19 May 2011

Psalm 50; Wisdom 5:9-23; Col. 2:8-23; Luke 6:39-49

Is the author correct? Does life have any meaning at all apart from God? The argument in the first half-dozen verses is that from the moment we are born it is evident that if we continue on that same path our life will have no ultimate meaning, all that we do will not matter. It is true. Unless we focus on the things that are eternal, ultimately there will be no trace of us or our lives at all. In the end, all this will pass away and there will be a new creation, so even those things that seem to have lasting value will be as nothing had ever occurred. That truth is not, however, hopeless. If we want our lives to have meaning and value forever, there is a way to do just that. The writer sees that, in contrast to the main body of people, the righteous live forever. We know that we are not perfectly righteous but pursuing righteousness in our lives is a part of the Christian life. We were not saved by our righteousness but we are freed to pursue Godliness by the knowledge that Jesus’ righteousness saves us.

Jesus first says that our judgment is flawed, we fail to see sin in our own lives yet we are quick to spot it in others. I know myself to be guilty of this problem, it is far easier for me to see the problems in someone else’s life than in my own and even more difficult to deal with the sin in my life. He then moves on to a question, “Are we building on solid foundations or are we building on nothing at all.” If we acknowledge that all this will pass away in the end, do we not immediately begin to look for something more substantial, something enduring on which to build our lives? The only solid foundation is Jesus Himself, if you don’t know that for sure, read Revelation 5.

Paul further defines what it means to build on the solid foundation of Christ versus some other foundation, namely, “philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world.” In too much of the church today, particularly the mainline denominations, this is exactly what is being taught, the spirit of the age, psychology, sociology, or some other religious philosophy mingled with Christianity. That is what you get when you speak of Jesus as a great teacher rather than the one who was crucified, died, was buried and three days later rose bodily from the dead to life eternal then ascended to the right hand of the Father and will come again to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end. We must not allow our faith to be taken captive in any way, we must insist on the faith expressed in the Nicene Creed and if our leaders do not share that faith we must leave them to their nonsense. This life is too precious to waste in such ways.

He speaks, and, listening to His voice,

New life the dead receive,

The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,

The humble poor believe.

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,

Your loosened tongues employ;

Ye blind, behold your Savior come,

And leap, ye lame, for joy.