I wrote this paper last year and thought it would be fun to post it on my blog as a 2 part story. The story of Katherine Von Bora (Luther)'s life has long been a source of challenge and encouragement to me. I hope it will for you too!
Our knowledge of Katherine Von Bora is primarily drawn from the letters of her husband, and a few from friends and from her own hand. The picture that is painted in this correspondence is of a woman with a heart and determination to match her husband. The hand of God is evident throughout Katherine’s life shaping her and equipping her for the very particular life and ministry He called her to.
Katherine Von Bora was born near Leipzig on January 29, 1499 to noble parents Hans von Bora and Anna von Haugwitz. She had three brothers and a sister. When her mother died, Katherine was only 6. Her father had fallen on difficult financial times, and when he remarried to a woman who had several of her own children, he decided to put Katherine into a convent. So Katherine grew up in the life of the nunnery though she had no choice in the matter. Interestingly, the year of her entrance into the cloister was the same year that Martin Luther entered the monastery in Erfurt.[1]
When Katherine was 16 years old, she received her vows and prepared to live life as a devoted sister of the convent. However, winds of change were blowing across Germany, and even within the shelter of the cloister, Katherine was not unaffected by the shifting world around her. The young nuns of the convent heard of Martin Luther and his teachings on the doctrine of justification by faith. Along with these teachings, Katherine and her friends secretly read his teachings on the dangers of monastic vows which denied what Luther called “natural companionships”. The girls considered Luther’s encouragement regarding the goodness of living within marriage and family, and some of the nuns desired to leave behind their vows in favor of marriage. However, it was no small thing to give up monastic vows, and could even be punished by death. The very idea of leaving the convent was a very dangerous notion for Katherine and her friends.[2]
Bold Katherine and several other nuns who could not gain the aid of their families in leaving the nunnery, decided to secretly write to Doctor Luther to ask for help in fleeing the convent. Luther was determined to help the girls, but knew the risks involved both for the nuns and for anyone caught aiding in their escape. He finally settled on a plan, wherein he conscripted the assistance of a friend who would go to the nunnery disguised as a fishmonger, and then left for Wittenberg with his barrels filled not with fish- but with 12 escaped nuns!
Katherine was among the nuns who made this daring escape, and while some of the girls were able to return to their own welcoming families, Katherine and some others had no place to go. Martin Luther organized housing for the ladies among the people of his congregation, where they were to remain as part of these families until they chose to marry. The family of Philipp Reichenbach opened their home to Katherine, and she was quite happy living there with them. During her stay, she made the acquaintance of a family friend, the young Jerome Baumgӓrtner, an alumnus of the university in Wittenberg[3]. Katherine was at this time 24 years old, and Jerome 25. They began an easy friendship that soon turned to romance. Jerome and Katherine fell in love and discussed marriage. However, when Jerome returned home to Nuremberg, he failed to keep in touch with Katherine, and she began to worry whether his affections had waned. Katherine soon learned that Jerome’s noble family were not accepting of his love for an escaped nun, and Jerome, capitulating to his family’s desires, gave Katherine up without even giving her an explanation. Heartbroken and disappointed, Katherine remained as a member of the Reichenbach household.
Dr. Martin Luther was a close friend of Philipp Reichenbach, and took meals often at the family table. He observed that Katherine von Bora was yet unmarried, and felt a personal responsibility to see her provided for, as she was one of the nuns he had aided in escape. Katherine was known to be a beautiful woman[4], and it seemed unfitting to him that she be unmarried. Luther had, in his mind, a brilliant plan to save Katherine from her singleness. He recommended to her his good friend and pastor Kasper Glatz- a man not a day younger than 60! Katherine refused to even consider the match, and Luther believed her to be a snob and hard-headed. He sent another friend, Von Amsdorf to inquire as to why Katherine would not receive a man who was an accomplished doctor and professor. Katherine was saddened to hear her pastor’s opinion of her, and explained that it was not his position that deterred her, as she would gladly marry another man of such position, even Von Amsdorf or Martin Luther himself! Rather it was the nature of Glatz himself that she rejected.
Von Amsdorf reported this to Luther and challenged him on his own response to Katherine, saying, “What the devil are you doing, trying to coax and force the good Kate to marry that old cheapskate whom she neither desires nor considers with her heart as husband?”
Luther responded somewhat jokingly: “What devil would want to have her then? If she does not like him, she may have to wait a good while for another!”[5] Even in his pretense of shrugging off Katherine, Luther was affected by the fact that Katie had said she would consider marrying him. She was 16 years his junior, and to this point, he had not considered himself a possible player other than as matchmaker. Apparently the impact of her words never left him.[6] However, at this time, he did not act on this stirring of his heart. Luther believed that Katherine was a prideful and somewhat difficult woman[7], somewhat humorous in light of knowledge of the deficiencies of his own character. Nonetheless, he was rather determined to see her married, and if she would not have his choice for her, he would try to obtain her own heart’s desire. Luther set about to convince Jerome Baumgӓrtner to come back to Wittenberg and marry Katherine. He wrote in a letter to Jerome,
“If you want your Katie von Bora, you had best act quickly, before she is given away to someone else who wants her. She has not yet conquered her love for you. I would gladly see you married to each other.”[8]
Nevertheless, Baumgӓrtner did not respond to Luther, and soon announced his engagement to the fourteen-year old daughter of a wealthy nobleman. Katherine was deeply hurt and Luther had no idea how to comfort her.[9] It was not Luther’s work to find a man to console Katherine, however. It was God’s work to teach Katherine to trust Him for her future and to be content in the life she had as a single woman.
Meanwhile, though Martin Luther championed the cause of marriage for former priests, nuns and Christians alike, he himself remained unmarried into his 40’s. He did not deny that he had a desire to be married on a physical and emotional level, and wrote of his own struggle living as an unmarried man[10]. Yet, Luther was sure he was not long for this world, and expected at any moment to die the death of the heretic. He believed if he were to marry that he would soon leave his wife behind by his own imminent death. So, Luther continued to urge others to be married, while at the same time waving away his friends urging that the good Doctor take a wife for himself, not only for his own happiness, but to increase the effect of Luther’s teaching on marriage, telling him essentially, “Practice what you preach!”.
As the years went on, Luther’s feelings on his own life began to change. In his early-forties, as Luther counseled friends to marry, he began to share that he was becoming more inclined to the idea himself.[11] In letters and with his own family, he began to joke about the idea of his getting married and finally giving his parents the grandchildren they had always wanted. However, Martin- being who he was- did not finally make it his ambition to marry until his opponents began to mock the very idea, saying it would be the end of his work. In a letter to a friend, Luther wrote, “If I can arrange it, I will marry Kate in defiance of the devil and all his adversaries.”[12]
Stay Tuned for Part 2 of the story of Martin Luther and Katherine Von Bora!
[1] Justin Taylor, “Martin Luther’s Reform on Marriage” in Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, Crossway (2005), 214.
[2] Taylor, 215.
[3] Ibid. 217.
[4]Roland Bainton, Women of the Reformation: In German and Italy, Fortress Press (1971), 24.
[5] Rudolf and Marilynn Markwald, Katharine Von Bora: A Reformation Life, 61.
[6] Bainton, 24.
[7] Taylor, 218.
[8] Martin Luther, D. Martin Luthers Werke:Briefwechsel, 15 vols, J.F.K. Knaake, G. Kawerau, et. al, eds. (Weimar: Hermann Bohlhaus, 1930-1985), 3:357-358.
[9] Taylor, 219.
[10] Martin Luther, What Luther Says: An Anthology. ed, Edward M. Plass, 3 vols in 1, (St Louis: Concordia, 1959,) 2768.
[11] Luther’s Correspondence and Other Contemporary Letters, trans. and ed., Preserved Smith and Charles M. Jacobs, 2 vols, (Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, 1918), 2:179-180.
[12] Markwald and Markwald, 63.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A Thought on the Thought Life
Monday, January 9, 2012
Single in Christ- A message from John Piper
In the middle of a series on marriage, John Piper took a Sunday to give a Biblical theology of singleness. I've read/heard dozens of theologies of marriage, but this was a first.
I almost didn't listen, because I didn't want to hear about how "God loves singles too, and you never know if/when you'll get married." I also didn't want to hear a married person tell me how great I have it being single.
HOWEVER, I did listen, and was blessed. Piper didn't push people toward or away from singleness. He simply presented a Biblical theology of how God views and uses singles. He set up a case for the supremacy of Faith and Regeneration over Marriage and Reproduction.
Whether you're single for a season or for your lifetime, (or if you know, love and minister to singles), I encourage you to give this a listen. Personally, I was challenged to embrace the ministry and calling I have TODAY, even while praying toward a ministry through marriage in the future.
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/single-in-christ-a-name-better-than-sons-and-daughters
I almost didn't listen, because I didn't want to hear about how "God loves singles too, and you never know if/when you'll get married." I also didn't want to hear a married person tell me how great I have it being single.
HOWEVER, I did listen, and was blessed. Piper didn't push people toward or away from singleness. He simply presented a Biblical theology of how God views and uses singles. He set up a case for the supremacy of Faith and Regeneration over Marriage and Reproduction.
Whether you're single for a season or for your lifetime, (or if you know, love and minister to singles), I encourage you to give this a listen. Personally, I was challenged to embrace the ministry and calling I have TODAY, even while praying toward a ministry through marriage in the future.
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/single-in-christ-a-name-better-than-sons-and-daughters
Friday, September 9, 2011
Book Recommendation: Revelations of a Single Woman
Ladies, I highly recommend this book- Revelations of a Single Woman: Loving the Life I Didn't Expect by Connally Gilliam! My dad gave it to me about 5 years ago, and I didn't read it as I wasn't ready to identify myself as single. I just "wasn't married yet". Now, a week and a half away from my 29th birthday, I am reading it and every chapter saying, "Yes, Lord! That's my heart! That's where I'm at!" The book is very personal, encouraging and helpful in recentering on the deepest fulfillment of our lives, regardless of marital status- the Lord Jesus. Check it out!
If you are a married lady, you can probably relate to almost everything in here too, and if you are a guy, this could help you understand your single daughters, sisters and friends!
If you are a married lady, you can probably relate to almost everything in here too, and if you are a guy, this could help you understand your single daughters, sisters and friends!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Guilt, Forgiveness and The Shoah: A Personal Journey
In this narrative, I occasionally express conversations I have had with the Lord. My own participation in the dialogue was as written, and sometimes was even audibly spoken. However, I want to clarify that the dialogue expressed as the Lord’s voice speaking to me represents the impressions and Scripture that He brought to my mind and heart at that time. How the Lord speaks to our hearts is a mystery. I neither deny that He spoke to me in this account in a very real way, nor claim He has revealed anything to me that I am to communicate authoritatively or prophetically. I merely speak of that “still, small voice” that those who know Him recognize above any other.
In this Jewish History course, I read the assigned material on the terrible events of the Shoah, and realized it was an entirely new experience for me. The information was not what was different. I have visited Holocaust memorials and museums in five US states, four European countries and in Israel, have walked twice through Auschwitz and once through Dachau, have carefully digested every exhibit in the infamous Haus on the Wannsee, and have read more books and seen more films on the events of the Shoah than I can remember. The information was very familiar. What was unique about my time in this class was that for the first time that I can remember since I was a ten year old girl reading The Hiding Place, I was able to study the Holocaust, feeling appropriate grief and even anger, without the tremendous guilt that I usually experienced in remembering these events. I was able to read and discuss the terrible events of mass extermination of six million Jewish people without being plagued by nightmares. For me, this was a very new experience.
Some might wonder why a non-Jewish girl who had no personal connection to the experience of the Holocaust, either as a victim or as a perpetrator, would be so deeply affected by these events. I have often wondered this myself. From my very first exposure to the reality of the Shoah, I had struggled with feelings of guilt and terror. I was very afraid, but not of suffering as God’s beloved people Israel did at that time. Rather, I was terrified of who I might have been in 1940. You see, today, I am a woman in love with the God of Israel and with the Jewish people. I support Israeli independence and fight anti-Semitism actively. But I struggled deeply with wondering if I might have been different if I were born in a different time. My blood is English and German. In the war, many German Christians participated in the deaths of millions of defenseless Jewish people. The English, in many cases, merely did nothing to stop it. I am American nationally. The Americans were not any better toward the Jews than the English during the war, and anti-Semitism was in huge force even in the church in America. What haunted me for so long was not what I had done, but what I might have done. Would I have been any better? We all like to think we would have been Corrie Ten Booms and Dietrich Bonhoeffers. Perhaps this would have been true of me, by the grace of God. Yet the guilt of what non-Jewish Christians of my heritage and nationality had participated in, or at the very least, over-looked, was something that I struggled with in a very personal way.
Dealing with guilt in anyway other than turning to the merciful Lord always leads us to bizarre behavior. As a teenager and young adult, I exposed myself to much to the facts and footage of the horrors of the Holocaust. Somehow, I felt that if I remembered and allowed myself to constantly experience the discomfort and grief caused by this exposure, I could atone for my guilt, though it perhaps be only by association. My mother actually forbid me to watch anything related to the Shoah at one point, because I was being disturbed by nightmares nearly every time I fell asleep. Every once and a while, for a period of months, I stopped watching, stopped reading and tried to stop remembering. And then I felt guilty for that. The people who died in the gas chambers had not been able to escape their fate, and here I was, refusing to remember.
Some of my response to the Shoah was appropriate and perhaps even righteous. I was especially sensitive toward Jewish people, who are, everyone, affected by this hellish period of their history. I apologized for the atrocities committed at every occasion and educated others about the dangers of anti-Semitism and indifference toward the plight of the persecuted. Yet, I sensed that something in my heart was not entirely healthy.
During my first trip to Auschwitz, co-leading a group of Messianic Jewish teenagers in 2006, I walked through that place of death, and was physically ill. My nightmares began again. Soon afterward, I recognized my own battle with guilt and the Shoah. I also recognized that I had serious issues with God and how He had acted (or seemed not to act) while His people suffered. My feelings were not something I could explain to anyone. Spending the majority of my time with Jewish people, all who had lost family members in the Holocaust, my own “issues” seemed terribly insignificant. I was also conscious as a follower of Jesus that it was not right for me to struggle so deeply with guilt that I had supposedly accepted as wiped clean by the atoning work of the Messiah. So I tried to swallow the feelings. But the Lord seemed to keep prying open this area of my heart. I began to question if my love for the Jewish people was somehow tainted by the guilt I felt. I even questioned if any Jewish person could be expected to believe in God after this had all happened.
Over the next couple of years, the Lord in His mercy let me walk through a dark time in my life spiritually. I did not feel close to Him, even when I pursued Him with diligence. I doubted things I had always known to be true. I questioned my own election, seeing so many areas of fruitlessness in my life. I could not have known that it would be at Auschwitz that the Lord intended not only to heal me from the guilt I had regarding the Holocaust, but also to bring me back into the light of His love in a newly restored way.
In 2009, as part of a young adult Messianic conference in Berlin, I was expected to go back to Poland and again walk through the concentration camp. I had no intention of going with the group, instead planning to hide out in Berlin and stay away from my unexplainable ever-looming sense of guilt. Just before the group left for Poland without me, the Lord prompted my heart with these words from 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree”.
“Why then”, the Lord impressed on my spirit, “do you keep trying to bear your sins and the sins of others yourself? Is my sacrifice not sufficient for you?”
I was convicted by my self-righteousness and so agreed, in fear and trembling, to go with the group back to Auschwitz. The night before we walked through the camp, the Spirit of the Lord made His presence known to our group in a remarkable way. We remembered the Shoah, but we remembered His grace and love most of all. We cried and worshipped late into the night. My heart was encouraged in a place where I thought I could never know anything but guilt and dread.
The next day, as we went through Auschwitz, we did remember. We said the Mourner's Kaddish, shed tears and struggled individually and together with emotions and fears. I was aware from the moment I set foot on the grounds of that place that I would not leave without the Lord dealing with some things in my heart. As we trudged through snow in Auschwitz-Birkenau and I again listened to a tour guide try to explain the inhuman conditions of that camp, I wrestled with the Lord. He seemed to have two things He wanted to accomplish in me that day. First of all, was my sense of guilt. He had begun to work on this with me by reminding me that He was my sin-bearer. He illustrated this truth in a profound way. A young German man, a committed Christian and lover of Israel, was traveling with our group. The bravery of this man and his companions was striking. They travelled through death camps with Jewish young people, seeking reconciliation in Jesus’ name. On this day, at a moment of my own deep despair, this young man came and put his arm around me and walked with me for sometime quietly through the camp. I was blessed and convicted.
“If this man, a German, can understand forgiveness enough to boldly face anger, tears, projected guilt and everything else that must confront him in this special ministry, who am I to allow guilt to swallow me up? I am witnessing with my own eyes that the grace and forgiveness of God is sufficient to heal the relationship between Germans and Jewish people-and in Auschwitz of all places. Who am I to question His sufficiency to forgive me and make me strong enough in Him to do the right thing when I am called upon to do so?”
From that moment, my guilt was lifted, and the Lord began to heal me completely.
However, there was something else the Lord wanted to change in my heart that day. My guilty feelings gave way to a deeper and more honest accusation.
“I don’t know what I might have done if I were here, Lord. But I wasn’t here. You were! Why didn’t you do anything?”
Behind my entire struggle, I recognized at the root of my difficulty was that I did not know if I could trust God anymore. In the cold snow, standing alone and trembling, I heard the Spirit speaking too my heart.
“I was there. I suffered with my people more than you can understand. I did more than you will ever know. But it’s true. I did not do what you think I should have. I did allow these things to happen. You may never understand why. But I am God. You are not.”
I was not God. I knew this. But if this was who He was, could I trust Him anymore?
Over the next two days, I seemed to be sinking into a pit. I doubted my calling and that I had ever heard from God. My own failures and insufficiencies overwhelmed me and I could no longer effectively shove those emotions to the back of my heart. Doubts, fears and feelings I had never dared express flew out of my mouth to the ears of the Lord of Heaven and Earth. I wondered if I might be struck down where I stood. But the Lover of my soul, in His grace, pushed me toward honesty with Him. Sitting alone in the dark as Berlin toasted the coming of a New Year, I wrestled with the Lord. He pressed me to open my heart to Him.
“I don’t think you want to hear what I have to say, Lord. It’s not too pretty.”
It almost seemed like He laughed at me.
“Don’t worry. The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts (Proverbs 20:27). I can handle it.”
I poured out my heart to my Lord, and let Him know that I had failed in every way- performance as a Christian, as a minister of the Gospel, as a woman of faith. I was nothing. Then as I humbled myself in His sight, in His marvelous way, the Lord lifted me up. The words of Psalm 40 sprang into my heart and began to transform me.
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.
In that moment, I was comforted that the Lord was indeed with me and for me. Over the next months, He continued to heal my broken and weary spirit. He showed me that He had indeed put a new song in my mouth, and that He would use this to bring many to trust in Him. I began to see His restoring and redeeming work in beautiful ways. My struggle with guilt brought me to a renewed love for His mercy and gift of life. My open hearted confession of doubt opened the door to greater intimacy with the Lord and transparency with others. My journey to the pit of my own failure and insufficiency humbled me and brought me to a new understanding that it is the Lord who works in me, both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). And my love for the Jewish people was confirmed, as I recognized that this part of who I am is something the Lord took particular delight to create in me.
Coming to this section in this course on Jewish history on the Shoah, I was newly inspired in my commitment to the Gospel, to the Jewish people, to fighting anti-Semitism and to support of the state of Israel. Unexpectedly, God also used this study to bring me back to the amazing transforming work of the Messiah in my own life. Perhaps, someday I will have a greater understanding for just how He worked in the lives of His people Israel in this tragic part of their history. For the moment, I am learning to trust Him, even when He doesn’t make sense, waiting for a day when He redeems all things and restores Israel, His Beloved.
In this Jewish History course, I read the assigned material on the terrible events of the Shoah, and realized it was an entirely new experience for me. The information was not what was different. I have visited Holocaust memorials and museums in five US states, four European countries and in Israel, have walked twice through Auschwitz and once through Dachau, have carefully digested every exhibit in the infamous Haus on the Wannsee, and have read more books and seen more films on the events of the Shoah than I can remember. The information was very familiar. What was unique about my time in this class was that for the first time that I can remember since I was a ten year old girl reading The Hiding Place, I was able to study the Holocaust, feeling appropriate grief and even anger, without the tremendous guilt that I usually experienced in remembering these events. I was able to read and discuss the terrible events of mass extermination of six million Jewish people without being plagued by nightmares. For me, this was a very new experience.
Some might wonder why a non-Jewish girl who had no personal connection to the experience of the Holocaust, either as a victim or as a perpetrator, would be so deeply affected by these events. I have often wondered this myself. From my very first exposure to the reality of the Shoah, I had struggled with feelings of guilt and terror. I was very afraid, but not of suffering as God’s beloved people Israel did at that time. Rather, I was terrified of who I might have been in 1940. You see, today, I am a woman in love with the God of Israel and with the Jewish people. I support Israeli independence and fight anti-Semitism actively. But I struggled deeply with wondering if I might have been different if I were born in a different time. My blood is English and German. In the war, many German Christians participated in the deaths of millions of defenseless Jewish people. The English, in many cases, merely did nothing to stop it. I am American nationally. The Americans were not any better toward the Jews than the English during the war, and anti-Semitism was in huge force even in the church in America. What haunted me for so long was not what I had done, but what I might have done. Would I have been any better? We all like to think we would have been Corrie Ten Booms and Dietrich Bonhoeffers. Perhaps this would have been true of me, by the grace of God. Yet the guilt of what non-Jewish Christians of my heritage and nationality had participated in, or at the very least, over-looked, was something that I struggled with in a very personal way.
Dealing with guilt in anyway other than turning to the merciful Lord always leads us to bizarre behavior. As a teenager and young adult, I exposed myself to much to the facts and footage of the horrors of the Holocaust. Somehow, I felt that if I remembered and allowed myself to constantly experience the discomfort and grief caused by this exposure, I could atone for my guilt, though it perhaps be only by association. My mother actually forbid me to watch anything related to the Shoah at one point, because I was being disturbed by nightmares nearly every time I fell asleep. Every once and a while, for a period of months, I stopped watching, stopped reading and tried to stop remembering. And then I felt guilty for that. The people who died in the gas chambers had not been able to escape their fate, and here I was, refusing to remember.
Some of my response to the Shoah was appropriate and perhaps even righteous. I was especially sensitive toward Jewish people, who are, everyone, affected by this hellish period of their history. I apologized for the atrocities committed at every occasion and educated others about the dangers of anti-Semitism and indifference toward the plight of the persecuted. Yet, I sensed that something in my heart was not entirely healthy.
During my first trip to Auschwitz, co-leading a group of Messianic Jewish teenagers in 2006, I walked through that place of death, and was physically ill. My nightmares began again. Soon afterward, I recognized my own battle with guilt and the Shoah. I also recognized that I had serious issues with God and how He had acted (or seemed not to act) while His people suffered. My feelings were not something I could explain to anyone. Spending the majority of my time with Jewish people, all who had lost family members in the Holocaust, my own “issues” seemed terribly insignificant. I was also conscious as a follower of Jesus that it was not right for me to struggle so deeply with guilt that I had supposedly accepted as wiped clean by the atoning work of the Messiah. So I tried to swallow the feelings. But the Lord seemed to keep prying open this area of my heart. I began to question if my love for the Jewish people was somehow tainted by the guilt I felt. I even questioned if any Jewish person could be expected to believe in God after this had all happened.
Over the next couple of years, the Lord in His mercy let me walk through a dark time in my life spiritually. I did not feel close to Him, even when I pursued Him with diligence. I doubted things I had always known to be true. I questioned my own election, seeing so many areas of fruitlessness in my life. I could not have known that it would be at Auschwitz that the Lord intended not only to heal me from the guilt I had regarding the Holocaust, but also to bring me back into the light of His love in a newly restored way.
In 2009, as part of a young adult Messianic conference in Berlin, I was expected to go back to Poland and again walk through the concentration camp. I had no intention of going with the group, instead planning to hide out in Berlin and stay away from my unexplainable ever-looming sense of guilt. Just before the group left for Poland without me, the Lord prompted my heart with these words from 1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree”.
“Why then”, the Lord impressed on my spirit, “do you keep trying to bear your sins and the sins of others yourself? Is my sacrifice not sufficient for you?”
I was convicted by my self-righteousness and so agreed, in fear and trembling, to go with the group back to Auschwitz. The night before we walked through the camp, the Spirit of the Lord made His presence known to our group in a remarkable way. We remembered the Shoah, but we remembered His grace and love most of all. We cried and worshipped late into the night. My heart was encouraged in a place where I thought I could never know anything but guilt and dread.
“If this man, a German, can understand forgiveness enough to boldly face anger, tears, projected guilt and everything else that must confront him in this special ministry, who am I to allow guilt to swallow me up? I am witnessing with my own eyes that the grace and forgiveness of God is sufficient to heal the relationship between Germans and Jewish people-and in Auschwitz of all places. Who am I to question His sufficiency to forgive me and make me strong enough in Him to do the right thing when I am called upon to do so?”
From that moment, my guilt was lifted, and the Lord began to heal me completely.
However, there was something else the Lord wanted to change in my heart that day. My guilty feelings gave way to a deeper and more honest accusation.
“I don’t know what I might have done if I were here, Lord. But I wasn’t here. You were! Why didn’t you do anything?”
Behind my entire struggle, I recognized at the root of my difficulty was that I did not know if I could trust God anymore. In the cold snow, standing alone and trembling, I heard the Spirit speaking too my heart.
“I was there. I suffered with my people more than you can understand. I did more than you will ever know. But it’s true. I did not do what you think I should have. I did allow these things to happen. You may never understand why. But I am God. You are not.”
I was not God. I knew this. But if this was who He was, could I trust Him anymore?
Over the next two days, I seemed to be sinking into a pit. I doubted my calling and that I had ever heard from God. My own failures and insufficiencies overwhelmed me and I could no longer effectively shove those emotions to the back of my heart. Doubts, fears and feelings I had never dared express flew out of my mouth to the ears of the Lord of Heaven and Earth. I wondered if I might be struck down where I stood. But the Lover of my soul, in His grace, pushed me toward honesty with Him. Sitting alone in the dark as Berlin toasted the coming of a New Year, I wrestled with the Lord. He pressed me to open my heart to Him.
“I don’t think you want to hear what I have to say, Lord. It’s not too pretty.”
It almost seemed like He laughed at me.
“Don’t worry. The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts (Proverbs 20:27). I can handle it.”
I poured out my heart to my Lord, and let Him know that I had failed in every way- performance as a Christian, as a minister of the Gospel, as a woman of faith. I was nothing. Then as I humbled myself in His sight, in His marvelous way, the Lord lifted me up. The words of Psalm 40 sprang into my heart and began to transform me.
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.
In that moment, I was comforted that the Lord was indeed with me and for me. Over the next months, He continued to heal my broken and weary spirit. He showed me that He had indeed put a new song in my mouth, and that He would use this to bring many to trust in Him. I began to see His restoring and redeeming work in beautiful ways. My struggle with guilt brought me to a renewed love for His mercy and gift of life. My open hearted confession of doubt opened the door to greater intimacy with the Lord and transparency with others. My journey to the pit of my own failure and insufficiency humbled me and brought me to a new understanding that it is the Lord who works in me, both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). And my love for the Jewish people was confirmed, as I recognized that this part of who I am is something the Lord took particular delight to create in me.
Coming to this section in this course on Jewish history on the Shoah, I was newly inspired in my commitment to the Gospel, to the Jewish people, to fighting anti-Semitism and to support of the state of Israel. Unexpectedly, God also used this study to bring me back to the amazing transforming work of the Messiah in my own life. Perhaps, someday I will have a greater understanding for just how He worked in the lives of His people Israel in this tragic part of their history. For the moment, I am learning to trust Him, even when He doesn’t make sense, waiting for a day when He redeems all things and restores Israel, His Beloved.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Why Anti-Judaism Always Leads to Anti-Semitism
As a Reformed Christian, I embrace the doctrines of the New Covenant. I recognize that God has called out for Himself a new people from among Israel and the Nations- namely, the Church. I believe that the way God’s people live in light of the Mosaic Covenant is fundamentally different than it was in the past. And above all, I have confidence that Yeshua is the revealed Messiah of Israel and the Nations and that no one comes to the Father, but by Him. I say this in prelude, because I must challenge a dangerous trend within my own spiritual community-that is the language of anti-Judaism that is prevalent in Reformed writing on all kinds of theological subjects. In the midst of communicating the truth regarding the Church as the people of God, Israel, the first people of God, has been unjustly slandered, sometimes due to lack of care in choice of language and wording, but often, quite deliberately.
Throughout a recent course on Jewish history, I have been exposed to a good deal of writing addressing the Jewish people by the church fathers, the medieval Roman Catholic clergy and the Protestant Reformers. Some of the writings have clearly been hostile and violent toward the Jews as an ethnic and social group. These anti-Semitic works and philosophies were obviously a source of antagonism and pain for the Jewish people throughout the era of Christendom, and since the Holocaust at least, true Christians have abandoned such a posture toward the people of Israel.
Other comments and attitudes, however, are less direct, less aggressive and consequently, may have greater potential for dangerous influence. These works are not overtly anti-Semitic, but are clearly anti-Judaism. Christian theologians, scholars, pastors and lay people alike in the 20th and 21st centuries who would never dream of using Justin Martyr or Luther’s language against the Jews, often speak so strongly against Judaism that Jewish people, messianic and otherwise, cannot help but flinch. Authors like Gary Burge write against Zionism the Jews right to the land of Israel. Leading Reformed theological teachers, such as John Piper (someone I deeply respect!) , make statements in defense of the Gospel of Christ that take the right to be called “Jewish” away from the very people who have suffered as Jews for centuries.
I have been challenged that Jewish people and Christian Zionists (I among them) are simply too sensitive to anti-Semitism and find it in places where it does not exist. A Christian who fully embraces the doctrines of the New Covenant cannot help but theologically come in conflict with Judaism. It is true that the reality is that the Jewish people, as a whole, have rejected the One that the Church embraces as Messiah. I have been challenged to consider that anti-Judaism, borne out of theological conviction, does not equate anti-Semitism and that Christians should not be judged as anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish because they speak theologically in regards to the spiritual state of Jewish people who have not embraced Jesus. To compare to Origen, Martyr, Luther, or even Hitler, the Reformed Christians who have written such works as Burge and Piper may certainly seem unnecessarily inflammatory. I certainly do not intend or desire to name these brothers in the same breath as antichrists such as Antiochus IV and Hitler. Yet, in love for my Jewish and Christian brethren alike, I must point out an unavoidable fact to my Reformed Christian brothers and sisters- History speaks. Anti-Judaism has always led, and will always lead to anti-Semitism.
In my reading of such Christian leaders as Bernard of Clairvaux, Augustine and John Calvin, I see a polemic against Judaism borne not out of a hatred of ethnic Jews, but out of what I believe was a sincere desire to preserve the Gospel of grace. It is not the defense of grace that was dangerous to the Jewish community, but rather the language used to communicate it. Throughout history, the average man has taken the words of the scholar and teacher and taken them beyond the originator’s projected influence. For example, Bernard of Clairvaux wrote during the 2nd Crusade exhorting soldiers not to harm the Jews. Yet his own writings emphasizing the spiritual blindness and hardness of the Jews contained such language that many were encouraged in hatred of the Jews through them. I believe that the words Reformed Christian writers today can have the same effect. I believe it because I already see it in the rise of anti-Israeli/pro-Palestinian sentiment in churches and in the distant attitude many Christians bear toward Jewish people.
Our responsibility to the Jewish people as Christians is quite clear in the New Testament. In Romans 9-11, Paul shows us his own heart for the salvation of the Jewish people and gives a challenge to be the preacher who brings the good news to Israel. His language toward the Jewish people is clearly Gospel, but also clearly loving. Our goal toward the Jewish people is to win them to Yeshua. This will not happen through internal language that revives old memories of the Crusades and the Holocaust. We have much to overcome as Christians in regards to relationship with the Jewish people. I dare say we have much to repent for. I beseech my Reformed Christian brothers and sisters to be so determined to proclaim the love and the glory of God to the Jewish people that we would stop making the mistakes of the past, and guard our language and attitudes toward Israel and Jewish people. May we no longer be guilty of careless or aggressive language that distracts from the beauty of the Jewish Messiah.
Sola Deo Gloria.
Throughout a recent course on Jewish history, I have been exposed to a good deal of writing addressing the Jewish people by the church fathers, the medieval Roman Catholic clergy and the Protestant Reformers. Some of the writings have clearly been hostile and violent toward the Jews as an ethnic and social group. These anti-Semitic works and philosophies were obviously a source of antagonism and pain for the Jewish people throughout the era of Christendom, and since the Holocaust at least, true Christians have abandoned such a posture toward the people of Israel.
Other comments and attitudes, however, are less direct, less aggressive and consequently, may have greater potential for dangerous influence. These works are not overtly anti-Semitic, but are clearly anti-Judaism. Christian theologians, scholars, pastors and lay people alike in the 20th and 21st centuries who would never dream of using Justin Martyr or Luther’s language against the Jews, often speak so strongly against Judaism that Jewish people, messianic and otherwise, cannot help but flinch. Authors like Gary Burge write against Zionism the Jews right to the land of Israel. Leading Reformed theological teachers, such as John Piper (someone I deeply respect!) , make statements in defense of the Gospel of Christ that take the right to be called “Jewish” away from the very people who have suffered as Jews for centuries.
I have been challenged that Jewish people and Christian Zionists (I among them) are simply too sensitive to anti-Semitism and find it in places where it does not exist. A Christian who fully embraces the doctrines of the New Covenant cannot help but theologically come in conflict with Judaism. It is true that the reality is that the Jewish people, as a whole, have rejected the One that the Church embraces as Messiah. I have been challenged to consider that anti-Judaism, borne out of theological conviction, does not equate anti-Semitism and that Christians should not be judged as anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish because they speak theologically in regards to the spiritual state of Jewish people who have not embraced Jesus. To compare to Origen, Martyr, Luther, or even Hitler, the Reformed Christians who have written such works as Burge and Piper may certainly seem unnecessarily inflammatory. I certainly do not intend or desire to name these brothers in the same breath as antichrists such as Antiochus IV and Hitler. Yet, in love for my Jewish and Christian brethren alike, I must point out an unavoidable fact to my Reformed Christian brothers and sisters- History speaks. Anti-Judaism has always led, and will always lead to anti-Semitism.
In my reading of such Christian leaders as Bernard of Clairvaux, Augustine and John Calvin, I see a polemic against Judaism borne not out of a hatred of ethnic Jews, but out of what I believe was a sincere desire to preserve the Gospel of grace. It is not the defense of grace that was dangerous to the Jewish community, but rather the language used to communicate it. Throughout history, the average man has taken the words of the scholar and teacher and taken them beyond the originator’s projected influence. For example, Bernard of Clairvaux wrote during the 2nd Crusade exhorting soldiers not to harm the Jews. Yet his own writings emphasizing the spiritual blindness and hardness of the Jews contained such language that many were encouraged in hatred of the Jews through them. I believe that the words Reformed Christian writers today can have the same effect. I believe it because I already see it in the rise of anti-Israeli/pro-Palestinian sentiment in churches and in the distant attitude many Christians bear toward Jewish people.
Our responsibility to the Jewish people as Christians is quite clear in the New Testament. In Romans 9-11, Paul shows us his own heart for the salvation of the Jewish people and gives a challenge to be the preacher who brings the good news to Israel. His language toward the Jewish people is clearly Gospel, but also clearly loving. Our goal toward the Jewish people is to win them to Yeshua. This will not happen through internal language that revives old memories of the Crusades and the Holocaust. We have much to overcome as Christians in regards to relationship with the Jewish people. I dare say we have much to repent for. I beseech my Reformed Christian brothers and sisters to be so determined to proclaim the love and the glory of God to the Jewish people that we would stop making the mistakes of the past, and guard our language and attitudes toward Israel and Jewish people. May we no longer be guilty of careless or aggressive language that distracts from the beauty of the Jewish Messiah.
Sola Deo Gloria.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Discerning the Wisdom of God from the Wisdom of this World
In a tradition begun in my first Talbot class in 2008, here is my latest message for a preaching class! I hope it encourages someone! I chose the topic because it is something close to my own heart right now.
In Him,
Jennifer
Manuscript for Topical Sermon
“Godly Wisdom Vs. Worldly Wisdom: How Do We Discern?”
Introduction:
Have you ever opened up your e-mail inbox (or better yet, SPAM box!) only to find yourself assaulted by subject headings offering every kind of solution to any problem you could imagine? These e-mails promise great wisdom to help you in life’s greatest challenges. Here are a few from own e-mail of late:
Three Secrets to Snagging a Great Apartment
The Cherry Chocolate Cake that Melts Belly Fat! Try it Today!
How To Look Young At Any Age
Get Him To Chase You Instead!
We see it in our e-mail, on the internet, the television, the magazine rack and all along the freeway during our commute. This overwhelming battery of “wisdom literature” telling us how to do life can be confusing and lead us to walk in circles in our decision making if we don’t know how to navigate through it.
As believers, we are aware that God has His way for us to do things, and ultimately we want His direction for us. But in the middle of the roar of advice and information, how do we discern what is Godly Wisdom and what is worldly Wisdom?
First, we must recognize that wisdom is something worth trying to discern.
I. Wisdom is a Godly pursuit, but it requires much discernment.
We know that we are to seek to live lives as wise people, and not as fools.
But what exactly is wisdom? Wisdom is not the result of internal reflection and meditation, as some popular Eastern mystic thought would lead us to believe. According to the Tyndale Bible Dictionary, wisdom is “The ability to direct one’s mind toward a full understanding of human life and toward its moral fulfillment. Wisdom is thus a special capacity, necessary for full human living; it can be acquired through education and the application of the mind.” The main Hebrew word for wisdom is חָכְמָה. This word speaks of having skill and discernment as to what is ethical and shrewd in life. The Greek word σοφία has the same connotation, with an emphasis the fact that wisdom is not only the ability to understand things, but motivation to act on what you know.
How do we pursue wisdom? We read the Bible and see much wisdom and guidance there. But sometimes in life, things don’t seem to be solved so easily with a “chapter and verse” answer. We have big and specific questions in our search to live wise lives- Should I take this new job? Should I approach my friend about that habit that seems so sinful to me? Should I get involved romantically with this guy/girl? It is then that we see the Scripture lead us to look to counsel from others.
A. It is good to seek counsel and to be teachable.
Proverbs 11:14 says that “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
It is important for us to seek good counsel from others. Godly people can encourage, remind and instruct us in wise ways. However, B. much evil counsel exists, cloaked as good counsel.
This is where discernment comes in. Sometimes the advice that sounds so good can be exactly the wrong thing! It may be so close to the truth, and contain bits of truth, but not really be God’s wisdom.
Take, for example, the popular “wisdom” of Oprah. On her website this week, she has some good advice on how to get out of debt and to watch your weight. I think we would agree that this advice is sound and practical. However, in answering the big question on everyone’s mind, “How can I be happy?” there are things on that same website that give a “wisdom” that should not settle well with those who know the Lord. Opera gives what sounds like good ways to live a happy life- love yourself, take care of the people who are important to you, like your job and be a spiritual person. The problem is, this spirituality has nothing to do with the true God who reveals Himself in His Word. This wisdom is not based on the godly principle of having joy in knowing the Lord! It may sound good, but it is a philosophy of self-determined truth!
Bad counsel can sometimes be disguised as something good. Another challenge is that
C. Even good counselors can get it wrong sometimes!-
We remember the story of Job in this case. Job had everything going wrong in his life. His friends came to visit him. They were probably great guys in general, maybe full of wisdom for most situations. However, when they came to Job in his time of need, they got it all wrong. They assumed that Job was being punished for his sin. Meanwhile, you and I, the readers, are filled in on what’s really going on. Job is being tested in his righteousness, not punished for his sin! His buddies were way off! This shows us that even our good and godly friends can give us bad advice sometimes.
If you are looking for wisdom in a certain area of your life right now, be it work, family, ministry or relationships, you may be asking yourself right now, “If I can’t get a straight up direction from the Bible and I can’t be sure my friends and counselors will lead me in the right direction, how can I discern wisdom?”
The good news is that God shows us in His Word what Godly wisdom looks like.
II. The Bible gives clear contrasts between Godly and worldly wisdom. –
Proverbs shares distinctions between the nature of wisdom and “folly” or foolishness, which is what worldly “wisdom” really is. In Proverbs 9, we see an illustration of wisdom and folly as two different women with very different characteristics.
A. Wisdom
Verses 1-6 depict wisdom saying:
1Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,
5 “Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”
The word picture of this woman shows us what wisdom looks like.
1. Wisdom is diligent, (hard working and productive)
2. Wisdom brings insight-That’s the practical understanding we talked about
and 3. wisdom seeks the good of others- Wisdom invites others to know her and to be wise. She applies to everyone. It’s not a selfish, “well this is how I see it” kind of thing.
On the other hand, Proverbs 9:13-18 shows us a picture of what folly, worldly wisdom, looks like.
13 The woman Folly is loud;
she is seductive and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
15 calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
And to him who lacks sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Here we see a picture of B. folly that is negative and destructive. This worldly “wisdom” is recognizable by several characteristics seen in these verses.
1. Folly is lazy (Unlike wisdom that works hard, worldly wisdom encourages us to just relax, enjoy things and not take things seriously. This is especially true in our culture with lazy thinking. The TV we watch, the ways we entertain ourselves, and even our education can be great encouragers of lazy thinking. Reasoning through things and challenging our minds is not exactly in vogue in our world today.)
2. Folly is also seductive (This means that it plays to our desires. This is the kind of wisdom that advertising uses every day. “You deserve it!” “Have it your way!” Advertising uses words like “Tantalizing, sweet and silky”, and have mastered using sexual imagery to sell things like chocolate and laundry detergent. Your desires are fully engaged, and the wisdom of this world seduces you into thinking you need and deserve all the best that money and good looks can bring you.)
Finally, 3. folly takes the easy way to pleasure. (You should have red flags when you receive advice that leads you to believe that you can have what you want, when you want it without having to work hard. Things that are worth having are usually had through hard work! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!)
Godly wisdom is contrasted well with worldly wisdom here in Proverbs 9. The capstone verse that helps in our discernment is vs. 10:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight
C. Godly wisdom will always begin with fear of the LORD.
If the wisdom we are hearing does not lead us to know Him, and if it doesn’t lead to living in fear that He is indeed our LORD, we are not hearing godly wisdom. I like to remember these principles with this little phrase. You can use it to test what kind of wisdom you are receiving:
“The wisdom of this world tickles my ears and stokes the passion of my desires.
The wisdom of God renews my mind and enflames the passion of my heart for Him.”
III. Our goal is to discern Godly wisdom and act on it.
This is God’s will for us, and thankfully, we are not alone in this!
A. God wants us to have a spirit of wisdom (This is His idea!) and that spirit will have certain characteristics. We can find these in Ephesians 1:17-23. Let’s read this together.
Τhat the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
Let’s look at a few details on this spirit of wisdom from this passage.
First of all, 1. It will lead to knowledge of Him. God will use His wisdom to teach us to know Him better. That’s one of His main goals for us.
Secondly, 2. It will bring a hope founded in Him. This is an important point. True godly wisdom shouldn’t lead us to cynicism and despair. It should lead us to a greater hope in our wonderful Saviour.
Finally, 3. It will glorify the Messiah. The wisdom of God is not self-promoting. It glorifies the Lord and leads us to reflect Him better.
As we grow in the Lord, the spirit of wisdom works in our lives, and teaches us to discern the way that God wants us to do things. When we are asking if we should take a job, date a particular person or confront a brother or sister, we can rely on His Spirit to guide us through His Word. We can measure our options according to the Biblical definitions of wisdom and folly. We can check our motives and see if we are making the choice that seeks to know God and glorify Him. And…
B. When we know Godly wisdom, we must act on it.
It is not enough to intellectually assent that God has a way and a plan for us. We have to respond to it in obedience. To do this,
1. The wisdom of this world must be cast aside. We won’t be able to do things God’s way and the world’s way at the same time. How do we cast aside worldly wisdom?
-It may be a matter of changing who we get counsel from. Maybe some of our friends who aren’t walking with the Lord can remain our friends, but shouldn’t be our counselors.
For instance:
If you are the man of the house, and believe that God is leading you to wisely lead your family to a better place financially by paying off your debt and starting some savings, you may need to stop listening to your buddies at the office who insist that the happiness you seek is in the latest BMW. You know that the message of “Get your pleasure now!” is worldly wisdom and must be set aside in favor of the Godly wisdom which says, “Be diligent and put your family first!”
-We may need to make a change in what we read and watch on TV. Let me give you an example:
You may be a young lady who wants to be everything she was created to be. You see in the Word that a wise woman is prudent, kind and virtuous. You see that this is the kind that is to be praised and that any man should rejoice to have as his wife. Yet, the fashion magazines you read tell you a different story. They tell you that what matters is money and beauty, and that the way to love and happiness is to have all of the things that elevate your status in this world and make you appealing to men. You may know in your heart that these magazines are lying to you, but if you feed yourself with the wisdom of the world, it will affect how you think and live. It may be time to get rid of this stuff and fill your mind with the truth.
As we recognize and discern the godly, casting off worldly wisdom,
2. We must walk in true wisdom.
Take-Home truth: We can discern Godly wisdom from worldly wisdom and act on it, living lives as people of wisdom.
This is where we get our hands dirty, as they say. We need to have faith that God’s wisdom is the best way to live our lives, and boldly walk in it. The rewards? We know the Lord more, we give Him glory and we find hope for the future in Him.
Conclusion-
So, next time your inbox is bombarded with a long list of subject headings with all the advice imaginable under the sun, think of it as an exercise in discernment. What is the wisdom of God and what is clearly the wisdom of this world- which is merely folly? You will be pleased to find that the Lord is giving you His spirit of wisdom, training your heart to discern His ways and giving you grace to walk in them.
In Him,
Jennifer
Manuscript for Topical Sermon
“Godly Wisdom Vs. Worldly Wisdom: How Do We Discern?”
Introduction:
Have you ever opened up your e-mail inbox (or better yet, SPAM box!) only to find yourself assaulted by subject headings offering every kind of solution to any problem you could imagine? These e-mails promise great wisdom to help you in life’s greatest challenges. Here are a few from own e-mail of late:
Three Secrets to Snagging a Great Apartment
The Cherry Chocolate Cake that Melts Belly Fat! Try it Today!
How To Look Young At Any Age
Get Him To Chase You Instead!
We see it in our e-mail, on the internet, the television, the magazine rack and all along the freeway during our commute. This overwhelming battery of “wisdom literature” telling us how to do life can be confusing and lead us to walk in circles in our decision making if we don’t know how to navigate through it.
As believers, we are aware that God has His way for us to do things, and ultimately we want His direction for us. But in the middle of the roar of advice and information, how do we discern what is Godly Wisdom and what is worldly Wisdom?
First, we must recognize that wisdom is something worth trying to discern.
I. Wisdom is a Godly pursuit, but it requires much discernment.
We know that we are to seek to live lives as wise people, and not as fools.
But what exactly is wisdom? Wisdom is not the result of internal reflection and meditation, as some popular Eastern mystic thought would lead us to believe. According to the Tyndale Bible Dictionary, wisdom is “The ability to direct one’s mind toward a full understanding of human life and toward its moral fulfillment. Wisdom is thus a special capacity, necessary for full human living; it can be acquired through education and the application of the mind.” The main Hebrew word for wisdom is חָכְמָה. This word speaks of having skill and discernment as to what is ethical and shrewd in life. The Greek word σοφία has the same connotation, with an emphasis the fact that wisdom is not only the ability to understand things, but motivation to act on what you know.
How do we pursue wisdom? We read the Bible and see much wisdom and guidance there. But sometimes in life, things don’t seem to be solved so easily with a “chapter and verse” answer. We have big and specific questions in our search to live wise lives- Should I take this new job? Should I approach my friend about that habit that seems so sinful to me? Should I get involved romantically with this guy/girl? It is then that we see the Scripture lead us to look to counsel from others.
A. It is good to seek counsel and to be teachable.
Proverbs 11:14 says that “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
It is important for us to seek good counsel from others. Godly people can encourage, remind and instruct us in wise ways. However, B. much evil counsel exists, cloaked as good counsel.
This is where discernment comes in. Sometimes the advice that sounds so good can be exactly the wrong thing! It may be so close to the truth, and contain bits of truth, but not really be God’s wisdom.
Take, for example, the popular “wisdom” of Oprah. On her website this week, she has some good advice on how to get out of debt and to watch your weight. I think we would agree that this advice is sound and practical. However, in answering the big question on everyone’s mind, “How can I be happy?” there are things on that same website that give a “wisdom” that should not settle well with those who know the Lord. Opera gives what sounds like good ways to live a happy life- love yourself, take care of the people who are important to you, like your job and be a spiritual person. The problem is, this spirituality has nothing to do with the true God who reveals Himself in His Word. This wisdom is not based on the godly principle of having joy in knowing the Lord! It may sound good, but it is a philosophy of self-determined truth!
Bad counsel can sometimes be disguised as something good. Another challenge is that
C. Even good counselors can get it wrong sometimes!-
We remember the story of Job in this case. Job had everything going wrong in his life. His friends came to visit him. They were probably great guys in general, maybe full of wisdom for most situations. However, when they came to Job in his time of need, they got it all wrong. They assumed that Job was being punished for his sin. Meanwhile, you and I, the readers, are filled in on what’s really going on. Job is being tested in his righteousness, not punished for his sin! His buddies were way off! This shows us that even our good and godly friends can give us bad advice sometimes.
If you are looking for wisdom in a certain area of your life right now, be it work, family, ministry or relationships, you may be asking yourself right now, “If I can’t get a straight up direction from the Bible and I can’t be sure my friends and counselors will lead me in the right direction, how can I discern wisdom?”
The good news is that God shows us in His Word what Godly wisdom looks like.
II. The Bible gives clear contrasts between Godly and worldly wisdom. –
Proverbs shares distinctions between the nature of wisdom and “folly” or foolishness, which is what worldly “wisdom” really is. In Proverbs 9, we see an illustration of wisdom and folly as two different women with very different characteristics.
A. Wisdom
Verses 1-6 depict wisdom saying:
1Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says,
5 “Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”
The word picture of this woman shows us what wisdom looks like.
1. Wisdom is diligent, (hard working and productive)
2. Wisdom brings insight-That’s the practical understanding we talked about
and 3. wisdom seeks the good of others- Wisdom invites others to know her and to be wise. She applies to everyone. It’s not a selfish, “well this is how I see it” kind of thing.
On the other hand, Proverbs 9:13-18 shows us a picture of what folly, worldly wisdom, looks like.
13 The woman Folly is loud;
she is seductive and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
15 calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
And to him who lacks sense she says,
17 “Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Here we see a picture of B. folly that is negative and destructive. This worldly “wisdom” is recognizable by several characteristics seen in these verses.
1. Folly is lazy (Unlike wisdom that works hard, worldly wisdom encourages us to just relax, enjoy things and not take things seriously. This is especially true in our culture with lazy thinking. The TV we watch, the ways we entertain ourselves, and even our education can be great encouragers of lazy thinking. Reasoning through things and challenging our minds is not exactly in vogue in our world today.)
2. Folly is also seductive (This means that it plays to our desires. This is the kind of wisdom that advertising uses every day. “You deserve it!” “Have it your way!” Advertising uses words like “Tantalizing, sweet and silky”, and have mastered using sexual imagery to sell things like chocolate and laundry detergent. Your desires are fully engaged, and the wisdom of this world seduces you into thinking you need and deserve all the best that money and good looks can bring you.)
Finally, 3. folly takes the easy way to pleasure. (You should have red flags when you receive advice that leads you to believe that you can have what you want, when you want it without having to work hard. Things that are worth having are usually had through hard work! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!)
Godly wisdom is contrasted well with worldly wisdom here in Proverbs 9. The capstone verse that helps in our discernment is vs. 10:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight
C. Godly wisdom will always begin with fear of the LORD.
If the wisdom we are hearing does not lead us to know Him, and if it doesn’t lead to living in fear that He is indeed our LORD, we are not hearing godly wisdom. I like to remember these principles with this little phrase. You can use it to test what kind of wisdom you are receiving:
“The wisdom of this world tickles my ears and stokes the passion of my desires.
The wisdom of God renews my mind and enflames the passion of my heart for Him.”
III. Our goal is to discern Godly wisdom and act on it.
This is God’s will for us, and thankfully, we are not alone in this!
A. God wants us to have a spirit of wisdom (This is His idea!) and that spirit will have certain characteristics. We can find these in Ephesians 1:17-23. Let’s read this together.
Τhat the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
Let’s look at a few details on this spirit of wisdom from this passage.
First of all, 1. It will lead to knowledge of Him. God will use His wisdom to teach us to know Him better. That’s one of His main goals for us.
Secondly, 2. It will bring a hope founded in Him. This is an important point. True godly wisdom shouldn’t lead us to cynicism and despair. It should lead us to a greater hope in our wonderful Saviour.
Finally, 3. It will glorify the Messiah. The wisdom of God is not self-promoting. It glorifies the Lord and leads us to reflect Him better.
As we grow in the Lord, the spirit of wisdom works in our lives, and teaches us to discern the way that God wants us to do things. When we are asking if we should take a job, date a particular person or confront a brother or sister, we can rely on His Spirit to guide us through His Word. We can measure our options according to the Biblical definitions of wisdom and folly. We can check our motives and see if we are making the choice that seeks to know God and glorify Him. And…
B. When we know Godly wisdom, we must act on it.
It is not enough to intellectually assent that God has a way and a plan for us. We have to respond to it in obedience. To do this,
1. The wisdom of this world must be cast aside. We won’t be able to do things God’s way and the world’s way at the same time. How do we cast aside worldly wisdom?
-It may be a matter of changing who we get counsel from. Maybe some of our friends who aren’t walking with the Lord can remain our friends, but shouldn’t be our counselors.
For instance:
If you are the man of the house, and believe that God is leading you to wisely lead your family to a better place financially by paying off your debt and starting some savings, you may need to stop listening to your buddies at the office who insist that the happiness you seek is in the latest BMW. You know that the message of “Get your pleasure now!” is worldly wisdom and must be set aside in favor of the Godly wisdom which says, “Be diligent and put your family first!”
-We may need to make a change in what we read and watch on TV. Let me give you an example:
You may be a young lady who wants to be everything she was created to be. You see in the Word that a wise woman is prudent, kind and virtuous. You see that this is the kind that is to be praised and that any man should rejoice to have as his wife. Yet, the fashion magazines you read tell you a different story. They tell you that what matters is money and beauty, and that the way to love and happiness is to have all of the things that elevate your status in this world and make you appealing to men. You may know in your heart that these magazines are lying to you, but if you feed yourself with the wisdom of the world, it will affect how you think and live. It may be time to get rid of this stuff and fill your mind with the truth.
As we recognize and discern the godly, casting off worldly wisdom,
2. We must walk in true wisdom.
Take-Home truth: We can discern Godly wisdom from worldly wisdom and act on it, living lives as people of wisdom.
This is where we get our hands dirty, as they say. We need to have faith that God’s wisdom is the best way to live our lives, and boldly walk in it. The rewards? We know the Lord more, we give Him glory and we find hope for the future in Him.
Conclusion-
So, next time your inbox is bombarded with a long list of subject headings with all the advice imaginable under the sun, think of it as an exercise in discernment. What is the wisdom of God and what is clearly the wisdom of this world- which is merely folly? You will be pleased to find that the Lord is giving you His spirit of wisdom, training your heart to discern His ways and giving you grace to walk in them.
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