Giving Thanks

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

What C.S. Lewis called “the bloodthirsty Psalms” have always puzzled me.  How could David call on God

to destroy his enemies, and take delight in their annihilation?

The times in which we live help me understand.  Those for whom David prayed destruction were first of all
GOD’s enemies, haters of all good.   Every desire of their hearts was continually evil; their daily attacks on
righteousness offended the Righteous One, and grieved everyone who loves Righteousness.

The best parallel may be Nazi Germany.  Every righteous German was surely grieved to live under the rule of

lies and murder . . . and anguished that many German “Christians” were deceived to approve, and even join in,

the deeds of those liars and murderers.

Germans who loved righteousness must have fervently cried out to God each day, as David did, to be saved
from the oppression of evil-doers, and PASSIONATELY prayed God to destroy them, and all their works.

God did.

In this time of giving thanks, we thank God that He will glorify His Name in our day.  We thank Him that He

decrees the destruction of the evil-doers who oppress and grieve His righteous ones, and decrees that HE
will save His people from their rule.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

 For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

 Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary.”

                                                                     --  Psalms 107:1,2

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Me and Israel

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

I'm a life-long friend of Israel.

Even as a kid, when I was more enarmored with end-times prophecy than with Christianity, I was
firmly impressed that the creation of the modern state of Israel was one of God's signal works in
our times.  And I was pleased to reflect that Israel's birth and mine were within a few days of each
other.

By the time I was old enough for the draft, Vietnam was much on my mind, and I didn't want to end
up there if I could avoid it.  Not that war was then a great evil to me: just that, even in its early stages,
the Vietnam war seemed the kind of ill-conceived muddle nobody should risk their life in.

But I remember staying up all night excitedly listening to the news of the outbreak of war between
Israel and its Arab neighbors.  It was the kind of war I could genuinely consider a "cause:" Israel's
rightful fight for national survival.

I wrote to the Israeli Embassy the next morning, asking how and where I could volunteer for the
Israeli Army.  I was no doubt thinking, as most people probably did, that the war would continue
for some time.  The fact that hostilities ended after six days, with the Israelis sweeping the board
(including most significantly, the formerly Arab-held parts of Jerusalem), was marvelous, and made
me jubilant: and even more certain that God (as little as I knew of Him at the time) had re-asserted
that Israel would exist.

It was also a bit disappointing.  A letter from some junior military aide at the Israeli Embassy only
arrived weeks after the war was over, thanking me for my wishes of support for Israel.  I think I still
have it somewhere in my papers.

When I became a Christian, I had even more admiring interest in Israel.  I'd gone back to school,
and the university I was lucky enough to attend had a program in Judaic Studies, which became
my minor.  I wanted to learn Hebrew anyway, for studying the Bible; and also picked up some hours
on Biblical archaeology and history.

Interestingly, one course under the Judaic Studies program was on Middle Eastern society, taught by
an authority on Islamic civilization (herself Jewish).  One of the most informative courses I took, it
really didn't deal much with politics: but treated Israel as one of the nations whose society was, and
is, shaped by Arab people, and by Islam.

(My Hebrew teacher Tzivia Gaba, the sweetest lady, was by contrast not an academic at all, but a
local housewife.  I think she got the gig because of her fluency in the language.  I learned later that
her husband Joe "had friends" who'd illegally shipped guns to Israel in 1948.)

But the greatest influence on my love for Israel was the man under whose ministry I was baptized in
the Holy Spirit, and whose teaching I've followed ever since, Derek Prince.  A teaching Fellow in philos-
phy at Cambridge before the war, he'd taken a Bible with him to critique when he was drafted in 1940:
and felt that he personally encountered Christ, reading one night in an Army training barracks.  ("From
that day to this, I never doubted that Jesus is Alive.")

He served as a medical non-combatant in North Africa and the Sudan during World War II.  When the
war ended, he moved to Ramallah in the British Palestine Protectorate to marry a Danish woman he'd
met on leave, Lydia, who had started a small Christian orphanage there.  He became the father of her
adopted Jewish and Arab orphans, and began to preach Christ.  The family remained there until 1948,
and had what he called "the very dangerous privilege" of being in Isreal as it became a nation, and
fought for its survival.  (When his ministry became international, he maintained a home in Jerusalem,
where he lived 6 months of each year, and where he died in 2003.)

A lot of my understanding of rightful Christian love for Israel traces back to Derek Prince' teaching.
Too much to summarize it all; but only to say that my conviction of Israel's centrality in God's plans
is firmly rooted in scripture.

From that viewpoint, I have to regard the current "Christian" political adulation of Israel as completely
unscriptural.  It has made love of Israel a political "issue;" and fostered the inevitable unGodly mindset
of angry partisanship.  Its teaching is that love for Israel must entail contempt for Palestinians; if not
hatred of them.

This fits nicely into the mindset of many American "conservative Christians," with whom contempt for
Arabs is an article of faith "sanctified" by the fact that they are Muslims, followers of a violently anti-
Christian religion.  It's a false belief, which overlooks the fact that the minority Christian community in
both Israel and Palestine is Arab, and the oldest continuing Christian community in the world. It's also
an unChristian belief that any race or nationality are inherent enemies of Christ.

But it has served the purposes of "conservative" Israeli politicians (Bibi Netanyahu, for example) that
America's "Christian conservatives" support, as "love of Israel," whatever violence and hatred Israel's
government visits on Palestinians.  (There's a close parallel in "Christian conservatives" willingness to
support the violence and hatred their faction inflicts on Americans, as "making America great again.")

The best counter to what today's "Christians" teach as "love for Israel" is scripture.  Simply this: that
America's "Christian conservatives" show they "love Israel" by approving Israel's unrighteousness and
violence towards its neighbors.  In His love for Israel, God continually excoriated and chastised the Jews
for their unrighteousness and violence toward their neighbors.

I do not for an instant believe that "Christian conservatives"are better "friends of Israel" than God.  And
fiercely believe that their politically-motivated "love for Israel" is spiritually destructive to Israel.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Bill O'Reilly and Truth

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Disgraced Faux “News” commentator Bill O’Reilly has just come out with a biography of the current
president.  An interview in which he called the man "brilliant" probably gives some idea of what
readers can expect.

O'Reilly also described the current president's political success as “hardscrabble.”

It's the first time I’ve heard the success of a multi-millionaire’s son called “hardscrabble.”

It's interesting to look at political figures O’Reilly disparaged as "elitists" during his career on
Faux "News."

     There was the biracial son of a single mother, raised by his grandparents;

     the daughter of a small businessman in Chicago;

     the son of a Jewish immigrant paint-salesman in Brooklyn;

     and the daughter of a janitor in Oklahoma City.

It looks like "elitist" is O'Reilly's sneer at people who succeed by being smart and working hard.

In what O'Reilly calls “The United States of Trump," it looks like "truth" is what you get by turning
every fact about America inside-out, and standing it on its head.

God, THANK YOU that You will not abide lying tongues, false witnesses, and those who spread strife
among brothers.  God, judge them in Your righteousness and call Your people back to your Truth.  Amen !

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Deleting a Recommended Blog: One Year Out

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

A little over a year ago, I wrote about the quandry of feeling I had to remove a
website from my list of recommended blogs.

https://cross-purposes.blogspot.com/2018/06/why-delete-link.html

The writer was a man I'd considered a brother.  His blog was more floridly "pious" than
I cared for, but sometimes he had a good insight about God's "call to the remnant" of
saints alienated from the current church, which was the focus of his blog.

Over time, I'd noticed his blogs about events happening in the church and the world
took attitudes that seemed at odds with reality. One shrill post compared the Nazis
to (as he claimed) the crowds of Obama-supporters on college campuses who shout
down everyone who disagrees with them.

I still remember the pains I took to craft a scripture-based reply, non-judgemental and
diplomatic, but saying "surely you know that isn't reality ?"  He didn't post my reply--which
I considered dishonest blogging--and he never responded, on his blog or privately.

It seemed that was a good time to remove his blog from my recommendations, and to
stop following it myself.  I fiercely believe real piety, and any insight God is pleased to give
us, corresponds to reality.

I got to wondering last night if that blogger had come to his senses, so I looked up his blog.
Many of his posts were, still, couched in the flowery language and tropes of Nineteenth-
century religiosity, and off-putting.  Nothing there struck me as spiritually insightful.

And then he had a post about the coming persecution of the saints, a regular topic on his
blog.  It began this way:

"Prosecution plus politics equals inquisition. In an inquisition it is not about guilt or innocence.
One is already presumed and announced to be guilty. Only by bowing to the authority of the
inquisitors can one be exonerated. You may believe what happened to Brett Kavanaugh or
President Trump are isolated cases of judicial madness, where the strongest and most dominant
voice in the room is the shrill scream of the demented masses, but you would be wrong."

The responses to his post were also enlightening.  All spoke agreement with his words (any that
didn't may have been suppressed).  Most were also in the same florid piety of language and
terms he favors.

But one angry response railed at the "Demoncrats" for persecuting God's people.  No blogger,
of course, is responsible for what his commenters say.  But it seemed significant that this blogger
published, and let stand, such a response.

But most telling to me was that this blogger adduced "what happened to Brett Kavanaugh or
President Trump" as the prototype of the coming persecution of the saints.  That probably told
me everything I needed to know about this individual's perception of spiritual reality.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Facebook Opinions

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

When I make posts on facebook, I sometimes get back-chat from "friends" who don't
"like" my politics.  When I make posts on facebook, it's certainly . . . thanks be to God . . .
always clear what I like, and what I hate.

It doesn't matter if people disagree with me.  Not because people's "right" to hold and
speak whatever "opinion" they wish is a real thing, but because people's opinions don't
ultimately matter.  One take-away of John 1:3  ("All things came into being through Him,
and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being") is that God
Alone created reality as He wished. Contrary the central doctrine of "democracy," no
other "opinion" has any bearing on what reality is, or how it works.

What's left to us is to acknowledge God's sovereignty in the matter, and  live in synch
with God's reality, and His ways and purposes in it . . . or not.

I think it's clear in all my facebook posts that I "like" people who tell the truth. Every-
one else is a deceiver.

Clear too that I "like" people who do good to others. Everyone else is, in Jesus' terms,
ia murderer (Matthew 5:21-2).

Those are the political principles I'm coming from: same as the principles of my life
and my religion.

People are welcome to take issue with my politics all they want.

But anyone who "likes" principles of life, religion, and politics contrary to the ones
I'm coming from is a damned fool . . . in this world and the next.

Not just my opinion.


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

A Worthwhile (!!) facebook Post

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

I spend as little time as possible on facebook: there's seldom anything there that's
really worth reading, or pondering.

But a few days ago my daughter posted a tweet (which I don't do at all) on facebook
that seemed worth re-posting to my friends, and worth mentioning here.

It's from someone named Mark Sandlin, whom I think is a pastor:

"After close study, I have concluded that Jesus believed there are two kinds of people:
your neighbors, whom you are supposed to love; and your enemies, whom you are
supposed to love."

AMEN !!


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Communist Christians

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

"And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and
not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all
things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were
giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was
upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were
owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 
and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any
had need."

                                                                                                          --  Acts 4:32-35

Many Christians have accepted a political worldview that "conservative" is somehow
the equivalent of good.  That was indeed the purpose of the political "Christian
conservative" movement of the late 1970s: to convince Christians that identifying
with that human politico/socio/religio philosophy was kinda the same as believing in
Jesus.

Politicians (and their "Christian leader" allies), whose self-promotion was served by
thus deceiving Christians, also taught their followers that "liberals" and "socialists"
are evil.

Let's face it, most people are rather sketchy on "politico/socio/religio philosophy,"
even their own: and It's nearly impossible to get any large group of people to agree 
on what they all believe.  Much easier to gather a faction around what they're all
against.

And the most successful factions, around who they're against.  Jesus Himself said
it's always easy to see what's wrong about other people (Matthew 7:3).  Leaders of
human factions don't understand His words as warning...it's their playbook.

If you disregard that stuff the Bible says about our enemies not being flesh and
blood (II Corinthians 10:3 and Ephesians 6:12), and discountenance its teaching
that "factions" are contrary to the working of the Spirit (Galatians 5:20)...you've got
the makings of a dandy little faction.  One that could even draw in Christians who
are rather sketchy on what the Bible teaches: and that's millions of votes...sorry,
I mean, "Christians."

It was easy.  When Christians bought into the unBiblical, manifestly human-political,
teaching that "conservatism" is equivalent to Christianity, they swallowed the "conser-
vative" faction's moral worldview: "conservative, good...liberal BAD !!"

The problem is that it's not a moral worldview at all, but a political one...which self-
serving politicians (seconded by their "Christian leader" allies) claim is a moral one.
Claim blasphemously, for who but God defines what is "good," and what is "evil" ?

The question for Christians buying into the false political "moral" view would be simply,
"where does the Bible teach that ?"  But those who fail to practice the Bible's command
of self-examination don't seem to ever come to that question.  And it's a certainty that
people who don't honestly measure their beliefs against the Bible's teachings...which
includes, unfortunately, very many Christians...will default to man's "natural" thinking:
including the "factionalist" worldview, "us vs. them," that the Bible warns us against.

So it's not surprising that the "moral" worldview of many Christians today comes down
to the politicians' simplistic, wrong, formulation: "conservative, good...liberal BAD !!"

For many of my generation, there's also the groundwork for moral-political confusion
that was laid by our Cold War childhood indoctrination: that "we" (people of democracy
and "freedom") are good...and communists are "evil" incarnate.  Peopleof my generation
are especially susceptible to the current deceivers' manipulation that "socialists" are, on
the political spectrum, "almost-communists," and "liberals," nearly socialists.

So it's always clear to all "Christian conservatives"...whose factionalist worldview makes
them slaves of politicians, rather than Christ...who the real "enemy" is to hate and fear.

But I've always wondered what "Christian conservatives" make of Acts 4:32-35 ?

If they read it at all, that scripture should raise some uncomfortable thoughts, if any at all.

As soon as the Church was born, believers began practicing "communism."  There's no
other way for politically-minded "Christians" to understand those verses.

Of course, the first Christians' political beliefs had nothing whatever to do with it.  And
the term "communist" for what they were doing wasn't even coined until some eighteen
centuries later.

The early Christians that passage talks about would of course have understood what
they were doing in spiritual terms: that they were acting in the power of the Holy Spirit,
and obeying Jesus' teachings to love each other, and die to self.

I think their interpretation of their experience was exactly right: and I think that should be
the understanding that every Christian who reads that passage with spiritual eyes gets
from it.  Probably even political "Christians" would have to agree that was the first Church'
understanding of their experience; and that the much-later political interpretation of it was
questionable.

So I have to wonder what my "Christian conservative" friends make of it, that when God
fills people with the Holy Spirit, and they begin radically living out Jesus' teachings...it's
exactly what their political-"religious" faction calls "communism" ?

Perhaps they should re-think their faction's politicized perception of Christianity ?


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Death and Evil: Anniversary

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Today is the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II: the day in 1939 when Hitler's armies faked
a "border incident" to justify their invasion of Poland.  Within days, England and France, allies of Poland,
also declared war on Germany, and all the nations of the earth were plunged into the most destructive
war mankind has yet seen.

The best official estimates are that, in all the world's nations; from military actions, war-crimes, and
war-related famine and disease; between 70- and 85-million people died.

We won a great victory over evil...as we think.

But the evil motives for which that war was fought, and every war is fought...

and the evil ideas by which men always tell themselves it's God's work to kill each other...

are still alive.


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Christians in Government ?

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

That is the fraught question, i'n't ?  Can a Christian serve, and BE a Christian, in a secular government  ?
 After pondering that question for almost 50 years, I'm still not to a "yes" or "no" answer yet.

In our current governments, there are heavy considerations against the affirmative: the most weighty
is probably that "demos kratia" ("people rule"), by its very name, positions itself fundamentally counter
to "the kingdom of God."

On the other hand, the belligerent anti-government doctrine of current American "conservatism" is clearly
ungodly: a blazing manifestation of satan's original sin, rebellion/lawlessness; and entirely counter to God's
characterization of human governments as HIS ministers for good, and against evil-doers (Romans 13:1-7).
The take-away has to be that human government is not constitutionally unfit for Christian participation: and
is indeed a sphere that especially REQUIRES Christians' discernment of good and evil, to fulfill its mandate
from God.

The problem is that Christians must enter into that ministry with the knowledge that "governments of men"
are never "the Kingdom of God," and cannot be made so.  The problem is also that Christians in that ministry
are charged with handling power (itself a corruptive agent), in a system which operationally affirms that the
kingdom, the power, and the glory belong to man.

The way to BE an unwavering Christian in those circumstances is doubtless especially difficult.  Looking on
as outsiders, we'd probably have to say that few there are who find it.

Maybe there's a clue in Acts 22.  After one sermon, Paul cited his Roman citizenship to be delivered from the
fury of the mob, and from the punishment of Roman law.  In that instance, his citizenship in the world's empire
could be said to have aided his preaching the gospel.

But Paul began his sermon there by strongly emphasizing his identity as a Jew.  It may be a useful distinction
between the incidental of our worldly citizenship, and our essential "true identity."

The evils that current "Christian" politics, and governments, and nations perpetrate are good evidence their
"true identity" is NOT Christian whatever.  Their desire is instead for worldly power, obtained by the world's
means and used in the world's ways...for man's glory.

It's probably harder in this present time than any other, except Nazi Germany, for a Christian to participate in
our worldly government...except for those who may have God's direct call to that ministry.  But for most of
us, especially in these last days, I have to think God's call is "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not
participate in her sins and receive of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4).

Probably ordinary employees of the world's power-structures are safe from becoming part of their evil, as
long as they are hyper-vigilant that their work not contribute to its evil deeds.  But evil advances by inches.

A clerk is no doubt blameless filing a government office' correspondence: but don't they become part of the
evil if they prepare or send a letter telling facilities to keep detainees in cages, according to the agency's policy ?
Such a policy might not be the clerk's personal desire: he might even believe it an evil policy: but is anyone who
facilitates, transmits, or otherwise helps make evil effectual blameless ?

Probably the greatest danger is not to government employees, but to those who are notionally the masters of
government.  As little as it works so in political reality, we humble anonymous citizens are ultimately responsible
before God, for the deeds of this "government by the people."  More than any employees who implement the
policies of government, we street-level ordinary citizens determine what those policies, and the direction of
that government, will be...by what we "approve" (Romans 14:22).

We, more than anyone else, must be hyper-vigilant against that government doing evil.

We have not been, and are not being, vigilant when we "approve"evil-doers making policy and directing our
government.

We need to repent.  Amen.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Derek Prince: The Spirit of Truth

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Derek Prince by "coincidence" happened to be speaking in my city the same week God spoke
repentance to me.  My friend who'd witnessed to me urged me to go hear him.  He taught like
the apostle Paul, she said: straight from the Bible, nothing left out, and nothing added in.

Nearly 50 years later I still listen to Derek Prince' teachings, and still consider her description was
exactly on the mark.  And in this time when Truth is under daily attack, His teaching on what the
Bible says about Truth has never been more relevant.  AMEN !

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In this Teaching Legacy series, Who Is the Holy Spirit?, our goal has been to grasp the mystery of the Holy Spirit.  Our study of God’s Word so far has allowed us to see the presence of the Holy Spirit in creation; His unique role in the Trinity; His eternal existence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Our most recent segment focused on His holiness—reminding us of this aspect of His character: He is the Holy Spirit.

     As I have emphasized all along, our touchstone for interaction with the Holy Spirit is the Scriptures, which show us how we can actually come to know Him. Jesus speaks to His disciples about this sense of knowing in John 14:16-17:

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

     When Jesus promised to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit, He gave this Helper a special name: “the Spirit of truth.” Along with Jesus’ promise came the warning that the world would not be able to receive this Helper.

The World Cannot Know

     In this day and age, when the very idea of “truth” is under attack, it should not surprise us that the world is not willing to receive “the Spirit of truth”—the Holy Spirit. Why is this so?  The Scriptures supply two reasons.

     First, from the first day men and women turned away from God in rebellion, they have been unwilling to accept the truth. Why? Because the truth exposes their unrighteous deeds. Therefore, as Romans 1:18 says, they are determined to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”

     Second, rebellion against God has exposed humanity to the domination of the god of this age: “Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). Deception is the primary weapon through which Satan keeps humanity under his tight control. Why is the enemy so relentless in his efforts to deceive us? He knows that once his deception is stripped away, the world will see the truth—that Satan has nothing to offer anyone except a place with him in the lake of eternal fire!

What is Truth?

     For many centuries, human philosophy has struggled to produce a satisfactory definition of “truth.” Our world is asking the same question Pontius Pilate asked in his encounter with Jesus over 2000 years ago: “What is truth?” (John 18:38).

    The Bible provides a threefold answer to Pilate’s question. First, Jesus said, “I am the truth” (John 14:6). Second, in praying to God the Father, He said, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Third, John tells us, “The [Holy] Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6).

     In the spiritual realm, therefore, there are three coordinates of truth: Jesus; the Scripture; and the Holy Spirit. When these components line up, we arrive at truth—absolute truth. It is important to check all of these coordinates in coming to a conclusion. In this regard, there are three questions we must ask concerning any spiritual issue:

  1)  Does it represent Jesus as He truly is?
  2)  Is it in harmony with Scripture?
  3)  Does the Holy Spirit bear His witness?

     Historically, the Church could have been spared many errors and deceptions if it had consistently referred to these coordinates of truth in its presentation of teaching and revelation. Before we accept what is presented to us as truth, all three coordinates must be in place: Jesus, the Scripture, and the Holy Spirit.

Bearing Witness

     How does the Holy Spirit function as one of the major components in this truth process? The distinctive function of the Holy Spirit is to bear witness, as stated in 1 John 5:6: “It is the Spirit who bears witness.”

     The Spirit bears witness to Jesus as the eternal Son of God, who shed His blood on the cross as the all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. In the words of Charles Wesley’s classic hymn, “Arise My Soul, Arise”: The Spirit answers to the blood, and tells me I am born of God.

     The Holy Spirit also bears witness to the truth and authority of Scripture, as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: 

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance. 1 Thessalonians 1:5

Ananias and Sapphira

     As we saw in John 14, Jesus called the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of truth.” It follows then that there can be no compromise between the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, and Satan, “for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). This was dramatically demonstrated in the early church—when Ananias and Sapphira lied about the money they had offered to the church. They claimed that their offering was the full price of the property they had sold. In fact, they had kept back part of these proceeds for themselves.

     Clearly, the Spirit of truth in Peter was not deceived. He charged Ananias with lying—not merely to men, but also to the Spirit of truth Himself:

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. Acts 5:3-5

     Three hours later, Sapphira came in and repeated the same lie. Like her husband, she paid for that lie with her life.

     If asked what their sin was, you might say it was lying. Actually, the sin which Ananias and Sapphira were guilty of was hypocrisy—religious pretense. They were pretending to be more generous and more committed to the Lord than they really were.

     Jesus reserved His strongest words of condemnation for this sin when He found it in the religious leaders of His day. Seven times in Matthew 23 He said to the Pharisees: “Woe to you...hypocrites!”

What Is Hypocrisy?

    Our English words “hypocrite” and “hypocrisy” are derived from the Greek word hupokrites, which means “actor.”  This is the essence of hypocrisy: putting on a religious act. Probably no sin is more common among religious people than hypocrisy. (In fact, some forms of religion almost demand it.)

     Have you ever noticed how the manner and behavior of some people change when they enter a religious setting? They are no longer natural, free, and open. Gripped by some kind of invisible “cramp,” they feel required to put on a religious mask. Different branches of religion may require masks of a different kind. But few of them allow people to be their real selves.

 

Job’s Example

     The God of the Bible has no tolerance for hypocrites. This comes out very clearly in the story of Job. Job’s three friends poured forth a torrent of religious platitudes. They said, in effect, “God always blesses the righteous; they never suffer unjustly.” They also claimed, “God always judges the wicked; they never prosper.” Yet the facts of history demonstrate that this is not true. It is just religious talk!

     Job, on the other hand, was completely frank. He said, in effect, “God is not treating me fairly. I have done nothing to deserve all this. But even if He kills me, I will still trust Him.”

     In Job 42:7, the Lord revealed His estimate of the conduct of Job and his friends.

“The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.’”

     We need to ask ourselves: How does the hypocritical religious behavior among us differ from the sin of Ananias and Sapphira, which cost them their lives?

The Moment of Truth

     At a certain point in his career, King David was guilty of two terrible sins. First, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of his neighbor Uriah. Then to cover up his sin, he procured the murder of Uriah.

     Apparently, David got away with all this—until God’s messenger, the prophet Nathan, confronted him with his sin. At that moment, David’s eternal destiny hung in the balance. By God’s grace, David made the right response. He offered no excuses, nor did he make any attempt to cover up. He simply acknowledged, “I have sinned” (2 Samuel 12:13).

     Later on, in Psalm 51, David offered up a prayer of confession and then a cry for mercy. Verses 5 and 6 each begin with the word, “Behold,” expressing a sudden revelation of a vital truth.

     Verse 5 says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” David had come face to face with something that only the Spirit of truth can reveal. It was not just the sinful acts he had committed, but also the awful evil power of inherited sinfulness which indwells every descendant of Adam.

     Verse 6 reveals the only basis on which God offers deliverance from the power of indwelling sin: "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts.” Even after his sin, David had continued to go through all the outward forms of behavior appropriate to his role as king. But now there was a vast gap between his outward behavior and the inward condition of his heart. He had become a hypocrite—an actor playing a part which no longer corresponded to what was in his heart. For this hypocrisy, there was only one remedy: honest confession and wholehearted repentance. It is the same remedy for you and me if there is any hypocrisy in us.

A Barrier to Revival

     Many Christians today are speaking and praying about “revival.” But they often overlook the fact that there is one barrier to revival that can never be bypassed. What is that barrier? It is sin. Until sin is dealt with, true revival can never come. And there is only one way to deal with sin: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

     Frankly, many sections of the contemporary church are full of “covered sin.” Here are some sins Christians often seek to cover:

1.  Abuse of a child—physical, emotional, sexual—or a combination.
2.  Broken marriage vows.
3.  Unethical dealings with money.
4.  Addiction to pornography. (It would shock you to discover how common this is among church leaders.)
5.  Gluttony and overindulgence of our physical appetites.

     God’s remedy—in conjunction with the Spirit of truth—is twofold: first, confess; then, forsake. It is seldom easy to confess our sins. Yet there is no other remedy. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God has never committed Himself to forgive sins we are not willing to confess.

     But it is not enough merely to confess. We must also “forsake.” We must make a resolute determination not to continue to commit the sin we have confessed. We must follow the succinct advice Daniel gave to King Nebuchadnezzar: “Break off your sins by being righteous” (Daniel 4:27).

What About You?

     If this letter has brought to mind some areas of sin or disobedience in your life, this is a good time to open up to the Spirit of truth! He is ready and willing to come to your aid. Let’s ask for that help now.

     Dear Heavenly Father, I open my heart now to the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of truth. I already know there are areas of sin and disobedience in me. I confess them to You, and I commit myself to forsake them as I move forward in Your grace. Thank You for making the power of Your Spirit available to us. May the Spirit of truth be at work in me from this day forward in every aspect of my life and ministry. Amen.

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