I.D. CRISIS--Series 5 of 20--Surviving trials and temptations

BACKGROUND:
The book I.D. CRISIS by Kurt Koppetsch deals with the spiritual, intellectual, and social conflict of people in modern times. Confusion about the past and uncertainties in the present prevent us from knowing our true nature. As a direct consequence of such confusion, visions of the future are clouded. Some of the diversions that prevent us from realizing our true identity as children of God are philosophies, politics, economics, and falsehood such as religious cults. The solution is remembering that human beings are dependent creatures of God.

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Each series of the book I.D. CRISIS will conclude with the poem "Rays of Hope and Freedom" to assure readers that God cares about our lives and we are his children of hope. Hope is the From/to process at work in the modern Era of Faith repairing life and circumstances. Hope is making the impossible come true.

This week's topic:
SURVIVING TRIALS AND TEMPTATION

There are no substitutes for faithfulness and obedience to God. Nevertheless, God has ordained universal salvation--the return to the proper place of eternal fellowship with God for all people--as a gift of grace. No one, therefore, will have valid reasons to try to outdo another person, deny equality to any people, or feel compelled to labor for salvation.

All Christians are children of God through union with Christ. Since the foundation of divine grace is the righteousness of God, Jesus Christ is like a cornerstone in the believer's heart. Christians now have the perfect opportunity to build their faith and grow in the hope of eternal life.

As part of potential and growth, we have the Holy Spirit of God living within believers. The divine Helper supports all efforts in faithfulness and obedience. Without the guidance from the Holy Spirit, faithfulness and obedience is more like a curse. It will enslave people in "good works".

So let us remember that life in the presence of God--through Christian discipleship--is a matter of faith and trust in God alone. As we practice our faith in God, faithfulness and obedience prove a blessing.

The Christian approach to life is faith and trust in God. We then follow up with good works, because we know to whom we truly belong.

But there are definite expectations that God has of Christians. Demands of faithfulness and obedience as contained in the Law of Moses were not done away with. When Christ confirmed their continuity in the Great Commandment, he elevated faithlfulness and obedience to God to the highest level in relationships: "You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37) Christians are charged to live and work under the banner of love. Christ has given faithfulness and obedience a new meaning within the context of God's message in the Gospel. Christ's teaching about the Word of God now guides believers for attaining new heights in our appreciation of Gods's work.

The meaning of truth within the Word of God is a matter of constant revelation by the Holy Spirit. We will receive guidance for specific needs as they arise--God has never been limited by time or place.

Biblical literature provides continuity. It is the tool used by the Holy Spirit to make known the truth about God.

But to share the Holy Spirit's revelation of divine truth demands a firm commitment. We must acknowledge our dependence on God the Spirit in order to overcome trials and temptations.

Failure to recognize our spiritual oneness (John 14:20-26) with God only proves that a faith relationship with God has not been established. It shows that God is not acknowledged as the authority of all that exists.

This sad condition, so prevalent among many people in the world today, relegates the subjects of faithfulness and obedience as abstract ideas to different schools in philosophy. But abstract thought has neither place nor value in the relationship with God.

Thus, faithfulness and obedience are rewarding and meaningful only when confessing believers start and finish daily activities in full realization of spritual dependence on God. Any "good works" will automatically take on substance because we strive to bring glory to God.

The meaning of faithfulness, obedience, trials, and temptations must therefore be viewed in light of God's message in the Gospel. Within this setting, we have a new "context story" about human behavior in spiritual encounters with the living God. New Testament writings in the Bible describe for Christians expectations and involvement.


The Bible details the dynamic relationship of a righteous God and sinful people. Christians live in obedience to the Holy Spirit, who alone can make known the truth of the Word of God for the specific need at hand.

Because the interaction with God is an individual matter, Christians need not feel obligated to supply proof of faith to other people. Nor is there a need for Christians to explain their spiritual dependence on God for life and support. It suffices to state that the spiritual reality between God and believer is demonstrated in prayer, where matters of importance are dealt with on the basis of personal faith and divine promise.

The makeup of the total person is the delicate combination of flesh and spirit. To understand ourselves more clearly, we must evaluate each other's contribution to overall well-being. When this is done in light of Christ's teaching, we will arrive at the conclusion that the spirit is in control despite selfish claims of human nature that only physical substance has meaning in the world.

As practicing Christians, let us not fall victim to false appetites of satisfying only physical existence. A strictly worldly outlook on life will make people selfish, greedy, proud, arrogant, conceited, and boastful.

Undoubtedly, there will always be huge audiences in the world to admire and applaud succesful achievers--independent of the cost of success. But the Word of God is clear that success in the world is worthless, and people oriented only toward materialism are an eternal failure spiritually. This message is given in Jeremiah's prophecy against Moab: "We have heard of the pride of Moab--he is very proud--of his loftiness of his heart. I know his insolence, says the LORD; his boasts are false, his deeds are false." (Jeremiah 48:29-30)

Because uncommitted people already swim in everlasting despair--though physically this horror is masked by worldly comforts and pleasures--they have no remorse. Since there is no conscience left, pain and agony about straining the spiritual relationship with God do not exist. A relationship had either never been formed in the first place, or was destroyed when pride and arrogance hardened the grooves of sin.

The temptation is there for our efforts to become diluted by arguments in logic or emotional issues. When this happens, our faith is on trial, and we must demonstrate what we believe. Friendships with humanistic-type people can be devastating to those who are weak in faith.

Humanism and materialism are not the only concerns. Because of the false assumption that all outward human expressions are an indication of inner beliefs and commitments, Christianity has suffered its share of wolves in sheep's clothing. Even seeing a person going to church each Sunday and performing great religious theatrics in speech and manner during the week does not necessarily set that person apart as a Christian saint. Hypocrites have always existed. They were scorned by John the Baptist in the call to repentance, and they were condemned by Christ.

Therefore, life in the real world is in constant danger. Foremost among them is lack of confidence. We are too polite in presenting those around us with God's truth in Cross and Gospel. And, of course, there are the hypocrites, who always manage to profess what they are not.

But all is not lost as long as we recognize ourselves as Christian saints because of God's righteousness and grace. Then, by the power of God, we will survive all onslaught of evil in the world. As we additionally realize that we are real people in the world and not perfect saints, our humility as struggling sinners will help prepare the way for God's forgiveness and love.

As long as there is a world, the people living in it will always be the explosive combination of saint and sinner.

History has already proven this as a fact of life. Any realistic view of life, therefore, requires that we accept what we are, yet always remembering that we owe it to ourselves to strive for the better way of life ordained by God.

Because the makeup of human beings, good and bad alike, is all part of God's creation, people will be able to achieve a spritually satisfying life in the presence of God despite the sinfulness of human nature. God made this possible through a life in union with Christ.

But this newness of life that God has based totally on divine righteousness and provided as a matter of grace nonetheless demands our response and a firm commitment.

Thus, whenever we find ourselves at the crossroads of life, we must resolve the personal challenge of declaring our allegiance, similar to the call for allegiance that God had demanded through Moses of the Israelites in their journey to the promised land: "I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you ...." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

But once the commitment to God is made, then trials and temptations will also start to set in. Satan, as a foe of God and the accuser of mankind, is determined to break the bond of restored fellowship with God, and prove to God, once again, that the sinfulness of mankind is not any different from the spiritual sinfulness of the first man Adam.

There is no worldly comparison for a person's spiritual anguish of trials and temptations. For example, we may hear other people talk about being tempted to go to the races or finding themselves on trial because they have overspent their budget. All such concerns deal with temporal life. As Christians, however, we know that we exist beyond the immediate and don't belong to ourselves. When we leave this world, we live on because we are God's children. Trials and temptations involve us as a matter of doing what God wants.

The makeup of the present day saint-sinner is similar to that of ancient mankind. But our spiritual opportunities are different, because of what God through Christ did 2000 years ago.

For example, we see in Genesis that Abraham was an ordinary man. He put to use his multiple talents in the handling of many conflicts. But the truly outstanding feature in the life of Abraham was a wholehearted commitment to God.

This gave him strength to cope when deciding many choices. It guided him in handling the boundary dispute with his nephew Lot (Genesis 13:8-9); it gave him courage to rescue Lot and his family from a raiding party (Genesis 14:1-6); it proved him compassionate as he bargained with God to spare the people of Sodom (Genesis 18:16-33); it gave him vision to see God in the visitation of three angels (Genesis 18:1-5)

But in his weaker moment of a morality lapse, Abraham compromised Sarah in his dealing with the Egyptian Pharaoh to save his own life. God did not condemn Abraham in the Bible, but he uses the Abraham story to assure us that despite our moral weakness we are his children and, despite our character warts, God will forgive us as he forgave Abraham.

The highlighted events in Abraham's life resemble the general nature of the conflicts which all generations commonly experience. We also have the best of intentions in overcoming evil and hardship, but we are not always successful in achieving this goal. And many times we must struggle to keep our priorities straight; undoubtedly Abraham must have felt similar frustrations.

Yet, as Christ's followers, we live in the hope of eternal life, as God is presiding over the miracle that alone is capable of redeeming the worst of sinners.

Therefore, let us thoroughly understand the nature of our being within the environment that God has placed us in, and examine our existence in terms of Cross and Gospel. Doing so will help us to better cope with the stress that any proof of our faith may force upon us.

A thorough review will soon reveal that any direct involvement in trials and temptations is not necessarily a sign of weakness in faith or character of the person exposed to trial's anguish. Like Job in his trial, Christians may also find themselves just like an article of trade in the enmity between God and Satan.

We must remain steadfast in our faith despite the cosmic conflict around us in which the forces of light and darkness battle for the souls of people. We will fail in our commitment whenever we decide to rely on our own strength to win the victory over trials and temptations.

Thus, we must constantly keep before us the blessing of God's grace. Boastful self-reliance only proves our foolishness and will make us unfaithful and disobedient toward God. We will receive strength to survive trials and temptation by seeking God's help under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.