A Servant is not Greater than his Master, Nor....

Amen Isn't the Password

Today’s Text Comes from: Romans 2:13

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Today’s Notes from the Scriptures

Hearing and agreeing with Biblical truth has become an evangelical hobby. This is a dangerous place to live. When “truth” and “being right” become a hobby a natural pride will begin, much like a weed, to sprout, grow, and multiply around our skill at each of these.

The pride one feels in being good at something, that certain satisfaction that comes along with doing something well, will crop up in our spirituality. But this pride becomes more insidious because of its context: its exclusivity. Jesus Christ is indeed “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6),  the only path to the Father. But tragically, this beautiful truth can be used perversely in our minds!

It can become as much about the ability to win an argument as about an eternal soul being saved. Or about the “puffing up” of ever increasing knowledge, and the superiority that allows one to feel. It can foster an “us versus them” mentality, where we begin to look at all the evil “out there” and forget about our own shortcomings.

In short, it can create in us a false righteousness. When we become mere “hearers” of the gospel, we act as those Jews did, who were nothing but “hearers of the law”. We simply are substituting the atoning work of Jesus as our justification before a holy God for our knowledge of and agreement with the “truth”. “Amen”, isn’t the password into heaven, but let us “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving [ourselves]” 

(James 1:22)

Remember Jesus’ instruction,

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (John 13:13-17)

Love Our Enemies and Forgive Our Persecutors

Choosing Love over Rights

Today’s Text is from: Matthew 5:38-48

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.  If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow. “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Today’s Notes from the Scriptures

We talk a lot about rights these days. Yet the attention given to human entitlements hasn’t brought about corporate or personal freedom. Instead, most people are prisoners of jealousy (you have greater rights than I do!), greed (I deserve more!), or bitterness (my rights have been violated!).

Instead of focusing on the privileges due us, we should take the biblical perspective of loving enemies and forgiving persecutors (Matt. 5:44). Believers lay down their rights so they can take up the cause of a holy kingdom. That doesn’t mean that we let people trample on us. Rather, we offer a proper response according to biblical principles. In short, believers should be more concerned about showing God’s love to those who do wrong than about demanding their rights.

Maybe you’re thinking, But he doesn’t know how I’ve been mistreated .Indeed I do not. But what I do know is how Jesus Christ, our example, reacted to terrible abuse. He was betrayed by His friends, persecuted by His people, condemned by His peers, and crucified for our sins. 

Yet He said, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34).

Before assuming that Jesus’ capacity for forgiveness and love is out of reach for mere human beings, remember: His Spirit dwells in believers. We can choose to give away our rights and let God’s love work through us. 

Luke 6:29 says to turn the other cheek and give up more than is asked because expressing love outweighs exerting our rights. 

You can’t lose when you show others the boundless care of the Lord. 

You gain His blessing, and, hopefully, someone will be saved because of your example.