Category Archives: Faith and Practice

Nevertheless…

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“Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away.
The people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.”
(2 Kings 15:4)

My Bible reading plan (I am using M’Cheyne’s plan, which has you read all of the OT once and the NT and Psalms twice over the course of one year) has me reading through the book of 2 Kings right now.  I am always fascinated by the records of the kings, and there is always something new to discover there.  Be it the succession of notoriously bad kings in the Northern kingdom of Israel, who continually led their people astray by requiring they worship the golden calves at Bethel, or the turmoil of inconsistent leadership in the Southern kingdom of Judah, the stories of the kings hold so much wisdom and truth for us today.  The only thing that each king had in common with the kings that went before: they all died and someone else reigned in their place.

One of the things that caught my attention in this reading of the kings was the heritage that was left from one king to the next.  With every king from the north we are told that “So-and-so did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done…”  Sometimes the indictment is even worse, as with Ahab, of whom it is said, “as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him.  He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Ball, which he built in Samaria.  And Ahab made an Asherah.  Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:31-33).  No matter how strong the economy might have been under the reign of the king, no matter the what his public opinion poll might have said, because the kings of Israel continued in the sin of Jeroboam – worshiping the golden calves – the legacy they left to the next generation was one of sin and corruption.

But that’s not to say that the southern kings did a whole lot better.  True, a majority of the southern kings, we are told, “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Kings 14:3).  Some kings made foolish allegiances with surrounding nations, leading the people of Judah astray and into oppression.  But the kings of the south had a heritage of worship in the Temple of the Lord and they ushered in periods of religious and political reform according to the word of God.

And yet…

With just about every king of Judah, even though we read that they did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, there always seems to be a caveat.  We keep coming back to the word “Nevertheless.”  Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away…  While the national religion was still practiced in the Jerusalem Temple, the people still had their own private altars, and the faith of the nation was not kept pure.  The legacy of the southern kings was one of obedience and walking with the Lord, yet not in a wholehearted way.

And do you know what happened to both the northern and southern kingdoms?  They were both destroyed, carried away by conquering kingdoms, and the people were scattered.  The legacy of the kings, while greatly different, each led to the same end.

So here’s something to think about:  What legacy are you leaving the next generation?  Have you lived a life of wholehearted faithfulness to the Lord, or are there things in your life that you know don’t belong, but you lack the strength to remove them.  What are the high places that need to come down, so that your worship of God may be pure, and your heart undivided before the Lord.  What are the pressures and powers of this world to which you still bow down, when there is only one name in heaven and on earth for which our heads should bow?

When your life is gone and your story is told, will there be a “nevertheless”?  He was a really nice guy, but…

My hope and prayer is that the stories of the kings, if nothing else, will remind us of our need to cast out the idols that this world offers, and to cling wholeheartedly to our savior Jesus Christ!

Now that’s a legacy worth leaving.

SDG

How should a Christian celebrate Halloween?

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“The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord.
The one who eats, eats in the honor of the Lord…”
(Romans 14:6)

There is a tension that comes with Halloween, much like the tension of Christmas.  With Christmas, it is difficult not to get swept up in the commercialism, the “Currier and Ives” nostalgia, and the flat out hedonism of the “I’ve-been-good-give-me-what-I-want” mentality.

Halloween carries its own jumbled baggage.  The early church celebrated All Saint’s Day to commemorate the lives of the saints who had died as martyrs and witnesses of the faith.  To honor, or “hallow” a saint, sometimes leads to idolatry, elevating the life of a man to a demigod like status, but the abuse of an honor ought not negate the honor.  The author of Hebrews recites the Faithful Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11, honoring the great witnesses of our faith as a way of encouraging our continued life of faith.  The night before this day of remembrance, All Hallows Eve – or Halloween – as one Pastor writes, “was thought to be a last ditch party on the part of unholy ones — devils, witches, fairies, imps and so forth.”

None of that really matters today; we’ve lost all sense of tradition or purpose behind Halloween.  Having jettisoned every element of honoring the lives of the saints, the All American Halloween is – like everything else – all about filling your bucket.  Add to that a hyper-sexualization (“Sexy Witch” or “Naughty Schoolgirl”), or ghoulish morbidity (zombie, vampire, etc…), or a combination (“Sexy Zombie Nurse” – which really doesn’t make any sense), and there is little to commend about Halloween.

Still, we want to maintain an “in the world, but not of the world” practice, and if you live anywhere near children, you will surely have a few trick or treaters to entertain tonight.  So what do you do?  How do you celebrate this day without compromising your witness?  Here are a couple of points:

  • Be Gracious
    Remember that there are some Christians, maybe within your own church, who will choose not to participate in the festivities of the day.  Call it what you want, a Fall or Harvest Festival, they want nothing to do with it.  Then there are those whose yards are all decked out, and the fog machine is running, and they greet you at the door in full costume. Faithful Christians disagree about Easter (or is it Resurrection Sunday), Christmas, playing cards on Sunday (or any day for that matter); so you know they will disagree on how we participated in Halloween.  Let this be your guiding principle, “Treat one another with the same grace, patience, and forgiveness that God has shown you in Jesus Christ.”  That kind of love will cover a multitude of sins.
  • Be Hospitable and Joyful
    Here’s a thought from Doug Wilson, “When neighborhood trick or treaters come to your door, I would encourage you to give them more candy than unbelievers give, as opposed to a glare and/or a tract about the fires of hell. We want to behave during this time in such a way that their celebrations are revealed as far more anemic than ours (not to mention twisted and gross).”  We talk a lot about living our lives so that others may see our joy and want to be a part of it.  No watered-down, imitation celebration will do that.  Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine so that everyone marveled.  Do you seriously think that the lollipop and “Jesus sticker” is going to get anyone’s attention.
  • Glorify God
    Whether you celebrate the day as Elvis, or turn off the lights and pray the “hottentots” won’t come to your door, let us remember that in all things we are to glorify God.  If you celebrate the day, celebrate it in a way that will bring glory to God.  And I’m sorry, but I don’t see how demons, ghouls, zombies, and half-naked witches do that.  If you do, then you have a difficult argument to make.  Let your costumes, and your conduct, show the glory and light of God in a darkened world.  Let this be the guiding principle in all of your ways, “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

SDG