How can we experience Jesus’ cleansing truth in our lives?

You may recall that in John 1:14 we saw that Jesus was “full of grace and truth.” He was the perfect balance of grace and truth. Earlier in John 2:1-11, we saw Jesus express His grace by transforming water into wine at a wedding banquet in Cana of Galilee. He replaced something old with something new. New wine replaced old water. Today we will see His truth at work replacing a dirty temple with a clean one. From this we will discover how we can experiencing Jesus’ cleansing truth in our lives. The first way is seen in 2:12-16.

“After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.” (John 2:12). Jesus spends some quiet time at Capernaum with friends – those closest to Him. As important as time with friends is, Jesus did not want to miss going up to Jerusalem to worship God during the Passover. “Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.” (John 2:13). The Passover was a Jewish festival celebrating God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt, when the angel of death passed over every home where the blood of a lamb was applied to the doorposts of the home (Exodus 12-13). It also initiated the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so the entire celebration lasted over a week. Jews from all over the world came to Jerusalem to meet with God and be obedient to His commands.   

While Jesus tried to make His way into the Temple, He discovered that it had become a place of peddling instead of a place of prayer. “And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.” (John 2:14). This temple money system was known as Annas’ Bazaar. Annas gave up his priesthood to run this temple money system. He placed his three sons in the priesthood, and God killed them. Then he placed his son in-law Caiaphas, in the priesthood so Annas could run the temple business.

Let’s say you come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. You bring an animal to sacrifice to the Lord, because that’s the way you worshiped God then. Your children had cared for this animal for months and he had become a cherished pet – though he was about to become the family’s sacrifice. You go into the temple courtyard and there is a “booth of approval” manned by one of the strictest of the Pharisees. Before you could offer your family’s lamb for sacrifice it had to be approved. But this inspector finds defects in your lamb. “Hey, we can’t accept this animal as a sacrifice – it has too many things wrong with it. You need to go to the venders’ booth, over there. There you can buy a lamb pre-approved for sacrifice.” Think of how your kids feel. “What about our lamb? Doesn’t God care about that? How do we get to God?” So, you go over to the vendors’ booth and pay ten times the real value for a pre-approved lamb. (Just like when you go to the theater and a 50-cent bag of popcorn costs you $4.) So, you get your money out to buy one of his animals.

And he says to you, “Wait a minute. We can’t accept that currency. You need to exchange your coins for temple money over here at the money-changers’ table and that will be an extra fee.” Therefore, you go up to the moneychangers’ table and give them a silver dollar and they only give you 25 cents of temple money. Just like if you went to a pawn shop with a $1000-dollar ring and the broker would only offer you $100. Wanting to show your love for God you pay all these fees. And by the end of the day, you didn’t know if you were pleasing God or just pleasing the religious leaders. Meeting with God seemed too far beyond your reach.

This scene is what Jesus saw when He entered the temple. How does our Lord respond? “When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.” (John 2:15). This is not the soft spoken, gentle Savior that so many of us often think Jesus was. Here we find Jesus angry and aggressive as He drives out animals, overturns tables, and creates a scene. I mean it must have been like being in one of those villages in Spain when they let the bulls run loose in the streets. Cows and sheep are running loose. People are yelling and screaming, “Help! Out of the way! The Carpenter has gone crazy!”

 Whenever Jesus sees one of the merchants, He points the finger and says. “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” (John 2:16). The temple was designed by God to be a place where people could meet with God. But it had become a place where people were abused in the name of God! The tragic truth was this had become the least likely place where you could meet with the Lord. Jesus must remove the religious pretenders before He can truly minister to those who need Him.

For many people today, this is still a reality. There are people today who long to meet with God in a place of worship, but when they go, all too often they discover a system that gives them more work to do to be “close” to God. The problem with this is they never know if they are pleasing God or the religious leaders. You say to yourself, “Something feels wrong with having to follow all of these rules – but it is God’s House. It says so on the sign.” And they get worn out or they leave and give up on God altogether.

Please understand, that if you came out of a church where you had to pay and pay and pay some more to get close to God, you have come to the right place. You have come to a place where Jesus fights for you just like He did back then. And He wants to heal your hurts and lighten your load. He wants to make it so easy for you to come (just as you are) and meet with Him. Jesus does not charge you to meet with Him. It’s free just like salvation. Jesus does not want anything at His church to make it difficult for people to worship Him …to draw closer to Him.

Jesus warns all of us who are spiritual leaders: Woe to you if you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men. We need to ask ourselves are we door-openers or door closers? Are we making it difficult for people to come to Christ or simple? Sometimes the Lord must remove religious pretenders before true worship can take place…before Jesus can truly minister His grace to those in need. I truly believe when Jesus is free to minister His grace in a church – look out! It will explode with people who need His healing touch.

So the first way to experience Jesus’ cleansing truth is to Rely On Christ To Cleanse Your Life (John 2:12-16) from sin and corruption. According to the Bible, where is the temple of God located today? The answer to this question is in 1 Corinthians 3:16. The apostle Paul is writing to Christians, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” The temple of God is no longer located in Jerusalem. It is now located in every believer in Jesus Christ. The temple is located in our bodies. In the Old Testament, God’s temple was a sacred place. It was a place where God Himself resided and where people came to worship Him. Today, God’s temple is still a sacred place where God dwells.

The truth is all of us are like those religious leaders who were robbing the people of their money. All of us are thieves. Now you may say, “Wait a minute pastor. I’m not perfect, but I am no thief.” We probably all agree that we are not perfect, but are we all thieves? Maybe we wouldn’t break into our neighbor’s home to steal his stereo, but we rob him of his reputation when we gossip about him. Maybe you’ve never stolen a woman’s virginity, but you rob her future husband of the gratification that God intended only him to have when you lust after her. You don’t have to steal money to be a thief. If Jesus came today and looked at the temple of God in you, would He have the same reaction as He did in Jerusalem with the corrupt merchants? Would He get angry at what He saw or would He be pleased with what He sees in your life? Friends, if we have pollution in God’s temple, then it’s time for us to allow Jesus to clean it out and stop trying to hide and cover up our sins.

One day a man purchased a white mouse to use as food for his pet snake. He dropped the mouse into the snake’s glass cage, where the snake was sleeping in a bed of sawdust. What did the terrified mouse do? He quickly set to work covering the snake with sawdust chips until it was completely buried. With that, the mouse apparently thought he had solved his problem. Listen, no matter how hard we try to hide or deny our sins, it’s futile. Sin will eventually awake from its sleep and shake off its cover and eat us alive.

So how do we allow Jesus to cleanse our lives from sin and corruption? If you are not a Christian, you must trust in Christ alone to forgive your sins. The Bible says: “All the prophets say it is true that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins.” (Acts 10:43). Before we become Christians, our lives are contaminated by sin. This sin separates us from God. And since God is holy and perfect, He cannot dwell in our contaminated bodies until we trust Christ to forgive us and cleanse us of all our wrongdoings. So, the moment you put your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, God removes the barriers of sin and comes to live inside you forever.

If you are already a Christian, the Bible instructs you to confess your sin to God: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). To confess means to agree with God that what you did, said or thought was wrong. When you do this, God is faithful to forgive you and cleanse you from all sin, even that which you are not aware of.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as I read the Scripture this morning, I found myself sitting in judgment over the religious leaders of Israel who had turned the temple of God into a place of peddling instead of a place of prayer. But Your Spirit convicted me that I am no better than those religious leaders. I also have stolen from others, especially from You, my Lord and my God. Instead of giving You my time, talents, and treasures, I keep them to myself, taking from You what is rightfully Yours. I have also stolen from others with my words and my thoughts. Like the religious leaders, I also have made it difficult for others to approach You in worship by being less than Christlike towards them. Oh my Lord and my God, I agree with You that I have sinned against You and others with my thoughts, my words, and my actions. Thank You for forgiving me and cleansing me of all my sins including those I am not aware of. Thank You for fighting for me so I may approach You just as I am when others have made it difficult to do so with their various regulations and rituals. Thank You for being for me and not against me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Father’s love toward His self-righteous son

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.’ ” Luke 15:31

In Luke 15:11-24, we saw Father God’s love expressed in a relationship between a father and his wayward son. God is like a father who is generous to His children (15:12); He allows His children to make their own decisions and live with the consequences (15:12-16); He longs for His wayward children to return to Him (15:20a); He unconditionally loves and accepts His wayward children (15:20-21); He restores His repentant children to the privileges of sonship (15:22); He celebrates whenever His wayward children return home to Him (15:23-24).

Today we will look at how God the Father responds to an angry and self-righteous child of His. In this parable, the younger wayward son returned home to his father and his father responded with love and forgiveness to him, and restored him to the privileges of sonship (Luke 15:18-22). The father even had a parting celebrating his son’s return (15:23-24).

But while this restoration and celebration was taking place, the “older son” had been working “in the field” (15:25a). And as he drew near to his father’s house and “heard music and dancing,” he asked one of the servants what was  going on (15:25b-26). When the servant told the older brother that his younger brother had come home and his father was celebrating his return, the son became “angry and would not go in” to join the celebration of his younger brother’s return (15:27-28a). But notice what the father does. “Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him” (15:28b). The father did not ignore his son and leave him in his self-righteous pity party. No, the father pursued his angry son.

Instead of rejoicing in his father’s love and forgiveness towards his repentant brother, the older son was angry with his father’s response. This son had worked hard “serving” his father much like the Jewish religious leaders worked hard to try to earn God’s love and forgiveness (15:29). The older brother viewed himself more as a servant than as a son of his father. Actually, he views himself as a “perfect” servant. He arrogantly boasted to his father, “I never transgressed your commandment at any time” (15:29a). Really!?! He never once disobeyed his father!?!

Then he angrily blames his father for not giving him what he deserved. “And yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends” (15:29b). Like the religious leaders, this older son’s self-righteousness led him to feel that he was not being treated as much as he deserved. He preoccupied himself with his work instead of focusing on his relationship with his loving father who accepted and loved him apart from his work. He was hurt because his father never celebrated all that he had done for him, but now his father was throwing a party for his “less than” brother (15:29-30).

The older son refuses to acknowledge his brother as his brother. He calls him his father’s son (“this son of yours”), implying that his father shared his younger brother’s guilt (15:30a). This older son was elevating himself above both his father and his younger brother. His self-righteous attitude may have been his way of compensating for a deep sense of inadequacy and insecurity in his heart. This prevented him from experiencing any joy over his brother’s restoration. Amazingly, everyone in this parable experienced joy except this older brother. Instead of staying home to enjoy the love of his father, this older brother was working hard in the field so he could get what he wanted from his father.

Have you ever felt this way towards God? Do you have resentment towards God when He restores a believer whom you think should be punished? When you compare yourself to that wayward believer, do you feel superior to him or her? He or she is like a second-class Christian compared to you? When we compare our righteousness with the righteousness of other broken sinners, pride can easily fill our hearts. It would be better to compare our righteousness with that of God’s. When we do that, we will realize that our righteousness is like “filthy rags” before our perfect and holy Father in heaven (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:23). When we forget how much grace and forgiveness God has extended to us when we sin, we can be very unforgiving toward others when they sin (cf. Matthew 18:21-33).

Perhaps, you have worked hard for God as a Christian trying to win His approval and love. And when you see God restore a wayward brother in Christ, you feel resentment towards God’s love and forgiveness. “After all, you have done so much for the Lord. Why doesn’t He celebrate what you have done?” You have lost sight of the heart of your heavenly Father. You have focused more on working FOR the Father rather than being WITH Him. Instead of enjoying God’s grace and love towards you, you demand justice for your brother who has been restored by God.

How does the father respond to his angry and self-righteous son? He responds with the same love and tenderness that he showed toward his youngest son. “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours’ ” (15:31). His obedient son had constant access to fellowship with his father along with enjoyment of all he possesses. But instead of enjoying his relationship with his father and all of his father’s possessions, the older son chose to focus on his works and what he thought he deserved. This produced a haughtiness in him that caused him to look down on his father and his younger brother.

What amazes me about our Father in heaven, is that He loves His wayward children and His self-righteous angry children with the same tenderness. He pursues them even when they do not deserve it. The bottom line is both sons needed forgiveness and restoration. And their father granted it to them freely.

I believe this is a powerful message for the church today. I wonder how many wayward Christians receive the same love and tenderness from their church as they did from God when they returned home to the Lord? Or do they receive the anger that was displayed by the self-righteous older son, causing them to feel like a second-class Christian? Instead of embracing the repentant sinner, they shun him because in their minds he deserves justice not grace. Oh they would never say that out loud. But their actions speak much louder than their words. What the self-righteous Christian fails to understand is all of us deserve justice, including him or her (Romans 3:23; 6:23a). But God’s grace is for the underserving – a condition of all of humanity. God’s grace restores the repentant sinner not because they deserve it, but because God is a God of second chance.

As I have processed this parable the past few days, I am reminded of how the self-righteous Jewish leaders responded to Jesus’ grace towards repentant sinners. They hated Jesus and His grace which was captivating the hearts of the people, and eventually these leaders murdered Him on a cross (Matthew 9:11; 11:19; 12:9-21; Mark 2:13-16; 3:1-6; Luke 5:30; 15:2; 19:7; John 5:16; 7:1; 11:45-53). But when Jesus died on that cross He paid the penalty for the sins of the repentant sinner and the self-righteous sinner. That makes them equals before the cross. There is no more hierarchy of the “haves” and “have nots” in God’s family. Praise Jesus for our total acceptance and worth before Him!

If you have been given justice instead of grace by Christians, please understand that this is not Jesus’ way. Jesus is not uptight about your sin and shame. Christ said, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17). Christ did not come to condemn you, but to cleanse you. He did not come to rub in your sins, but to rub them out. If you do not have Jesus in your life, He invites you to come to Him now just as you are.

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). He is not asking you to come to church or to a pastor, a priest, an imam, or a monk. He is asking you to come to Him. Notice He does not say, “Come to Me and I will give you guilt … shame … stress.” No He says, “Come to Me … and I will give you rest.” Christ is saying that when we come to Him just as we are, He will give you spiritual rest. The rest Jesus offers refers to a state of mind that exists when a non-Christian realizes he or she does not have to earn or work for their salvation. This refers to the positional rest of eternal life that is based on trusting in Christ’s accomplishment on the cross.

When I was a nineteen year-old college student athlete, I came to Christ in faith and received the “rest” of His forgiving grace. This took place in a cornfield driveway as a song by Chuck Girard entitled “Lay Your Burden Down,” was playing in my parent’s car. As I listened to this song, my heart was flooded with the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. He took away the burden of my sin and shame. I would like to share some of those lyrics before we pray:

You’ve been tryin’ hard to make it all alone
Tryin’ hard to make it on your own

And the strength you once were feelin’, isn’t there no more
And you think the wrong you’ve done, is just too much to be forgiven
But you know that isn’t true
Just lay your burden down, …He has Forgiven you

Lay your burden down, lay your burden down
Take your burden to the cross, and lay it down
Lay your burden down, lay your burden d
own Take you worries to the cross and lay them down

Prayer: Father God, please forgive me for judging others as unworthy of Your love and restoration. When I feel deeply inadequate and insecure, it is easy for me to lift myself up by tearing others down. I am no different than the older brother when I focus on the sins of others to avoid looking at my own sins. Oh, how quickly I can forget the burden of my sin and shame You lifted off of me forty-one years ago when I believed in Jesus. How prone I am to resent Your love and forgiveness toward repentant sinners because I think they deserve justice instead of grace. Please cleanse me of these arrogant and self-righteous thoughts that seek to elevate me above You and others. Lord God, I invite You into the dark recesses of my soul to shine Your unspeakable love which restores the broken hearted and crushed in spirit. Please make my heart whole again so I may love and restore other broken sinners with the love and grace You have abundantly lavished upon me. Thank You, my precious Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

What can we do with the angry thoughts we have toward those who have wounded us?

“In return for my love they are my accusers, but I give myself to prayer.” Psalm 109:4

In return for his love for them, a group of people caused great pain to King David by falsely accusing him (109:2-5, 20-25). Instead of seeking revenge, David sought the Lord in “prayer” (109:4b). The phrase “give myself to” in verse 4b is in italics which means this phrase is not in the original Hebrew language. So the verse literally reads, “but I am prayer.” David’s life was so filled with prayer he could say his life is prayer. When the apostle Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21), David would probably have said, “For to me, to live is prayer.” We would say he lived, ate, and slept prayer. The centrality of prayer in his life reflected his great dependence upon the Lord.

David asked God to severely judge his accusers (109:6-29). He pleaded with God to return what his enemies were doing to him back on themselves. For example, He asked God to “set a wicked man” over his enemy to oppose and accuse him (109:6). He wanted God to judge him “guilty” and put him to death (109:7-8). He also prayed the Lord would punish his enemy’s “children” and “wife” for his evil doings (109:9-10) so that no one would remember him and so that he would have no descendants (109:11-15). The reason David prayed this way was because his enemy had practiced these things David asked God to do to him (109:16-20, 28-29). David was confident that God would save him from his enemies, so he promised to “greatly praise the Lord” (109:30-31).

Do you ever find yourself at a loss for words when you have been deeply hurt by those whom you have loved? You have these angry thoughts toward them, but you have been taught that anger is sin, so you stuff your feelings down or condemn yourself for having them? If that describes you, follow David’s example and express your anger to God in prayer. God already knows they are there, but He wants you to release them to Him, so He can heal you and work in your life and in the lives of those who have wronged you.

Harboring angry thoughts will hurt you more than your offenders. Instead of trying to get even, get honest with the Lord so He can lift your burdens and deal with those who have mistreated you. It is not wrong to pray for God to punish evil doers because He has promised to do so either in this life or in the future (cf. Acts 17:30-31; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; Revelation 6:9-10; 16:4-6; 19:2, 11-21). But it is also important to pray for their salvation lest they perish without Christ (John 17:20; Romans 10:1; I Timothy 2:1-7).

How can I resolve my anger?

“Be angry and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.” Psalm 4:4-5

The apostle Paul quotes the phrase “Be angry and do not sin” (Psalm 4:4a) in Ephesians 4:26 when he is talking to believers about not grieving the Holy Spirit with their communications towards one another (cf. Ephes. 4:25-32). Psalm 4: 4-5 teach us some important principles for dealing with our anger:

1.  Admit and feel your anger (“Be angry and do not sin” –  4:4a). The feeling of anger is not wrong in and of itself. Even God feels anger (cf. Exodus 4:14; Number 11:10; Deuteronomy 7:4; Mark 3:5; John 2:13-16; 3:36; Romans 1:18; 12:19; Colossians 3:6; Hebrews 3:11; 4:3; Revelation 6:16; 19:15; et. al). What we do with our anger can be sinful. When we admit our anger, we begin to take control of it. It is important to use “I feel…” statements which take responsibility for our own anger. Example: “I feel angry when you…” But spiritual perfectionism says, “I’m not angry.” Shame-based statements use the word “You.” Example: “You make me feel so angry!” The last two examples do not honor what God is saying here – “Be angry and do not sin,” because they do not acknowledge or take responsibility for one’s own anger.

2.  Talk to the Lord until you can be still (“Meditate [talk] within your heart on your bed, and be still”– 4:4b; cf. 4:3). As we talk to the Lord He can help us identify the source of our anger – Is it selfishness or perfectionism? Or is it because we have been wronged?

3.  Do what is right which includes forgiving others and yourself (“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness– 4:5a). Sacrifices were offered in the Old Testament as a means of forgiveness (cf. Hebrews 9:22). As God shows us the source of our anger, we can seek forgiveness if we were being selfish or perfectionistic (I John 1:9) or we can extend forgiveness to those who have wronged us (Ephesians 4:32). 

4. Trust the Lord with the situation (“And put your trust in the Lord”– 4:5b). Many believers struggle with the first two steps the most and skip right over them to forgive and trust the Lord without acknowledging or processing their feelings. But if we do not admit our anger or hurt and turn it over to the Lord, it is very difficult to forgive “from the heart” (cf. Matthew 18:35). 

Somehow Christians are not comfortable admitting their deep hurt and anger. Perhaps it is due to the perfectionism that is taught in churches today. But if we are to be more like Jesus Christ, we can learn to admit our anger and release it to God, so He can use it the way He intended – to accomplish His righteousness (cf. Mark 3:5; John 2:13-16; James 1:19-20). If we refuse to address our anger God’s way, it will result in more brokenness in the body of Christ because we are giving the devil an opportunity to lead us into greater sin (cf. Ephesians 4:26-27). But if we do deal with our anger God’s way, we can experience what David did,“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).