But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

(Acts 9.22-26)

When the Apostle Paul became a Christian, it required him to leave the comforts he had previously enjoyed. He had felt at home in the company of zealous colleagues who applauded his ruthless misapplication of the Law of Moses in dealing with the growing number of Christians. From a fleshly point of view, life was good, and the future was bright. Yet, after Paul was confronted by Jesus and surrendered his life to serve the Lord, his old friends turned against him and began to plot his murder, as they had plotted Jesus’ before. Yet, while Paul was ready to show love for his fellow Christians, most of them refused, at first, to accept him as a brother. There he stood, stuck in the middle.

When the gospel spread to gentiles, Jewish Christians struggled to accept that the church was no longer entirely Jewish. Hardliners insisted, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses” (Ac 15.5)—that one must be a Jew, to be a Christian. Meanwhile, the new converts’ gentile friends were no longer friendly. The “unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers” (14.2), until they were ready “to mistreat them and to stone” the messengers (v5). Jews and gentiles agreed on very little. The main reason recorded in extra-biblical sources for gentile persecution of Christians is that they were—as their former friends saw it—acting Jewish. Meanwhile, Jews despised gentiles, and resented those who—as they saw it—twisted the Scriptures to make Jesus into a false Messiah. New gentile converts were in a maddening position! Jews, Jewish Christians, and pagan gentiles could only agree on one thing, and that was malice toward gentile Christians. And there they stood, stuck in the middle.

Of course, Jesus had been through all of this, before. He blazed the trail! For example, after Judas betrayed him to the authorities, the priests, Pharisees, Roman governor Pilate, and king Herod played hot potato with Jesus through a long and miserable night. The only thing they could agree on was that Jesus would be killed, but no one wanted to take sole responsibility for it. In one instance that encapsulates the whole, Pilate tried to dump the problem of Jesus in Herod’s lap.

And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

(Luke 23.11-12)

These individuals and groups usually spent their time wrestling with the others for power, often openly hostile toward each other. There Jesus stood, stuck in the middle.

This should not surprise us. In Luke’s Beatitudes, Jesus taught about this, saying,

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

(Luke 6.22-23)

Then, in the Woes that follow, he said,

Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

(Luke 6.26)

It’s not that being universally hated is evidence of your righteousness; you could  more easily secure such hatred by doing evil to everyone, and Jesus gives us the opposite instruction! But he says it’s a blessing when you are hated “on account of the Son of Man!” In that case, they only hate you, because they hate Jesus. It’s also not as if you should be suspicious of anyone, purely on the grounds that too many people have good things to say about them. Consider Dorcas, who won glowing testimony from everyone present (Ac 9.29-40). This was not evidence of something insidious in her. But at the same time, you can be sure that someone not present on that occasion had bad things to say about Dorcas, because “everyone who does wicked things hates the light” (Jn 3.20).

If you follow Christ, you should expect to occasionally find yourself stuck in the middle, badly treated both by enemies and by those who should be friends. Don’t be surprised at this. Christians should not feel completely at home in this world, because “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Php 3.20). Jesus provides for us the paramount image of one stuck in the middle. He had said, “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (Jn 3.14). This referred to his crucifixion. He was made an emblem of shame and misery—but also a spectacle to be sought in faith, leading to healing. He was suspended between the earth and heaven, not fully at home in either place. At the same time, while evil men thrust him upward in a gesture of defiance to God, Jesus found himself, symbolically, between his heavenly Father and the creatures who deserved his wrath. He was in the most uncomfortable position possible, and yet it was exactly where he needed to be—stuck in the middle. Follow him, even there.

Jeremy Nettles

A Psalm of David.

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?

        Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right

        and speaks truth in his heart;

who does not slander with his tongue

        and does no evil to his neighbor,

        nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

        but who honors those who fear the Lord;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

who does not put out his money at interest

        and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

(Psalm 15)

The superscript of this Psalm identifies it as one of David’s works. It became fashionable in liberal scholarship circles of the 1800s to dispute the validity of these titles—at the same time these scholars were sowing doubt about literally everything else in the Bible, it’s worth noting. As a result, some Christians to this day maintain that the superscripts in the book of Psalms are not inspired. This is a mistake. It’s worth discussing the evidence presented by these scholarly skeptics and using it to better understand the Psalms and their purpose. However, we should keep in mind that Jesus and his Apostles took these titles seriously (e.g. Mt 22.43-44, Ac 2.25, Ro 4.6-7); are we in any position to correct them on this point?

All of this being the case, we should read Psalm 15 as if it originates from, and pertains to, David. That’s a lot of work before the first line of the Psalm, but it helps us establish the context. Verse 1 asks what sort of person can sojourn with God, in his tent, on his hill. That hill is, of course, Zion (cf. Ps 2.6), but the temple had not yet been built there, when David wrote! The ark of the covenant still stood in a temporary structure, after the pattern of the tabernacle—hence David’s choice of words. Between the tent and the sojourning, we are reminded that, on this earth, we are not truly at home. Yet, as we go through life, our goal should be to dwell as near to God as we can, and to seek an eternal home with him. As God’s chosen hill Zion is holy, so is God himself. He does not allow what is unholy to abide in his presence, and so David ponders what sort of person God will permit to live with him.

“He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart” (v2) can dwell with God. The idea of blamelessness is that no one can bring an unresolved charge against this person. But in addition to good behavior that cannot be condemned by the public, he who would dwell with God must also maintain internal discipline, speaking “truth in his heart.” This is harder, requiring humility and constant self-examination.

He “who does not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend” (v3) can dwell with God. Our tongues are usually the first offenders, but speech is often followed by action. Be careful not to speak treacherously.

He “in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the Lord” (v4a) can dwell with God. It’s not that we should make ourselves out to be each other’s judges; but who are your friends? Whom do you allow to influence you?

He “who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (v4b) can dwell with God. Do you honor your commitments? What kind of excuses suffice, for you to rationalize away the guilt of breaking promises? Is your word reliable?

He “who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent” (v5a) can dwell with God. Greed is common. It’s not a sin to have wealth; but gain it honestly and justly, and use it the same way! God also possesses great wealth, and he lavishes it upon the undeserving.

“He who does these things shall never be moved” (v5b). Moved from where? Why, from, God’s tent, on his holy hill, of course! This Psalm’s final observation is a more primitive version of what Paul later wrote,

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 (Romans 8.38-39)

No one and nothing has the power to take us away from God’s presence—if we are righteous and holy, as God is righteous and holy. Therein lies the problem. The picture of a righteous man, which Psalm 15 built for us, is a lovely summary of the ideal; but while it’s tool of great value in helping us mold and direct our behaviors and attitudes day by day, it also serves to convict us. Even if men find no fault in you, can you really claim to be blameless before God? As David’s wise son Solomon wrote, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ec 7.20). Yet Paul, who well knew both this fact and his own massive weight of guilt before God, gave us that statement of eternal security!  How can this be?

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

(Galatians 2.20)

This is the point. You don’t deserve to dwell with God. Try as you might—as you ought—you don’t live up to God’s standard. The one who can sojourn in God’s tent is the one who acts like God. If you have been crucified with Christ and allow him to replace you, then you will act like God, and abide with him.

Jeremy Nettles

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

(Galatians 5.24-25)

In last week’s article, we examined a long list of “the works of the flesh” (Ga 5.19), and found them to cover both the misuse of our bodies, and the problems of the heart that bore them. We found that they involved both individuals’ misdeeds, and their ramifications on a group—that is, on the church. We read a strong warning to cease these behaviors!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

(Galatians 5.22-23)

This list is considerably shorter, and the final point is obvious—while even worldly people , themselves embroiled in the works of the flesh, are likely to find fault with at least some sinful behaviors, no one in his right mind could condemn the fruit of the Spirit!

Love

To attempt to define love to everyone’s satisfaction would be folly. It’s also a mistake to carve out for the Greek word behind this, ἀγάπη-agapē, one particular shade of love. Certainly, different shades exist, and often the vocabulary used to describe them reflects this; but it’s more of a tendency, than a hard and fast rule. Nevertheless, we could describe love, generally, as willing and pursuing what is good for someone.

Joy

As a general rule, a word’s age is tied to its length. Short words are also old ones, which serve as the core building blocks. Conversely, multisyllabic monstrosities exhibit intrusion by nonnative influences, resulting in nebulous or incomprehensible communication. Joy, one of the old, simple building blocks, is so basic as to be almost undefinable! We can say what it is not, however! Joy is more than contentedness; more than passing pleasure. It is not satisfaction with the moment, lacking regard for the future. The Christian is joyful, even in the midst of suffering, because he knows his suffering has a sanctifying purpose, and that his eternal future is secure!

Peace

This is another short, old, elemental word. It’s easiest to define in negative terms—the absence of conflict. But, of course, that’s not always up to us! Christians are at war with Satan and his kingdom—the world—every day! That being the case, how can we be expected to exhibit peace? It works, because the enemies we face have already lost the war—most of them just don’t know it, yet. While we continue to fight them in minor skirmishes, our important conflicts are within—and surrendering to Christ quells them.

Patience

In older versions of the Bible this is rendered, longsuffering, and that archaic word is an excellent description of this quality. In a culture that encourages all to insist their rights be fully honored always, Christians are supposed to have the longest fuse. The world demands that everything be perfect right now, but God tells his children not to expect perfection until we dwell with him forever.

Kindness

The world today has equated this to being nice—that is, agreeable. But that’s not what God means! χρηστότης-chrēstotēs means having upright interactions and being helpful to others. The difference is subtle, but in today’s society being nice amounts to being careful not to hurt anyone’s feelings, while being kind includes warning people when they are headed down the path of destruction, even if they don’t like to hear it.

Goodness

It seems silly to describe goodness, but it’s worth pointing out that this does not mean pleasantness. Rather, it is uprightness. The focus is on moral quality, not aesthetic.

Faithfulness

Faith is a tough concept to pin down. At its core, it’s simply belief, but through a series of steps can also mean loyalty—even reliability. So what does it mean, in this case? The whole package! It begins with believing that God “exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (He 11.6). That naturally leads to seeking him, obeying his instructions, becoming and remaining attached to him. Since he tells us to love his other children, it also means becoming a steadfast friend to God’s people.

Gentleness

Rendered meekness in older versions of the Bible, this word does not convey gentleness through weakness—an inability to be harsh. Rather, it is a chosen mindset and behavior. In fact, πραΰτης-prautēs ordinarily means humility, and only by extension gains the sense of treating others with a light touch.

Self-control

The person who lacks self-control is not ruled by something external, but rather gives in “when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (Ja 1.14). To put it another way, self-control does not mean oneself being in control, but having oneself under control!

Against such things…

Like the preceding list of the works of the flesh (vv19-21), this list of the fruit of the spirit is not intended to be exhaustive. But it’s an excellent list to memorize, and still better to pursue these things in daily life! Having a clear understanding of what they are will help, but your effort will be futile—doomed to fail from the start—unless you “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” and “belong to Christ” (v24). Only then will you bear the kind of fruit everyone recognizes as good.

Jeremy Nettles

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

(Galatians 5.16-18)

Each of us has both a lower and a higher will, which struggle against each other.  Paul put it another way in a subsequent letter:

For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

(Romans 7.22-23)

With two opposing wills, we tend to bend toward whichever has the strongest desires; but that’s not what God wants!  He tells us to shun “the works of the flesh” (Ga 5.19).

Sexual Immorality

We could get rather uncomfortable here, with detailed definitions, but it’s really not that complicated.  God reserves sexual contact for married couples.

Impurity

We tend to think of impurity in sexual terms, too; but that’s just one application!  Impurity is the mixing of what belongs, with what does not.  If your behavior is good, but you introduce something inappropriate—even a bad motive—it has become impure.

Sensuality

This, likewise, is often seen in sexual terms, but there’s more!  It’s the undue pursuit of sensory gratification.  It’s good to enjoy the taste of a well-grilled steak or the smell of a magnolia blossom; but fixating on those and ignoring higher pursuits is fleshly and wrong!

Idolatry

Idolatry is more than bowing down before a golden image and venerating it as a god.  That’s a fair start, but it takes other forms.  Paul wrote in yet another letter that we must put away “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Co 3.5).  Anything you dedicate yourself to serving, in place of God, is an idol.

Sorcery

The Greek word is φαρμακεία-pharmakeia, from which we derive pharmacy; but while this points to the potions and drug cocktails used by sorcerers, and says something about modern attitudes toward healing drugs, we mustn’t let that problem distract us from the demonic realm sorcerers seek to harness.

Enmity

Enmity is simply the opposite of friendship, with hateful disposition and actions.  You can’t prevent others from acting as your enemies, but Jesus said, “love your enemies” (Mt 5.44), rather than harming them.

Strife

A little more specific than enmity, strife occurs when two individuals or groups both pursue disagreement for its own sake, and wish harm on their opponents.

Jealousy

ζῆλος-zēlos-“jealousy,” elsewhere translated “zeal,” can be a good quality (e.g. 2Co 11.2)!  But zeal can be directed toward evil, too—wanting for oneself what another possesses. 

Fits of Anger

This one is fairly self-explanatory.  Note that anger itself is not the problem, but rather fits of anger.  Anger inclines us to excess.  Letting our anger take control often feels righteous; but it’s just another sinful work of the flesh.

Rivalries

This one is the next natural step, after enmity and strife, combined with jealousy and anger.  The former two were focused on harming a neighbor; the latter two are more about satisfying oneself.  Rivalry, then, is about promoting oneself above one’s neighbor.

Dissensions

The next step is to entrench the rivalry and involve others in it, bringing about disunity where harmony existed before.

Divisions

The final step in the process that began with enmity is division.  This is more extreme than dissensions, which involved a still nominally cohesive group, the church.  But when each fleshly motivation is fulfilled, the church ends up fracturing into distinct groups, who can no longer dwell amicably with each other.

Envy

This one shifts the focus back to individuals’ conduct.  Envy is similar to jealousy, but while jealousy aims to get what someone else has, envy also aims to harm the one who has it.

Drunkenness

This one does what it says on the tin.

Orgies

We’re inclined to think this is about sexual depravity; but that’s a side point.  κῶμος-kōmos refers to a pagan ritual, originally for the god of wine, Dionysus.  It was pure sensuality, especially eating, drinking, and dancing with no inhibition or self-control.  When speaking of partying, this is generally what today’s world has in mind. 

…and things like these

This list is not exhaustive!  And what are the consequences of behaving like this?  “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Ga 5.21).  So, if our lower and higher wills are in conflict, and if we know our own record of sins, how can we expect to inherit the kingdom of God?  Back in Romans 7, Paul asked this, too—then hinted at the answer!

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

(Romans 7.24-25)

Jeremy Nettles

Or was it going to happen anyway?  Is it the work of “the ruler of this world”—Satan (cf. Jn 14.30)—or just chance?  These questions have been topics of debate for thousands of years, involving people from all walks of life, each of whom has an opinion.  Sometimes it spills out into current events, like the recent attempt to assassinate presidential candidate Donald Trump.  Some take note of details that, against the odds, led to his survival, and conclude that God intervened to miraculously rescue him from certain death.  Others scoff at this notion and accuse the former group of narcissistically treating every welcome occurrence as God’s special blessing to them.

It’s always amusing when irreligious people offer up opinions about religious matters; but in this case, the extremes are only slightly exaggerated versions of ideas promoted by those who profess to be Christians!  Some harp on God’s sovereignty, and hold that nothing occurs without God specifically willing it.  Others protest—that would make God the author of evil as well as of good, and mean none of us has free will, but are all puppets, compelled to righteous or evil deeds as it suits his arbitrary purposes.

Those who stress God’s sovereignty have a point.  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (Ja 1.17), and “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Ro 8.28).  Does this mean your paycheck is a gift from God, and not a result of your work?  Well, no.  That’s looking at it from the wrong angle.  Your paycheck is a gift from God, and you earned those wages by your free choice to work for them.  How can both of these be?  God expects us to cooperate with his grace, in the little things as well as the big ones.  He created a universe in which you could earn a living, and molded the unfathomably numerous and complex features of that universe in such a way that, in this case, you received an earthly reward for your work. 

But the other side has a point, too.  Many have worked, without receiving an earthly reward, or had it swept away by the natural world, or stolen by evil men.  Perhaps you’d blame God, if your entire livelihood was lost in, for example, a flood; but again, you’d be looking at it from the wrong perspective.  The book of Job introduces a third option. In the first two chapters Satan takes away everything Job has, in an effort to get him to curse God.  It’s Satan—not God, and not chance!  Yet, where did Satan get this idea?

And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

(Job 1.8)

So when Job’s wife implores him to “Curse God and die” (2.9), her assumption that God is behind the loss of Job’s children, health, and wealth is not totally wrong.  In fact, Job affirms it, asking her rhetorically, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (v10).  The difference is in the perspective.  Job’s wife expects to see justice in the natural world.  If not, she will accuse God of doing wrong.  Job recognizes that there’s more to the story, and strives to

look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

(2 Corinthians 4.18)

Job was not merely the victim of chance; Satan worked evil against him; but in God’s hands that evil became good, because Job loved God (cf. Ro 8.28).  God didn’t force Job to remain true.  If he had chosen to curse God over his misfortunes, God could have justly condemned him as a traitor.  Instead, God exercised both his inscrutable providence and his visible intervention in order to dispense grace and influence his creations to cooperate with it, by way of reason.

However, fervently attributing each welcome event to God’s intervention reflects a major flaw in the Calvinist philosophy common to most American Protestants.  Many show by their actions that, deep down, they don’t really believe the caricature of predestination they preach.  Others hold a fairly nuanced view compatible with reality.  But there are also plenty who would label this article as heresy, on account of words like “cooperate” and “earned.”  They would point to a number of proof-texts, which in the absence of the context of the entire rest of the Bible would seem to support their position; but in practice, the view is absurdity: if I get what I want, then it’s a gift from God and it testifies to his love for me.  If I don’t get what I want…well, let’s not talk about that.

But as you recoil from that nonsense, be sure to avoid the opposite extreme, which is just as bad—the notion that God is not allowed to intervene in his creation.  It’s fine to shrug and move on, without ascribing an event to God, or to Satan.  But to say, this is not God’s doing; it was going to happen anyway, displays a  profound misunderstanding.  There is no “anyway,” unshackled from God, if he is both omniscient and the creator of the universe.

Although there was nothing in the natural world to inform Job of their cause, the disasters that befell him were evil.  They also worked together for good.  They were Satan’s doing, but they were also God’s doing.  The difference is that Satan was trying to get Job to do evil—“But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face” (Jb 1.11)—while, in the very same events, God was giving Job an opportunity to do good—“He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason” (Jb 2.3).  Don’t get distracted worrying whether an event’s cause is divine, demonic, or natural.  Instead,

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

(1 Thessalonians 5.16-18)

Jeremy Nettles