Tag: christianity

If worldly wisdom is so destructive, why do people continue to build on worldly wisdom?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral1 Comment

Those who build their life on worldly wisdom will experience a great loss. Destruction, disaster will come upon them when they least expect it. Your entire life will come crashing down if you have built your life on easily moved sand instead of the rock. The things of this world can promise us happiness, joy, pleasure, peace but those can be quickly taken. If the world is all that we have based our life on, we will experience disaster.

The Bible is clear, disaster will come for those who have built their life on worldly wisdom. However, people continue to build on worldly wisdom every day. Why?

Let me give you three reasons people continue to build on worldly wisdom even though disaster is coming for them.

(1) The ways of world are easier to come by.

Building on rock is hard work. In Luke’s account of this parable, we learn that a person didn’t just find a rock upon which to build, but they dug down through the hard dirt and built their house on the rock.

“he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” (Lk 6:48)

Digging down deep to build on the rock is not easy. It is much harder than building on sand or the ground. There is no time spent searching, no energy expended in digging down to the rock. It is much easier to build a house on the sand. In the same way it is easier to come by the world’s wisdom. All you have to do is turn on your TV, scroll through Facebook, listen to the radio, watch YouTube, look at the billboards as you drive down the highway. Our access to worldly wisdom is so much easier to come by than heavenly wisdom. You don’t have to be purposeful. All you have to do is soak up the messaging you are bombarded with every day all day.

(2) The ways of world promise greater immediate benefits

Think back to our building analogy once again. If you aren’t concerned with building on the rock, you can pretty much build anywhere. You can build close to a stream, which would make it easier to get water. You can build close to friends and family. Community is readily available without you having to travel anywhere. You can build close to your livestock, so you can more easily take care of them. Building on the sand allows you to build anywhere. It may seem beneficial at first. You may even get away with it for some time. But when the hard rain comes and flash floods occur, the house and life you have built are going to come crashing down.

The immediate benefits that worldly wisdom offers us is not worth it in the end. The good fortune that worldly wisdom seems to provide will eventually run out. The house you have built will eventually come crashing down. The short term benefits are not worth the long term disaster.

(3) The ways of the world may seem right because they are popular.

The vast majority of people are building their lives on worldly wisdom. Worldly wisdom is popular, so it must be the right course of action, right? Not only that but that which is popular leads to greater acceptance, it can lead to more opportunity, and a lot less persecution.

But what the world says is wise today, what it accepts today, what will afford you benefits and relationships today, might not be so tomorrow. We live in an ever changing world. Those people who were on the right side of history last year, may no longer be on it this year or the next. What is wise to the world today, may be foolish tomorrow.

For those reasons and more, people continue to build on worldly wisdom even though it will result in sure destruction. But Jesus is not calling you to follow worldly religion. He is calling you to follow Him. He is calling out to you like wisdom at the beginning of the book of Proverbs:

“Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” (Pr 1:20–23)

So how long? How long will you refuse to listen? How long will you ignore Jesus’ counsel to build your life on His wisdom — the Rock?

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Pr 1:7)

Will you be a fool? Will you despise wisdom and instruction? Will you follow the wisdom of the world? Will you build your house on the sand? Or will you build on the Rock, who Jesus Christ? The former results in sure destruction and judgment. The latter in eternal life. Will you be like the man who built his house on the sand? Or will you be like the one who built his house on the rock?

Two Choices — Biblical Wisdom or Worldly Wisdom

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Pastoral14 Comments

Are you able to distinguish between worldly wisdom and biblical wisdom? Do you know which is more beneficial for your life and why?

Jesus’ parable of the two builders comes at the end of His famous Sermon on the Mount teachings. ****We don’t have time to go through all of Jesus’ teaching on the Sermon on the Mount. But suffice it to say His teaching tells us who are apart of His kingdom and how we are to live in His kingdom.

Two Choices — Biblical Wisdom or Worldly Wisdom

At the end of His teaching on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offers His listeners, He offers us, two choices. A choice between hearing and doing the wisdom of the world or hearing and doing His wisdom.

Look at the text starting in verse 24:

““Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Mt 7:24)

Skip down to verse 26:

“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”

(Mt 7:26)

Using a building analogy, Jesus distinguishes between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. He uses an everyday occurrence in Palestine to show us the folly of building our life on worldly wisdom. The wise man builds His house on the rock.The foolish man builds his house on the sand.

If you were a wise man in ancient Palestine, you would build your house on the rock so that when “... the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Mt 7:25)

But those who were unwise, they didn’t build on the rock and there was a different outcome for them. Look at verse 27,

“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.””

(Mt 7:27)

Through this parable, offers us two choices.

  • (1) Build your life on the rock — on biblical wisdom — experience safety and salvation.
  • (2) Or build your life on the sand — on worldly wisdom — experience destruction.

Those are the two choices we have. Allow the Bible, allow Jesus to guide us, allow biblical wisdom to direct our lives. Or allow the world, worldly wisdom to guide and direct us.

Why should we allow biblical wisdom to direct our lives?

When it comes to understanding why we should allow biblical wisdom to direct our lives, James is super helpful:

In James 3:13-18, James contrasts two types of wisdom — heavenly wisdom and worldly wisdom. Those who are wise according to the world’s standards live by mantras like:

  • “You do you”;
  • “let it be”;
  • “just do what feels right to you”;
  • “be true to yourself”;
  • “do what makes you feel good”;
  • “Just follow your heart”.

I’m sure you have heard those before. You might have even voiced them yourself. As good as they might sound, that is representative of worldly wisdom.

You might think following worldly wisdom will result in success. We live in the world after all. But that is not true.

Worldly wisdom, James says, results in “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” (James 3:14). It results in boasting that seeks to puff up self while tearing another downAs well as it results in lies, because, after all it is all about self.

Heavenly wisdom is different. Heavenly wisdom comes down from above. Heavenly wisdom is what Jesus has been pouring forth throughout the sermon on the mount. Heavenly wisdom produces good fruit:

  • Humility, peace, and mercy.
  • It is pure and gentle.
  • It’s impartial.
  • and it results in sincerity (James 3:17-18).

All wisdom is not created equal.

All wisdom doesn’t lead to flourishing relationships and a loving community. There are two different types of wisdom to which we can listen and apply. They originate from two different places. Notice I didn’t say they came from several different places, but that they originate from two different places. Wisdom either originates from God and His kingdom, OR from Satan and his kingdom. There is not a third or fourth type of wisdom. There are only two types of wisdom upon which we can base our life, our actions. God’s wisdom, Jesus’ wisdom. The wisdom found in God’s Word, what James refers to as heavenly wisdom. Or worldly wisdom.

Those who build their life on worldly wisdom will experience a great loss.

Destruction, disaster will come upon them when they least expect it. Your entire life will come crashing down if that what you have built your life on instead of the rock. Sand that is easily moved. The things of this world can promise us happiness, joy, pleasure, peace but those can be quickly taken. If the world is all that we have based our life on, we will experience disaster.

But those who build their lives on Jesus’ wisdom, His teaching, who operate according to a Christian worldview, they will stand firm when destruction comes knocking. Jesus doesn’t change. He is the rock. That which He offers, He always offers. There are no shifting sands with Jesus. Even if things around you come crashing down, you always have the Rock.

It is not “if” but “when”.

Those things that seek to destroy us will come. They will often come at a time we are not expecting. Life is going great. All is well. Then boom! The storm comes. Depending on what foundation you have built, you will either survive the storm or you won’t. That is what Jesus is getting at.

Worldly wisdom doesn’t save. It doesn’t protect. It only results in destruction.

The Lord’s Supper is a Family Meal

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Practical1 Comment

“And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.” (Mk 14:13–16)

After Jesus and His Disciples came to the house where the Passover meal was prepared, they reclined at the table and began to eat.

We read this as if it is what was supposed to happen — Jesus gathering with His disciples to eat the Passover. But that is not typically what would take place. Typically the physical family would gather together. The eldest father would preside over the meal. But that is not what takes place here. Instead, Jesus gathers together with His disciples. In doing so, He and they understand that they are family. That Jesus is the head of the family.

In the Lord, as Christians, we enter into a family. A family with Jesus as our head, which is why we can call one another brother and sister. It is important to understand we are family because family watches out for and looks after one another. Family cares for one another. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to look out for and care for one another. Our relationships with one another should be deep and wide, not shallow. We should know how to serve one another, how to minister to one another. We shouldn’t have cursory relationships with those at our church. We are family. Family knows one another. Family cares for one another. The Lord’s Supper reveals and points to the fact that we are family.

As a family meal, the Lord’s Supper is reserved for those:

(1) Who are a part of the family.

When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become a part of a family. A family of believers. We may be from different races, nationalities, backgrounds, and socioeconomic classes, but Jesus brings us all together as a family. It’s the family that is invited to this meal.

The Lord’s Supper is not for those who are unbelievers.

It is a family meal. If you don’t believe Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you are outside of the family and you shouldn’t partake of the Lord’s Supper when you go to church.

The Lord’s Supper still has significance to the unbeliever

With that being said, that doesn’t mean the Lord’s Supper doesn’t have any significant for for those who aren’t believers.

For the unbeliever, the Lord’s Supper points to the good news that Jesus can be your substitute — that His death can stand in the place of your death. It points to your access to the family. It’s through Jesus that we enter into the family of God. While Jesus’ family is exclusive — only believers are a part of it — it is inclusive — all those who repent of their sin and believe can enter into the family.

If you aren’t a believer, let the Lord’s Supper be a witness to you. Let it be a picture of the good news of Jesus to you.

Not only is the Lord’s Supper reserved for those who are members of the family, but it is also limited to those:

(2) Who are unified family members

In order to come to the table together and eat, we must be unified. We must be a cohesive family unit. We can’t be harboring sin, holding a grudge, or mad at another and still expect to sit down and eat with them. No, we must be unified with one another in order to eat.

Lastly, family meals are limited to those:

(3) Who aren’t harboring unrepentant sin.

If you are knowingly engaging in sinful activities and you refuse to repent of that sin, your relationship with the Father is hindered. Until you mend that relationship, you should not take the Lord’s Supper. For as Paul talks about in one of his letters to the Corinthians, you may be eating and drinking wrath on yourself because you are presuming on the grace of God.

Conclusion

The Lord’s Supper not only reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice and future reign but it also reminds us that we need to deal with family relationships and unrepentant sin in our lives. The Lord’s Supper is a family meal. Are you a part of the family?

What are the advantages afforded those who continue to follow Christ?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

We are all looking for advantages in life. Those things that can help us as we seek to move through life. We seek these advantages in many areas – work, play, and school. At times, they help us as we attempt to navigate the ever changing world.

Experience tells us, however, that these advantages don’t last and they are ever changing. But there is One who does not change. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The advantages He offers are real and unchanging.

What are the advantages afforded those who continue to follow Christ?

(1) You don’t have to live under a standard you can’t meet (13a)

We know the Judaizers expected the Galatians to live according to the law because they taught that they were to accept circumcision. But while following the demands of the law is what the Judaizers wanted the Gentiles to do, we learn in verse 13, that they themselves weren’t living by the law. In the first half of the verse we read,

“For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law,…” (Ga 6:13a)

What does this mean?

On the one hand, the Judaizers lived according to the law. They were circumcised, they observed the dietary laws, and they lived according to Jewish customs — Observing feasts and other things. While they did those things, they still failed to keep the law perfectly so as to earn salvation. Remember what Paul revealed in chapter 3.

“For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” (Ga 3:10)

The key phrase in that verse is “abide by all things.” If we add anything to the gospel, any work, then we nullify the gospel and we are forced to keep the whole law in order to experience salvation. But no one is perfect. We all make mistakes. We all sin. We all break the Law, the Judaizers included.

That is why the gospel is good news. It reveals we don’t have to live under a standard we can’t keep. All who trust in Christ are freed from the condemnation of the law. We are freed because Christ paid the penalty for us. He became a curse on our behalf. That is the paradox of the gospel and the advantage in continuing to follow Jesus.

Remember, Jesus + something = nothing. But Jesus + nothing = everything. That is exactly what Paul wants the Galatians to see. In Christ, we don’t have to live according to a standard we can’t meet. Jesus has met the standard for us.

Transition: Another advantage of following Christ is that:

(2) We are free from having to follow the world’s system (14)

In verse 14 the text says,

“But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Ga 6:14)

We will get to the first part of the verse in a moment, but look at the second half. Essentially, Paul tells us the world’s system doesn’t have a hold on him. The idea that the world doesn’t have a hold on him has massive implications for how he lives. It means he no longer looks to the world for hope and salvation. He no longer needs the approval of others. He’s no longer enslaved by sin and Satan. All that makes it possible for him to live in the world for God. He can be counter-cultural without having to worry about what others think or what others can do to him. He can seek to please God and expand his kingdom. He can be a real force for the gospel. As well as, he can enjoy the things that the world has to offer because he’s not finding hope or salvation, ultimate joy or peace in any of the things of the world. They are what they are and he can enjoy them for that.

In Christ, we are freed from having to follow the world system, and we are able to live in the world in the way God has designed for us to live. We don’t have to fear the world. We don’t have to try to gain meaning from a meaningless world. We can enjoy the world in the way God has designed for us to enjoy it instead of making it an idol.

Transition: Another advantage of following Christ is that:

(3) We are a new creation and we have a new creation for which to look forward (15)

Look at verse 15,

“For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.” (Ga 6:15)

When we believe in Jesus, we are made anew. Essentially we are changed from the inside out as our desires and will are brought inline with God’s. As Christians, we are a new creation. As those who are created a new, we look forward to a time when the world in which we live is created a new as well. This world is not all there is or all there will ever be. When Jesus returns, He will change the world. It will become a new creation free from the affects of sin and Satan. All those who are blessed to live in the new world will be new creations as well.

How do you experience this change?

This present change and future hope is only for those who follow Jesus. Those who don’t follow Jesus have an eternity in hell to which to look forward. Instead of living in God’s perfect, new creation. But if you believe in Jesus as your Lord and as your Savior, you can be made into a new creation. You can experience the New World to come. You can experience the kingdom to come, Jesus‘s kingdom. A kingdom that is completely and absolutely perfect.

If you are willing to humble yourself and admit that you cannot save yourself, and that Jesus is the only one who can save you. That He has provided a way for salvation to take place by dying on the cross for your sins. If you are willing to turn from, to repent of, your rebellion against God, then you too can be made into a new creation. You can experience the salvation Jesus offers.

Transition: The last advantage in this text to following Christ is that:

(4) We will experience true peace and mercy (16)

Look at verse 16,

“And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” (Ga 6:16)

The rule to which Paul refers is living according to the gospel. With the gospel as our foundation for life, we will experience true peace and mercy. As well as we will be a part of the Israel of God.

If you long for peace and mercy, if you long to experience true salvation, don’t move on from the gospel. Don’t move on from faith alone, in Christ alone. That is the way we receive the mercy of God and experience a peace that’s beyond all comprehension.

What does it take to be Jesus’ disciple?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

In Luke chapter 14 Jesus highlights key ideas we must be willing to forsake to follow Him and be a part of His kingdom. He tells several parables in this section. These parables help us to see a number of things.

Jesus wants us to see that those who enter the kingdom must not immediately expect that they are kingdom people (vs 7-24).

The Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, believed themselves to be kingdom people because they sought to keep the law. They believed they pleased God through their works and deserved to be a part of the kingdom as a result. But Jesus flips the script on them. He reveals it is not those who believe they are deserving, but those who are humble, who recognize they are not deserving that are invited into the kingdom.

Jesus also wants us to see that those who enter the kingdom are willing to forsake all for Him (vs 25-33)

This is the point that landed on me this morning as I read the Bible in my devotional time. At the end of His teaching on the cost of discipleship, Jesus wraps the section up by saying:

“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:33)

I have read this Scripture a number of times in the past, referred to it in conversation, and even included it in my preaching and teaching. Though I am familiar with the passage, today it landed on me differently.

How did it land on me?

Jesus reveals that His disciples must be willing to renounce all that we have in order to be His follower. I am afraid that those of us who live in the West hear those words, champion them, preach them, teach them, but don’t take them to heart. We want to add Jesus to our comfortable lives, to the American and cultural dream of what it means to be happy and successful. I am not saying we shouldn’t be successful, we shouldn’t work hard, or that we shouldn’t have things that make life more comfortable. If the Lord blesses us in that way, praise God. Instead, what I am driving towards is that we can’t make those things ultimate. They can’t be those things that define us. Our relationship with Jesus should define us. It should be what makes us happy and joyful. It should be what gives us meaning and purpose, as well as peace in life.

We must not add Jesus to our cultural idea of success.

Instead, we must allow Jesus to define success. I am afraid that is where many of us fail, myself included. We chase after the things of the world as if they are ultimate. We get frustrated when they are not manifested in our life. We believe Jesus has abandoned us. Jesus, however, hasn’t abandoned us. He is right there with us, teaching and guiding us. He wants us to see that He is the One to whom we should look to for ideas of success, not the world.

If we are going to be Jesus’ disciple, we must renounce all worldly ideas and be willing to live according to biblical ideas and convictions, regardless if they are popular or not.

“All things” is all things.

We must be willing to forsake, to abandon and renounce all things, pledging our full allegiance to Jesus. But more than that — we must find our life and being in Jesus. As believers, our kingdom is not of this world. We must live as if that is true.

Once we are able to renounce all things, living in the world, no matter how blessed or how difficult life might be, we will be joyful and peaceful because we will be living as Jesus’ disciples, allowing Him to dictate and determine what should and shouldn’t bring us joy, meaning, and purpose in life.

How Can You Experience True Freedom?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

We live in a post-modern society. Post-modernism casts off any and all meta-narratives as power plays by authoritarian systems. In an attempt to escape oppression and experience freedom, meta-narrative are traded for individual narratives that allow one to construct their own truth. In this way there is no absolute truth, just that truth you derive from yourself and your own experiences. We see this transition in phraseology such as “You be you”; “Be your authentic self”; etc. These ideas are why we are currently experiencing so much transition in every area of life.

The Promise of Different Gospels

Different gospels that promise salvation have been preached for centuries. Post-modernism is another gospel in a long list of gospels hoping to cast off the restrictions of a Judeo-Christian worldview to provide freedom without submission.

But does a disregard for the Christian meta-narrative provide true freedom? Does creating our own individual narratives divorced from any overarching narrative, especially a Judeo-Christian narrative, provide an escape from bondage?

The Galatians were not confronted with Post-modernism, but they were confronted with a worldly gospel. Paul, the author of the letter to the Galatians, addresses their fall away from the biblical gospel when he writes in Galatians 4:8-9

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Gal. 4:8-9)

Different Gospels Don’t Provide Freedom

The elementary principles of the world represent those ideas that are fundamental. They serve as the building blocks for a particular system of beliefs. Everyone operates according to closely held building block beliefs. They are those beliefs that drive our worldview and the actions that follow.

Worldly religions and philosophies, those things we build our life on a part from the biblical worldview, do not provide us with freedom. Instead, they enslave us. They entrap us in a cycle of performance, worry, and anxiety. We are left to wonder if we have done enough in order to experience that religion’s or philosophy’s form of salvation. In the case of our modern movement, we might wonder if we gone far enough in divorcing ourselves from a Judeo-Christian worldview. In other words, are we properly secular? Are we championing secular causes well enough?

Cancel Culture as an Example of Bondage

It is here that cancel culture enters the picture. All those who are not in the main are seen as being on the wrong side of history. They are not able to represent modern day culture. They shouldn’t be applauded or championed. Instead, they should be punished for their lack of adherence to the current cultural movement, which results in them being “cancelled”.

Those who believe themselves to be on the right side of history today feel liberation, they feel as if they have been saved from oppressive structures. But “today” is not “always”. Tomorrow always comes. Tomorrow brings change in one’s ideas and thoughts. In modern day vernacular, we might say people “evolve” over time.

Tomorrow, and the evolution it brings, is why cancel culture exists. Cancel culture doesn’t care what side of history you were on in the past. It only cares about what side you are on today, which is why many past cultural champions find themselves forced to change or be cancelled.

The irony is that cancel culture requires truth and an overarching narrative to work. The very thing Post-modernism denies it uses. The truth claims made by those of cancel culture are seen as dominate and ones that should be embraced by all people. If one doesn’t embrace the current cultural meta-narrative truth claim, they are oppressed. In an attempt to create freedom from bondage, Post-modern thought has actually created bondage and oppression. There can be no dissenting voices only those who agree or cancel culture comes for you.

True Freedom Does Exist

There is no freedom in the elementary principles of the world. There is only slavery. You can, however, experience freedom in Christ. He has come to set you free.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal 5:1)

How can you experience freedom? Jesus has come, He has died, paying the penalty you deserve. He took your sentence of eternal death for you. He sat in the cell of hell, He experienced God’s wrath in your place. Jesus has done your time. You have been pardoned. He has also freed you from the need for self-salvation, releasing you from the bondage of performance culture.

The good news is that His provision is open to all who would humble themselves and submit to Him as Lord and Savior. If you want freedom, don’t turn to the elementary principles of the world. Instead, turn to Jesus! Allow Him to be your King, your Savior, your all in all. Allow Him to guide and direct your life.