Vain Repetition in Prayer

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.

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.

Discerning God's Will

Question:

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

Does the Bible give conflicting advice on answering fools?

Question:

In Proverbs 26:4-5 the Bible gives conflicting advice as to whether you should answer a fool or not. Could you explain?

Answer:

First, let’s clearly set forth the problem by citing the texts in question:

Proverbs 26:4-5:

4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.

5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
or he will be wise in his own eyes.

Bible critics cite this as a particularly disturbing example of the Bible speaking out of “both sides of its mouth.” Is this a glaring contradiction in the Bible?

It is important that we bear in mind that Proverbs is not exclusively written by Solomon. Solomon writes many of the Proverbs himself, but the Proverbs are largely an edited collection. So, there are numerous uncited authors and Solomon is drawing from their works and arranging them into a single compilation of wisdom literature. That means that it was quite intentional that these two proverbs with conflicting counsel would appear right next to each other. This is not an “accidental error” but an intentional conflict.

Before resolving the conflict, let’s make sure we understand each proverb in its own right. Verse 4 teaches us that in responding to every statement of a fool you lower yourself to his level and give him more credibility than he deserves. I am reminded of the foolish man from the tribe of Benjamin, Shimei, mentioned in 2 Samuel 16. Shimei, a member of King Saul’s family, resented David’s rule and cursed him repeatedly. Shimei cursed David, and threw stones at him and even through dung at him. One of David’s generals wanted to kill Shimei. But David chose to ignore him, and even ponder whether the Lord had some purpose in Shimei’s foolish rants and raves.

Verse 5 tells us to answer a fool…cut him down to size or he will be puffed up and may even gain influence. I am reminded of the boxing legend Cassius Clay. He had amazing speed, accuracy and strength. We know him better by the name he used later in his career, Muhammad Ali. Near the end of his boxing career, Ali began to lose much of his hand speed and some of his strength. So, he developed a strategy to weaken his opponent. Ali would stay against the ropes and cover up and let his opponent punch him until his arms got tired. He called it, “Rope a dope.” For a while it worked, but Ali took great punishment and ultimately suffered severe brain damage. The problem with “Rope a Dope” is sometimes the dope doesn’t get tired of hitting you. When the abuse reaches a certain level, it becomes necessary to answer a fool and stop the abuse. I found a very balanced statement in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary:

"-in negligible issues one should just ignore the stupid person; but in issues that matter, he must be dealt with lest credence be given to what he says (Plaut, p. 266) The text presents two sayings together that each contain an aspect of the whole truth. Whybray says they are put together to show that human problems are often complicated and cannot always be solved by appealing to a single rule (Book of Proverbs, p. 152). The meaning of the two together is that one should not lower himself to the level of a fool but that there are times when the lesser evil is to speak out than be silent."

Although it appears as a contradiction, Solomon is actually presenting two sides of a coin, and both sides are a valuable part of God’s counsel in dealing with fools.

History and Culture of the Bible

Question:

How can I gain a better understanding of the history and culture of the Bible?

Answer:

Here are a few suggestions on better understanding the history and culture of the biblical texts.

1. The classical book on this topic is Alfred Edersheim's "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah." (1883) Edersheim was a Jewish convert to Christianity and his insights are amazing. A big book and not an easy read, but a great resource.

2. Here is a fun read, a historical novel entitled "The Flames of Rome" by Paul L. Maier. It is a real page turner, but in the process you learn an incredible amount about the first century church. Maier also has a book about Pontius Pilate that I plan on reading.

3. If you want to delve into a more ancient resource, Flavius Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews will tell you numerous extrabiblical stories about the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes who were the major Jewish groups of Jesus' day. You will also learn about the intertestamental period, those years between Malachi and Matthew during which Alexander the Great conquered the world. The story of Hannukah is told here. Not easy reading, but an amazing resource.

4. Let me put the cookies on a lower shelf. I gain great insight by reading the commentaries of David Guzik of Calvary Chapel. They are available online http://www.enduringword.com/library_commentaries.htm Guzik has written a commentary on most of the biblical books and often shares historical and cultural insights. Best of all, it's free!

5. If you want another easy way to gain a better understanding of the first century Roman world, rent the BBC series "I Claudius" which tells the story of the Roman Emperors. It is based upon the accounts of the ancient Roman historian Suetonius. However, it is a fun series to watch, and a real education.

Can something I do prevent someone from coming to know Christ?

Question:

I heard an illustration during a sermon I was listening to the other day. It describes a lighthouse keeper who was repairing a piece of glass that broke. He did not have a replacement for the glass so in the place of where the glass would go we put a piece of plywood. During the night a ship was appraoching at just the right angle to where the light was blocked by the piece of plywood and the ship crashed into the reef. He used this describe how some things in our life could block out the light of Christ to others and cause them to crash. This illustration got me thinking. Could something I do or a mistake I make prevent someone from coming to know Christ that would have had they never been affected my my mistake or something I did?

Answer:

There is a reason that you are conflicted about this issue. God's Word does include a tension at this point. On the one hand, it is clear in Scripture that our behavior can negatively impact the spiritual well-being of others. One of the clearest examples of this is found in Matthew 18:

⁴Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. ⁶But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. (Matthew 18)

We also see that we can positively impact the spiritual well-being of another:

¹⁹My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, ²⁰remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5)

We are even responsible for addressing the missteps of others and told that if we fail to issue a warning, others may die, but we are responsible. Look at the watchman passages in Ezekiel chapters 3, 18 and 33.

Now that you are afraid to go outside and mess someone up royally, let's look at the other side of the issue. Let's not forget that God is involved in drawing sinners to himself. Romans 5:8 asserts the priority of Jesus in drawing us to God:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

One of my favorite passages is found in John 6. I love this passage because it demonstrates both sides of redemption's coin, God's sovereignty and man's responsibility and choice:

⁴³"Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered. ⁴⁴"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

We see both here. God draws, but we have a responsibility to listen and learn.

Now, let me answer the breadth of your question. Could you injure a seeker's journey towards God by some act of hypocrisy that "darkens" their soul to the light of Christ? YES. That is a sobering thought which we need to keep in mind. However, don't assume that you are the only way in which God will influence this person. It has been found that the typical person rejects the gospel invitation, either actively or passively 5 times before saying yes to Christ. If your witness is ineffective due to sin, or just a lack of knowledge, God will raise up other voices. No sincere seeker will be left without an opportunity, especially for us in this land where we are exposed to the gospel on so many levels.

Is it true that God never gives us more than we can handle?

Question: A common christian saying is "God never gives you more than you can handle". Some may use 1 Corinthians 10:13 to support this idea, but this verse is talking about temptation. Is this saying correct? Is there scripture to support this saying?

Don't dismiss this verse too quickly as only referring to temptation. In our language, the concepts of trial and temptation are quite different. However, in the Greek language, there is a word which has a very broad range of meaning. We don't have a word in English with this broad semantic range of meaning. The word is peirasmos (πειρασμός). Peirasmos can mean either trial or temptation. In fact, in James 1:12-13 we see this same word used in both senses:

JAS 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

JAS 1:13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

My conclusion is that 1 Corinthians 10:13 can refer to a variety of challenges, since peirasmos is used in a very broad sense throughout the New Testament.