THE SAME WORD OF GOD (Hab. 1:1-4, 2:1-4, Psalm 119:137-144, 2 Thess. 1:3-12, Luke 19:1-10) Have you ever felt like you were a contestant on a TV game show and had to make a choice between 2 answers in order to survive; when both answers seemed to be the right answer? Game shows have always been a staple of television programming. While today they have become quite elaborate – whether being filmed in exotic locations that test survival skills, relational fidelity and the like, or locking people up together to see who comes out on top – in the early years of television the sets, the tasks and the payoffs were much more modest. One of my favorites, running from 1956 through 1967 was “To Tell the Truth.” Three contestants, all claiming to be the same person, were brought on stage and an affidavit was read about the person’s identity. Celebrity panelists (Kitty Carlisle, Ralph Bellamy, and Tom Poston) then asked questions of the contestants to determine which of the contestants were lying and which one was telling the truth. The panelists then voted for the contestant he or she believed to be the person described in the affidavit. After each vote was recorded Bud Collier (and later Garry Moore) would say: “will the real John Doe please stand up.” Our Scripture readings, while not part of a game show, are caught up in a struggle to determine who, or what is real and can be trusted. The Psalmist compared the righteousness of God as revealed in the Law with his surrounding culture and determined that even though his strong stance of faith would cost him (because of the opinions of those influential members of the surrounding community who disagreed with him), he would hold securely to God’s statutes and prayed for more understanding that he might continue to live by them. Habakkuk, wrestling with questions of justice, righteousness and faith as they impacted his existence, finally determined that God really is in charge, and even though his actions seemed unjust and unfair, he must wait on the Lord and trust this God who chose to act contrary to the way Habakkuk thought he should. The Thessalonians, encouraged by the apostle Paul that their faith was indeed growing, were trying to hold on to a holy lifestyle in the midst of a sinful world, by holding firm to the testimony they had previously received from Paul. While it is true that Paul’s encouragement had some elements that we would call “negative” today, Paul was passing on to them the truth that he had received from his study of Scripture by the Holy Spirit – “those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus… Will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord” (a very pronounced aspect of God’s Word that we don’t like to think about, because we have a hard time reconciling the concepts of judgment and love). But even though our modern way of thinking struggles with these concepts, the ancients didn’t seem to have the same confusion, for they knew that it was the same Word of God, that was handed down to them from godly men, that calls us all to put away sinful actions and live under God’s righteous standards of behavior. Because of this the Thessalonians were being challenged to continue to make a choice to live in such a way that their every act would be prompted by faith in Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of God’s will in his Word. All of these Scriptures portray God’s people at a crossroad of faith. The Psalmist, Habakkuk and the Thessalonians were all in a position to choose between the truths they had been taught through Scripture, the traditions handed down to them through the ages, and the current culture’s idea of right and wrong. In their own way, they were each seeking truth through God’s Word, and in doing so, were asking the real Word of God to please stand up. All of these Scripture passages are insights into the seeking heart that God has created in each one of us. A heart that grows stronger or weaker in its seeking depending upon whether we continue in our seeking and depending upon the object of our seeking. The story of Zacchaeus is the quintessential story of seeking in the New Testament and, I believe, was included by Luke to illustrate the reality of repentance and redemption for all who will not “just follow along with the crowd,” but will seek after truth and put their trust in Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life!” As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem he passed through Jericho, where the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus, a very wealthy man, sought him out. Since Zacchaeus was a short man and the gathered crowds lining the road were so thick that he couldn’t get through them, he kept seeking a way to see Jesus. Whether it was his curiosity that was aroused or he was really seeking some spiritual benefit, Zacchaeus was relentless – climbing a tree when all else failed. When Jesus saw him and the hunger in his eyes, he invited himself to be a guest at Zacchaeus’ house. We know this story has been shortened, because in verse 7 we see the people wondering why Jesus would ever be the guest of a “sinner” and then verse 8 tells us that Zacchaeus stood up and proclaimed his change of heart. While we don’t know what Jesus said to him or what transpired between the time he climbed down out of the tree and the time he stood (presumably in his own house) to speak of his repentance, we do know that his lifestyle and his whole purpose for living began an “about face” by his encounter with Jesus – an encounter that brought the full force of the Jewish law into play. We know this because the restitution he promised for his sinful behavior is the same as required by the Law of Moses for extortion and theft (4 times the amount taken). Zacchaeus was faced with a dilemma, much like that of the Psalmist, Habakkuk and the Thessalonians. He could follow the current culture and make his lifestyle choices based on how he felt about things, the reports of the influential, and what he wanted and wished were true about God’s dealings with humanity, or he could embrace the truth of God’s word, found through his encounter with Jesus. We don’t have the luxury of Jesus Christ coming to be a guest in our house in the flesh (sitting down with us to explain what God intended), but we do have the written word of God in the Law, the Prophets, the Wisdom writings, the Gospels and the Epistles of those who have handed down to us what God has commanded of all who would be his disciples. And like Zacchaeus, Habakkuk, the Psalmist and the Thessalonians we have a choice to make concerning where the authority for how we live our lives and what we believe about God resides. On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther faced the same kind of decision when he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. Would he go along with current church culture that had degenerated to accept all kinds of practices that the Scriptures forbade, No! He took his stand on the written Word of God that alone is “able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 3:15). At 25 years of age in 1535 John Calvin, because he could no longer countenance a church that neglected the clear teachings of Scripture, escaped certain death at the hands of that same church by fleeing his home in France to find a refuge in Switzerland where he could freely preach the Word of God. After sitting under the teaching of Calvin while in religious exile from his Scottish home, John Knox brought this same passion for the Word of God back to Scotland at the risk of his life and established the Presbyterian Church. And we have joined this illustrious group of believers by declaring we can no longer live under the authority of those who reject the Holy Scriptures as being the very Word of God and advocate practices and beliefs that are foreign to God’s revealed will in the Scriptures. I don’t know if we are in the beginnings of a new Reformation or not, but I truly believe that as we give ourselves to study and follow the same Word of God that our forebears in the faith stood their ground and offered their very lives to follow, we will continue to walk in the blessings of God through our Lord Jesus Christ! Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Zacchaeus, Habakkuk, the Psalmist, the Thessalonians, and faithful Christians throughout the history of the Church have all taken the same stand on the same Word of God, handed down to us from faithful men who heard from God and passed it on to us, as our only standard of faith and practice. We, like those who have gone before us, must continue to be seekers of God in Jesus Christ, through the same Scriptures that faithful believers in Jesus Christ have always believed to be God’s Word. Why do we believe the things we believe about Jesus Christ? We believe them because they have been handed down to us through the written Word of God. Apart from a few obscure references to Jesus in the secular literature of his day (remember, Jesus was considered to be an un-noteworthy itinerate preacher by the great theologians, religious leaders and historians of his time; so little was written of him, except by those who believed). All we know about Jesus Christ is found in Holy Scripture, which as the Letter to the Hebrews says, “was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will”; and made it real to us through a personal encounter with Him through the Holy Spirit. These same Scriptures, this same Word of God also calls us to fellowship at the table of Jesus Christ and reminds us of the truth that Jesus died for our sins; not to say that it is now OK to hang on to our sins and re-label them as insignificant or as a gift from God, but to deliver us from the power of sin and lead us into all righteousness in Jesus Christ as testified to in Holy Scripture. As we begin our celebration of the Lord’s Supper, I want you to think about the words we pray and speak – all based on what Scripture has taught us about Jesus and about God’s commands – and make your personal choice of what you will do with this same Word of God that has been faithfully handed down to us by those who heard the Lord speak, to enable us to believe and to tell the truth from God’s perspective, even when it’s unpopular to do so.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 15:13:18 +0000
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