“Can’t complain” is an answer to “How are you?” but complaints are not sinful. What we complain about tends to be slight and part of the common experience. We hear human parents saying they love us but we are not so sure they do when we experience their resolute attempts to change our life’s course. In hindsight we can be shocked at our rush to grow up in the natural world but we know how much safety there can be when we hold ourselves open to parental discipline.

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; (4). and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; (5)

Hebrews 12:4-5

We are all eager to grow up partly because we long for freedom and independence, but we also do not want to grow up because parents are our natural safety net.

Go slap that kid – worse is likely to happen if you don’t.

There is value in childlike attitudes of dependence in the spiritual world without regard to how old we are or how advanced our journey is. While we naturally and legally disengage from parental discipline in the natural world there is no end of discipline in the spiritual world. It is certain that divine discipline will shock us but when we are oriented towards God as children we will also be convinced that we could not be safer.

The practice of learning by repeating may seem like the way to make God’s will a part of a person’s talk and walk.  After all that is how humans learn most things.  A person can wear the designated swag, eat the uncommon food, observe the cyclical memorials,  and provide the evidence of correct behaviour in all of life’s circumstances and still have a heart that is at arms length from God’s will.  In the few decades that I have been allowed to observe religious developments I have seen that it does not take long for lies  to become the truth.  Internal deceit is a thing we were born with so it comes quite naturally for humans to find lies attractive and easy for us to latch on to even the most outrageous falsehoods.

Insight from the Bible.

I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders.

Psalms 26:4

Psalms 26:4 seems to connect deceit with hypocrisy, but hypocrisy and hypoctite are not textually prominent.

Cleansing the holy should be taken as a joke

He shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the impurities of the sons of Israel and because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting which abides with them in the midst of their impurities.

Leviticus 16:16

Pretending and role plays are not joking matters. It is how we learn. If we taught today – in 2021 – that a man could redeem his life with the life of a lamb, goat, or bull, people would laugh us out of town, and we would be known as the people who are not worth much. However, when the people who hold your life in their hands tell you that the thing to do when you have violated the law is to bring an animal (get one if you do not own one) what is a guy to do?

A virulent version of vileness

How long have Christians been saying that physical healing is part of being adopted into God’s family? A few years at most.  There is no way that Christ endured the cross – stripes, bloodshed –  to arrange for a benefit that can be achieved by purely human means.  If there are illnesses that Christ atoned for those conditions would be the ones for which humanity has no remedy.  The cancers, heart failures, loss of limbs, and even aging would be the logical targets for divine relief.

No such treatment by the Holy Spirit has ever been attested. The Christians I know are not turning down health insurance or avoiding medical practitioners.  Would not putting distance between us and those agencies be the course to take?  If someone set up a clinic in your neighbourhood offering to forgive all of a person’s sins, give people new hearts, endow a person with supernatural gifts and a daily mental renewing apart from the gospel of Messiah Yeshua that clinic would be a place every believer avoided like the plague.

Cleansing an impure people with animal flesh and blood

for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord.

Leviticus 16:30

As far back as the attempt by evangelical America to impose Christian views on the world apart from a personal salvation experience there has been the use of slogans to dupe people into thinking that the doctrine of Christ can be kidnapped for political purposes.  Christ did not recruit disciples on the basis of the Mosaic economy.  It is through Christ’s own blood and his gift of the Holy Spirit that individuals receive a fully functioning access to the eternal inheritance.  

They raised a question about what the accountable life looks like.  It is a near complete trashing of the facts, namely, that the tree planted by the rivers of water is fruitful and prospers in all it does.

So who is a true disciple and who is pretending? 

Dealing with sin has no annual cycle, no effective human component, no animal currency  and no repeat saving act.  Christ died all by himself without any help from apostle, disciple, judge or prophet. It is pure deceit to propose (a) that the human heart apart from God’s grace has the capacity to recognize God’s offer of salvation and adoption or (b) that any human has the will power to choose the way of faith.  Salvation does not come by means of human scrutiny or will power.  It comes by grace through faith.

Why call that salvation?

The foolish Galatian is alive and well in all the movements and doctrines of our times.  It is obvious that for the vast majority the grace that God designed for success is insufficient.   People needing to get their act together so that God can save them, are not saved,  by their own confession.  People who cannot say “I am safe” and “I am a child of God”  are lost in the desert of unbelief.

Trapped in the lobby

The only witnesses who told believers that they needed something additional was James and the Pharisee crew.  They proposed that believing in the Son of God was only a first step.  They argued that people coming to God through faith in Christ needed to be circumcised and observe Mosaic law.  People are still pushing falsehoods like that, thinking it makes them more responsible than other believers. Abraham had statutes and judgments (who does not?) but he had no law and priesthood.  His life was dominated by a promise.

There is no law that comes to humanity apart ftom Moses.  There is no salvation apart from the promise of  the  cross. If law could save there was no need for the cross. Life cannot possibly get crazier than for Christian faith to be defined by levitical practice in the second millennium after the crucifixion. Salvation is unequivocally Jewish and non-Mosaic. All those noisemakers revelling in their obedience to the law are the posterboys for desperately deceitful heart.

The times of Abraham should not surprise us as being relevant to both our understanding and our experience.  There are other times and generations that contribute to the definitions we use to best explain the pillars of the in-Christ journey.  Abraham’s greatest moments come in interactions with his neighbours.  That’s right: nobility shines through in personal relationships.  The bandit kings of Canaan are a particularly riveting component of the patriarch’s seat in life.  In living colour, our era too has its megacities and, you guessed it, bandit kings in the persons of the mayors of large cities. We have reason to believe that the kings of the earth – mayor, governor, president, prime mnister – are destined to conspire against the Nazarene, the King of Israel, until he puts down their farcical dominions.

Itty-bitty kingdoms

Compared to the heads of state in antiquity the kings of Canaan, and even those kings of post-exilic Judah, were spineless boys who never grew up. Clearly we can see that the promised land into which Yahweh guided Abram was not an environment that was ready for civic society in Yahweh’s terms. Four hundred years would pass before Hebrews came from Egypt to enter Canaan, and even then Canaan’s kings were naturally resistant to having their land taken over by newcomers. We can see the nature of the Canaan in the following narrative.

• Four kings allied against five (Genesis 14:1-12)
• MINI-EMPIRE. (1) in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,
• WAR (2) that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). (3). All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
• REBELLION. (4) Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. (5). In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him,
• CONQUESTS. … came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, (6) and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness.
• CONQUESTS. (7). Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar.
• THE CANAANITE CAMPAIGN. (8) And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim, (9) against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar–four kings against five. (10) Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country.
• THE PRIZE – BOOTY. (11). Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed.
• (12) They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.

BIG MISTAKE MESSING WITH ABRAM’S KIN

In our multicultural and cosmopolitan world we like to think of ourselves as well on the way to achieving a healthy environment in our cities especially for the next generation. Every generation that wants to be remembered as wise will make noise about and get into good trouble to contribute to the next generation’s survival. Abram was not about to get mixed up in the alliances and conflicts of his day, but taking Lot (as hostage?) was one step too far on the part of the bandit kings.

The narrative reveals that Abram pursued the robbers and hostage-takers, defeated them and liberated his nephew and property. Abram was dead set against the way of life of his neighbours, so when the kings of Sodom sought to get a share what he thought he had in common with Abram he got the shock of his life. The king of Sodom offers a deal: Abram keeps the goods, and he gets the people.

Abe’s response is the one we need for navigating the routes on which our 21st century bandit-kings operate.

And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.”

Gen. 14:21

Not a thread from you, sir

Is it possible that some of the money in the bank you use are the proceeds of criminal activity and you would still bank there after you recognized the fact? Is it not possible that the bishop you thought was leading you turns out to be merely exploiting you? What keeps a person chained to behave as if secure lives depend on bandit pastors and elected officials of the state? Keeping oneself apart from the filthiness that is in the world is challenging. It should matter that the church’s economy is a separate beast from the secular economy but banditry is happening in the church as it does in the state with many religious hopelessly ensnared.

But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, (Gen. 14:22) that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ (Gen. 14:23) I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.” (Gen. 14:24)

Christians who want to eat at the same table with the worldly powers have no idea how much waste they are going to have to swallow. The mayors and their cities can only serve their master; the gods of wood, stone, and the nation’s laws. Genuine Christians will not be interested in a shoelace from the powers that be, even if we are responsible for the election of the mayor.

The local king of Yeshua’s days did not get so much as a glance from him even though Yeshua was his subject.

And when [Pilate] learned that [Yeshua] belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time. 7) Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. 8) And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing (9).

Luke 23:7-9

So to my brothers and sisters who think that they are on the front lines of the conflict between the kingdoms of light and darkness I say, “Go ahead wth your shallow theories about the cross and the Spirit”; I will avoid the contamination of every ism and make it clear where I stand when God’s business is mentioned. Warnings go unheeded every day, and there is no guarantee that a messenger will be dispatched to repeat the message. If we are interested in the end of the intoxication with the rich and powerful we must banish the way of greed from our domains, and put the rewards of Christian labour on its own pedestal, distinct from the work and proceeds of ordinary labour.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. (Ps. 2:10) ​Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. (Ps. 2:11) ​Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Ps. 2:12)

Ps. 2:12

For how long had Yeshua’s contemporaries been telling themselves that they were Abraham’s descendants?  A very long time.  They could not remember a time when the relationship to Abraham was not a top fact of life and a potent mantra.

Stuffing the stuff we thought was ace

Both Yeshua and his messenger John the Baptist stuffed that notion with the logical conclusion.  The pathways of Abraham’s life set a unique tone.  They wake up the human family to consider  the riches of responsible behavior without personal expertise and knowledge.  This remarkable quality in Abraham flavours the dimensions of his life in Canaan.  It stands in contrast to the life of his descendants in Canaan.   You may say that’s as it should be, but we must then realize that children are required to bear some specific likeness to their ancestors.  We can slide off into thinking that Abraham’s friendships with his Canaanite neighbours are subject to the Mosaic legacy. That is how the us-them reality is fatally flawed.   The  behaviour that deviates from Abraham’s practical community connections is stuffable.

According to Yeshua their murderous intentions proved that they were not Abraham’s descendants even though they could prove their relationship to the patriarch by birth records.  No child of Abraham was going to consent to murder an innocent man. John laid out the idea that family ties were not easily attested.  Yahweh is interested  in children for Abraham who show their readiness to change their minds and who do not suppose that God has no options for raising up children to Abraham, even from stones (Matthew 3:8-9).

Lies from infancy

For how long did they tell themselves that they were keeping the covenant?  Every generation believed that they were privileged to be the guardians of the law and strict observers of divine instruction but the fact that thousands of years after that first camp cleanup (Leviticus 16) the service ended both with their exile and the destruction of the temple. In addition every narrative indicates treachery and resistance to divine instruction.  Moses witnessed the lie at Sinai: “yes, we will do all that Yahweh desires”. Joshua warned that it was not possible to serve Yahweh, but the people insisted that they could.

The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.

Ps. 58:3

None calleth for justice, nor [any] pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

Isa. 59:4

Election vs tyranny

It took a few weeks to whip a mob of Americans into a murderous and destructive force intent on overthrowing the government of the United States. The cold heart of the 45th president came into plain sight as he and a select group of supporters watched television screens of the unfolding attempt to hang his vice-president and execute representatives of the people.   Returning the defected ex-president to office had run the full range of options and then some.

Freedom’s routes

Who cares what Americans do to their national pride?  Are they not a free people? If they want to solemnize canine marriages, let them.  If they want to keep electing senators and representatives who ignore the ravages of a viral pandemic or pretend that their personal racist tendencies and bigoted policies are imaginary, let them. Far too many people have bought the idea that they deserve the right to kill their neighbours even for saying what needs to be said.

Murder and grace in plain sight

2) When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3) Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.

Mark 6:2-3

Matthew 2:2 offers evidence that lies about Yeshua persist: wise men came to Judea at Yeshua’s birth. John 1:49 and 19:21 show that the king of Israel did appear to natives and foreigners.

Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.”

John 1:49

[people] took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.”

John 12:13

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

So the chief priests of the Jews kept saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’”

If someone is doing well all the things the king is expected to do and saying the things that the prophets predicted,  and meets every need of the people and a conspiracy to silence him by asking silly questions fails, there is murder.

Many religious people can  see only themselves as valuable to God and that perspective can only be destructive.  Think of all the separateness of Muslims, Christians,  Jews,  Hindus, and ask yourself how a God supervising the gathering of people from every family into one could possibly approve of the primary interests pursued by the communities where these religious views thrive.

Let me speak to Christians.   God does not approve of misogyny.   Nothing in the Bible stands up a policy of blocking the full participation of women in the faith.

Locked up in a box or on the street

People may have been fascinated by the tabernacle and the temple (many still are) but it did not take long  for the corruption and greed to open the people’s eyes to a family franchise gone wild. The levitical system has no spiritually liberating mechanism. It is stuck on annual cycles and rituals of food and drink.

The first arrangement, in Eden, had one prohibition and we cannot accept the notion that God today holds women responsible for the fallout and bars them from serving him.

Even with this knowledge there are many who want law to be God’s supreme gift, the idea that God is on the street where people who need him most can run into him.

Forgive, please, the madness of people who dress themselves up as the exclusive samples of enlightened humanity. The Jews most definitely had that privilege for the purpose of preserving the record of human failure and rebellion, as the keepers (literally) of divine instruction, and as the family out of which global salvation eventually came.

The prettiest are the ugliest

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:13

If there is anything God did that can create internal satisfaction and external integrity we cannot in any honest reckoning say we have found it outside the revelation of Messiah Yeshua. The tales of obedience and loyalty to law and servanthood are pure delusion and distraction.  It is an insult because God did not send Christ to recruit workers.   In fact those who we  can identify as dedicated workers are woefully distant from God’s heart and willingly ignorant of the tools the worker needs  and they take no pleasure in being God’s children. Salvation and adoption are on shaky ground and God can take back his gifts at any time.

Straining out flies and camel swallowing

It is no secret that North America is home to a host of religious movements we have not been able to place anywhere but on the fringes.

You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

Matthew 23:24

They will never return to the apostolic foundations. They have no interest in separating the fables from the facts. They prefer to read broken translations, books of recent visions by people who admittedly are loyal to many heads. Everything in the Bible does not become Christian doctrine.

29) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30) and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

Matthew 23:29-30

Christ the loner

2 Timothy 2:15

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

We must recognize their commitment to the only Head and Foundation that the apostles confessed as a fat zero. Christ is of no benefit if there is a “plus” in the profession of confidence. If we are sure that Christ and something else or Christ and someone else is Head and Saviour then we have kissed the joy of salvation slightly. There are things to strain out and we should stop playing the “it’s all true” game when we work the text. The fable and fact even appear in side by side verses. The club they thought they had for indiscriminately assaulting their neighbours is really a sophisticated light sabre.