The Phony Veil Between You And Christ (Transcript)

At the time of this message, I have been a Christian almost 32 years.

I say that only to lend some credibility to what I'm going to say as an opening to this message.

There Is A Veil

Here it an observation of mine:

Most Christians have a veil between them and Christ that keeps them from having a warm and intimate fellowship with Him.

They may love Him, they may pray to Him, they may love the Word of God, they may serve Him in Church and in sharing the Gospel with the lost.

Or...

They may truly be born again, yet wonder how much they really love Christ. Their private prayer lives may be lacking, because they have no real heart for personal prayer. They may file in and out of church, but afterwards pretty much go back to the world, not thinking much about the Lord until next Sunday. Inactive in spiritual things.

Either way, whether active or inactive, most Christians still have a veil between them and Christ that keeps them from having a warm and intimate fellowship with Him.

That's my observation, and I'm sticking to it.

But I haven't just arrived at that view by observation. Many many Christians I've spoken to have flat-out told me that this is their experience. Or at least have implied it.

And it takes many forms, when believers try to express their concern over their Christian walk.

What's The Problem?

But please listen to this important point:

When Christians try to articulate their disappointment with what I'm calling a veil between them and Christ, when they try to articulate what's wrong, they invariably give a clue as to what the problem really is.

In other words, there are many typical statements that I've heard believers say to indicate that they know something is wrong, but can't quite put their finger on it, or can't figure out quite what to do about it.

Seldom does what they say cast any bad light on the Lord Himself. And this is good.

The statements given by believers usually center on one basic theme that I would express like this:

“I've gone through cycles. I prayed and read my Bible and witnessed, but then I slacked off. I lost some of my desire for spiritual things. The Word wasn't as new and fresh and wonderful to me, and my prayers didn't seem to be answered. And so I drifted away from them, and grew colder and less interested. Then I came back to the Word, and prayed more, and things improved somewhat, but still not much, and now I've just kind of drifted into cruise control. I still love the Lord, but He just doesn't seem to love me, even though I know He does. But I've found other interests, and they've taken my time away from Him. I want the relationship that I had with Him, but I don't know what to do about it. I try to do my best, I try to read my Bible, but it's not like it used to be, and I feel like it can't be.”

I believe all of this leads to a basic theme, and the basic theme is, “What I DO, is what determines the intimacy of fellowship with the Lord, and I don't know what to DO, because I've tried everything, and nothing seems to bring that intimacy of fellowship.”

Now, it's important that I interject here a simple disclaimer. A sort of “if the shoe fits, wear it” disclaimer. If the above does not describe you at all, don't worry about it. If you do have a warm intimate relationship to Christ, and you can't identify with the common problem I'm desribing, then just soak this in to pass on to someone else. Don't worry about it. Or use it just as a tune-up to make sure you stay on the right track. Fair enough?

Three Points On "Doing" and The Veil

Okay, let me make three points about that theme of “What I DO is what determines the intimacy of fellowship with Christ”:

1. The veil between you and the Lord is a phony one. It's not a real veil at all. There is nothing real separating you from a close loving daily, moment-by-moment relationship to Jesus, our Beloved.

Whereas before you were born again, sin separated you from Him, now that sin is taken away. Not just covered, but taken away, as if thrown into the sea, as if put away as far as the East is from the West.

When Jesus said on the Cross, “It is finished”, He meant it. Your sin can no longer separate you, can no longer be a veil between you and Jesus. In fact, to think so is, I believe, to dishonor Him.

“But,” you say, “I've sinned again, now, today! How can I face Him? Of course my sin has to separate me from Him, even today. He has to be angry at me for this 1000th time I've committed this sin, doesn't He? Doesn't the Scripture say that He can't even look on sin? You bet there's a veil, Terry! How can a jerk like me have an intimate fellowship with a Holy God?”

Okay, good question. But there's a good answer. And the answer is simply this, “You are a forgiven Son or Daughter”. Forgiven. God know you are only dust, but He forgave you anyway.

“Yeah,” you say, “but doesn't it say that God will chastise us? That doesn't sound like warm intimate fellowship to me!”

Yes, but He only chastises those who a) are His children, b) Whom He loves, c) for purposes of restoring the intimate fellowship, and d) who are unrepentant at the time.

Look for a minute at “d”, unrepentant. God doesn't chastise those who confess their sin, and repent. He only chastises those who refuse. Simple solution: repent. Confess your sin. Then draw near to Him and He has promised to draw near to you.

You don't need to do penance, like Roman Catholicism teaches. You don't need a waiting period, or a trial period before you draw near to Jesus. Just admit your sin, thank Him for His forgiveness, and draw near, already! Believe me, no, believe the Word of God, He will welcome you with open arms.

Okay, so number one, the veil is a phony one.

2. It's not what you DO that determines the intimacy of fellowship, it's what you believe and know.

That's why it's so important to know that He loves you unconditionally and has already forgiven all of your sins, past, present and future.

It's not what you DO that determines the intimacy of fellowship, it's what you believe and know.

That's why it's so important to know that nothing stands between your and Jesus.

It's not what you DO that determines the intimacy of fellowship, it's what you believe and know.

That's why you need to know that He wants to fellowship with you, His beloved, at least as much as you want to fellowhip with Him, your Beloved. He desires your intimate fellowship, as amazing as that may sound. Not because you are flawless in your walk, but because He loves you!

It's not what you DO that determines the intimacy of fellowship, it's what you believe and know.

That's why it's so important to know that the veil is a phony one.

Which leads me to number three.

3. The phony veil has a name. It's "Legalism".

It's the kind of Legalism which says that if you perform well, then Jesus will love you, and like you and welcome you into His fellowship. But if you perform badly, He will keep His distance, He will not touch you with a ten-foot pole. He is angry at you, and He will stay that way until you get your act together. Until you are at least a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. Or a 6, or a 9, or whatever nonsensical number you may have ingrained in you from your lessons in Legalistic thinking.

Listen, there is no scale of 1 to 10. On God's scale, you are a 10 already.

“What kind of sense does that make?” you ask.

Simply this. When you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, God gave you the gift of His righteousness. He declared you Righteous. You didn't earn it, you can't ever pay Him back enough to merit it, it's yours as a gift, wrapped in the paper of the Grace of God, and tied up with the ribbon of the Love of God, and bought with the blood of Jesus Christ.

He has declared you to be a 10, and He will never take that back.

You can boldly draw near to Him, the writer of Hebrews tells us, not because of what your have done or not done, but because of what He has done.

We need to shout it to the whole Church, the veil is gone, and any veil that keeps us from a warm fellowship with the Lord now is simply phony Legalism, that favorite doctrine of demons who don't want you to have that fellowship that you so desperately crave in your heart of hearts. That fellowship that you so desperately crave with the Lord Jesus whom you passionately love in your heart of hearts, and Who so passionately loves you.

Where To Go From Here

Sweep away the phony veil.

Start with some quiet time with Jesus, with your Bible open. Then practice His presence throughout your day.

Speak to Him while you work, or study, or have fun, or wash dishes, or wash the car, or drive, or loaf. And listen to Him, as you read His Word, or as He brings His truth to your remembrance during the day.

He will be filling you with His Spirit, and you will have love, and joy, and peace, and patience, kindness, and goodness, and faithfulness, and gentleness, and self-control.

These are the fruits of His Spirit.

And when the world, the flesh and the devil deceive you, and you veer away from the fellowship with Jesus, just repent, change your mind, and don't walk, but run to Him and His open arms again.

Now. Not later. The veil is phony.

title="Wordle: The Phony Veil Between You And Christ"> src="http://wordle.net/thumb/The_Phony_Veil_Between_You_And_Christ"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd"
>

The Phony Veil Between You And Christ

This week's audio message:

The Phony Veil Between You And Christ

Grace For Life audio archives are here.

Don't Just Be A Bible Scholar (Transcript)

As I give this message, I've just returned from a Bible Conference. I'll tell you the truth, I've gone to a lot of Bible Conferences over the years, and I love them. I really enjoy getting together over a weekend and listening to some good Bible expositors, preachers and teachers, teaching the Word of God that I love, along with a bunch of other people who also love the Word.

There is a camaraderie of intensiveness, usually combined with music and worship, that you pretty much only get at a Bible Conference. It can be hard work, if you really pay attention, but it's also a lot of fun.

Coming away from this latest Bible Conference, however, I'm reminded of something that I have to keep reminding myself of, when I get a big fat head full of Biblical truth crammed in me, in a space of three days, or even daily when I “study my Bible”.

Let me illustrate this reminder by asking you a question. I'm going to give you two descriptions. And I'd like to ask you which description you would prefer to be a description of you.

1. “They really know their Bible. They are a real student of the Scriptures. If you've got a Bible question, they can answer it.”

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Here's the second description.

2. “They really know Jesus. They really spend time with the Lord. When they give answers, they are spiritual, life-giving answers.”

Which description would you rather have true of you? He really knows his Bible, or, he really knows Jesus? Now I don't mean to say that a person can't have both. In fact it should ideally be that way. But my reminder to myself is that biblical scholarship doesn't always equate to a spiritual fellowship with Jesus Christ.

One of the most important verses in the Bible is John 5:39. Jesus is speaking and He says, primarily to the Pharisees,

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;”

Now before I explain why this is one of the most important verses of the Bible, let me clarify something, if I haven't already.

I love the Bible. I love the Word of God. I believe that those of us who own a Bible are the most privileged in the World. Many of us have not just one copy, but several copies, and that is a great and precious privilege.

And I'm well aware of 2 Tim. 3:16. Let me read it for you. It says,
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”

I'm well aware of that, and I of course agree with that. The Scripture is inspired by God and profitable. All Scripture.

I'm also well familiar with Colossians 3:16. Let me read that for you. Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. “

The Word of God, the Word of Christ should dwell in us richly. I believe that. I love the Word of God, I love the Bible.

But an even more important verse than those, as far as our purposes here, is John 5:39. And let me read it one more time for you. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;”

Another way of saying what Jesus is saying to these Pharisees is, “You're Bible Men. And you think being Bible Men will give you life. But what you don't understand about these Scriptures [and Jesus was speaking at this time of the Old Testament] what you don't realize is that these Scriptures bear witness of Me, they point to Me, the promised Messiah. And if you miss that, you've missed the ultimate point of those Scriptures.”

Well, how true that is, and it's even more true of the New Testament Scriptures.

I'd like to give you four reasons why John 5:39 is one of the most important verses in the Bible. Four reasons why you shouldn't just be a Bible scholar:

1. Relationship is more important than raw data.

Let me give you a dictionary definition of data (or DAY-ta...you say tomayto, I say tomahto):

“Factual information, especially information organized for analysis, or used to make decisions.”

Look at those two aspects of data, “for analysis”, and “used to make decisions”.

Isn't that often why we study the Bible? We either want to analyze it to the nth degree, and I confess I love that. I love digging down into the fine points, dissecting a passage and squeezing every bit of analytical juice out of that scriptural orange. Or we merely use it to "make decisions". We are prone to think of the Bible data as rules and regs and reduce it to a manual.

That's data. But what the Scriptures teach over and over is that relationship, in this case to our Lord Himself, is far more important than raw data. You see, Jesus is more important than the facts about Jesus. The Lord is more important than the facts about the Lord.

It's important that He be understood as our Sacrifice Lamb, our Advocate, our Defense Attorney, our Shield, and our Defender. But also our Savior, our Lord, our Brother, our Friend, our Beloved. He is our Beloved, and we are His beloved.

And the important thing there is to understand that that relationship with Him is even more important than the information about Him, as important as that information may be.

2. A Guide Is More Important Than A Guidebook

I've always disliked the idea of thinking of the Bible as some kind of Owner's Manual. I've heard that through the years. You know, “Things are broken in your life? Get back to the Owner's Manual. He's the Creator, He's the One who made you, and you need to get back to that Book to learn how to fix things.”

And although there's a certain amount of truth to that...which is more important, a Guide, or a Guide Book?

Now I don't want to press the point too far, but which would you rather have, when you have a little problem with your computer, a fine-print Microsoft Manual, or a friend who helps you click a few buttons and get things right again?

If you're traveling to Rome, you're a lot better off with a Guide taking you step-by-step, place-by-place, having a relationship with you, showing you the sights, giving you background information, giving you understanding. How much better that Guide is than having a book on “How To See Rome on $100 A Day”, or whatever.

Likewise, in the Scripture, a Guide who is the Holy Spirit, who is Jesus Christ Himself, is far more important than looking at the Scripture as an Owner's Manual.

3. Life Is More Important Than Lists

Now I happen to like Bible lists. I'm a geek there. So is my son, surprise surprise. There are several books in print with titles like “Wilmington's Book of Bible Lists”. And these books are interesting, and you can learn a lot from them. All the Kings of Judah, all the wells in the Bible, the Ten Commandments, and other laws and rules. All kinds of fascinating lists.

But the Scripture makes it clear over and over that Life is more important than lists.

Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” That's one of His major purposes in coming to this world, is that we, believers, may have life and have it abundantly.

Now, could you say, “He who reads his Bible everyday has life?” No. That's not a given. He who reads his Bible everyday may not have life.

I want to read to you a wonderful passage in the Bible. Listen to this from 1 John 5:11,12, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”

Is it true that he who reads his Bible everyday has life? No, not necessarily, but he who has the Son has life. Life is more important than lists.

4. Spiritual Understanding Is Better Than Scholarship

Now scholarship is a fine thing, when it comes to the Scriptures. I believe we ought to study. I believe we ought to be diligent in our learning of the Scriptures.

I believe we should learn to discern between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, for example. I believe we should have a scholarly understanding of how Jesus took our sins on the Cross, and was able to declare us righteous, justified.

I believe we should have a scholarly understanding of our identity in Christ as a New Creation, forgiven of all our sins.

I believe we should learn about Grace, the radical Grace by which we are not just saved, but by which we live, no longer under Law, but under Grace. And why this means that sin shall no longer be master over us.

I believe there are a lot of things that we should be scholars in when it comes to the Scriptures. But spiritual understanding is better than scholarship, or more important than scholarship.

I don't know sometimes whether to laugh or cry over some of these Time Magazine or Newsweek Magazine features with titles like “Who Is The Real Jesus?” Or the Jesus Seminar, where a bunch of scholars get together to share their thoughts on who Jesus is, without any spiritual understand whatsoever.

What the Bible says is that the “natural man cannot understand spiritual things, for they are foolishness to him. He can't understand them, for they are spiritually discerned.” - 1 Cor. 2:14

The natural man, that means the one who is not born again, can't understand spiritual things. So his scholarship means nothing. Spiritual understanding is better than scholarship.

But it's not just the unbelieving scholars who miss the spiritual understanding in their scholarship. As believers, we too are prone sometimes to study the “stuff”, without seeing, and warming up to, and fellowshipping with, the One that the “stuff” is about.

Fellowshipping With The Lord

Well, in closing then, I'd like to read a quotation from a man named Norman Douty. He writes this: “Come to the Word for one purpose, and that is to meet the Lord. Not to get your mind crammed full of things about the Sacred Word. But come to it to meet the Lord. Make it a medium, not of biblical scholarship, but of fellowship with Christ. Behold the Lord.”

And then in 2 Corinthians 3:18 we see the value of this “beholding the Lord”:

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

So we see why it's important to have that relationship, rather than just the raw data. To have that Guide rather than just a guidebook. To have that life, rather than a bunch of lists. And to have that spiritual understanding rather than just scholarship.

Be a Bible scholar, fine. But don't JUST be a Bible scholar. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.”

Don't Just Be A Bible Scholar

This week's audio message:

Don't Just Be A Bible Scholar

Grace For Life audio archives are here.