Month: January 2016

Copyright  by Shea Oakley

All rights reserved

Most if not all believers have at one time or another experienced an inner resistance to the pursuit of sanctification. This resistance is more pronounced in some Christians than in others and it is sometimes proportional to the degree of rejection they have known from human authority figures in their formative years. It can also be, at least partially, a function of the psychological and emotional “hard-wiring” of our imperfect human nature. For some of us an ingrained timidity or tentativeness inhibits risk-taking, which serves to further hamper our sanctification since such risk-taking is part and parcel of a deeper submission to the divine will. The life of the surrendered Christian is, at least from a worldly perspective, always one of potential danger. Christians, who remain “in the shallows” rarely become martyrs for their faith, either literally or figuratively.

It is one thing to fear being more fully surrendered to God and another to not want to be surrendered to Him at all. Barriers to deeper discipleship do not necessarily stem from a fundamentally rebellious heart; they can also result from weakness or yet unconquered sin. But those who truly do not want to journey any closer to the heart of God, and undergo the transformation inherent to that journey, are in another category. It is neither unreasonable nor judgmental to at least theoretically question if a person who calls herself a Christian, yet consciously keeps Christ at a distance, is what she claims to be. Part of true conversion is a heart desire to better know and obey God. If that desire is completely absent so too is true conversion.

I speak here not to this second category of individual but rather to those in the first category who may erroneously believe they belong to the second. One of the afflictions of timid believers is a gnawing fear that the reason they have not gone farther in the Christian life is because they are not really Christians at all. Many who attend our churches are tormented by the fear that if they have not yet achieved “super-spirituality” it must be because they do not really love God and desire to be closer to Him. These are often the ones in our congregations who more than occasionally question their own salvation. These troubled brothers and sisters in our midst (and the author, incidentally, can identify with such because he has, in the past, been there himself) confuse lack of progress with complete lack of desire. They equate performance with acceptance ─ doing with being ─ and have reaped self-torment as the fruit of this assumption.

Tragically these struggling souls are often further harmed by teaching and preaching that constantly, and sometimes stridently, urges us on to ever greater and more sacrificial deeds for Christ. These are the voices from pulpits, broadcasts and books that never encourage, but only exhort. There is often a subtly or openly scolding tone in such messages and they sometimes emanate from people who appear to “have it all together” spiritually. Such people give the impression that the struggles of the Christian life do not apply to them or, if they once did apply, were not that difficult to overcome. What is obviously lacking in such sermons is humility of spirit. The truly mature and discerning Christian learns to take these messages with a rather large grain of salt. Unfortunately the younger and/or weaker Christian may receive them at face value and end up becoming more fearful of the ramifications of a self-perceived lack of spiritual growth than ever.

Real spiritual growth is not a function of the fleshly effort engendered by these “do ever more” messages ─ they do far more harm than good to those who are struggling with real surrender to God. Only one thing can bring anyone deeper into the Christian life and that is progressively receiving the unconditional love of God in real time. Everyday grace is the only real source of sanctification and surrender. Yes, there is room for exhortation in bringing this to pass, but it is the kind of exhortation that comes from balanced teaching motivated by love and meekness in the heart of the teacher.

Fear of one kind or another is something that all children of God will experience at times in their walk through this world. However it is not something that need ultimately keep them from belonging fully to Christ and living only for Him. “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). It is divine love that will bring even the most fearfully reluctant pilgrim to his desired destination, even if it may take more time for him to get there than some.

by Shea Oakley

All rights reserved

Some Christians have trouble saying no to any request made of them that doesn’t appear obviously unreasonable or unethical. These are believers who have determined that anyone who appears to be in need has an automatic claim on their time and resources. Such an implied need can be something as minor as desired attendance at some social event or as major as an appeal for a substantial amount of financial assistance. In fact anytime a friend, family member, or even an acquaintance wants something these persons feel bound to rise to the occasion.

This tendency can spring more from compulsion then generosity. It is often “sanctified” as a supposedly clear requirement of the Faith by the individual always giving the time, money, etc., and may sometimes even be accompanied by a self-righteous spirit. In other cases the giver is truly humble about his or her policy of unconditional, unrestricted service and giving, but also clearly exhausted either physically, emotionally, or both.

Sometimes people who are perpetually “in need” attach themselves to those who can never say no. In them they have found a seemingly never-ending resource and they take full advantage of this new-found answer to their problems whenever the opportunity presents itself. This may be a consciously intentional decision on their part or it may not, but either way they end up in a sort of symbiotic relationship with the “constant giver” (although a better term may be parasitic.)

If this sounds a bit unhealthy that is because it is unhealthy. This is a situation in which Christians take the spiritual virtues of generosity and self-sacrifice to an unbalanced and “boundary-less” extreme. They have read their Bibles out of context and forgotten that sometimes even Jesus took time to rest and consciously put Himself out of contact with crowds of undoubtedly needy people. They also forget that the Scriptures speak of “letting your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’ ”, thus implying that sometimes “no” is a legitimate answer to a request being made of us.

It is no doubt true that a child of God is sometimes, maybe even oftentimes, under obligation to be there for people with legitimate needs. We may indeed be called to do more than the average person thinks necessary when confronted with requests for expending our time and resources for others.

However being Christian does not make us God. Only God the Father is infinitely available to fulfill every human need and even He is selective and wise about answering the prayers of human beings. We are neither infinite nor omnipotent. We are limited by having only so much time and energy to expend. If our  “gas tanks” are empty we cannot be expected to always be in a position to answer every demand made of us by others. There are times when it is completely legitimate for us to say no to such demands. In fact sometimes it is actually wrong for us to say yes (for instance when we are truly in need of physical and/or emotional rest, or when saying yes means enabling someone to be unrepentedly selfish.)

It is OK to draw appropriate lines regarding our meeting the demands of people, even if those people decide to think of us as “unspiritual”. If they do that it is their choice and not necessarily our problem. We are responsible before God to do what we truly can do at any given moment, not what others assume we can. The bottom line is that true giving is a blessing; compulsive giving a curse.

Copyright  by Shea Oakley

All rights reserved

One of the most encouraging realities of the Christian walk is the truth that we are divinely enabled to endure more than we think we can. Of course this is a potentially daunting reality as well. What is daunting is the implication that we can expect to feel stretched to what feels like our limit more than once in this life.

It can be a profoundly encouraging thing to find ourselves still standing after doubting for a thousandth time that we could. At such moments, when we realize that the faithfulness of God has preserved us a thousand and one times, we can breathe a sigh of relief and marvel at the power of grace. However we may also find ourselves asking why life has to be so hard to begin with and wondering when the next seemingly unbearable trial can be expected. I’d venture to guess that many of us are more prone to the latter reaction than the former.

Of course, from a theological perspective, we who hold to Biblical Christianity believe that the persistence of tribulation in our lives is a byproduct of living in a fallen world, the fallenness of which we happen to be complicit in. The Bible makes it clear that in such a world even the children of God are in no way immune to trouble. Beyond that we also bring some of our problems on ourselves through disobedience and unbelief. We suffer either way, but the second kind of suffering is avoidable to at least some degree, the first is not.

Whatever the source of our difficulty we can be sure of two things:

-When we do somehow hold on to God in the difficulty He will  bring us through it.

-Once we are through it we are faced with deciding how to interpret what happened to us.

This is where the temptation to fear the future comes into play. “Yes”, we think to ourselves, “I wasn’t destroyed by this thing I thought might destroy me, but what about the next thing that may be lurking around the corner? How do I know that one won’t get me?” Instead of thanking our Lord for the incredible persistence of grace in our lives we are tempted to think that if that was bad what might be coming down the proverbial pipe next?

It may be that those of us whose trials tend to be self-inflicted are more likely to feel this way. Perhaps God’s more faithful and obedient children have less to potentially dread because they are not facing so many sin-induced troubles mixed in with the purely trust-building ones that He allows in their lives. This is not something we hear very often these days, the suggestion that some Christians are better than others being considered a bit “spiritually incorrect” in the contemporary church, but the Bible bears this idea out. Does it not tell us that some will have great reward in Heaven while others will be saved only as through the flames? That some believers are at least more deeply committed to personal holiness than others seems hard to refute as an experiential proposition.

If this is true then maybe those of us (the author included) who are more apt to worry about future trials than give thanks for enduring past ones need to take a look at our own heart-attitudes. The bottom line is that God’s intention for us in faith-building trials is perseverance, in self-inflicted trials, repentance. Both His intentions have our good as the goal. It is up to us to believe this is true and react in the best possible way to both the difficulty and the temptation towards fear of the future in its aftermath. If we do react in such a way we will, in the end, only be the better for whatever we have gone through.

Copyright  by Shea Oakley

All rights reserved

Some sensitive Christians wrestle with the question of how much even something not inherently evil can be enjoyed without it becoming an idol in their lives. For those who struggle with this internal conflict one supposed solution is to maintain at least a little sense of guilt about the good things they have in life. This way, these believers reason, they can avoid being somehow given over to the Hedonism which they fear will separate them from God.

It is true that any good gift of God can be converted into an evil in our lives if it is truly put before Him. Human beings have been perverting things in this way since the Fall and it does us no good to deny the reality of idolatries, both ancient and modern. The church today, at least in the West, does tend towards Hedonism (not to mention materialism, individualism and any number of other “-ism’s” which serve as contemporary idols.) It is important to be on guard against anything that threatens to displace God on the throne of our hearts.

That said the answer to the problem is not to frustrate God in His desire to see us enjoy life to the full. Part of not frustrating Him is found in thankfully enjoying the good gifts with which He has graced us. Our Lord does not want us to feel in any way guilty over that which is enjoyed, even intensely enjoyed, in the way He intends. As long as we use these things wisely, in moderation, and do not violate the law of charity in that use we can be free from self-imposed guilt.

If you are someone who is uneasy with feeling pleasure associated with something that is clearly not unlawful in God’s sight remember that we are expressly told in 1st Timothy 6:17 that He “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment”. Do some serious meditation on this verse and ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to accept the truth of divine generosity. A good father loves to give good things to his children and watch them enjoy those things, and there is no better Father than the One we have in Heaven

Part of our ability to flourish in life is found in the free acceptance and wise use of good things. Someone once said that “the glory of God is man fully alive.” In ridding ourselves of unnecessary guilt over relishing the innocent pleasures God has cast upon us we are moving towards that kind of full life, which both benefits us and glorifies Him….and this cannot be a bad thing