrysalis, doesn’t it? The difference is, our own transformation spiritually is all God’s doing. We respond to Him by faith, but He’s the change agent. As Jesus Christ told Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). We can’t do that ourselves.

 

It’s a profound mystery, but true nonetheless, that as Galatians 2:16-20 describes it, “…So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law…. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 

Why is this comparison of the lowly caterpillar and humans so important? Because it provides a common but compelling example of how God has worked from the very beginning, first speaking substance out of nothingness, as well as taking the old and broken and restoring it in ways that no longer resemble what was before. In Isaiah 43:18-19 God declares, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing? Now it sprints up; do you not perceive it?” 

 

One doesn’t need to look too hard or too far to observe the sorry, sickly state into which our society has descended. In vain we look for manmade cures. The very best that government or business or philosophy can conjure fall way short of fixing the seemingly unfixable. New laws, innovations and human reasoning seem little more than a Band-Aid for problems that require major surgery for spiritual heart disease.

 

Should we give up in frustration and despair? Not at all, and that’s one reason I believe God created the caterpillar-butterfly metamorphosis. It’s a visible depiction of how He intends to work in each of our lives, if we let Him. 

 

Near the close of the Book of all books, the Lord says, “I am making everything new!... Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true…. It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life” (Revelation 21:5-6).

 

The “new thing” God spoke about thousands of years ago, as recorded by the prophet Isaiah? He’s still doing it. Current residents of a world overwhelmed by so much pain and sorrow, we have the promise of a new world like nothing we’ve known: 

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4).

Any time you’re feeling down in the dumpster, fearing our world is going the wrong place in the proverbial handbasket, just look at a butterfly for a reminder: New things, they are a-comin’! 

Adoption – the Oft-Overlooked Option

This time of the year is very special for our family. The hubbub of the holidays has subsided, and we pause to celebrate the birthdays of several of family members, including two adopted grandsons. It’s an annual reminder of the courageous, selfless decisions of their birth mothers to bring them into this world and then, because they were not able to raise them, to entrust them to loving adoptive parents.

 

In the ongoing “pro-choice/pro-life” debate, often overlooked is the option of adoption, instead of abortion. If we “follow the science,” as we’ve been admonished so many times, we know that inside a pregnant woman’s womb is a living being – a human being – patiently waiting for the time it can enter the world and live without a sustaining lifeline called the umbilical cord. So, despite the arguments, abortion is the taking of a life. 

 

Sadly, many times women become pregnant and are unable or unwilling to take on the responsibility for raising a child – or another child, if they already have one or more. The alternative, some in our society insist, is abortion. But adoption – ironically the juxtaposition of two letters – is the better option, what we could term a win-win, for the birth mom, the baby, and the parents who adopt him or her.

 

Which brings us to our family. In addition to our two adopted grandchildren, we also have a son-in-law, now in his 50s, a highly successful entrepreneur who employs 60-80 people in his businesses, and is devoted to serving hundreds of clients. He’s also the father of two daughters and now the grandfather of a little boy. The lives of many hundreds of people have been positively affected the brave decision of a birth mother whom he was blessed to meet for the first time several years ago.

 

Abortion, therefore, isn’t simply a “personal decision” for a pregnant woman. Taking a long view, it literally is a life-changing decision for countless people, continuing many years into the future. Of course, adoption isn’t a simple, inexpensive option. To adopt a child often carries a cost that could total well into thousands of dollars. But how do you put a price on a life?

 

Rather than writing what might seem like a strident pro-life editorial, I’d like to offer a very different view on adoption – one presented in unequivocal terms in the Bible. Because it states that every person who is a child of God, who has been “born again,” as Jesus explained in John 3:3-8, has been adopted by the Lord.

 

Romans 8:15 declares, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom you cry out, ‘Abba, Father’” [literally, “Daddy.”] Eight verses later we read, “…even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”

 

The apostle Paul writes more about this elsewhere, as in Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

 

Perhaps the strongest statement of all is found in Ephesians 1:4-5, which declares, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”

 

Earlier I mentioned the considerable expense of adopting a human child. But that cost, however high, could never approach what it cost God the Father to adopt us as His spiritual children. Romans 5:8 states, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

 

To make provision for our adoption as His children cost the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus Christ. So that Paul could write in Ephesians 1:7-8, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.”

 

Across our nation, many thousands of childless couples would love to have the opportunity and blessing of adopting an unwanted child. Many other families with children would generously open their homes to adopt additional children. If only we could hear that option explained and advocated more often as this great social debate continues.

 

From the moment each of our grandsons was welcomed into our family and adopted, our lives were changed forever. Now we can’t imagine what our lives would be like without them. And for the birth mothers, they had the peace of mind knowing they had made the right sacrifice, seeing to it that the infants they carried into this world would grow up in safe, loving homes.

But even more, think of the countless men, women, and children whom God longs to adopt – for all eternity – because of the priceless sacrifice He has already made. If you’re reading this, you’re probably already spiritually oriented. But the question every one of us must answer is, “Have I been adopted? Have I truly accepted God’s invitation to become a member of His everlasting family?” If not, this could become the day of your own adoption! 

Vantage Points: Always Important to Consider

Promotional poster for
"Vantage Point"

Back in 2008, a film called “Vantage Point” was produced, a political action thriller about an assassination attempt on a public figure, viewed through the eyes of a collection of characters. The film, according to Wikipedia, “recounts a series of events which are re-enacted from several different perspectives and viewpoints to reveal a truthful account of what happened.”

It’s been years since I viewed “Vantage Point,” but I do recall seeing the initial viewpoint presented and arriving at one conclusion. My judgment changed with each successive perspective that was shown. It’s often said that seeing is believing, but evidently, seeing isn’t always perceiving correctly.

 

This is evident these days with the cyber-flood of smartphone videos capturing countless events and incidents: Shoppers clashing over use of virus-protective facemasks in stores and public places. Natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, or huge explosions. Tighten-your-seatbelts car chases. It seems every time an act of suspected law enforcement misconduct takes place, someone’s recording it. One angle doesn't always tell the whole story.

 

In other ways, we’ve all seen evidence of how vantage points can affect judgment. In football games, players are sometimes assessed illegal roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties because an official didn’t see how an opposing player instigated the response. Four people could stand at different corners of a busy intersection, witness an accident, and come up with seemingly conflicting details. Or maybe we’ve taken the side of a friend or family member in an angry dispute, until we learned about the other side of the story.

 

But there’s another vantage points advantage. They can give us a fuller, more comprehensive account, even when the facts presented are in agreement.

 

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of hearing – and even writing – the testimonies of hundreds of men and women, stories about how God invaded their lives and transformed them forever. In many cases, specifics were very different from how the Lord has worked in my life. However, it was clear they were talking about the same God that I worship and serve; the result was to broaden my own understanding and appreciation for the many ways He can touch lives and alter them for eternity.

 

The Bible itself is a prime example of how different vantage points can provide a more complete picture. Comprised of 66 books, written by about 40 different authors over a span of thousands of years, it gives amazing depth and breadth for learning about the relationship between the Lord and His people. Unique vantage points about the same God. 

 

Take the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, for example. Each gives an account of the life of Jesus Christ and His followers, basically the same story from very distinctive vantage points. We find the Beatitudes, part of Jesus’ “sermon on the mount,” in both Matthew (chapters 5-7) and Luke (chapter 6), but they are not included in the other two gospels. 

 

Only the gospel of John gives us the amazing account of Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus, a leader of the Pharisees. This passage provides two of His most profound statements, “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3), and the one even many non-believers have heard, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

 

Each of the gospels has an account of Peter denying Christ three times as He was undergoing a trial on trumped-up charges prior to His crucifixion. However, only Luke reports a small but extremely significant detail: “Immediately [after the third denial], while (Peter) was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ So Peter went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:60-62).

 

The other three gospels don’t include a mention of Jesus looking directly at Peter at that moment, but it’s important because near the end of the gospel of John, we see a moving scene where Jesus dramatically restores Peter – in effect, erasing each of Peter’s three denials. 

 

Three times Jesus asks him, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” (John 21:15-17), and each time Peter replies, “Lord, You know that I love You.” Without saying the specific words, “Peter, I forgive you,” Jesus replies successively, “Feed My lambs…. Tend My sheep…. Feed My sheep.”

 

Why do we see variations from one gospel narrative to another? Because their purpose is not to supply verbatim repetition. Also because, while divinely inspired, God allowed the personalities, perspectives – and vantage points – of each gospel author to be represented.

 

The Lord could have given us much, much more. It’s inconceivable that all there is to know about Jesus Christ could be captured in just four gospels, or even the entirety of the Scriptures. As the last of the gospels closes, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen” (John 21:25). 

 

But the Scriptures provide us with many vantage points. And from these, we can discover all we need to know. 

The Original ‘Nick at Nite’

This was the "Nick@Nite" logo
used by the Nickelodeon Channel,
2002-2006.

Have you or your kids ever watched “Nick@Nite,” programs broadcast in the evening by the Nickelodeon cable channel? It features syndicated series, children’s-oriented films and some original programming. We rarely watch it, unless one of our grandkids is visiting, but did you know there was another “Nick at night” about 2,000 years ago?

This “Nick” was Nicodemus, a member of the Pharisees, the Jewish ruling council, in the days of Jesus. In an amazing encounter recounted in the gospel of John (chapter 3:1-21), Nicodemus went to see Jesus at night, under the cover of darkness, presumably so he would not be observed by his peers and open to their ridicule. This evening interaction revealed a foundational spiritual truth.

Nicodemus kicked off the conversation by stating, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” As He so often did, Jesus responded in a very unexpected way, answering a question the Pharisee had not even asked: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” 

The religious leader’s first inclination might have been to do a double-take, thinking something like, “Huh? What?” But then he asked, “How can a man be born when he is old?... Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus quickly explained He was not referring to physical birth, but rather spiritual renewal and transformation.

“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear the sound but cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:5-8).

In 1976, in the days leading up to the Presidential election, then-candidate Jimmy Carter brought the term, “born again Christian,” into mainstream consciousness when he gave an interview in the most unlikely of places, Playboy magazine. Over the decades since then, “born again” has been used – and misused – countless times. But there’s no mistaking what Jesus meant during his interaction with Nicodemus.

He wasn’t referring to a simple change of thinking, attitude or philosophy. Neither was Jesus insisting upon the adoption of a new ideology or belief system. He was introducing “Nick” – and us – to a fundamental principle of the Christian faith. We can’t have a genuine, life-changing relationship with God without being born again spiritually. 

In Ephesians 2:1-25, we’re told, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient…. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ….” In another letter, the apostle Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

Grasping this truth, this reality, has been transforming for me, as I suspect it was for Nicodemus, who later became one of Jesus’ devoted followers. Being a person who does checklists and enjoys crossing off my “to-do’s,” I had been trying “to do” the Christian life, with very little success – but much frustration. Sometimes I still forget, or get distracted and fall back into my old “I can do this myself” habits. Then the Lord reminds me of what He said elsewhere, “apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

I know I’ve written about this before, but I remember how long it took for this truth to really sink in. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). I can’t overstate how freeing it has been to “get it,” knowing that it’s not about what I can do for the Lord, but rather, what He wants to do in me and through me. Understanding this makes all the difference, every minute of every day!