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Water for a Thirsty Soul

I remember a time when I was seriously thirsty. I was exhausted after a long day’s hike on the Appalachian Trail. I had camped near what my map said was a reliable water source. The spring was dry. The story is longer but it ends well. The Lord mercifully took care of me by sending some fellow hikers along who shared their supply of water and Gatorade. What a relief!

Jesus was tired and thirsty when he and his disciples stopped near a town in Samaria. The disciples went to buy food and Jesus waited beside Jacob’s well, the village water supply.

Presently, a woman came to draw water from the well. Jesus crossed two cultural barriers and asked her if she would give him a drink. She was a woman and she was a Samaritan. John 4:9 makes clear that traditionally, Jews did not associate with Samaritans. So Jesus defied custom when he, as a Jewish man, asked her, a Samaritan woman, for a drink.

She was puzzled and asked Jesus, “How can you ask me for a drink?” He answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10). “Living water” refers to a flowing spring, a never-ending, abundant supply.

Then the Lord went further and said that anyone who drinks from the water that he gives “will never thirst” (John 4:13). It will be a spring that wells up to eternal life. To “drink” is to believe in Jesus. As he said on another occasion,
“If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, streams of living water shall flow from within him” (John 7:37).

A conversation ensued which resulted in Jesus telling her that he is the Messiah, the Christ of God. He is the Savior who has the divine authority to promise eternal life. As a result of this conversation, she and many others put their faith in Jesus as “the Savior of the world” (John 4:39-42).

The famous British journalist Malcomb Muggeridge described his conversion to faith in Christ in terms of receiving this living water. Formerly a Marxist, a cynic and a skeptic he achieved worldwide notoriety for his pungent critiques of Western civilization. His faith in Jesus Christ transformed him into a Christian apologist and outspoken witness. Later in his life he wrote:

“I may, I suppose, regard myself, or pass for being a relatively successful man. People occasionally stare at me on the streets — that’s fame. I can fairly easily earn enough to qualify for admission to the higher slopes of the Inland Revenue — that’s success. Furnished with money and a little fame even the elderly, if they care to, may partake of trendy diversions — that’s pleasure. It may happen once in a while that something I said or wrote was sufficiently heeded for me to persuade myself that it represented a serious impact upon our time — that’s fulfillment. Yet I say to you, and I beg you to believe me, multiply these tiny triumphs by a million, add them all together, and they are nothing — less than nothing, a positive impediment — measured against one draught of that living water Christ offers to the spiritually thirsty, irrespective of who or what they are.”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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The Lamb of God

The recent celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus has me thinking of the reason for it all. It is found in the words of John the Baptizer as Jesus began his ministry. He pointed to Jesus and declared, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:28).

What was John thinking? Possibly he was recalling the time when Abraham and Isaac traveled to Mount Moriah to make a sacrifice to God. The story has recently been re-told in a film, “His Only Son,” released by Angel Studios. The movie depicts Isaac’s question, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham’s answer was, “God himself will provide the lamb for the offering, my son” (Genesis 22:7-8).

The film captured the ambivalence, the pathos, and the emotional anguish in the heart of Father Abraham. This was because God was testing his faith by asking him to do the unthinkable and sacrifice his own son. Against all human instinct and logic, Abraham was about to carry out this strange command of God. But then God intervened and did indeed provide a suitable sacrifice, a young ram caught in a thicket, to take the place of Isaac.

Abraham spoke more prophecy than he knew when he uttered the words, “God himself will provide the lamb.” Was John thinking of this story we he called Jesus the Lamb of God?

Or was John thinking of the Exodus of the Hebrew people from their captivity in Egypt? This was commemorated every springtime by the Jews in the Festival of Passover. Every Jewish family was to observe the feast with the sacrifice of a yearling lamb without physical defect. Every year the Jewish father would explain the story of the nation’s deliverance and protection when God judged Egypt for their oppression of his chosen people.

The Hebrews were to smear the blood of the lamb on the lintel and the doorposts of their dwellings. Through Moses the prophet God had told them, “When I see the blood I will pass over you.” No plague, no destruction, “will touch you when I strike Egypt” (Exodus 12:13). It was the blood of those sacrificial lambs that shielded the Israelites from death and judgment.

Undoubtedly, John was thinking of the prophet Isaiah’s words, referring to Messiah, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). No Jew living at that time would have doubted that these words, and all of Isaiah 53, referred to Messiah, upon whom the Lord would lay “the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

John the Baptizer said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” His words are as relevant today as they were when they were spoken. This is because He takes away sin. Sin is anything that stands between us and a holy God. Sin is failure to do and be what God requires. Sin is doing what God forbids. The Lamb, Jesus, is able to take our sins away, to remove them, to expunge them, to cancel them, to forgive them,

This is a really happy promise. It involves the gift of eternal life, a clear conscience and peace of mind. How is this possible? How can one man, Jesus of Nazareth, take away our sin? The answer lies in his worth or value. He was perfect in the sight of God, without sin. Quoting Isaiah 53, the apostle Peter said of Jesus, “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Peter said that Jesus was “a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19).

He could take away sins because as the Lamb of God he was sacrificed for sinners. That is the message of Good Friday and Easter. This sacrifice has infinite value because he himself has infinite value as the Son of God. Like John the Baptizer, I invite you to “look” trustingly to him, to Jesus.

I do not ask you to join, or to pay, or to perform, but only to believe in Him. Look only to Him, not to a preacher, or to a church, or to yourself. Look nowhere else, to no one else, and to nothing else. Only He can take away our sin and make us right with God.

Isaac Watts wrote the following words over 300 years ago:

“Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain/ could give the guilty conscience peace or wash away our stain./ But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, takes all our sins away,/ a sacrifice of nobler name, and richer blood than they.”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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God’s Love on Display

On this Good Friday, I invite you to think with me about how Jesus, the Son of God, gave his life to rescue sinners and reconcile them to God. This was God’s love on display. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

“Powerless” means helpless. After the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995, scores of injured people lay amid the rubble of concrete slabs, steel rebar and rising water. Helpless. Awaiting rescue. Romans 5 says that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was for those who were helpless to save themselves.

Paul’s text is an unflattering description of humanity. “Ungodly” means irreverent, people without serious thoughts of God. “Sinners” are those who by nature and by choice violate God’s law. “Enemies” means that Jesus died for those who were alienated and rebellious against God’s rule in their lives. According to the New Testament, that is us, all of us.

How did God respond? He responded with love. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God put his love on display on Good Friday. As you read in the gospels the gory descriptions of the Lord’s sufferings: the mock trial, the false accusations, the beatings, the thorns, the nails, the spear, remember that it was love that carried him through it.

The message of Holy Week is not just a sentimental story. It tells us how we may experience God’s love. Romans 5:9-10 expresses this in three weighty theological words. Through faith in Christ we may be (1) “justified by his blood.” That means to be declared right with God, and secure in that position.

(2) Then, believers are declared to be “reconciled to God through the death of his Son.” This assures a peaceful, harmonious relationship with God.

(3) The third word is “saved.” It means to be rescued, delivered from the wrath of God’s final judgment. “While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” He died so that we could be justified before God, reconciled to God, and saved from the wrath of God.

If you are asking, “How may I know it was for me that he died?” I can tell you. If you are willing to admit that you are helpless before God, indifferent toward God, alienated from God, and in God’s eyes, a sinner, then I have good news. It was for people just like you that Christ died.

This may be hard to admit to yourself and to God, but it is a necessary first step. Confess your sin to God and express your faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Ask him to be your savior and begin to follow him as your Lord. Then Romans 5:1 will be true of you: “Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Good Friday was God’s love on display.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

 

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A King’s Reception

On Sunday Christians will begin the observance of the final week before Jesus’ death and resurrection. Palm Sunday recalls his formal entry into the city of Jerusalem as Messiah. All four of the gospels say that crowds welcomed Jesus with worship, singing psalms of praise in his honor.

Thousands of pilgrims were entering the city for the festival of Passover. Many of them recognized Jesus as the miracle worker of Galilee. Others had heard how he had raised Lazarus from death. Their hopes were centered on the promised kingdom, and they praised Jesus as Messiah, the Son of David.

Jesus was riding a young donkey, not a war horse or chariot, a sign of humility and peace. This was Jesus’ deliberate choice in order to fulfill a prophecy of scripture (Zechariah 9:9). Some of the people spread their cloaks on the ground before him and waved palm branches, shouting “Hosanna!” quoting Psalm 118:25-26.

This commotion did not seem to arouse the interest of the Roman officials. They apparently thought this activity was just another part of the Jews’ Passover celebration.

The national leaders of Israel had already been conspiring to have Jesus killed. “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (John 11:48). The Pharisees told Jesus to make the people stop their shouting and singing. Jesus’ reply was that if he silenced the crowd the stones would cry out in his praise! He seemed to be deliberately provoking the hostility that would lead to his death.

Jesus knew that the time had come for him to die. That is why he was now allowing the people to publicly praise him as Messiah. Heretofore he had suppressed talk of his kingship. He knew the people then did not understand the spiritual nature of his kingdom.

But now he is hurrying toward the cross and this public display would only hasten his death and resurrection. Not many days later the crowds would be shouting, “Crucify him!”

His disciples did not yet understand the significance of these events. It was not until the Lord’s resurrection  had occurred and the Holy Spirit had descended that they were able to discern the meaning of the prophesies. Then they understood that his death and resurrection were necessary as a sacrifice for sinners.

They would come to understand and accept as their mission to proclaim this message. Their attitude would be meekness, the fruit of the Spirit. Their method would be loving persuasion, not military conquest. Their Master was the One who fulfilled the prophecy: “See your king comes to you righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding upon a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Why Jesus Died

This season of the year is traditionally a time when Christians contemplate the message of the cross. That is what Jesus wanted his disciples to do. As he and his men made their way to Jerusalem, he gave them a prophecy of what would happen to him there. In fact, he repeatedly told them he was going to die and then be raised from the dead. And he told them why.

“‘We are going up to Jerusalem,’ he said, ‘and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise'” (Mark 10:33-34). This is the third preview of his death which Jesus gave his disciples which is recorded in Mark’s gospel.

One cannot help but notice the explicit detail: Jerusalem, religious leaders, Gentiles (Roman government and army), mocking, flogging, spitting, killing. These details are intended to drive home, to a group of men who were in a state of denial, the reality of what was about to happen.. Mark says they were astonished and afraid (v. 32).

Mark had introduced Jesus as the Son of God (Mark 1:1). But the title Jesus used most often was Son of Man. Why is this? Jesus’ hearers knew what he meant: he was claiming to be the Messiah, God’s anointed king.

The Lord Jesus was referring to the prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14 and applying it, without hesitation, to himself. According to the prophecy, the Son of Man will receive reverence belonging only to God. He will reign as a universal king, and all nations, peoples and languages will worship him.

In using this title for himself, Jesus was also identifying with the human race. Son of Man was a Hebrew idiom for humanity (Numbers 23:19). He is THE Son of Man, the representative man, the ideal human being. He identified himself with us in every way, except for sin.

Instead of asking for clarification or showing any interest at all in these momentous announcements, Jesus’ disciples persisted in denial and unbelief. They tried to change the subject to the power and prestige they associated with the kingdom (Mark10:35-41). In answer, the Lord Jesus contrasted their appetite for honor, security, and earthly power with his humble servanthood. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45).

He expected his disciples to follow him in humble service, not in ostentatious displays of power. “Whoever wants to be greatest among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44).

D.L. Moody once said that the measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many people he serves. The word “servant” Jesus used for himself and his disciples, was the common word for a household slave. How many of Jesus’ 21st century  followers see themselves in this way? Someone has said that the test of whether a Christian has the attitude of a servant is how he acts if he is treated like one.

Then the Lord returned to the theme of death. His dying would be the payment of a ransom. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). This is a further expansion of his predictions of his death and resurrection. It tells us the purpose for which he would die and rise from the dead.

“‘Ransom’ was a familiar idea in Jewish, Roman, and Greek cultures,” wrote Donald English. “It was the price paid to liberate a slave, a prisoner of war, or a condemned person. The paying of the price cleaned the slate. To set a person free like this was known as ‘redemption.'”

The rest of the New Testament develops this theme. In their letters, Peter and Paul, and other apostles use this terminology of the marketplace to describe the great redemption payment that was made as Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for our sins (Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Hebrews 9:12). The ransom was the price paid to secure freedom for the captive or the slave. Jesus’ ransom secures forgiveness and freedom from sin’s penalty for all those who believe in him.

During this season, as we prepare for Holy Week and Easter, let’s remember that Jesus paid the ransom so that we could be set free. He was judged so that we might be acquitted. He was forsaken, so that we might be accepted. He refused to save himself, so that we might be saved. He died so that we might live.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Jesus Prophesied His Death

Jesus was a prophet. In fact he was the “prophet like me” whom Moses said would arise from among the people of Israel. God would put his words in the prophet’s mouth and the people were to listen to him. He would speak with the authority of God (Deuteronomy 18:15-19). Many who heard Jesus applied Moses’ words to him (John 5:46, 6:14, 7:40, Acts 3:22-24, 7:37).

As a prophet, Jesus foretold his own death and resurrection. This is one of the evidences for his divine nature. Mark’s gospel records three instances in which the Lord Jesus spoke plainly about what was going to happen when he went to Jerusalem. The second of these accounts reads as follows: “He was teaching his disciples, saying to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days, he will rise'” (Mark 9:30-32 ESV).

Jesus had been in seclusion, outside of the borders of Israel (Mark 7:24, 8:27), trying not to draw a crowd. This was so he could spend time with his disciples in intense preparation for what was to come. Travelling incognito, they were now passing through Galilee on the way to Jerusalem (Mark 9:30, Luke 9:51). He was a peripatetic teacher, instructing the disciples continuously as they went along.

He was radically revising their preconceived understanding of what Messiah should be and do. Yes, the title “Son of Man” was indeed a reference to the messianic king they envisioned (Daniel 7:13-14). But what they did not yet understand was that before he would rule as messianic king, he must die for the sins of the world. The double reference to being killed implies a violent death at the hands of men.

He told the disciples he would be “delivered up” to be killed. This could refer to the betrayal by Judas, (reflected in the NIV translation). Or it could be interpreted as a reference to the Jewish officials handing him over to Pilate. Or of Pilate delivering him into the hands of the Roman soldiers for them to carry out the crucifixion.

We must not overlook the fact that the Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Peter later to preach that it was God himself who delivered up Jesus to die for sinners on the cross. He said that Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23 ESV). The apostle Paul agreed, writing that Jesus “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25 ESV). 

The disciples did not yet understand. The idea that Messiah could be killed in this way was unthinkable and repugnant. In fact they were overcome with grief (Matthew 17:22). They certainly did not comprehend the resurrection. As the prophet spoken of by Moses, Jesus predicted these events and he was preparing his disciples. This was divine foreknowledge.

There are skeptics who deny this. They say that Jesus the man could not possibly have foreseen the future. But to deny his ability to prophesy coming events is to deny the portrait we have of Jesus throughout the gospels. If he was the divine Son of God this would be consistent with his nature.

There are skeptics who call attention to the fact that Jesus never claimed to be divine in Mark’s gospel. They say that Mark emphasized Jesus’ humanity. True enough, on both counts. Even without an explicit claim to deity such as we find in the gospel of John, Mark seems to be saying, “Look at the evidence and draw your own conclusion.”

Jesus forgave people’s sins. His enemies spoke the truth when, shocked by this they said, “He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:5-7). He declared himself to be Lord of the Jewish sabbath (Mark 2:23-28). He raised the dead (Mark 5:35-41). Over and over he demonstrated his power over demons, diseases, and over the forces of nature. He accepted the worship of people. If he was not divine, this would indeed be blasphemy (Mark 11:9-10).

When the officials of Israel asked him directly, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” he answered, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61-62). So upon reading the description of Jesus in Mark, it it no great surprise to hear him foretelling the future in detail (Mark 13:1-36). He was indeed the prophet.

Mark’s purpose is evangelistic. He magnifies the message of the cross. His style is direct, unadorned, and vivid. His gospel is a witness, an invitation to his readers to believe in Jesus, the Son of God who died on the cross, knowing he was accomplishing God’s plan of salvation.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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What if I Had Been There?

What if I had been there? What if you had been there? What if we had heard his words? Would our response have been any different? Would we have understood? Would we have believed him?

“There” was an area about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, near the city of Caesarea Philippi, at the base of Mount Hermon. Since the time of the ancient Canaanites the region had been  known as a center for pagan idolatry. Both the Greeks and the Romans had developed it as a center for the worship of their gods.

I have visited the ruins of this ancient site. I have seen the cave which housed a shrine dedicated to the worship of Baal, a Canaanite fertility god. I have  seen the niches carved in the rocky cliffside which once held statues of Greek and Roman deities.

Jesus was there with his disciples because he wanted to instruct them and prepare them more fully for what was coming. This was the training of the twelve for their further mission. They had withdrawn from the crowds in Galilee to have time together for this purpose.

It was in this milieu of spiritual darkness, that the apostle Peter made his great declaration that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This is a shining witness in contrast to the dark superstition of the place. The Lord Jesus did not deny this statement of Peter’s. Rather he commended him for speaking the truth as it was revealed to him by God above (Matthew 16:16-17).

What happened next is what prompted my original question. Jesus startled his men by talking about his impending death. He told his disciples that, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31).

Jesus was specific and clear about how all this would occur. “He spoke plainly about this” (Mark 8:32). He said he would suffer. He foresaw the physical sufferings that were ahead. Then there were the emotional sufferings of his agonized prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, hearing his countrymen screaming “crucify him,” the denial of Peter, the betrayal by Judas, and his own cry of ultimate dereliction: “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”

He told them that the officials of the Jewish religion would officially and categorically reject their Messiah (the Son of Man, Daniel 7:13-14). He said that he would be subjected to a violent death. This would be followed by his resurrection after three days.

His words were a shocking disruption to their thinking. They had no categories by which to process what the Lord was saying to them. They simply didn’t understand. Peter filled the awkward silence with words of his own. He spoke for the other disciples and himself when he began to protest. The whole idea was inconceivable.

If Jesus was the Messiah, as Peter had just declared him to be, such an ignominious death did not match their ideas about what Messiah would be. The image of Messiahship Peter had in mind was more in line with Jewish nationalism and political power.

Jesus wheeled around and rebuked Peter sharply. “You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men” (Mark 8:33). To understand how seriously wrong Peter was to contradict what Jesus had been saying, we have only to meditate on his words to Peter, “Get behind me Satan!”

Jesus wanted to revise the disciples’ understanding of what his Messiahship really meant: “The Son of Man must suffer . . . and be killed . . . and rise again.” This was inevitable  and necessary because it was God’s will and Jesus was determined to fulfill his Father’s will.

What if we had been there? Would our response have been any different than that of the disciples? Would we have understood? Would we have believed him?

The question is moot because from our historical perspective we have three advantages those disciples did not have at that time. We have the completed New Testament (which they wrote) to give us the full story. We have the church, the assembly of God’s people, to be a repository and declarer of the gospel. We have the Holy Spirit who has now been sent to every believer as an instructor and guide in the truth (John 7:39, 14:26).

By these means of grace we are now able to understand that this was the first of three previews of his coming death which are recorded in the gospel of Mark. Jesus was preparing his disciples for what was coming. In doing so he was giving them the gospel and laying the foundation for their future ministry to us.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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A Parkinson’s Update

It has been almost a year since I received the diagnosis that I have Parkinson’s Disease. The tremor in my left arm and hand had been becoming more pronounced for several months. So when I was able to see a neurologist in Oklahoma City, his verdict was not surprising to me.

Friends near and far have inquired about how I am doing. This little report is an attempt to answer them. I hope I can give thoughtful answers without complaining. I know, as my neurologist has gently reminded me, that my symptoms could be worse than they are. But the reality is that I am facing a new reality. Part of the new reality is simply brought on by aging; part of it is defined by Parkinson’s.

I’ve been a pastor for over fifty years and that involves public ministry. The embarrassment of conspicuous shaking as I speak is a distraction to me and I can only imagine what it must be like to those who are watching and listening. Is that vanity on my part?

Recently I experienced a really bad “brain freeze” while I was preaching.  The words simply would not come forth! Was that due to the aging process? Did Parkinson’s have something to do with it? Only the Lord knows. But I will keep on preaching and teaching as long as he keeps on providing opportunities.

The Parkinson’s diagnosis influenced our decision to move from Oklahoma to be near our daughter Carrie and her family in Valdosta, Georgia. Connie and I live in a lovely retirement community. Our apartment is comfortable, the food is good, and our neighbors are congenial. We have joined a nearby Baptist church where we worship with our family. We have made new friends in our Sunday School Class.

Medically, I am on my third prescription, The med they call the “gold standard” didn’t work for me. The second med didn’t calm the tremor either. Now I am trying a third drug which works wonders for some people. I’ve been taking it for a month in increasing doses and I am supposed to call the doctor to tell him whether it has made a difference. I don’t know what he may have up his sleeve when I tell him the news that I can’t shake the shakes.

As I write this, I say to myself, “Stop whining Randy! Get on with life! God is good!” I remember what the patriarch Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21). That’s the attitude I want to have as I learn to deal with the progressive and incurable nature of Parkinson’s. I want my first instincts to be like Job’s: to respond to God in worship, in spite of everything.

For a really good example of a response to a Parkinson’s diagnosis read this article by one of my favorite writers, Philip Yancey.           Philip Yancey’s Story

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Walk in the Spirit

When I hiked on the Appalachian Trail I was drawn by the  immensity and splendor of the wilderness. I also think I was trying to prove to myself what a man in his sixties could do. I doubt if I will again be able to do extended hikes as I did then, but I have great memories of mountain scenery, backpacking, the kindness of strangers (“trail angels”), and the therapy of solitude.

A hike is a very long walk. It is an apt description of the Christian life. Eugene Peterson called it, in his book title, “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.” The apostle Paul referred to it as walking in the Spirit. To walk in the Spirit is to walk by means of the Holy Spirit, or in the sphere of the Holy Spirit.

It is not possible to live as a Christian should live apart from the Holy Spirit. Here I quote from the English Standard Version of Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16 ESV). Walking in the realm of the Spirit has been compared to the atmosphere in which a fish survives: water. A fish has the freedom to act like a fish only in the environment for which he was created. Likewise, a Christian can live as a Christian should live only by and in the Holy Spirit.

Paul mentions the Holy Spirit seven times by name in Galatians 5:16-25. This highlights the Spirit’s role in us, subduing sinful influences, guiding us in right living, and helping us enjoy the freedom of God’s grace. These verses teach that there is an inward conflict between the lower nature (the “flesh”) and the Spirit.

“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17 ESV). This reminds me of the inner struggle against sin Paul described in Romans 7! If you read Galatians 5:19-21 you see a sad litany of destructive habits and sinful offenses which are described as “works of the flesh.” They represent gross distortions of sex, of religious spirituality, and of human relationships.

Walking in the Spirit steers clear of these. Instead, the Spirit’s ministry in the life of a Christian  is described as “fruit.” In the following verses Paul describes the Spirit-controlled life: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23  ESV). This is what walking in the Spirit looks like. If we are walking in the Spirit we will not be gratifying the desires of the lower nature, but we will be demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit in our everyday lives.

Of course this means that as we walk by the Spirit we will be led by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit does the leading and we do the walking. “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). He takes the initiative to help us walk worthy of the Lord (Colossians 1:10) and walk by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7) and walk in good works (Ephesians 2:10) and walk in wisdom (Colossians 4:5).

The Appalachian Trail is a carefully-marked path through the mountains. The Holy Spirit intends to lead God’s people in the carefully-marked path of God’s will. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25 ESV). If we sincerely follow the Spirit’s leading, it will influence everything in our way of life: marriage and family relationships, friendships, vocation, leisure activities, proper use of wealth, prayer and devotion, keeping of the Lord’s Day, and concern for our neighbors.

“You make known to me the path of life” (Psalm 16:11 ESV).

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Walking in Truth and Love

I like to walk. When I was a pastor I took an early Sunday prayer walk for a couple of miles to prepare myself for the day’s ministry. I prayed for the people of the church and I prayed for myself. There was something about the rhythm of walking that lent itself to prayer.

Our Christian life is compared to a walk. The Christian walk is not an aimless shamble but a resolute trek in the right direction. The direction is determined by our companion. Scripture tells us that our companion should be the Lord and we are to “walk as Jesus did” ( 1 John 2:6) and “follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21).

Jesus is the embodiment of both truth and love. The Bible tells us that we are to walk in truth and we are to walk in love. If we are walking with Christ we will do both. They are not contradictory; they are complementary.

There are those who seem to emphasize one without the other. Some people ask us to accept and promote practices which the Bible calls sinful, for example, in the name of love. That is love at the expense of truth. Some people pour forth fire-and-brimstone visions of hell without a corresponding emphasis on God’s compassion. That is truth at the expense of love.

Walking in Truth

“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth” (2 John 4). Truth, along with love, was a priority with the apostle John. He said the truth “lives in us and will be with us forever” (2 John 2). What did he mean? I think he was referring to the embodiment of truth, Jesus himself (John 14:6). As long as we are walking with Jesus we will walk in truth. The truth of Jesus is the direction we are to follow on our pilgrimage through life.

John’s friend Gaius was an example of one who walked in truth. He did not merely profess faith in Christ, he demonstrated his faith by his loving ministry to some first century travelling missionaries (3 John 5-8). John’s third letter was a commendation of Gaius: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4).

Walking in Love

The kind of love referred to here is the essence of unselfishness. It is the kind of love that caused the Lord Jesus to give himself up as a sacrifice on the cross. Because he loved us so much, we are called to follow his example and walk in love.

Paul wrote, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us, and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV).

Here we see what it means to walk in love. It means to be self-giving and generous in giving ourselves up for others just as Jesus gave himself up for for us. This unselfish love is pleasing to God. In my fifty-two years of pastoral ministry I have witnessed many examples of this unselfish love: devoted marriage partners faithfully caring for invalid spouses, Christians serving the poor, generous support of international missions, older mentors discipling the  younger generation of believers, for example.

Paul gives us an another example of unselfish love when he writes about areas of potential disagreement among believers. It is in the form of a warning. He says if another Christian is hurt or offended by your careless  disregard for his conscience or his scruples then “you are no longer walking in love” (Romans 14:15 ESV). In other words, mature, unselfish love limits its own liberty for the sake of those who are less mature in the faith.

Walking in truth. Walking in love. That is what it means to walk with Jesus.

Pastor Randy Faulkner