Tag: Paul Nordman

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Already, but Not Yet

Paul called them “saints.” Whether writing to congregations in Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, or Colossae, he greeted the people as they were: saints. It means “holy ones,” and if Christ is born in you through faith in Him, the Bible says you are holy, set apart from the ways of the world and set apart to God. We are not holy because of ourselves; we are holy in spite of ourselves. In grace, Jesus, who is holy by nature, lives in all who believe in Him1; He has made us one with Him,2 and His nature becomes our own. The writer of Hebrews states it clearly, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”3 As we said in a recent post, “You Are Holy; Get Used to It.”

What follows Paul’s lofty greetings, then, raises the eyebrow, for consider his admonitions to those he called saints. To the Colossian saints: “Put to death . . . whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed.”4 To the Ephesians saints: “Put off falsehood and speak truthfully . . . Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer . . . Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander.”5 Wait a minute! Paul is compelled to say these things to “saints”? They sound more like hypocrites than “holy ones”! But let’s look more closely.

In this world, believers live in what some call an “already, but not yet” reality. (I prefer “already, yet still,” but either will work.) We are already holy, for we live in Christ who “has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”6 Yet we also remain a work in progress: throughout this life, God continues to hone us into the image of Christ, as Paul so clearly states, “[God] who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”7 So “we have been made holy”8 through Jesus, yet He continues to perfect us as people who “are being made holy.”9

Then how do we live in this “already, but not yet” paradox? Choose wisely. Consider these coaching tips from Paul to Colossian saints: “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. . . Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”10 If this is what real holiness looks like, I’m all in. What about you?

Father, in Your mercy, lead us from our ways into Your ways. Continue what You’ve started in us. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 2 Corinthians 13:5
2 John 17:20-23
3 Hebrews 10:10 NIV
4 Colossians 3:5 NIV
5 Ephesians 4:25-32
6 Colossians 1:22 NASB
7 Philippians 1:6 ESV
8 Hebrews 10:10 NIV
9 Hebrews 10:14 NIV
10 Colossians 3:11-14 NIV

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The Dot

A young mentee and I have been making our way through Your Money Counts, a practical book by Howard Dayton on managing personal finances through Biblical principles. (I recommend it.) At one point, Dayton offers this eternal perspective: “Our momentary time on earth is but a dot on the timeline of eternity. Yet we have the opportunity to influence eternity by how we handle our money today.”1 I agree with Dayton and would enlarge the context to suggest all of our words and actions reverberate long after we’ve passed on from this life. Have you seen, for instance, people raised in broken or dysfunctional homes, only later to parent a loving, supportive, and thriving family of their own? These “transition generations,” as I call them, enrich the soil of the family tree for decades or perhaps centuries to come. A dot well lived.

We sometimes doubt our impact in this life and question our purpose; we let the bigness of the universe make us feel insignificant, or we underestimate our impact here by understanding it incompletely or evaluating it prematurely. The truth of the matter is, the fruit of our actions multiplies far beyond our notice, imagination, or the limitations of our earthly timeline. Jesus said that when we speak Biblical truth to those most willing to accept it, they “produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”2 We see only a mere sampling of the harvest, for it spreads far and wide and reproduces throughout generations. This is God’s plan for us, as Jesus so clearly declared, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”3 This is our assignment: to sow the word, to speak Biblical truth. The results are eternal.

Are you one who stands at the seashore and questions your significance or looks at the stars and feels small? Have you reached that season of life when you truly understand its brevity, and now regret some past priorities? If so, know this: there is still time to sow seeds in fertile hearts, to speak truth to hungry souls. So, go and sow. There is plenty of big bang left in your little dot.

Father, thank You for giving us the great honor of Kingdom impact. Lead us to the fertile grounds of people’s hearts, that we would declare Your Word in great peace and joy. Rejoice in Your harvest. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Howard Dayton, Your Money Counts, (USA: Tyndale), 132.
2 Mark 4:20 NIV
3 John 15:16 NIV, emphasis added

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You Are Holy; Get Used to It

I have lived long enough to see the meaning of words change, whether through the gradual evolution of culture or the fickle influence of slang. An example of the former, when I was a child, “gay” was commonly used to describe a merry disposition; now it refers exclusively to a sexual lifestyle. In terms of slang, “bad” is good; “ridiculous” means awesome, and so does “sick.” “Crazy” has come to connote intensity, e.g., crazy in love. Word geeks (like me) find all of this so fascinating. Yet there is a downside to etymological entertainment: ideas and meanings are weakened when we dilute the words that define them. Take “holy,” for instance.

If someone were to ask you to describe yourself, would you say, “holy”? Probably not, for its connotation has accumulated some cultural baggage along the way. “Holier than thou” carries the pejorative notion of self-righteousness, which is not holy at all. Some associate “holy” with a pious aloofness and separation from “the great unwashed.” This also is not holy. Reflecting on our thoughts, words, and deeds, we presume to judge ourselves in our own trial as “Not holy.” There is just one little problem with all of this—if, by faith, Christ lives in you, you are holy; God has seen to your holiness. In the letter to the Hebrews we read, “By [the Father’s] will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”1 You are holy. Get used to it.

So, let’s define it. Holiness is being set apart, both unto God and from the world—not the people of the world, but the ways of the world. To wit, Jesus did not withdraw from those socially marginalized as “sinners;” He sought them out in love and engaged them in warmth, enduring the scorn of the religious ruling class in the process. Conversely, Jesus neither condoned people’s sinful ways nor marginalized their sin, rather, He redirected them back to God where they would find forgiveness, peace, and joy. Rescuing the adulterous woman from the death penalty, Jesus urged her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”2 There is a freshness to holiness: it gratefully celebrates and humbly partakes in the goodness of God, and it leads us from the dark hopelessness of worldly ways with the liberating light of Christ. Isn’t this what we want? Then in such grace may we effectively flourish in what is already true about us: in Christ we are holy. It’s a good word, when you think about it.

“But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.”—Romans 6:22 NLT

Father, You have done something we could never do: You have set us apart from darkness and unto You. Thank You! Be glorified in us, Your holy people. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Hebrews 10:10 NIV
2 John 8:11 NIV