Month: April 2021

by Don Hooton

Love is not a New Testament discovery although we sometimes regard it to be. At its very core, the gospel is that God so loved the world. Yet, it is in the Old Testament that we learn of the two “great” love commandments to which Jesus refers in Mark 12, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The command to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” which is the basis of the so-called “Golden Rule” of Jesus, is “The Law and the Prophets” according to Jesus (Mat 7:12), not the gospel.

The foundation of any society is based in how the members of that society treat each other. And the society God was building in Israel had love as its foundation: love for God Himself and love for neighbor. In quoting Leviticus 19:18, Paul wrote that “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10). The Law is good because it teaches what is good. And love is good – and the source of any society’s success. And for the church as its own society within human societies, love must be the norm.

Loving our neighbor is more than being nice. Even in the context of Leviticus 19, God showed the this neighborly love manifests itself in ways we often don’t recognize as love (“reprove”) and prohibit things in which we often feel justified (“gossip”). In fact, love is not passive at all. We can’t  excuse ourselves just simply by being nice when we disengage from people around us; It demands just the opposite. John said it: “Let us love in deed and truth” (1John 3:18). If you love your neighbor you will, “Reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself” (19:17). These two commands—both to love and to reprove your neighbor—seem unlikely together; but in the proverb, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love” (Prov. 27:5), they explain each other.

Furthermore, loving our neighbor restricts us. When God said to them, “You shall not take vengeance” Paul reasoned that “Vengeance belongs to God” (Rom. 12:19). It is true that we can hold back God’s work of vengeance upon others by seeking it ourselves. However, the point God made to Israel is that what makes one refrain from vengeance is not because it trespasses on God’s territory, but because we love our neighbor. Personal vengeance is prohibited because God has called His people to love.

Yet there is more. Not only must loving our neighbor prevent us from seeking revenge, it must keep us from “bearing a grudge.” Grudges are easy to cherish, especially when we believe it is deserved. And while it is true grudge holding does more harm to the holder than the object, the reason it is prohibited is because it is not love. Look at all the things that love prohibits (19:9-18):

When you reap the harvest of your land… Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind. Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality… but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. Do not hate. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

So, the heart of the Law and the Prophets, Jesus said, is how we treat each other. There is nothing new about this. Quit using your righteousness as a cover for grudge bearing, revenge, slander, hating, partiality or perverting justice. Quit using self-needs as cover for your defrauding the poor, the foreigner, the deaf or the blind. Learn what this means: Love your neighbor as yourself. It’s not merely a warm hallmark-ish sentiment to moisten your eyes; it is the demand of being made in the image of God.

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law…. any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law… Let us walk properly as in the Lord… not in quarreling and jealousy (Romans 13:8-10).

by Don Hooton

“Then Philip opened his mouth and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Most Christians know that they should be like Philip here. Yet, we often freeze or faint when opportunities come. Here are some ideas to help us be able to tell “the good news about Jesus.”

First, it’s about Jesus. If you want to share the heart of Christianity, your focus must be on Jesus Christ. The gospel is not about you and me. We should not go on nauseatingly about all the things that have improved in our life since becoming a Christian. The gospel is about Jesus—about who He is and what He has done—and we must make sure we remember that focus. As Paul the apostle wrote, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1Corinthians 2:1-2). Or, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2Corinthians 4:5).

Think about when you talk with people, do you use Jesus’ name? Sometimes, when we get a little bold in a “spiritual discussion,” we might speak of “Christianity” or “My faith” etc. There is nothing inherently wrong with using these words but sometimes, is it not because we see it might be too risky – personally – to use the name of Jesus? We may step up in courage and feel compelled to say “that God” said so and so and feel even more convinced we have spoken boldly. Yet still, nothing wrong with it, but that could be a broad stroke about the Divine with no reference to Jesus. But when we keep the conversation about the name Jesus (Acts 4:12), it means we are now engaged in conversation about the good news.

Admittedly, this is not ground-breaking because “my faith” (1Peter 1:17) or “my gospel” (2Timothy 2:8) and “God” (John 3:16 is just one) are used over and over in Scripture in words to describe what is the way to salvation. Still, the goal here is not to guilt or shame us in using these words when we have felt less courageous than we want to be. It is easier to say “As a Christian, I believe” or “I believe God says.” But when we pinpoint, “Jesus teaches {or} commands…” we are helping our listener be drawn to the good news. As God gives opportunities to share the good news, pray for courage and remember—it’s about Jesus.

Second, it’s news.  The good news about Jesus may involve lots of things, but fundamentally… it’s news. The Greek word euangelion was used to describe the utterances of an imperial messenger – whether at his birth or at his conquests. In the ancient Roman world euangelion (i.e. “gospels”) would be spoken aloud in public squares, heralding “good news” of a Roman military victory, for instance, or the ascension to power of a new Caesar. This was Rome’s social media, a way to spread Roman military and political propaganda in order to keep the peace in Rome’s manner that was built on absolute authority, dominant power and an hierarchy of human value and control.  So, when the Holy Spirit used this word to tell the story of Jesus, early writers (and listeners) would have seen the clear distinction of the news of the Prince of Rome and the Prince of Peace. The gospel of Jesus became a different kind of good news. Ecclesia, a political gathering, became the churches. “Savior of the World” was no longer Caesar to whom you must pay tax but a Redeemer to Whom you would want to pay thanksgiving and praise.

used to describe someone other than Caesar. When Paul tells us to remember the gospel, look at how he summarizes it: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you… For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (1 Cor 15:1, 3-5).

The gospel—the message of Christianity—is not a philosophy for how to live. It’s not a list of moral rules or a system of religious practice. Of course, the New Testament does contain all of those things and Christians were obligated to follow the pattern of good words the chosen ambassadors (i.e. the Apostles) placed before the church. But if you are sharing the gospel – it is news about Jesus – how as the King of the Universe who overcame death and sin’s tyrant, the Devil, and how He rescues humans from all of it. The good news is “the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). If the news we are sharing isn’t about Jesus, is it the good news?

Finally, it is good. It’s not always easy. It’s often challenging. And for some, it’s offensive. Modern “Christianity” among some churches have dismissed the power of the miracle of its inception (i.e. the resurrection) as fairy tale and some have dismissed the challenge. And God warned that this would happen (1Timothy 4:1-6; 2Timothy 4:1-4) because the sinful heart is blinded to the gospel’s light (2 Corinthians 4:4). Turning hearts to respond in faith to the news about Jesus seems insurmountable at times. But the reason that we “persuade men” is not merely because we know the fear of the Lord – but because “the love of Christ controls us” (2Corinthians 5:1-14); And we know that it is not just true, it is good – deep in our soul. Like Paul, who joyfully and naturally introduce people to Jesus, because he was convinced of “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

Then, we can share a little good news about the big event that has changed our lives: “Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am chief… [so we too]… could be an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1Timothy 1:15-17).