Bible Prophecy, Blood Moon Eclipses, and the Tribulation in General

Overheard conversation: "PROPHECY! There so many versions of Biblical prophecies that I just can't keep up, some say, why even bother what will be will be." Pardon me while I step into some dangerous territory folks. Do you know that there were 353 prophecies concerning Jesus's coming and in that one man/God 300 prophecies were fulfilled! (that is a separate teaching for those interested)

I have heard and read so many things by so many pastors, theologians, and TV preachers. First, I would like to say that like it or not the Bible is ONE-THIRD eschatology! That means the teaching of "LAST THINGS." 

I even heard the so-called America's pastor, Rick Warren, say "Jesus was far more interested in evangelism and missions than prophecy!” wrote Warren. “We should be too! Instead of teaching about “last things” Jesus changed the subject. Jesus essentially said ‘IT’S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS to figure out the future. INSTEAD I want you to go and be witnesses to the entire world.'”

HERE’S RICK’S VERSION OF MATTHEW 24

And Jesus went out and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take no care for the morrow, no man needs to know the hour or the day, instead take this gospel to all nations….

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Sounds great doesn't it! I mean here is a man like Noah who is getting the job done!

How foolish!  We ignore prophecy at our own peril!


NOW LETS READ SOME OF MATTHEW 24 AGAIN AS WRITTEN IN THE GOSPEL WRITINGS ITSELF.

 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

CONCLUSION: 
The point is, evangelism and the need to preach the gospel should be in the light of prophecy, the coming destruction, and our Lord’s SOON return! They are two cords bound together making the one rope – warning every man and teaching every man God’s wrath will be the reward of the ungodly, and prophecy is part of this instruction!

Otherwise there is no urgency, we see no need for anyone to ‘flee from the wrath to come’ Instead our evangelism just becomes a glib appeal from lukewarm churches to come to Jesus….

Rick Warren’s sideswipe at prophecy buffs, is his veiled way of saying the world has always been, the latest phenomena are nothing new, the moons are not end times. It suits Rick Warren’s own version of end times, to say the moons are meaningless, because his Jesus won’t come back until the gospel has been preached and churches like Saddleback usher in Christ’s Kingdom on earth!

OK! Is the Tetrad by Pastor Mark Biltz who is a minister of El Shaddai Ministries accurate? Yes and No! It is, however, relevant!
Let's examine the reason for this ridiculous answer I just gave:


Why reinvent the wheel? I am going to use some of the text I already agree with by Jeff Camino of Learn Bible Prophecy Ministries.

The Significance of a Tetrad

Biltz notes that if we go back in history to examine when tetrads happened previously, we find one was in 1967, when Israel recaptured Jerusalem. Prior to that it happened in 1948, which we know to be one of the most notable prophetic events in centuries: when Israel became a nation! He goes on to explain that prior to 1948 there were not any tetrads at all until the 15th century, but none of those fell on Passover or The Feast of Sukkot. Then in 1493 and 1494, shortly after the Jews were exiled from Spain, there was a tetrad that also synced up with the dates of Passover and The Feast of Sukkot. "So each time it happened it was tied to the Jewish people," Biltz notes. He also points out that other than 2015 a tetrad will not happen again in this century.

Upon much closer examination of Pastor Biltz's theory and his calm and studious presentation thereof, I have to concede the possibility that something of prophetic significance may be in store for those dates. It's just too hard to ignore the pattern the Lord has seemingly provided to us. Please read on, as I'll explain that concept in greater detail throughout this article.

I'm not even sure Biltz is aware of this, as I haven't seen him mention it in any of his presentations; but one must also understand that God used celestial events in the past when the Christ child was visited by the Magi, and again at His death (which was also a blood red moon). If you have not seen The Star of Bethlehem, I highly recommend you order a copy for yourself to fully understand what I am saying about that. You have to see the video to really understand why I take pause and concede there may be something of prophetic significance related to the Tetrad occurring in sync with the Jewish Feasts in 2015.

Analysis of the Initial Theory

Further below (under the section entitled "Reasons to Pay Attention to 2015") I explain why these celestial events may be prophetically significant. To be thorough, however, I must note that there are some problems with the initial theory Biltz presented, as it suggested that the solar and lunar eclipse that will happen in 2015 could be related to the Second Coming. (I must also give Biltz credit that he was careful to not blatantly set dates, yet it's clear the theory was implying 2015 was the Second Coming.) Indeed, in Matthew 24:29 we read about the sun being darkened and the moon not giving its light immediately after the Tribulation (which we know will shortly be following by the Second Coming) because Matthew 24:30 clearly describes that:

"Immediately after the distress of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory."

However, if the celestial events of 2015 were to occur immediately after the Tribulation, we must back up seven years from the dates to locate the beginning of the Tribulation. Since the Bible tells us Daniel's 70th Week will begin when the Antichrist comes upon the scene (Revelation 6:2) and confirms a covenant with the Jewish people (Daniel 9:27), then we would have had to seen that event in 2008. Obviously we did not. In fact, there was also no Rapture, which would have been an even more obvious event.

Of course, some might contend that I am assuming a couple of theological issues, and I am. Among other things, an understanding of Daniel's 70th Week is essential to understanding that we can not be in the Tribulation now given there has been no confirmation of a covenant nor has there been a Rapture. I can concede that the Tribulation and Daniel's 70th Week do not necessarily have to be entirely in sync, but that does not help with the problem at hand. I have included links to both of those topics, "Reasons for a Pre-Trib Rapture" and "Daniel's 70th Week," at the end of this article [on my website] if you want to study either of those topics further.

If the celestial events are not related to the end of the Tribulation and Second Coming, then that leaves a few possibilities. Perhaps they will represent the beginning of the Tribulation. Maybe they will happen at the abomination of desolation, or a major prophetic war involving Israel. If we look to when they happened in the past, then whatever it may be, it suggests we are to be looking for a major event related to the Jewish people.

There are other places in scripture where we read about the sun and moon being darkened. For example, the prophet Joel foretold that the sun and moon would be darkened, and he added it would happen before the day of the LORD:

"The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." (Joel 2:31)

So what is Joel's prophecy all about? We learn about that in Acts 2:17-21, where we read that Peter explained to a group of listeners that those speaking in tongues were fulfilling Joel's prophecy: which foretold that a future generation would prophesy and see visions, that God would pour out His Spirit, and that there would be wonders in heaven — to include that "the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood". Once again, I refer you to The Star of Bethlehem for further insight to how that did, in fact, happen at the time of Pentecost, just as Joel predicted!

Thus, Joel's version is not about us now or any future event. Rather, it happened at the time of Pentecost (before the day of the LORD in that context). It should be noted that it was also an event related to the people of Israel because right after quoting Joel, Peter resumes his sermon with "Men of Israel, listen to this..." (Acts 2:22).

Another place we can look is Joel 3:15, as we also see reference to the sun and moon being darkened. However, that appears to be the same event described in Matthew 24, for the next verse (Joel 3:16) also describes additional celestial events that appear to be of a more ominous and supernatural nature. Isaiah 13:10 and Isaiah 24:23 also seem to be describing the same event as Matthew 24:30 and Joel 3:15. In fact, it appears that the prophetic events related to the Second Coming are of a supernatural nature because other celestial events (stars falling from the sky and the heavenly bodies being shaken) are also foretold to happen. That does not seem to be the same natural events scheduled to happen in 2015 (though it could be said that, unlike the eclipses, those events are not something we can predict with science.)

That brings me to one final place in scripture that must be examined, because Revelation 6:12-14 also describes the sun being darkened ("like sackcloth made of goat hair") and the moon turning to blood. Interestingly, that is related to the opening of the Sixth Seal, which may not be about the Second Coming since many more Tribulation events described in Revelation come afterward. If any of the verses in scripture match, I believe it could be this one.

However, while it is predicted that both a solar eclipse and lunar eclipse are to happen in 2015, they will not happen on the same day (in fact, at best, they happen a couple weeks apart). Yet, it may be that John saw the eclipses in succession and not simultaneous and, because he was seeing them in a vision, it would have been hard for him to distinguish they happened one after another with a small time period between each. Therein I'll admit that the eclipses scheduled to happen in 2015 may be related to Revelation 6:12-14. Yet I do so very cautiously and must qualify that statement: I just don't know for certain. (Also, some experts interpret the Sixth Seal of Revelation as a "flash forward" that aligns with the other verses describing the Second Coming, which would require that we also rule it out.)

Reasons to Pay Attention to 2015

Even if we ruled out that there is no relation between any prophetic scripture referencing the sun and moon being darkened with the eclipses forecast to happen in 2015, I believe we still may have reason to pay attention to the interesting discovery. First, the pattern is quite remarkable, as we have seen noteworthy celestial events when the "Star of Bethlehem" led the Magi to the Christ child, at Christ's death, during Pentecost, when the Jewish people were exiled from Spain in the late 14th Century, when Israel became a nation again in 1948, and when Israel recaptured Jerusalem in 1967. If that pattern continues, then we can expect that 2015 will also have major prophetic implications for the Jewish people.

Also, while we know that we do not know the exact time of Christ's return, the Bible also explains in many places that we are to be watchful:

• "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night." (Luke 12:35-38, emphasis added)
• "Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:36, emphasis added)
• "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you."(Revelation 3:3, emphasis added)

We can also refer to the verses I quoted at the onset of this article reminding us we do not know when Jesus will return. With the exception of Matthew 24:36, Jesus also specifically told us to be ready and watch for His return:

• "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:42, emphasis added)
• "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." (Matthew 24:44, emphasis added)
• "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour." (Matthew 25:13, emphasis added)

Before I conclude this article, I want to discuss watching signs in the heavens. The key is to be students of astronomy, the scientific study of the stars; which is not to be confused with astrology, a practice related to the occult that falsely believes we can "interpret" the stars (and planets) and their influence on humanity. The Bible says that stars, along with the sun and moon, were given for "signs" and "seasons" (Genesis 1:14). That verse alone is pretty compelling, but we also have other verses we can turn to about the subject of watching the heavens for signs. In Psalm 19:1-4 we read the following:

"1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world."

So, like the verses explaining we are to be watchful, we learn from David that God has given us notice that His creation in the heavens declare His glory and His work (v. 1), they continually, both day and night, pour forth speech and display knowledge (v. 2), they can be translated to every language (v. 3), and everyone all around the world can hear that voice (v. 4). Moreover, in Romans 10:16-21 Paul explains that Israel did not accept the Messiah; but he explains they could have, and then he quotes David's Psalm! Romans 10:18 says:

"But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
'Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world'"

Summary

We began this article by providing a brief overview of Mark Biltz's finding, then cited verses that remind us that nobody knows the specific time of Christ's return. We then examined how Pastor Mark Biltz has uncovered an amazing pattern wherein a major event related to the Jewish people happened each time there was a Tetrad that year and you were provided with further evidence that God has, time and time again, used celestial events to point to earthly events. We examined why 2015 can not be related to the Second Coming, yet explained that we should still be paying attention to the Tetrad in 2015. You were then provided some scripture that clearly warns us to be ready and watchful — to include paying attention to the heavens.

Note: In no way does the possibility that some major event impacting the Jewish people in 2015 influence the imminence of the Rapture. Since the Rapture can occur at any time, with it not being necessary that any event precede it, the fact we are seeing end-times signs (a looming tetrad; wars and rumors of wars; earthquakes and other natural disasters; worldwide economic stress; technological advances; etc.) just brings us all the closer to the end times and, therefore, we can, more than ever, expect the Rapture at any moment!

This cannot be more clearly emphasized: we are to pay attention to prophetic signs, we should be ready and on the watch, and we must acknowledge that the heavens have signs for us as well! But we must also be students of the Bible to understand clearly the order of things to occur. So, Biltz's proposal of the Blood Moon significance meaning the 2nd coming will happen immediately-NO! But it is significant in that something has changed. Many Christians, including pastors, think, like Rick Warren, think prophecy is a waste time...Jesus thought differently and spoke of prophecy often. We were meant to know the times and seasons to prepare ourselves for what is to come. Our emphasis should be on preparing our own hearts, evangelism at large, and standing for what we know is true in world gone Anti-Christ. However, we cannot afford to overlook the prophetic, it would be to our detriment.

See you next blog,

Ted

Discount Religion

If Ray had asked me the question, "what do you consider your biggest challenge?" I think that today I would have answered just what he said...my biggest challenge is the man in the mirror. I have done more wrong than right in my life, I believe, and I doubt that the scales would balance well in my favor. Fortunately I don't choose to do wrong any longer, but if I should mess up I am very aware of just what Jesus Christ accomplished on that cross. That blood-bought sacrifice once for all who would accept it saved me from me. It's not automatic; it costs us something to accept it. It costs us our very lives, our souls, to change our minds and give up the things we cannot keep to accept the things that bring us eternity with Him. I am not ashamed to say that Jesus Christ is Lord. He bought me with a terrible price, and he promises that I am sealed unto the day of redemption. It's not a hollow promise, because I believe the man Jesus was not only fully man but fully God.

It really is time to get honest with ourselves and look at who we really are. You see you can fool most people but you can’t fool God or yourself. We need more honesty.

Thank you, Ray for these good words called Discount Religion.

 

Discount Religion

                                                                            James 2:8-13

 

 
“I decided to start a discount religion.”
 
That’s what Dogbert said to Dilbert in a cartoon by Scott Adams. What’s a discount religion? Here is Dogbert’s explanation: “The tithing would only be 5% and I’d let people sin as much as they wanted.”

During this exchange, Dilbert is sitting up in bed reading a book. Through it all, he never says a word. In the third frame, Dogbert gives his own conclusion:
 
“The only problem is that I don’t want to spend time with anyone who would join that sort of religion.”
 
That sounds like the kind of religion most people already have. In an article called Many Beliefs, Many Paths to Heaven?, USA Today painted a picture of what most Americans believe about who goes to heaven:
 

Most American religious believers, including most Christians, say eternal life is not exclusively for those who accept Christ as their savior, a new survey finds.

Of the 65% of people who held this open view of heaven’s gates, 80% named at least one non-Christian group — Jews, Muslims, Hindus, atheists or people with no religion at all — who may also be saved, according to a new survey released today by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
 

The survey confirms what we’ve known for a long time. American churchgoers are really nice people who aren’t into the details of theology, especially the part about who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. Clearly we’ve got a lot of “cafeteria Christians” who pick and choose what doctrines they will believe. When they come to the “religious cafeteria,” they say things like, “I’ll take the love of God, but I’m going to skip that stuff about judgment and hell.” They get an extra helping of “Diet Discipleship,” but they want no part of loving difficult people or taking up your cross. That’s too hard for them.
 
Dogbert is right about one thing. Discount religion is a pale imitation. Why would you want to hang around people who don’t want the real thing?
 
In his little epistle, very likely the first part of the New Testament ever written, James warns us about discount religion. Talking a good game isn’t enough. It’s what you do that matters.
 
In James 2 we come up against a subtle form of discrimination that shows up in how we treat people who aren’t like us.
 
They don’t look like us.
They don’t talk like us.
They come from a different background.
They probably come from a different social class.
They may speak another language.
They could be immigrants or refugees.
They might be widows or orphans.
They could be prisoners or drug addicts.
They may look shabby to us.
They might smell funny.
 
Will we love them anyway? That’s the question James wants us to ponder. If we are going to ditch discount religion in favor of genuine Christianity, we must rediscover the three things James mentions in James 2:8-13. 
 

1. We Need More Love

 
“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers” (vv. 8-9).
 
What, exactly, does James mean by the term “royal law”?
 
He’s telling us this command comes with divine authority. By quoting Leviticus 19:18, he reminds us that “Love your neighbor as yourself” is not just good advice. It’s a command from the King.
 
Recently we’ve had a lot of discussion about what it means to be a Christian as America becomes increasingly “post-Christian” and in many ways “anti-Christian.” The current case revolves around a county clerk in Kentucky who because of her Christian conscience refused to put her name on a gay marriage license. As a result, she went to jail for five days.
 
I mention that simply to illustrate the huge difference between the worldview of the Bible and the moral standards of society in the 21^st-century. America would be better off returning to the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. I will work toward that end, speak out for traditional marriage, vote for candidates who pledge to uphold traditional marriage, and so on. But I am under no illusions about the difficulty of the task. I am also aware these “social issues” are considered divisive today. That’s true. They are divisive. Sincere Christians disagree on how we should speak about these issues to the larger culture.
 
That’s where James becomes incredibly relevant. No matter what may happen in the political realm, we are still called to love our neighbor. Period. Full stop. The good news is, we don’t need a Supreme Court decision to do that. No nation in the world has passed a “love your neighbor” law. This takes us entirely out of the realm of politics.
 
In context, James is thinking about orphans, widows, and the poor. No law of man can force us to love them. No law of man can keep us from loving them. Since this is “royal law,” it cannot be overturned by the Supreme Court.
 
In verse 9 James explicitly called favoritism a sin. The particular Greek word means to “regard a face” or to “judge a face.” Recently, one presidential candidate derided another one by saying, “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?” That offers a perfect example of the sin James warns against. Isn’t it amazing how these ancient words remain relevant in the 21^st-century?
 
If you don’t know what else to do, love your neighbor. Does that mean loving the person who lives next to you? Sure, it includes everyone on your floor, in your condo, on your street, or in your dormitory. But we don’t need to limit it that way. Your neighbor is anyone whose path you cross whose need you are able to meet.
 
Who is my neighbor? Jesus told a famous story that answers the question (Luke 10:25-37). The question is not “Who is my neighbor?” but rather “Will I be a neighbor to my neighbor?” Much tougher question. You never know when you’ll meet a “neighbor” in your life. It could be someone in your geometry class, an immigrant family from Somalia, the postal worker who delivers your mail, a woman desperately ill who asks for your prayers, your hairdresser, a basketball coach, the fellow who sits next to you on the plane and won’t stop talking, a friend from your college days, a widow who feels forgotten and alone. The list never ends because everyone could be my neighbor. Will I be a neighbor to them?
 
It starts with simple kindness.
It extends to greeting them.
It includes welcoming them to your church.
It means getting to know them.
It could mean driving them to the hospital.
It might mean sending them an encouraging email.
It may mean giving them physical or financial aid.
It may cost you time you planned to spend elsewhere.
It certainly means broadening your circle of friends.
 
None of this is easy, in part because you are only one person and there is only so much you can do. You have 168 hours per week, same as me. Your time, energy and resources are limited. We can’t get equally involved in every situation. But that’s no excuse for not getting involved at all.
 
We must love our neighbors even when it hurts. That’s the Royal Law. Ponder these famous words, attributed to the Quakers:
 

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

 
There will always be plenty of ways to show love if only we are willing.
 
Would you like to please the Lord this week? Ask him to help you love your neighbor. Pray that you will see your neighbor, that you will reach out to him, and that you will love him as you love yourself.
 

2. We Need More Honesty

 
“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker” (vv. 10-11).
 
“What’s the biggest challenge you face?”

Someone posed that question to the leader of a worldwide ministry. No doubt the questioner thought the answer would be, “Dealing with people,” or “Having to raise so much money,” or “Figuring out how to make the hard decisions.” But the leader gave none of those answers. Instead, he answered this way:
 

“My greatest challenge is always the man in the mirror. If I can only keep him straight, then the rest of my job is not so hard.”
 

That strikes me as an honest answer, along the lines of, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” We all face the same challenge of dealing honestly with our own shortcomings. It’s always easier to make excuses, to pass the buck, and to blame others for our own problems. In this case, James wants us to face our own tendency to excuse our sin by saying something like, “Well, I’m not such a terrible sinner. I could be a lot worse.”
 
It’s true. We could be worse. After all, we haven’t broken all of the Ten Commandments. That’s certainly true for most of us, at least in the literal, outward sense. But the Bible says that to break any part of God’s Law is the same as breaking all of it. Verse 10 says, “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” The Ten Commandments are like a ten-link chain stretching from earth to heaven. If you break one of those links, it doesn’t matter how well you keep the other nine. To break one is the same as breaking them all.
 
This was driven home to me when our children were young and I was watching our two younger sons while my wife went shopping with our oldest son. She hadn’t been gone long when I heard a loud crash from the backyard. Before I could even get out of my chair, my youngest son ran inside and said, “Mark broke the glass in the screen door.” Then before I went outside to check it, Mark came running up and said, “Don’t worry, Dad. I only broke part of it.” “Which part was that?” “The part down by the corner.”
 
When I went outside to check, there was a hole about the size of my fist in the lower right-hand corner of the glass. What had happened? Well, the boys had gotten into my golf clubs and were practicing their swings. Evidently Mark’s aim was not much better than mine since he sent the ball right through the screen door. But, he assured me again, it was okay since he had broken only part of it. I patiently explained to him it didn’t work that way. If you broke any part of the glass, it was as if you had broken it all since the whole thing had to be replaced. It’s the same way with God’s law.
 
We can’t substitute one sin for another. We can’t say, “I didn’t commit adultery, so it’s okay if I rob the bank.” Obedience in one area can’t make up for disobedience in another area. There’s no such thing as being a “moderate” sinner. That’s like being a “little bit” pregnant. You’re either a sinner or you’re not. If you break any part of God’s law, it’s as if you’ve broken the whole thing. You can’t repair the situation by trying to make up for your sin in other areas.God won’t accept that solution. It doesn’t matter how good you think you are; you still stand in need of God’s grace.
 
We need more honesty about our true condition. If we were more honest, we wouldn’t make as many excuses, and our lives would be more pleasing to the Lord.
 

3.  We Need More Mercy

 
“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (vv. 12-13)
 
Note that James uses three different terms for “the law” in this passage:
 
The “royal law” (v. 8) points to the source of the law.
The “whole law” (v. 10) points to the extent of the law.
The “law that gives freedom” (v. 12) points to the aim of the law.
 
When the King tells us to love our neighbor, we can’t make excuses and hide behind partial obedience. But when we obey, we discover mercy that delivers us in the Day of Judgment. Someone may object and say, “I thought our sins were judged when we trusted Christ.” That’s true, but we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, where what we have done will be evaluated by the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:10). If we want mercy in that day, we must show mercy now. If anyone stumbles over this concept, they should read the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35, which Jesus spoke to his own disciples. In the story, the shock was not that the first man refused to forgive the second man.
 
Unforgiveness should never surprise us in a fallen world.
People get angry and hold grudges all the time.
Many people live for years, locked in a cage of bitterness.
 
The shock of the parable is that the man who had been forgiven so much was unwilling to forgive a man whose debt to him was so much less.  You see, we are like the unforgiving servant. We stand before Almighty God with our sins piled up like a mountain. The mountain is so tall we can’t get over it, so deep we can’t get under it, so wide we can’t go around it. That’s every one of us. Our sins are like a $500 million debt we could never pay in our lifetime or in a thousand lifetimes. We come as debtors to God and we say, “I cannot pay.” God who is rich in mercy says, “I forgive all your sins. My Son has paid the debt. You owe me nothing.”
 
Then we rise from the pew, leave the communion table, and walk outside. When we see a man who offended us, we want to grab him by the throat and say, “Pay me right now!” No wonder we are so tormented. No wonder we are so angry and bitter. No wonder we have problems. No wonder our friendships don’t last. No wonder we can’t get along. We have never learned the secret of unlimited forgiveness.
 
You may say, “I want justice.”
Fine. You will have it, and then you will regret it.
 
James says the unmerciful person will receive “judgment without mercy.” J. B. Phillips gave us this paraphrase, “The man who makes no allowances for others will find none made for him.” If I want the Lord to show mercy to me, then I must show mercy to others. But it doesn’t start with me. We could really say it this way:
 
Because God has shown amazing mercy to me in Christ, I will show that same amazing mercy to others so that mercy will be shown to me in the last day when I stand before the Lord.

Mercy triumphs over judgment every time I show the mercy of God to others. 
 
I called this sermon “Discount Religion,” in part because of the Dilbert cartoon I mentioned, but mostly because we all have a tendency to “discount” the challenging parts of the Christian faith. Sometimes that involves doctrines that are unpopular. Sometimes it involves the nitty-gritty demands of King Jesus. If we are to practice genuine Christianity . . .
 
We need more love.
We need more honesty.
We need more mercy.
 

From Alabama to India

 
As I ponder the matter, I believe the application of this sermon lies inside each heart. Are we willing to think about our own attitudes? We all come from a particular culture that gives us a personal history with its own traditions and preferences. It’s no use telling me to think like a woman from Bangladesh or a man from Tanzania. I can’t fully identify with someone raised in Beijing or in Nairobi. I look at life differently from someone raised in Iran. I have my own upbringing that gives me a certain way of looking at life. I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, raised in Russellville, Alabama, which makes me a Southerner. I’ve been married for 41 years to a Montana girl I met at a Christian college in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We’ve lived in Texas, California, Texas, Illinois, Mississippi, and now we’re in Texas for the third time. Our three boys were born in California and Texas. They are all grown and married and living in Chicago, California, and China. We have six grandchildren. Through our 41 years together, Marlene and I have traveled to all 50 states and over 30 countries on six continents.
 
That personal biography shapes who I am. Along the way, I’ve become a big believer in the value of travel because it stretches you to look at the world in a new way. It’s a long way from a small town in Alabama to the 21 million people who inhabit Mumbai, India. The cultural difference is greater than the geographic distance. When I traveled to India with our oldest son Josh a few years ago, we got a look at life vastly different from anything we had known in America. We experienced the genuine hospitality of the Indian believers and saw the difficulty they face in living for Christ in a Hindu nation. We didn’t understand the language or their culture. The Indian way of doing church is not the same way we do it in the US. We didn’t recognize the songs they sang. We couldn’t follow along with the Scripture they read. Josh and I are both taller than the average Indian, so we stood out in every possible way. But for all the difficulties and all the differences, we felt loved and welcomed, exactly as James said it should be in the church.
 
So the question we have to ask at this point goes something like this. Realizing our own background and culture and heritage, and understanding we have our own preferences about how things ought to be done, are we willing to submit those things to the Lord so that we might be set free from the sin of favoritism? 
 
That’s a long question, isn’t it? But it really comes down to something quite simple. Will we submit ourselves to the Lord and to his Word? If we won’t, we have sinned against those who are different from us. And we have sinned against the Lord in whom there is no favoritism at all.
 
If we show mercy (as mercy has been shown to us), then we will receive mercy. This is the promise of God. But if we judge harshly, if we play favorites, if we look down on those who seem less fortunate or beneath us or “not our kind,” then we face the harsh judgment of God. We’ll get justice, but we won’t be happy about it. But if we have learned mercy through the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus, then judgment will be disarmed, and we will learn what our Lord meant when he said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

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See you next blog,
Ted