J. Randal Matheny
Tue, 04 Jul 2000 13:48:20 -0700
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FORTHRIGHT sends new treasures from God's spiritual storeroom. BZeal publishes it by email and online. Each issue contains original content. http://forthright.cjb.net Subs: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE FINAL PHASE: Judged by Our Works (III): Paul Picks Up the Theme by Randal Matheny In his opening arguments to the Romans, Paul quotes Psalm 62:12, where David attributes God's judgment of man's work to his power and lovingkindness. Paul's treatment deserves full quotation. "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God 'will give to each person according to what he has done.'" To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism" (Romans 2:5-11). Paul attributes the phrase of the psalm to Christian eschatology, or last things. Indeed, it would be strange if suddenly God were to throw out the principle by which he had always dealt with man. In fact, only by his application on the final day could it be said that the principle of judgment according to works was being followed, since God's justice is not always exercised immediately. (Only in a few cases is this true: Nadab and Abihu, Uzzah, Ananias and Sapphira.) Since it is a given that the unrighteous will be judged according to their works, let us focus on the just. Paul places before us at least three considerations. Quality Paul's concern is doing good. In verse 7, he sees it as a qualitative whole, literally, "a good work".*1 He comes back around to the idea in verse 10, as he mentions "everyone who does good", or literally, "everyone who works good".*2 Good is not a subjective quality. Not just any old idea about "doing good" will do. The legalistic idea certainly won't suffice (Rom. 7). Paul is sure about what is good. God works all things, even though some be evil, to produce the good for those who love him (Rom. 8:28). It is a divine product. "Good things" constitute the subject of gospel proclamation (Rom. 10:15), the news of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. The will of God is, among other things, good (Rom. 12:2). One may, he says, distinguish between good and evil, abhorring the latter and clinging to the former (Rom. 12:10). So no one should confuse one for the other (Rom. 14:16f). Even the governing authorities exist for praising the good (Rom. 13:3); even pagans may recognize it! As well, they are God's "minister" to the disciple "for good" (verse 4). But not only governors, but Christians especially should know what it means to please his neighbor "for his good, to his edification" (Rom. 15:2). How can Paul be so certain what is meant by doing good? Because it was revealed by God and exemplified by his Son Jesus, who, said Peter to the great, but lost do-gooder Cornelius, "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). Only he who has entered into Jesus' goodness can be considered one who does good. Before moving on to the next point, it is instructive to note what Paul considers the opposite of doing good: "those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness" (verse 8). Persistence Doing good is not a one-time proposition. Only "through perseverance in doing good" will eternal life be given (verse 7).*3 Here, perseverance is the active pursuing of God's wonderful will, "inspired and filled by a pious and heroic will to hold firm" (TDNT 4:587). Who is up to such bold perseverance? Mortals are not, so they depend upon the "God of all perseverance" (Rom. 15:5). Because of him, we may exult in our tribulations, knowing that they will bring about perseverance (Rom. 5:3). Perseverance never loses sight of its goal of eternal salvation (Rom. 8:25), for it constantly imbibes of the Scriptures' encouragement through examples of faith and failure (Rom. 15:4). In Paul's machine-gun imperatives in chapter 12, perseverance in tribulation is flanked by "rejoicing in hope" and "devoted to prayer" (verse 12). Such company it keeps is more than coincidence and again point to the God who brings to his children every means possible to endure. Objective All this, says Paul, has a goal. These people with such a tenacious endurance "seek for glory and honor and immortality" (verse 7). These three words are nothing less than a description of man's search for God: glory, "enjoying the radiant presence of God;" honor, hearing God's "well done;" immortality, living the life of the Immortal One.*4 "Seek" is a key word to both Testaments. "Seek me that you may live" (Amos 5:4). What is important in life is not "smelling the roses" along the nice journey as one meanders through the years, but the goal in view of returning to the communion of the Creator and walking in his presence. The only substantial and significant goal is going after God. The great accusation of the Old Testament is, "There is none who seeks for God" (Rom. 3:11b).*5 Paul knows from the experience of his people that those who seek to establish their own righteousness never find God's (Rom. 10:3). So it was the Gentile who, never much prone to the legalistic exercises, found what Israel rejected: "And Isaiah is very bold and says, 'I was found by those who sought me not, I became manifest to those who did not ask for me'" (Rom. 10:20). This seeking gives up our own efforts to pick up what God defines as good: obedience to the word of Jesus and the truth of the gospel. Only through this doing good will we attain to the eternal life promised by his Holy Spirit. __________ *1 Greek, ergou agathou. There is no article. *2 Greek, panti to ergazomeno to agathon. *3 Greek, kath' hypomonen. *4 The phrasing of the first two items comes from Leslie C. Allen, "Romans," F. F. Bruce, gen. ed., International Bible Commentary (Zondervan, 1979), p. 1320. *5 Here, the "souped-up," intensive verb ekzetein, though the meaning is essentially the same. In sacred usage, it "denotes the attitude of the righteous as they ask after God and are concerned about his grace" (TDNT 2:894). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIVING FOR MY MASTER Living Life for the Master by Barry Newton, San Jose, California http://www.sjchurchofchrist.org To be transformed to live for the Master changes how we use His resources and how we answer the question “what is important?” Perhaps more than any other indicator, how we honestly respond to this question provides the continental divide between living for God and serving ourselves or some other idolatrous impulse. When we die to ourselves and are raised to serve God (Colossians 2:12-13; 3:1-3; Romans 6:2-18), the futile shackles of being driven by worldly based social and economic values are destroyed. No longer is our life formed within the cruel crucible of pursuing the transitory approval and acceptance of others. Neither are we compelled to achieve some self-construed standard of meaningfulness and well-being through the insidious drive to build our life upon dust blowing in the wind. Rather, God’s grace replaces these empty promises by providing a new identity and economy which are both secure and eternal. Where conformity to family tradition might have been considered paramount, now conformity to God’s will is deemed most important. Our primary value becomes to serve the eternal God whose love endures forever. When God becomes our Source for living, wealth is transformed from being necessary silos of security into a resource to be used in His service. Our previous fears that had driven us to greedily hoard wealth suddenly melt away into the confidence of knowing that we can serve the needs of others through what He provides (Luke 12:28-34; 2 Corinthians 9:8). No longer do we regard the depth of our portfolio as being a critical indicator of well-being. Although through our service we are gaining a heavenly portfolio (1 Timothy 6:17-19), our goal is to bring glory to our gracious God (1 Corinthians 10:31,33). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GOD WITH US: Jesus is tempted by Randal Matheny "And immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him." Mark 1:12-13, NASB There is no rest for Jesus after his baptism. Satan soon confronts him with temptation. Mark does not mention that Jesus overcame here, for his entire life would be one long battle against evil. Even surrounded by wild beasts, Jesus is not distracted by the dangers and difficulties. On the contrary, he dominates and imposes his authority by his singular dedication to the will of his Father. >From beginning to end, expect attacks upon your faith, but do not be distracted from doing the will of God. __________ Translated from the Portuguese. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IN A WORD "Ignorance of God is cured not by information but by repentance." --Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ "One enemy is one too many." --Asher ben Jehiel "Blessed is the man who cultivates the hidden things and lets the visible things care for themselves." --Kurozomi Kyo & Kongo Kyo "Slander is like charcoal: when it doesn't burn, it smudges." --Castelo Branco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SUBSCRIBE & UNSUBSCRIBE If you want to to SUBSCRIBE to this email version of FORTHRIGHT, you have two options: (1) Online: http://www.topica.com/subscribe/forthright (2) By email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] This e-zine is sent only to current subscribers. If you want to UNSUBSCRIBE, click and send: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . REPRODUCTIONS You may forward a copy of this email to friends and colleagues who have an interest in the things of God. This issue can also be found online at http://forthright.cjb.net To comment on this e-zine, or to ask for permission to reprint any of the content, please reply to this email or write to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FORTHRIGHT Magazine, No. 15, 4 July 2000 http://forthright.cjb.net Randal Matheny, editor Copyright © 2000 by Randal Matheny. All rights reserved. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Check out "Affirmatives," Matheny's upbeat, constructive essays for The Morrock News Service (http://morrock.com/affirm.htm). ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics