Question:
After reading Mat. 6:7-9 I am confused as to how I should pray. Could you please clarify.
Answer:
There is an important context here. The Pharisees encouraged lengthy prayers. Dave Guzik shares the following quote:
“Rabbi Levi said, ‘Whoever is long in prayer is heard.’ Another saying has it: ‘Whenever the righteous make their prayer long, their prayer is heard.’”
Scripture is at variance with this attitude.Ecclesiastes 5:2 shares these words which are the inspiration of an often sung worship song:
Ecclesiastes 5:2: God is in heaven, and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.
The word "vain" indicates that which is empty or purposeless. Thus, vain repetition is when we are speaking because we enjoy the sound of our own voice.
Jesus own prayer, intended to be an example of how to pray, shows a great economy with words. I think Jesus is teaching us something about God. Our Heavenly Father knows what we need before we pray. We don't need to exhaustively explain our needs. There is a danger that is especially prevalent in corporate prayers: sometimes we are praying for the people in the room rather than talking to God. Brief prayers are often more humble and reflect our faith in the omniscience of God.
The great prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon once said, “Christians’ prayers are measured by weight, and not by length. Many of the most prevailing prayers have been as short as they were strong.”
Hope these reflections help you to sort out the exhortation in Matthew 6.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Are there different levels of sin?
Question:
Are there different levels of sin, or is all sin the same?
Answer:
The confusion to this is actually a result of the fact that there are differing perspectives in the Word of God. The difference is not an inconsistency, but rather a matter of theme. When addressing the question from God's perspective, God's Word emphasizes a leveling off. For example, in Isaiah 64, the prophet says:
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
The Hebrew text is most graphic. The filthy rags are actually menstrual rags...that is the image that God paints of man's righteousness. God is not teaching that he despises righteousness. That would be an odd message given the fact that the Bible continually calls us to righteous living. Rather, God is dealing with the attempt to earn salvation. When it comes to earning our way into heaven, our very best still falls woefully short.
So, from God's perspective all sin is the same with regard to the gaining of salvation. However, from man's perspective, there are differences that matter.
In Numbers 15:30-31 we read:
30 ”‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people. 31 Because he has despised the LORD’s word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.’”
In the Hebrew, the word translated "defiantly" is actually a phrase, "byad ramah" which means with a "high hand." The image is the person who sins purposefully, with his hand clenched and raised against heaven. There is no sacrifice in the Law of Moses to atone for such a sin. The only path back is the kind of repentance David shows after his sin with Bathsheba:
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51)
In 1 Corinthians 6, the apostle Paul makes a distinction between sexual sin and other types of sin:
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Notice that Paul is not saying that sexual sin is "worse" from God's perspective. However, he says that in a unique way it is damaging to us personally...it can tear us apart and tear others apart as well. Ask any family that has gone through an affair or a divorce and this thesis is proved.
Jesus described his own "high handed sin." He categorized the sin against the Holy Spirit as unpardonable (Matthew 12, Mark 3). In a similar vein, the author of Hebrews gives one of the most sober warnings in all the Bible.
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10)
These are difficult texts, but they do make it clear that there are certain sins which are particularly deadening to the soul. In Exodus we see that after Pharaoh hardened his heart several times, God further hardened Pharaoh's heart. It would seem that some sins are especially harmful to us both physically and spiritually.
So what is the conclusion? From God's perspective all sin is fatal. From man's perspective certain sins are more damaging than others. However, the answer to all sin is the grace of God, who takes the first and most important step, and the repentance of man, by which we receive God's atoning sacrifice.
Are there different levels of sin, or is all sin the same?
Answer:
The confusion to this is actually a result of the fact that there are differing perspectives in the Word of God. The difference is not an inconsistency, but rather a matter of theme. When addressing the question from God's perspective, God's Word emphasizes a leveling off. For example, in Isaiah 64, the prophet says:
5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
you were angry.
How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
The Hebrew text is most graphic. The filthy rags are actually menstrual rags...that is the image that God paints of man's righteousness. God is not teaching that he despises righteousness. That would be an odd message given the fact that the Bible continually calls us to righteous living. Rather, God is dealing with the attempt to earn salvation. When it comes to earning our way into heaven, our very best still falls woefully short.
So, from God's perspective all sin is the same with regard to the gaining of salvation. However, from man's perspective, there are differences that matter.
In Numbers 15:30-31 we read:
30 ”‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people. 31 Because he has despised the LORD’s word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.’”
In the Hebrew, the word translated "defiantly" is actually a phrase, "byad ramah" which means with a "high hand." The image is the person who sins purposefully, with his hand clenched and raised against heaven. There is no sacrifice in the Law of Moses to atone for such a sin. The only path back is the kind of repentance David shows after his sin with Bathsheba:
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51)
In 1 Corinthians 6, the apostle Paul makes a distinction between sexual sin and other types of sin:
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Notice that Paul is not saying that sexual sin is "worse" from God's perspective. However, he says that in a unique way it is damaging to us personally...it can tear us apart and tear others apart as well. Ask any family that has gone through an affair or a divorce and this thesis is proved.
Jesus described his own "high handed sin." He categorized the sin against the Holy Spirit as unpardonable (Matthew 12, Mark 3). In a similar vein, the author of Hebrews gives one of the most sober warnings in all the Bible.
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10)
These are difficult texts, but they do make it clear that there are certain sins which are particularly deadening to the soul. In Exodus we see that after Pharaoh hardened his heart several times, God further hardened Pharaoh's heart. It would seem that some sins are especially harmful to us both physically and spiritually.
So what is the conclusion? From God's perspective all sin is fatal. From man's perspective certain sins are more damaging than others. However, the answer to all sin is the grace of God, who takes the first and most important step, and the repentance of man, by which we receive God's atoning sacrifice.
Discerning God's Will
Question:
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I found an excellent devotional on this topic by Rod Best. His devotionals can be found on http://www.rodbest.com. Here are his comments:
DISCERNING GOD'S VOICE
1 Kings.19:12
“11The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”
Elijah was expecting God to speak in a certain way. Do we think God speaks when we see Him display His awesome power? God may speak this way but usually He speaks in ways that aren’t the obvious – we can miss what He is saying. If we expect God’s voice and really need His voice,and are diligent in learning how to recognize His voice, He will speak to us regularly and sometimes in amazing ways that are unexpected to us.
Besides God, there are at least three other voices that speak to us - the voice of our emotions, the voice of darkness, i.e, the enemy, the voice that comes through the pressure we feel from family, friends and others. This raises the question – “How do you know when the voice is God’s and not another’s?”
Get To Know Him Intimately
It is one thing to know what God does, but another to understand How he works. We understand Him as we know Him intimately. We will only hear Him speak to us as we spend time with Him and we don’t have to have any special gifting or special anointing for God to speak to us apart from getting to know Him and stilling our hearts before Him. All He requires is that we listen and are obedient.
How Does God Speak To Us?
God speaks to us through: 1) Scripture (Rom. 10:17); 2) Fervent Prayer; 3) His Audible Voice; 4) Circumstances; 5) Our Thoughts; 6) Dreams and Visions; 7) People He sends into your life.
Ask these questions:
i) Have I prayed for God to speak to me? We have not because we ask not – look to our own reasoning.
ii) Am I willing to obey God's message no matter what? - It is no use asking God if you’ve already decided in your mind what you are going to do.
iii) Am I open to all means by which God may speak to me? - including Him speaking through those I don’t wish to hear from.
iv) Have I removed any barriers that would hinder me from hearing God? - These include:
a) Certain attitudes or insecurities - When God told Moses to go to Pharaoh, Moses told God to find somebody else for the job. (Ex 3:11). Ever do that? Ever say to God, “What about my past failures? Or my inexperience? Or my lack of finances? Or my present circumstances?;
b) Distractions – caught up with the unimportant. talking to someone but they aren’t listening because they are pre-occupied;
c) Not hearing Him because He is speaking more than we want to hear - Jonah didn’t like what God told him, so he ran away. Are you doing that?;
d) Ignorance of the varied ways in which He speaks;
e) Just as happy to hear from God’s servants than from God Himself - An example is in Exodus 20:19 where the Children of Israel indicate they are happier to hear from Moses than they are from God. V19 says “And said to Moses, Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” We often listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to tapes and sermons or testimonies from others, but we don’t take the time for God Himself to speak to us. This can be the easy way out – because we are too busy, or because we know that when God speaks, we must die to certain things in our lives that we don’t want to die to. If it is one of God’s servants speaking, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative.
Conclusion
God is as close as our cry to Him – He says “Call unto Me and I will answer Thee........" Do you know Him intimately enough to hear His voice, and if not, what are you doing to change the situation? Are you cultivating your spiritual ears to hear God’s voice? When you have heard from God, will you be a doer of His Word?
Rod Best
How do I discern God’s voice or the voice of the Holy Spirit from my own thoughts? I’m thinking practice but I’m wondering if any scripture addresses this….Thanks!Answer:
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I found an excellent devotional on this topic by Rod Best. His devotionals can be found on http://www.rodbest.com. Here are his comments:
DISCERNING GOD'S VOICE
1 Kings.19:12
“11The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.”
Elijah was expecting God to speak in a certain way. Do we think God speaks when we see Him display His awesome power? God may speak this way but usually He speaks in ways that aren’t the obvious – we can miss what He is saying. If we expect God’s voice and really need His voice,and are diligent in learning how to recognize His voice, He will speak to us regularly and sometimes in amazing ways that are unexpected to us.
Besides God, there are at least three other voices that speak to us - the voice of our emotions, the voice of darkness, i.e, the enemy, the voice that comes through the pressure we feel from family, friends and others. This raises the question – “How do you know when the voice is God’s and not another’s?”
Get To Know Him Intimately
It is one thing to know what God does, but another to understand How he works. We understand Him as we know Him intimately. We will only hear Him speak to us as we spend time with Him and we don’t have to have any special gifting or special anointing for God to speak to us apart from getting to know Him and stilling our hearts before Him. All He requires is that we listen and are obedient.
How Does God Speak To Us?
God speaks to us through: 1) Scripture (Rom. 10:17); 2) Fervent Prayer; 3) His Audible Voice; 4) Circumstances; 5) Our Thoughts; 6) Dreams and Visions; 7) People He sends into your life.
Ask these questions:
i) Have I prayed for God to speak to me? We have not because we ask not – look to our own reasoning.
ii) Am I willing to obey God's message no matter what? - It is no use asking God if you’ve already decided in your mind what you are going to do.
iii) Am I open to all means by which God may speak to me? - including Him speaking through those I don’t wish to hear from.
iv) Have I removed any barriers that would hinder me from hearing God? - These include:
a) Certain attitudes or insecurities - When God told Moses to go to Pharaoh, Moses told God to find somebody else for the job. (Ex 3:11). Ever do that? Ever say to God, “What about my past failures? Or my inexperience? Or my lack of finances? Or my present circumstances?;
b) Distractions – caught up with the unimportant. talking to someone but they aren’t listening because they are pre-occupied;
c) Not hearing Him because He is speaking more than we want to hear - Jonah didn’t like what God told him, so he ran away. Are you doing that?;
d) Ignorance of the varied ways in which He speaks;
e) Just as happy to hear from God’s servants than from God Himself - An example is in Exodus 20:19 where the Children of Israel indicate they are happier to hear from Moses than they are from God. V19 says “And said to Moses, Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” We often listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to tapes and sermons or testimonies from others, but we don’t take the time for God Himself to speak to us. This can be the easy way out – because we are too busy, or because we know that when God speaks, we must die to certain things in our lives that we don’t want to die to. If it is one of God’s servants speaking, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative.
Conclusion
God is as close as our cry to Him – He says “Call unto Me and I will answer Thee........" Do you know Him intimately enough to hear His voice, and if not, what are you doing to change the situation? Are you cultivating your spiritual ears to hear God’s voice? When you have heard from God, will you be a doer of His Word?
Rod Best
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