The Burden of Men’s Expectation (Part 3)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. – Romans 8:1-2 NIV

There is guilt that comes from the burden of man’s expectations. We all grow up learning to live up to men’s expectations because we come from homes and communities where we have been brought up to do things in a certain way.  Most parents want the best for their beloved children and seek to bring them up in the way they know. Many of the ideals and expectations good parents have for their children mirror God’s expectations, but there are many others that are given more value than God would give them. Man’s expectations of us are not always God’s expectations, and there is peace when we know the difference.

The Pharisees were experts in placing requirements on men that produced guilt. The Lord Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 23:4 (NIV):

‘They (the Pharisees) tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them’

Just like the Pharisees, men can tie up heavy loads of rules and regulations and put them on our shoulders.  Some of our guilt may come from religious rules of men or organisations. Some of us are like the elder brother of the prodigal son who, though he never left the house, was so entangled with self-imposed rules that he never experienced the liberty of being a son of the Father. He was never free to experience what the Father meant by ‘everything I have is yours’ (Luke 16:31b).

Some of our weight of guilt may come from societal or cultural expectations. They too tie heavy loads on men’s shoulders. Many of us are concerned that we are not man or woman enough; or that we do not measure up in one area or another; or that our families are not ‘normal’ enough. (By the way what is ‘normal’?). A sister was saying recently how guilty she feels from always falling short of what she has grown up to believe is expected of her. This lady was speaking of her inability to live up to ‘the proper English (British) way’. It is important that we differentiate between man’s expectations and God’s expectations. Sometimes, even unconsciously, we allow the TV, the internet and other social interactions to shape for us what is ‘normal’ and expected of us. Too many of us then live under some burden of guilt because of not being ‘normal’. Many of these expectations try to make us look good on the outside, but God is seeking to make us like Christ.

We may be surprised to find out how many of our expectations and goals are influenced by what our culture and society expect of us. Even when they are not bad, these  expectations of men can be given more weight than God gives them. And sometimes they may even be opposed to what God wants of us.

‘Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ’ (Colossians 2: 16-17 NIV)

Paul is here calling the Colossians away from living their lives to measure up to the judgement of others. He calls them to live for Christ. A child of God is called to live to please Christ, not to try to live up to the expectations of society. We must not be afraid of ‘not measuring up’ according to man’s scale, when we are keeping in step with Christ. God is calling us away from the bondage of living for man’s opinion. It is a trap!

‘Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe’ Proverbs 29:25 (NIV).

‘The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.’ Proverbs 29:25 (The Message)

Beloved, let us walk away from the snare of living for men’s opinions. There is protection and safety in trusting  in God’s way and walking in it.. There is freedom from guilt in living for God. He loves us and calls us to walk in the light he has shown us.  He calls us to repent and receive the cleansing of the blood of Christ that freely purifies us from all sin and guilt:

‘But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7 NIV)

This is freedom indeed!

No More Condemnation (2)

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” – Romans 8:1-2 (NIV 2010)

Leviticus probably ranks high up there for some of us as one of the most legalistic books of the Bible filled with ‘the law of sin and death’. Yet when we approach it with the light that grace brings we find even here the shadows of ‘the law of the Spirit of life’ in operation as we see very clearly God’s eternal answer for man’s guilt in passages like Leviticus 5:1-13.

It starts by saying: ‘If a person sins…- even though he is unaware of it, he has become unclean and is guilty’ (vs. 1-2). Man’s guilt comes from sinning against God. Man has offended his Creator and because of his vital link with God, the disconnection that sin produces leaves a weight upon man’s soul. This is why the problem of guilt is too deep to be resolved by man-made solutions.

So what is God’s solution for guilt? In verse 5 we read ‘he must confess in what way he has sinned’. The first step towards freedom from guilt is not to deny your sin or try to justify yourself. It is to agree with God by confessing your sin. Confessing our sin is taking sides with God against ourselves. Think of a court-room where you stand guilty of your sins before the righteous demands of God. Now imagine that at the same time you also have the opportunity to be your own advocate – to defend yourself. But instead of being your own advocate by defending yourself, you become God’s advocate by defending his verdict on you and declaring yourself guilty. That is what we do when we confess our sins – we take sides with God. ‘Let God be true and every man a liar’. (Romans 3:4 NIV)

Our problem today is that we are often not willing to take sides with God against ourselves. We would rather hide or excuse our sins hoping that it will make the guilt go away. Confession of sin is not just what our mouth says but what our heart is saying. This is the powerful first step to deliverance.

‘If we claim we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness’ – 1 John 1:8-9 (NIV)

Immediately we take sides with God, we receive forgiveness on the basis of the sacrifice of Christ. This is so aptly illustrated in David’s example when he sinned in 2 Samuel 12:13. Confronted with the conviction of God, David takes side with God against himself;

‘Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die’.

Notice that God’s immediate response through Nathan was forgiveness. God took away the sin and freed David from his guilt.

In verse 6 of Leviticus 5, we read ‘and the priest shall make atonement for him (the guilty one) for all his sins’. Can you see that God provides a way out of sin and guilt! Essentially God was saying bring this and do that and your guilt with be taken care of. He comes as the Great Physician to deal with the sin-sick heart. Even in the Old Testament God provides a way out from guilt for helpless men. God provided these sacrifices to make a way out of guilt. God was not in need of their goats or bulls, he was providing a way out of guilt. And those sacrifices were pointing to the Perfect Sacrifice to come – the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And there is no sin that he does not take away. Yes God’s will is that we live free from sin, but if we sin there is forgiveness and cleansing.

‘My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” – 1 John 2:1-2 (NIV).

In verse 13 of Leviticus 5 God says, ‘and he will be forgiven’. That is the goal of God – to provide a way out of sin and guilt. Listen, it is not God’s desire that any man should live in guilt. Once he has forgiven you, he has forgotten it. It is finished. What he forgives, he removes; it does not exist again.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us” – Psalm 103:11-12 (NIV 2010)

Picture the court-room again: You have sided with God and declared yourself guilty. Then God, whose righteous judgement had declared you guilty and worthy of punishment, now takes sides with you – not to say you are not guilty but taking your guilt upon himself! He steps forward and provides a Way out. He steps forward through Jesus and pays the price. You are free, there is no more condemnation! Let it sink in – God has forgiven and forgotten. He calls you now to leave the past behind, and to go on and grow into Christlikeness.

Oct 2011 Prayer Bulletin

Micah 7:7 says “Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.”

Please download the Oct 2011 Prayer Bulletin here.

Beloved, Greetings! Attached is CAPRO SA Prayer Bulletin for October 2011.

Thank you so much for your prayers for us last month. Last night we rounded up the three-day teaching conference at MUT in Durban and we were humbled by the way God changed lives. And we know it was because people were praying.

Prayer is simply looking to God. It is man’s clear expression of dependence on God and  our confess that we need divine intervention. And indeed it secures God’s help. Your prayers have been doing this for us. As you pause daily for a few minutes to look to God with these requests, He is using it to take the gospel to those who have never heard. God hears. God answers! So please pray for us this month. All we are asking for is a minute or two of your time daily to lift up this items.

It is meant to be printed out and folded into four so it can easily be inserted into one’s Bible to use at quiet time. Please feel free to forward it to those believers on your mailing list.

And let us all individually use it to pray in our family altar and quiet time too. As I said before I am really excited about the possibilities of what your prayer can do.

Thank you so much for your partnership

Blessings!
Chim