Author: Proud Mpofu

By Martin Morrison

We all do it unconsciously. When we are with our family we discuss family matters which we don’t discuss with non-family members. It is not a lack of transparency or being hypocritical, it is wisdom. Relationships are built in concentric rings. On the outside ring are acquaintances with whom we exchange pleasantries and use functional language. With our friends we are generally more intimate and our conversation goes deeper. With our family, we are the most intimate, being able to discuss private, personal and family matters. Our passage today is for family, not mere acquaintances. We may call it inside information.

In Romans 8, Paul has been giving a master class about life in the Spirit. However, in Romans 8: 29 – 30, he tells the family exactly how it came about that they were recipients of the Holy Spirit. It didn’t just happen out of the blue. It certainly wasn’t luck or fate or chance. No, God was clearly in control in our becoming his children. When a child is born or adopted, it certainly doesn’t happen by chance. No, decisions were made. Much thought was expended. Preparations were made. Well, Paul tells us that it is no different when it comes to those who are children of God.

The Roman Christians to whom Paul was writing were facing varying degrees of persecution and opposition to their faith. Christianity was outlawed and it was a scary time to be a follower of Jesus. If you failed to pronounce, “Caesar is Lord”, there was a bounty price on your head, and thousands in fact were martyred for their faith in Christ. Today in 2020, there are more Christians being persecuted for their faith in secular, Hindu and Muslim countries than ever before in the past 2,000 years.

So, Paul encourages God’s children with some amazing truths, in order that they may be encouraged and remain faithful to Christ. These truths are for all of us, members of God’s family, throughout the ages. They are taught to us to embolden us to remain faithful to Christ to the end.

Paul uses 5 key words to describe our spiritual birth here in our passage. They are foreknew, predestined, called, justified and glorified. Let me briefly unpack each one of them, which should result in our praise, worship and thanksgiving to God.

Foreknow

This does not mean that God merely knows facts in advance, or that he chooses people because he happens to know that they will later believe. Knowledge here is not merely a cognitive matter (knowing facts), but a matter of personal relationship. Amos 3:2, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth”. The word “known” includes the idea of being chosen and loved.

Imagine, you were foreloved before God created the world. Your life and death is not subject to COVID 19, or chance or fate! On the contrary, God foreloved you before the foundation, how much more must he love you now and will continue doing so for all eternity!

Predestined

The word “predestined’ means, “to decide beforehand”. As John Stott says, “Clearly, then, a decision is involved in the process of becoming a Christian, but it is God’s decision before it can be ours. This is not to deny that we “decided for Christ” and “freely”, but to affirm that we did so only because he had first “decided for us”. This emphasis on God’s gracious, sovereign decision or choice is reinforced by the vocabulary with which it is associated. On the one hand, it is attributed to God’s pleasure, will, plan and purpose, Ephesians 1:5,9,11, and on the other it is traced back to “before the creation of the world” or before time began, Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9.”

Whenever, we speak of the character of God or the purposes of God, there will always be an element of mystery. If it were not so, then God would be as finite limited as we are. God would not be God. Therefore, our only proper response is awe, wonder and thankfulness.

CALLED

The call of God is the application of his eternal predestination. It is more than the general Gospel invitation. It is God’s effectual call which is always effective. By nature and birth we are spiritually blind, deaf and dead. Conversion is absolutely impossible unless God gives sight, hearing and life. This call speaks light into darkness, 2 Corinthians 4:6 and life to the dead, 2 Corinthians 4:17.
Without God’s effectual call, we would still be dead in our sins. “Everyone who is eventually saved can only ascribe his salvation from the first to the last, to God’s favour and act. All human merit is excluded”, C J Vaughan.

JUSTIFIED

Justification is more than forgiveness or mercy or acceptance. Justification is a legal word. When Christ died on the cross, the sins of people like you and me were placed upon Christ and the righteousness of Christ was placed upon us. Because of the substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross, we are legally declared righteous in the sight of God. In the court of heaven, God declares you justified, not guilty. Even though as a Christian I still sadly sin and at times give in to indwelling sin, nonetheless, God has declared me not guilty in the highest court in the universe, because of the substitutionary death of Christ on my behalf.

For example, when the State President acquits a certain person or a certain category of prisoners, it does not mean that they did not commit the crime. They did. The acquittal declares that their crime will no longer legally be held against them. So it is with justification. Our sins are no longer held against us. That does not mean that we did not commit them, we did. No, it means that they are no longer legally held against us, because of Christ and the cross. God has acquitted us. Justification is by faith not by works. Salvation is absolutely free for us. But Christ had to pay the price with his life and his blood.

GLORIFIED

Those who are “in Christ”, will be glorified. We will have new bodies in a new world and share in the glory of God. For the non-Christian, this world with all its brokenness and sadness is the best you are going to get. Incredibly, for the Christian, the best is yet to come! Paul is speaking of the future, and yet he uses the past tense. God is absolutely convinced that those he foreknew, predestined, called and justified will be glorified. No ifs or buts. It is as good as done, because God will see that it is done! If you are in Christ, then you will most certainly and most definitely be with Christ in glory! This will not be because you were strong enough to hang on to the end. No, it will be entirely because God hung onto us to the end.

If you are facing incredible pressures and difficulties, then these eternal truths, can be of infinite comfort. You are not alone. You are not lost. Your future is not an infinite, never ending tunnel of appalling darkness. You are not here by chance or mutation. You are not just a number. You are not dispensable or disposable. No, God has placed you and your life in his eye, upon his mind from before the foundation of the world! What an incredible privilege and honour.

As I said, these are family matters. To the outsider, Jesus says, “Repent and believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand”.

By Martin Morrison

There are two things which can cause a Christian to become deeply unsettled and miserable. The first is our ongoing failure with sin. The second is suffering. The problem with both these matters, is that they can unsettle our sense of security in God. They can unsettle our assurance. They can cause us great unhappiness.

The grand theme of Romans 8 is assurance. From “no condemnation” in the first verse to “no separation” in the last verse. Not only do they serve as beginning and end markers, but Paul affirms this assurance throughout the chapter for those who are in Christ. “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God”, Romans 8:16.

The reason for this repeated affirmation is to prevent his Roman readers from becoming disillusioned with the Gospel. “If Christ died for our sins, why do we still struggle with sin?” If Christ conquered suffering and death, why do Christians still suffer and die?”

Throughout Romans 8, Paul has made it abundantly clear that salvation this side of heaven is only partial. It is only the first instalment. Despite the reality of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, we still live in a broken world with broken bodies and other broken people. We are only tasting the first fruits of the Gospel. Only in glory will we feast on the full benefits.

We have already seen the transparent realism of Paul. This side of heaven, creation is still broken and groaning vs. 22. This side of heaven, we ourselves are still groaning waiting for future glory, vs. 23. This side of heaven involves suffering, but on the far side there will be glory, vs. 18. Paul is most concerned that we don’t believe in a false Gospel. A Gospel which says that Jesus will give you perfect health, perfect wealth, perfect success in this world. That is not Biblical Christianity. If that is what you believe, then you will soon become terribly disillusioned with Christianity. Cynical disbelief and agnosticism beckons.

More often than I care to remember I have been thanked by new members of our church family who have been scorched by the false teaching of prosperity churches. Their relief that they are not spiritual failures or third-class believers has been palpable. Their relief at discovering that brokenness in this life is not a sign of their lack of faith. Their relief to discover that they are not abandoned by God. Their joy to discover that their God has not failed! The true message of the Bible has exposed the sales pitch of the false teachers to be a scam! The so-called “Man of God” has finally been seen to have no clothes!

So, if Christians still struggle with sin and death, what assurance can Paul give them? Paul answers their question here in Romans 8 by reminding them that they have two great things. Firstly, they have the Spirit of God within them, as outlined in vs.9 – 17. Secondly, they have the promises of God as seen in vs. 31 – 39. These promises are fleshed out in 4 questions. Let’s have a look at them.

1. If God is for us, who can be against us?

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”, Romans 8:31. Paul does not ask the naïve question, who is against us? What an absurd question! The Christian daily faces a host of enemies. The world is opposed to us; the flesh or indwelling sin is an ever present impostor; the devil and powers of darkness are arraigned against us. More than that, we face daily tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword and death itself, vs. 35 – 36.

No, the real question is not, who is against us? But rather, if God is for us, who can possibly conquer us? When you put it like that, then the answer is obvious. You and God form a majority. An insurmountable majority! All the powers of hell can be arraigned against us, and we are safe.

A mouse and an elephant were walking across a massive bridge, at each step the bridge would vibrate. “Isn’t it amazing how the bridge vibrates when you and I walk across”, said the mouse to the elephant!

2. If God gave us his Son, will he not give us all things?

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32. If Paul had asked the simple question, will God not give us all things? I am not sure how we would respond? But that is not the question. Paul argues from the greater to the lesser. If God has already given us the costliest gift of his own Son, who gave his life for us, then surely, he won’t fail to give us absolutely everything we need! Of course, if there are certain things we don’t have, it must be because God does not think we need them!

Who delivered up Jesus to die?
Not Judas for money
Not Pilate for fear
Not the Jews for envy
But the Father for love.

3. Who condemns or brings any charge?

“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us”. Romans 8: 33 – 34

Imagine that you are in a great courtroom somewhere in eternity. Picture the scene. The great judge of all the earth is at the bar, the record books are open before him. You are standing in the dock, ashamed and fearful. You are about to answer for all the deeds done in the flesh. Three witnesses have come to testify against you. The Bible, the devil and your conscience. The great judge calls the first witness. The Bible steps forward and informs him that you ought to be found guilty. “Oh, Judge”, says the Bible, “this person has not kept your laws, he had countless opportunities to hear the Bible being taught, but he ignored me, neglected me, spurned your laws. He must be found guilty”. You hang your head in shame, you know it is true and you are guilty.

The great judge calls the next witness, the devil. “Oh Judge”, he says, “this man must be condemned for he fell for almost every temptation I put before him. Time after time he committed sins against you. Countless times he offered no resistance. He must be found guilty”. Your shoulders slump even more. It is all true. Your mind races back over the years. You remember how, with careless abandon, you did exactly what you wanted to do. You thought you could get away with it. People were hurt in the process. You are guilty.

The third witness steps up to the witness box. It is your conscience. “Oh Judge”, he says, “this man constantly and deliberately flouted every warning I gave him, every nudge, every restraint. He was so obsessed with himself and his own desires that he pushed me aside until I could stir him no longer. He must be punished”.

How ashamed you feel, you remember with overwhelming guilt the times you did things you knew were wrong. Your lusts, your evil desires. Your selfishness took you in a direction that you knew to be wrong. You know you are guilty.

A hush falls over the courtroom, the evidence has been heard. The judge must give the judgement. He calls you. “All that these three witnesses have said is true. My judgement is that the soul that sins must die. You will go to eternal death to bear my wrath from everlasting to everlasting”.

You have nothing to say. What can you say? It is all true. You are guilty. You ignored the Bible, because you felt you were too clever for God’s book. You obeyed the devil and his temptations time after time. You blunted, shunned your conscience. You stand condemned.

But wait, there’s someone stepping out from the crowd. It is Jesus, he has come as your advocate. “Wait” he says. “I do not plead the innocence of this person. He is guilty. I have no defence to offer on his behalf, except this”. He holds up his hands and the great judge see the imprints of nails in his hands.

You see the great eternal punishment has already been paid for. He bore your punishment. He died your death. He took your place. He died for you.

As the great judge sees the nail prints in the hands of his Son, he takes his pen and writes cancelled across your charge sheet. Your debt has been paid. Your punishment has been meted out. Justice has been done. You are acquitted, never to appear in that court again.

No wonder Paul, says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. No condemnation, what a statement! Millions live their lives with guilt and remorse and shame, because of what they have done. Their consciences often accusing them. Pauls says, “No condemnation”. Romans 8:1. Those sins have already been punished. Those sins can never be held against you again.

4. Who can separate us from the love of Christ?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” Romans 8: 35. Paul lists seven possible things that could happen to a Christian. Paul assumes that Christians are not exempted from anyone of these events. Paul probably mentioned these seven because he experienced them all! In fact, vs 36 includes persecution and death, which Paul eventually experienced, when he was martyred for his faith.

A paraphrase of vs. 36 is not, “Come to Jesus and he will solve all your material or earthly problems”, but rather, “Come to Jesus and suffer. Come to Jesus and join the queue for the abattoir!”

Question. If you suffer for Christ, does that disprove his love for you? On the contrary, Christ proved his love for us by suffering for us. Our suffering for Christ cannot disprove his love. Paul ends off his argument with this magnificent all-inclusive promise,

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, not things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Romans 8:38 – 39.

By Nkosi Mlambo
Extracted from The Gospel Coalition Africa

Over the past few months, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a song called Jerusalema produced by South African DJ Master KG has trended like wildfire on social media. Fellow Africans from Angola danced to it in a video, which is now known as #JerusalemaDance. Later it resulted in a #JerusalemaDanceChallenge on TikTok.

Views of the song grew in large numbers daily (as we publish this article it’s closing in on 200 million views). That number is still climbing. I was surprised when I first heard it, late in 2019. Like many others, Jerusalema adapts another, older song. And I used to sing the original version of it in morning assembly, back in primary school.

Because of its popularity, media outlets have written about the song and its impact. They have also interviewed Master KG. But very few of these interviews touched on the meaning or message of the original hymn. Unfortunately it seems to have been forgotten. Therefore, in this article, I will reflect on the forgotten theological message and roots of Jerusalema. I hope that by doing this we will ponder its meaning even as we listen to the newer version.

Before we do that, let’s reflect on the meaning Jerusalema has taken in popular culture.

Jerusalema And The Desire For Unity

Jerusalema has taken on diverse meanings for different people around the world. In South Africa, it took a celebratory meaning. Before Heritage Day, our state president Mr Cyril Ramaphosa challenged everyone in South Africa to do the #JerusalemaDanceChallenge. He hoped that in doing so we could both celebrate South Africa’s diverse heritage and show the world that South Africans can produce good music.

For others, Jerusalema is a symbol of a potential unity for our fractured communities. Many people desire unity and peace. Yet daily we are confronted by fighting and unrest. We long for a world where peace, love, and happiness reign. A world without fighting. One article, written by Nyasha Chingono in The Guardian, quotes Nigerian musician Burna Boy saying, “My hope is that it unites us through our divisions and misunderstandings…KEEP READING

By Femi Osunnuyi
Article extracted from The Gospel Coalitin Africa

Should We Pray to God to Punish Our Enemies? Well that’s a very interesting question. Because really a lot of Christians are in practice of praying to God to punish our enemies.

Love, Not Violence

Well, the quick answer to that is, no. It doesn’t reflect who we are, to be as Christians. In fact, in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says you should love your enemies. In John 18, He says that His kingdom is not of this world because if it were, His followers would resist with violence. And in Romans chapter 12, we’re told that we should not pay evil for evil…KEEP READING

 

Here in Romans 12, Paul instructs us in vs 18, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all”. Oh Paul, what a most inconvenient truth. Once again, if truth be told, we have a strange kind of victim mentality when it comes to people who have wronged us in some way. It’s not for me to approach them, it’s not for me to take the first step. He said it first! He must apologize! It’s a self-righteous victim mentality. But even worse, what about people we have wronged. Why is she so thin-skinned! Typical, she took it totally out of context! She must just get over it. I didn’t mean it THAT way!

Paul gets totally under our skin, by telling us that in either case, whether wronged or the cause of wrong, it is our duty to live at peace with others. Paul is merely repeating the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5 and Matthew 18, that in either event we are to take the first step in reconciliation. Whoever said that Christianity was a crutch!! A MOST inconvenient truth!

This time of lockdown has many blessings. The one blessing is of extra time. We may not necessarily see it as a blessing, but it is. It gives us time to be reconciled with our neighbour. But first you need to close the door. You need to switch off all media. You need to talk to God and ask him to remind you of anyone you need to be reconciled with. Whether it is someone who has wronged you. Or whether it is someone you have wronged. Think back over the last year, the last 2 years, the last 10 years. Oh yes, now it comes back. If you are like me in any way, then a sudden coldness has descended upon you. Did I really do that! Did I really say that! Have I still not forgiven them? Paul says quite plainly, whoever caused the wrong, it is your responsibility to take the first step.

There are however, at least two dangers. The first is to think that others will automatically want to be reconciled with us. Paul is so wise when it comes to human nature. He fully understands that there are times when we have made every effort to be reconciled with another person, yet they are unwilling to reciprocate. How helpful it is when he says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you…”. There are times, when we have tried all we can, but the other person refuses to be reconciled. Be at peace says Paul, you’ve done all you can. Relax.

The second danger, which is more from wisdom than a particular text, is that there are times when it is better to let sleeping dogs lie. Sometimes it is unwise to make mountains out of molehills. Very occasionally it is even unwise to make mountain ranges out of mountains. Sometimes it is more loving not to remind someone of some great pain, anguish or heartsore. Sometimes it is we who must carry the burden.
What wisdom we need, to know the difference between making every effort to live at peace and letting sleeping dogs lie! Better to close the door again and talk to God.

As a pastor and preacher of the Bible, it is incumbent upon me to analyse my context and the culture I live in. It is then my duty and extraordinary privilege, to not only teach the whole counsel of God but to apply it to my own heart and then the hearts of those I pastor. It has often been said, that the duty of the pastor is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Let us see whether I can do both at the same time!!

It strikes me that each person and each culture will have their own peculiar idols and false gods. Remember that culture is your mother. You eat, sleep, dream your culture, without even being aware of it. Like a fish having no consciousness of water! When Christ invades your life, you suddenly find a very real conflict with your instinctive mother culture and your new faith. That conflict can at times be extremely painful and disturbing. Don’t be surprised, that’s how it’s meant to be. As you grow in your Christian faith and increasingly become part of the Christian family, you come to slowly realize that being a Christian is counter-cultural.

Let me come to the point. The first commandment in Exodus 20, repeated by Jesus in the Gospels, is, “You shall have no other gods before me”. Until this present pandemic, I always thought that the greatest idol in the Western world is autonomy. The trinitarian god of “Me, My and I”. It’s my way, it’s my life and it’s because I deserve it!

However, a pandemic as we face at the moment will bring to the surface certain fears. Those fears in turn will reveal some of our deepest idols. That’s what any apocalypse does, it reveals! I wonder if our greatest fear is not that of material loss but rather loss of control. I wonder if the most frightening thing of this present apocalypse is the thought that we aren’t in control of our lives. Which we aren’t and it’s obvious. Perhaps it is our collective idol, especially for the middle-class of which I am a member. Perhaps this is in fact the god that comes before the God of the Bible. “You shall have no other gods before me”.

Perhaps God’s kindness in this apocalypse is to remind us loudly, that if we belong to him then we were meant to give up control to him when we came to Christ. I wonder if Jesus is not fleshing out the first commandment in Mark 8:34 when he says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it”. It’s obvious, when you take up your cross, you are most certainly giving up control of your life. It’s also obvious, that when you lose your life for Christ and the Gospel you are serving another him and not yourself. It’s no longer you, but Jesus calling the shots. It’s Jesus taking control and you submitting to his Kingship. Which is a bit scary!

By Martin Morrison

In any organisation, one of the key questions is, Who’s responsible? Who’s in charge? When any organisation is going through a season of conflict or organisational chaos, the keen observer will correctly ask, where is the leader, who is accountable? Leadership is a critical necessity in every community of people. This same principle applies in marriage.

In Genesis 1 to 3, it becomes abundantly clear that men and women are both made in the image of God, but that they are different and have different roles. A key passage is Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a helper fit for him”. The word helper does not mean inferior. It means complimentary or corresponding to him. God does not create another man, but another human being who is like Adam, but different from him. She complements him, where he is lacking. The same word, helper, is sometimes used of God, when he is a helper to Israel. The woman provides what he cannot provide himself. Looking at Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:18, there are two key principles for us to understand in terms of marriage.

Firstly, both men and women are equally made in the image of God. The characteristics that make you female are from God. The characteristics that make you male, come from God. Equal worth, equal value, equal dignity. Secondly, men and women are different. Very different! In the earlier writings of Germaine Greer, an icon in the feminist movement, she argued that men and women are essentially the same. As we all know, you only have to be married for 5 minutes to know that men and women are very different physically, emotionally and psychologically!! God made us different, to compliment each other.

Because we are different, God has given men and women different roles in marriage. The role of the husband is to provide leadership and take final responsibility in the marriage and family. The role of the wife is to complement her husband by providing what he cannot provide, and by supporting and submitting to his leadership. There are some key indicators of this male leadership in Genesis. Remember, that this is part of the creation ordinances, prior to the fall. Therefore, the principle is universal for all ages, cultures, societies, irrespective of their beliefs.
The first pointer is that Adam is created first, and then Eve. In Hebrew culture as in African culture, the first-born child always has particular responsibilities, the special responsibilities of the first-born. Adam is the first-born, not Eve.

The second pointer is that it is Adam who has the responsibility to name the animals and all living creatures, “The man gave names to all the livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field”, Genesis 2:20. We then discover that Adam also names Eve and not the other way round, “…she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man”, Genesis 2:23. So just as Adam showed his authority over the animal kingdom by naming them, so Adam showed his authority over Eve by naming her.

Thirdly, in Genesis 3, it was Eve who was deceived by the snake, who decided that, “the tree was good for food so, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate”, Genesis 3:6. The text is crystal clear that Eve took the initiative in taking the forbidden fruit and giving the fruit to her husband. The reader is then shocked to discover that God holds Adam not Eve responsible and accountable for their disobedience, “But the Lord God called to the man and said, where are you… have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”, Genesis 3:9, 11.

So, it was Eve who was deceived by the snake, but God holds Adam accountable for not fulfilling his role of leadership. To paraphrase,, “Adam, you were meant to provide leadership in the marriage, but you failed in your responsibility. You shirked your duty and dropped the ball! I am holding you responsible for this mess! Where on earth were you? What were you thinking?”.

The Apostle Paul fleshes out the teaching of Genesis in Ephesians where he spells out the distinctive roles of a husband and a wife in marriage. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord”, Ephesians 5:22. It is quite clear that submission is not optional. It is not based upon the husband’s talents, abilities or intellect. It is based upon God’s order for creation, God’s order for marriage. It is based upon the nature of things. Also notice, that submission is a spiritual matter. Wives are to submit, “as to the Lord”. In your obedience to the Lord, you are to submit to your husband’s leadership. This does not mean that the wife is a slave to her husband. It does not mean that she is inferior to her husband. It does not mean that she is not to use her God-given gifts, intellect and talents to the full, (See Proverbs 31). It does not mean that she is a doormat. It does not mean that she can be abused or exploited in any way whatsoever. In actual fact, as we shall see, far from abusing or exploiting his wife, a husband ought to be willing to die for his wife. So much for patriarchy!

To flesh out this concept of submission, it is fascinating to note that there are different roles in the Godhead, “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God”, 1 Corinthians 11:3. Though the Son and the Father have different roles in the Godhead, they are both equally God. The role of the Son is to have the Father as his head, but it no ways diminishes the deity of the Son. In like manner, the husband is the head of the wife in their respective roles in marriage, but it in no ways diminishes the equality of the wife made in the image of God.

By Martin Morrison

Some years ago, there was a movie called “Dead Man Walking”. The story of a murderer and rapist played by Sean Penn, who was on Death Row in a Louisiana Prison, one week before his execution. The story includes a Catholic nun, played by Susan Sarandon, who tries to get a stay of execution. She fails, and in the end comforts and prays with Sean Penn before he walks to his death by lethal injection. The title is the giveaway, if you are on Death Row, you are a dead man walking. Our passage for today, Romans 8: 5 – 8, describes two men, the one is a dead man walking, the other is a live man walking. Today we will look at the first man, the dead man walking.

Just by the way, some have argued that this passage compares a spiritual Christian and an unspiritual Christian. This is quite incorrect, as the passage is quite clearly contrasting a true believer with a non- believer.

Romans 8:5, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh”. This is a description of all unbelievers, which if you are a believer, is a description of what you were before you came to Christ! Here is a description of where we all are at birth. Let me remind you, if there is one thing that our secular culture hates about Christianity, it is the doctrine of original sin. Our culture argues that we are born innocent, and then sadly we are tainted by society, by our culture, by a lack of education and so on, ad nauseum.

The Bible in total contrast teaches that we are born sinners, we are born in Adam, meaning that we born with an inborn disposition to sin. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me”, Psalm 51:5. So David tells us, that in that one cell with 46 chromosomes, clinging to his mother’s womb, sin was inherent in his DNA. So, we are born, “according to the flesh”. We have all seen that Toyota motor car advert, which informs us that airbags, aircon, power steering are standard items. Well, that’s exactly what you have when a newborn baby is born. Original sin is a standard item! It comes with every model without exception!

Paul gives us three marks of an unbeliever in Romans 8: 5 – 8. The first mark of an unbeliever is stated in Romans 8:6, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death”. What a shocking statement! Here we have the most sophisticated, educated person, a Ph.D from Harvard, a Nobel Prize winner, an honorary doctorate from Cambridge, TIME magazine names him amongst the top 50 Influential People in the world. However, Paul says that outside of Christ, this man is like Sean Penn, “a dead man walking”. Here is a person who may be religious, may even be a minister or priest, but has neither Christ nor his Spirit. So, the Gospel and its treasures are foolishness to him, he has no real interest in them.

William Wilberforce was a passionate Christian who spent over 40 years of his life as an MP in the British Parliament fighting to eradicate slavery. One of his best friends, was William Pitt the British Prime Minister, both highly educated and sophisticated men. One Sunday, Wilberforce took William Pitt, to hear a well-known evangelist. After the sermon, walking home, Wilberforce was just bursting with excitement about the truths of the Gospel, that had just been preached. Sadly, William Pitt contemptuously said, “I don’t have the faintest idea what that man was talking about”. The Gospel is foolishness to him, he can’t understand it, he is spiritually dead, a dead man walking!

The second mark of an unbeliever is hostility to God. “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God”, Romans 8:7. Paul is not speaking here of Al-Qaeda or Richard Dawkins. No, he is speaking about your brother, your sister, or perhaps you, if you are outside of Christ.

You may well be offended and say, “Excuse me Martin, but I believe in God, I pray to God, I got married in the church”. And Paul asks, do you believe that Christ died to rescue you from your rebellion against God and from the wrath of God; do you believe that without Christ you are destined for a Christless eternity; do you believe that unless you are born-again that you will be outside of Christ? And you may say, well my God isn’t like that! Well of course not. Because your God is not the God of the Bible. Your God is a God of your imagination, a lego God, a God made in your own image, a magnified version of yourself!

You see the Bible tells us that there really are only two options. Either we submit to God as he defines himself, or you create God in your own image and thereby reject the God of the Bible. There is no middle ground.

Lastly an unbeliever will not submit to God, indeed he cannot. “For the mind that is set on the flesh does not submit to God’s law; indeed it cannot”. Romans 8:7. There is a serious misunderstanding amongst most South Africans. The majority of South Africans will no doubt claim to believe in Jesus. Perhaps even Jesus as Saviour. However, and here’s the catch, the vast majority of those who generally accept the idea of Jesus as Saviour, will certainly not accept Jesus as Lord.

It’s one thing to accept Jesus as Saviour, it is quite another to accept him as Lord. You see if he is Lord, then you will need to submit to him, obey him, accept him as the final and only authority in your life. So, the final authority is no longer me, or my culture, or my friends, or my family. No, the final and only authority is Christ and his Word. And you can never separate the two.

Paul sums it all up in Romans 8:8, “Those who are in the flesh can never please God”. The believer obeys God’s law, not because he is compelled to, but because he wants to. The believer does not live to please God because he has to, but because he wants to.

My dear friend, you may not believe what has been written above, but these are in fact very serious matters, eternal matters. These are matters which will ultimately determine your eternal destiny. The question is, whether you are a dead man walking or a live man walking?

There is only one thing that a dead man walking can do, and that is to cry out, Oh God, have mercy on me a sinner!

By Martin Morrison

Apart from knowing God, the greatest problem facing our country is neither economic nor political. It is neither crime, unemployment nor corruption. Our greatest problem is dysfunctional people, who come from dysfunctional families. Recent statistics from the Department of Home Affairs, indicate that in over 70% of births registered in South Africa it is stated on the Birth Certificate that the father is Unknown. Either the mother wants nothing to do with the father, or the father has decided to not have anything to do with his biological child or the mother of his child.

There is vast evidence that children brought up in fatherless homes are significantly more prone to abuse, emotional or psychological disorders, learning disabilities, alcoholism or drug abuse, unmarried pregnancies, unemployment, incarceration and more. There many, many shining exceptions, but the rule still applies. Some years back, Focus on the Family researched the background to men on Death Row in USA prisons, and discovered that in 95% of cases, the men had absentee, abusive or dysfunctional fathers!

Just as there are natural physical laws which are fixed and irrevocable, such as the law of relativity, which you ignore at your peril, so there are natural moral laws which are fixed and irrevocable and you ignore at your peril. Our culture denies that there are such moral laws, and that everyone is free to decide truth for themselves, to decide their lifestyle for themselves. The fruit of this distorted and amoral worldview is seen in the social breakdown of the fabric of society. Just ask any teacher, policeman or social worker. You have heard these comments countless times.

Surely you cannot tell me that sex is only between a man and a woman?
Surely, you cannot tell me that I cannot have multiple sexual partners?
Surely, you cannot tell me that I need to be married to have sex?
Surely, you cannot tell me that I need to be married to have children?
Surely, you cannot tell me that if I am unhappy in my marriage, that my happiness doesn’t come first?
Surely you cannot tell me that marriage is for life?

God gives us clear and wise moral laws in Scripture. The foundational building block of society is marriage and the family. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh”, Genesis 2:24.

By Martin Morrison

There is a distinct difference between kindness and love. There is certainly kindness in love, but love is infinitely greater than kindness. As C S Lewis tells us in his book, The Problem of Pain, kindness consents very readily to the removal of its object. We have all met people whose kindness to animals leads them to kill their animal lest they should suffer. So, it would seem that kindness doesn’t care whether the object becomes good or bad, merely that it escapes suffering. So, as Hebrews teaches us, it is illegitimate sons who are spoiled. But legitimate sons who are to carry on the family tradition, are punished or disciplined. (Hebrews 12:7 – 11).

It is for people that we care little about, that we demand the absence of suffering on almost any terms. For our children or friends, we are far more exacting and would rather see them suffer than be happy living in an unacceptable way. To put it bluntly, we discipline our children which produces tears, rather than allow them to continue their unacceptable or unhealthy behaviour.

Most people on planet earth would agree with the statement that God is love. More often than not, what they really mean is that love is God, which is an entirely different matter. And a matter for another day! However, if God is love, then he is by definition more than mere kindness. So, from all records, though God has often rebuked or condemned us, he has never treated us with contempt. He has never patronised us or treated us with a false kindness. He has paid us the intolerable compliment of loving us in the deepest and sometimes most painful sense.

J I Packer in his classic book, Knowing God, speaks about God’s wisdom in the midst of our perplexing trials. Packer argues that we should not be taken aback when perplexing and troubling things happen to us. What do they mean? Has God deserted us? On the contrary. It is simply that God in his wisdom means to make something of us which we have not yet attained and is dealing with us accordingly. How painful is that?

Perhaps he means to grow us in patience, compassion or humility. Perhaps he has new lessons in self-denial and self-distrust to teach us. Perhaps he wishes to break us of complacency or undetected forms of pride and conceit. Perhaps God is preparing us for forms of service of which at present we have no inkling! (2 Corinthians 1:4). Perhaps his purpose is simply to draw us closer to himself.

May God give us all abundant grace to trust his providential wisdom and love. For I write as a fellow pilgrim. One who prefers to pray, Lord give me patience, but do it quickly!!

For further reading: J I Packer, Knowing God; C S Lewis, The Problem of Pain.