by Barry Newton

Tis the season for scary movies to fill the box office marquees. Looking for a good fright? Unless our spiritual compasses are completely out of whack, Jesus can be downright disturbing. Unlike a movie whose situation you can escape by closing your eyes, pretending Jesus' words are not real does not make his haunting questions go away. Perhaps the best way to introduce one of his questions would be a story about some canoes.

"The Canoe Fleet"

The current had been smooth and lazy as a fleet of canoes glided further down the river. With skill the various teams dipped their oars into the water propelling them further out into the main current. The spirit of those in the canoes could not have been higher as they measured their success through the distance they had covered and how they were competitively faring with each other.

From a distant bank the voice of a single man faintly rose above the sound of the oars slicing into the river. "Stop!" His attempts to halt the river festival were futile as the canoe crews' optimism and enthusiasm mutually reinforced one another.

Slowly the tree-lined banks of the river gave way to sheer rock cliffs. Around the next broad bend in the river they sailed faster and faster as the river now commandingly pulled them forward. Suddenly, the flotilla's advance was greeted by a deafening roar. Their eyes widened and panic cascaded through the boats as each beheld the river disappearing into a giant cloud of white mist. Their strongest desire to wake up and escape the nightmare achieved nothing. Closer they were drawn to the massive edge. In the final moments their inner agony only deepened as they recalled the lone voice. Grown men cried out in frustration and terror until their voices fell silent.

Before we consider Jesus' very simple question, consider how hard it would be to leave the security of your crowd who is clamoring "everything is OK" in order to join a lonely voice headed in a different direction. As you ponder his question below, does not the Master Teacher in just a few words describe the entrapment of a fatal anesthetized self-induced blindness? His question becomes even more poignant if we look beyond his literal message to grasp a general principle. Has Jesus not cast doubt upon the ability of any culture or fellowship to achieve proper goals if it honors its own inbreeding of religious ideas rather than pursuing God's approval? Ready for the question?

"How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and do not seek to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?" (John 5:44).

by Barry Newton

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4, NIV).

If there was something you could do as a parent to reduce the possibility of someday asking the question, “why is my son/daughter like that” how seriously would you consider it? Would you make changes to your lifestyle if it would make a difference? How much inconvenience would you be willing to go through today to minimize the chances of that reality tomorrow?

If we could zoom into typical neighborhoods after the kids are home from school and a pair of tired parents have dragged themselves through the front door, what might we discover? Perhaps we would see a dad yelling at his son, “No, not now” because the son wants some individual attention. Or within a living room we might witness a dad sitting in his chair, the one that is off-limits to the kids, while he watches his favorite tv shows. Oh, by the way this husband will not lift a finger to help his wife who is frantically picking up the house, cooking dinner and trying to manage the children all at the same time!

Maybe in the next block there is a mother spinning a tale of lies to a daughter so that she can get out of a difficult situation. Around the corner, a young boy hears his father tease and humiliate his mother because years of hard work and neglect are beginning to show on her body. Nearby a couple ardently pursues a lifestyle of pleasure in spite of all the bills piled up on the table. All the while the kids’ antennas continue to absorb everything.

If these snippets of family life represent the norm in those families, would it be surprising for a son to later develop the habit of yelling and ignoring authority figures, to be self-centered, or to belittle his mother and show no respect for the opposite sex? Would it be unimaginable for a daughter to adopt the habit of lying to get what she wants? Should we be shocked if a daughter called her mother a hypocrite and rejected serving God?

Training our children involves so much more than just telling them what is right and taking them to church. Coaching our children is a twenty-four hour a day activity. Children do not stop learning just because their parents make mistakes! We teach our children their life-values and tools for handling problems by how we treat them and how we make decisions.

If I do not want my children to be selfish, I should not demand to get my way all of the time.

If I want my children to love, honor and respect my wife (and eventually their future spouse), I need to visibly honor, praise and be united with my wife.

If I want my children to grow into adults who worship God, I should not choose to take them to recreational activities when the saints are meeting for worship.

If I want my children to be able to see trouble coming, I need to not only talk out loud at home about the devastating effects of evil companions and Satan’s activity in the world, but I need to be doing my best to make the right decisions.

The list goes on and on. Our children learn how to live by watching us, what they experience and from outside sources. Before those outside influences begin to play a larger role in our children’s lives, parents need to train and empower a child to recognize evil, reject it and embrace the anchor that only God provides.

by Barry Newton

Rule #12 in the Newton household: Homework must be completed every day before you can play. My boys may not always enjoy this rule, but the self-discipline and education gained through doing homework is good for them. Accordingly, if I tell them to trot into their study area to do their homework, at times they are entitled to say, "dad, I do not have to study now, I have completed my obligation."

Now imagine the disaster which would follow if a husband told his wife, "honey, I do not have to spend time talking with you right now, I have already completed my duty." Or if we back this scenario up to the courtship, would any girl want to date a guy who acted like his time with her involved fulfilling the obligation of an assignment? Totally absurd!

While healthy relationships are characterized by each individual working hard to put love into action, for them it is a labor of love. They want to sacrifice time, energy, and money for their beloved. For a guy who is in love, there is no need to enforce a list of rules about how he must spend his time and money with the girl he is courting. He wants to be with her because his heart motivates him.

So when God looks into your heart as you think about joining together with the saints to praise him and study his word, what attitude does he see? Do you approach attending services as rule-based homework or a love-based relationship?

Sadly, people who say: "Well, the Bible does not say that I have to attend every time" or "Where's the rule that I have to go to Bible Class" have simply missed the point. Such questions betray their hearts even to the rest of us nearsighted humans. These are thoughts that bubble up from a heart that is more in love with other activities or pleasures than joining together with other saints to praise God and learn of his will.

Probably part of the reason why you will not find within God's message to us a list of rules about attending worship services is the same reason why wives do not post a list of rules for their husbands about how their spouses must show love to them. Wives desire their husband's hearts, not just ritualistic duty. Worship is all about God, not us. Worship is our response to what God has already done for us.

God has given us every reason to be filled with love and gratitude toward him. The natural response to grasping the depth and extent of God's love-based service toward us involves worshipping in spirit and in truth.

Need to grow in your attitude toward church attendance? Don't focus on what you could be doing. Don't think about the foibles of those with whom you will be worshipping. Meditate on the gravity and extensiveness of your sin and God's grace to you through Jesus' sacrifice. You may be amazed what happens.

by Barry Newton

Could these be some video clips from your neighborhood? Surrounded by her shopping treasures, she could not take her eyes off of her new picture perfect manicure and pedicure. She was feeling great for the moment. Buried deep beneath a wave of consumerism-induced euphoria glimmered the thought, "now they will have to like me."

From around the corner, a husband and businessman drove home. While his eyes guided him home, his mind wandered far way to a coworker. "She is just so beautiful." Slowly he traced the shape of her face and smile in his mind.

Several houses down, quietly she sat slumped in the darkness of her curtain entombed bedroom as an endless tape played over and over in her head. Deep and powerful feelings welled up into tears which slowly wandered down her cheeks.

Across the street, a young man felt the terrible, crushing power of self-loathing. He kept asking himself, "Why can't I be better?"

Is such a neighborhood rare? What would a tell-all video of your life look like? What low points would you want deleted?

It is sobering to realize God has watched every moment of our life's video tape. Not just our bodily behavior, our thoughts have also lain naked before his gaze. So perhaps it seems all the more astounding that he can love us. It is here we discover unconditional love.

If you have never felt unconditional love before, consider this. God knows who you are. He knows the fears. He knows the failures. He knows the insecurity and doubts. Yet, God loves you, not because you performed well, not because you are better than others, not because you are popular, rich, dependable, intelligent or fun to be with. He loves you because you are his child who has been made in his image.

God's love for you is much greater than just a feeling. While we were guilt-ridden, undeserving, and an enemy, love made a commitment-decision. God chose to act in the only way possible for us to be healed, forgiven, and granted life. Through Jesus' death, God offers us unconditional love.

Many people eek out lives in quiet desperation, longing to be truly loved. We already have been loved. When we have known what it is to be truly loved, we can become equipped to love ourselves as we ought and then pass it on.

"In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if in this manner God loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:10,11).

Postscript: Through Jesus' death, God offers us unconditional love. For those who reject his unconditional gift to be declared righteous, God's love will be powerless to save them from his righteous judgment.

by Barry Newton

He chose his words carefully. Standing next to me, the university professor made his case. It went something like this. If the Bible teaches that we can not be saved by works and if works involve doing something, then baptism can not be a part of salvation because baptism involves doing something.

My friend had failed to understand Paul. His difficulty was not that he lacked intelligence. Rather, by assuming a non-biblical definition of "works" he built his castle upon sand. For the moment, let's turn our gaze to another story.

Many years ago, a man was moved to apply pen to papyrus. God's people needed to be warned against a growing danger. It was imperative that they be reminded of what was true and taught about the path to follow. And so words regarding salvation spilled forth. "That I might be found in Christ, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but that which is through faith of Christ – the righteousness of God that is by faith."/1 And again, "For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast."/2

This would be a familiar chord the early church would hear from Paul. The apostle forcefully argued the futility of trying to achieve one's own righteousness through living up to the standard of the Law./3 In principle, completing the works of the Law would give a person cause for boasting./4 In actuality, the Law could never result in anyone being declared righteous, for it reveals the sinful weakness of the flesh./5

Paul's pen continued to push forward. God in his grace had provided a different way for people to be declared righteous which would not take into consideration their unrighteous state. Those who would rely upon Jesus for salvation would be included in the body of Christ and declared righteous on account of Jesus./6 Thus, salvation would be gifted to those who trust in Jesus. There would be no need for anyone to earn his or her own righteousness.

When Paul wrote that salvation is by faith and not by works, was he setting "just believing" against "doing something"? Or was the apostle contrasting two competing paths by which people in his day were seeking to be justified –– trusting in Jesus verses the self-reliance of demonstrating one's own goodness? As previously noted in this series of articles, to trust in someone can demand a person to do something.

What's at stake in how someone responds? First, there is the matter of accurately understanding the intended message. Second, the practical difference between the two paradigms of "just believing vs. doing something" and "trust vs. meriting righteousness" is enormous. The first paradigm logically denies that baptism can play any role in being saved, while the second is perfectly compatible with affirming the necessity of baptism to be forgiven. In some situations, in order to trust in someone a person must do something. Can we know which understanding the apostle intended? Yep!

If when Paul penned "not by works," he had meant we receive salvation independent of doing anything, then scripture should not tie salvation to any form of obedient activity. If it does, we can know that Paul was not denouncing "doing something" but rather was rejecting all efforts of self-reliance.

Since statements about active obedience leading to salvation abound,/7 Paul's purpose in writing "not by works" involved rejecting those attempts to merit righteousness. For Paul, the preaching of the gospel which causes someone to come to faith in Christ involves obedience./8

Baptism does not reveal our righteousness, rather it is the prescribed faith response to Jesus whereby someone depends upon Christ for forgiveness! With immersion a person is trusting in Jesus for cleansing and inclusion into the people of God. Salvation is not by works, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

1/ Philippians 1:9 2/ Ephesians 2:8,9 3/ Galatians 2:16,21; Romans 3:21,22 4/ Romans 3:27,28; 4:2; Ephesians 2:9 5/ Romans 3:20; 5:21; 7:7,8; 8:3; Galatians 3:10,11 6/ Romans 3:22-25; 4:21-5:2; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 7/ Hebrews 5:9; Romans 6;17,18; 1 Peter 1:22; Acts 2:38; 6:7; 22:16 8/ Romans 1:5; 16:25,26