Dear Wake Up Family:
My grandparents adopted me in 1963. Back then, parents did that when their daughters were underage and unwed. I always called them mom and dad; I never knew them as anything else…until I was seven.
One evening, about 10 days before starting first grade, mom had me come and lay beside her in her bed; she needed to tell me something. She decided to tell me my story then because she wanted me to hear it from her and not someone else. Kids can be brutal on the playground.
As she began to explain, I began to cry. It’s the first time I can remember feeling rejected. I know the Lord gave her just the right words to say because when she had finished, I felt cherished. Here’s what she said. “Rex, the Lord blessed me with eight other children and I love them. But I didn’t choose them. They were given to me. But when you came along, I chose you because I wanted you to be mine. I knew it as soon as I saw you. I want you to know that.”
Can’t you hear Jesus saying those very words to each of His children? Look at all He’s done to redeem us, to make us His again. Paul even says in Ephesians that “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1:5) Paul also said that “We know, dear brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4)
What does being one of “God’s people” mean in practical terms? Does a person simply claiming to be a follower of Christ, make it so? No, of course not. Early in Jesus’ ministry, a scribe came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Obviously, Jesus could see the heart of this man. And He must have perceived the man was only interested in worldly benefits and blessings. So Jesus’ reply let the man know that the Kingdom of God was not about earthly accoutrements. Belonging to Jesus takes sacrifice and great effort on the part of every person who claims to be a follower.
In Matthew 15:7–9, Jesus said, “You hypocrites! These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.” Jesus was pointing out that man’s teachings had supplanted truth, even back then. Too often, truth is laid aside for some popular notion. Today, I suspect the majority of ministries who profess the name of Jesus, teach doctrines and have practices that ignore the very words He spoke. Think about it. If Jesus were to stand in our presence today, could He proclaim His gospel as He did when He was here without offending us? Does our life measure up to the words He spoke? If not, then we need to mindfully examine ourselves.
Here’s a serious consideration for those who profess to be Christian. Jesus said, “Why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” What a dreadful question to have to answer truthfully. What is a Christian anyway? Have you ever really thought about that? Is it someone who reads the Bible; someone who says the blessing before a meal; someone who is a member of a church? No. A true Christian is one who is Christ-like—one who follows His example. No one has a right to call himself a Christian if he carelessly continues to resemble the world.
Notice what James 4:4 says, “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.” What stronger language could be used to express divine antipathy of those who attempt to combine Christ with the world?
What is it about the world, though, that is so intensely at odds with the teachings of Jesus? I mean, Christians shop at the same grocer, wear the same clothes, eat the same foods, and have the same interaction with non-Christians. So what does the Bible mean by saying that the Christian should not love the world? It means that the spiritual claims of Christ will so separate us from certain influences in the world that we will be considered peculiar by those who don’t know Jesus.
1 John 2:15–16 says, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.”
There are only two patterns in life for anyone to follow…only two standards by which anyone can live. We must either move in the sphere of the world, or in the sphere of Christ. In fact, the true Christian is so intimately committed to Christ, the Bible illustrates the bond in the context of marriage. And that’s not only true for us today, it was true of Israel long ago.
Notice what happened when Israel refused to stand out from the world around them. In Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah wrote a letter to describe what God was doing to Israel and why. But to realize its significance, we must understand the setting. Jeremiah wrote his letter to the exiles, telling them “Stay in Babylon. Prosper there. Increase in numbers there. Marry, find daughters for your sons, and sons for your daughters. Plant your gardens. And pray for the city of Babylon, because as it prospers, you will prosper. But don’t think for a moment that you are going to return to Jerusalem in less than 70 years. Do not think that those who are still here in Jerusalem are going to bring about the necessary restitution and redemption I require, because it won’t happen.”
When the priests who had been exiled to Babylon saw Jeremiah’s letter, they accused him of being pro-Babylonian! They accused him of taking the side of the Babylonian king, and as such, he was treacherous and treasonous to the cause of the nation of Israel. Does the illogical argument “If you don’t support my narrative, you’re my enemy” sound familiar?
The truth of the matter is, the reason God had to bring destruction upon His own people is that, although they proclaimed to be His children, His followers, His people, they were not. And when you have too many bent, depraved, and wicked people, destruction is the only solution.
God destroyed His “chosen” people three times in the Old Testament. Let that sink in. The irony in each of these destructions is that God’s people could not see their having rejected Him. Instead, the religious people, when confronted with their wrongdoing, wanted to kill Jeremiah because he was condemning their actions, their city, and speaking against their temple.
The coming great tribulation is a parallel of what happened in Jeremiah’s day. So as you consider why Nebuchadnezzar was marching against Jerusalem, know that God was sending the king’s army against His own people because they could not discern between good and evil. The take away of this is that when warnings and redemptive judgments have no effect, God destroys. In so doing, He arrests the degeneracy of sin for the benefit of future generations. This explains why there has to be an end to this world and the creation of a new one. It’s the only way to lift man to a higher plane of conduct.
This brings us to Paul writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1–5, where he says: “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!”
These inspired words were written to describe the condition of people in the last days. There has been no time in history when Paul’s words were truer. This doesn’t mean that we should be odd just to be different. There is no virtue in seeking to be eccentric just to attract attention. But what are the influences of the world that contradict Jesus’ desire for us?
Jesus said in John 15:19, “The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.” This means that a true Christian shouldn’t expect to be popular in the world. Now notice the distinct line Philippians 4:8 places between the two opposing spheres of life. “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
These two texts guide Christians in making decisions about almost every daily activity. As an exercise, we all should apply the Philippians 4:8 test to the activities we enjoy and note whether they pass the standard. As I described in my June article, the world is mad with pleasure, pride, and sin, and we eventually become numb to it.
Paul said in Galatians 6:14, “As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.” Can we each say that right now? It is a sacred privilege to be one of God’s chosen people. (1 Peter 2:9) Today, are we recognized as Christians? Do our neighbors see us as peculiar people? (smile) Can the people we interact with throughout the day see something in us that they want to know more about?
Throughout history, the teachings of God and truth have never been popular, so we can’t measure truth by who may or may not follow it. Truth must be accepted and followed because it is the truth. And anything that is not in harmony with Christ and His Word cannot be truth.
Many people will be left outside the Kingdom of Heaven who profess Jesus’ name but refuse to do what He taught. You can read this in Matthew 7:21–23, where Jesus says in part, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ ”
We must honor Jesus with more than lip service. Our hearts and lives must be bound to Him. This means studying the Bible to find out the truth for ourselves. This means allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us and guide us. Do not take any man’s word for the truth, I don’t care who the preacher is. Remember, salvation is an individual matter. It’s down to us to know why we believe what we believe.
God says that He will have an everlasting gospel that will be preached in all the world right up until Jesus comes. And that everlasting gospel is none other than the gospel Jesus taught and lived. There will be nothing added to it and nothing taken away until the time of the end and the return of Jesus. At least that’s my understanding.
The Bible says, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:24) It also reminds us that, “He will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.” (Matthew 24:31)
Many Christians believe the Jews are still God’s chosen people. If the Jews really are God’s chosen, why don’t Christians strive to become Jews? A terrible misunderstanding of what God meant by the word “chosen” has led Christians to the wrong conclusion. The Jews were chosen to share God with the world, not to indulge in worldly gain as the teacher’s pet. Salvation only comes through faith in God and always has. Israel failed the work they were chosen to do, so God chose a different group to share the knowledge of himself with the world. Thus the true 12 tribes of Israel became spiritual instead of biological. The spiritual, faith-filled, offspring of Abraham are the truly chosen ones.
Notice how Paul describes that miraculous transformation. “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.” (Romans 8:18–23)
You know, I’m really starting to like this adoption business!
Let me leave you with this thought. Queen Esther was adopted, and God used her in a mighty way. Moses was adopted, and God used him in a mighty way. The redeemed of all the ages will be adopted and, I’m sure, He has a special work for each of us to do. I want to be one of His chosen ones, adopted into the Family of God, don’t you?
Rex
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