Breaking the Brotherhood

In our modern world we have so many churches and denominations we can find someone to agree with almost any foolish theory or even downright blasphemy. Some of the ideas out there are just shallow, foolish, or odd; others are truly dangerous. So where do we draw the line?

Well some would say it is at least baptism, that is the breaking point. But then it turns into a debate about what type of baptism is valid. Immersion, infusion, or aspersion? What to do?

Others will say it has to do with more than just the mode of baptism. It is our view on the Trinity and our belief system based on the form of Atonement we believe in.

Still others will go so far as to debate the style of clothing we wear, or the vehicle we drive. In the days of the Church long ago they split the Church over things like whether or not coffee was evil, whether to celebrate Christmas or Epiphany, or what type of hymnbook to use.

Some of the debates of the Church long ago seem foolish to us now. But what about our debates in the modern world? Are they equally foolish? In the perspective of an Eternal God, is our 'church-splitting issue' really that important?

This leads me to the question of today. When is it important to work in unity even if we disagree, and when is it time to remove a brother from our presence, or even excommunicate a brother? Church discipline in our era is incredibly lax. I am sometimes appalled at the issues that churches have considered heretical in the past, and at the extreme measures used to eliminate these things. But in our world we seem to not care what the implication of a doctrine is so long as we don't offend people. Where do we draw the fine line between unity in the body and a member who no longer can be part of the body?

I believe that the first issue we should address in these situations is the attitude of the person in question. Paul tells both Timothy and Titus (his spiritual children or heirs) that those with a quarrelsome attitude should not be tolerated in church. (Titus 3:9-11, I Timothy 6:3-5 & II Timothy 2:16) Paul goes on to give more details about people who will not heed sound teaching (II Timothy chapters 3 & 4) He goes on to tell us that people will willfully ignore the truth they know.

But where is that line in our modern world? Maybe a better question to ask ourselves is this. Are we the ones Paul is talking about in these verses? Could we have become those who are puffed up and proud and understand nothing? Let us turn to God in humility and let Him teach us His way first and then we may carry out His will.

After we have indeed checked ourselves and corrected what needs to be corrected, we are still accountable for our own church and fellowship with believers. It may not be up to us to handle the discipline of the church but we are indeed responsible for our own actions.

A man of too many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. -Prov. 18:24

Here we see that having too many friends can cause problems. This I do believe is directly related to our unity in the Brotherhood. Being part of the Church of Christ is more than having a membership at a church building. We should be careful of the company we keep.

So do I mean that we should not associate with non-believers? No, not at all. I think that is the most foolish aspect of the groups of believers that separate themselves so far from this world. They have no one to actually interact and witness to. We cannot remove ourselves from the responsibility of the Great Commission.

Conclusion

So what am I saying then? Well, mainly this: we are to be very careful of the close Christian company we keep. We all have both acquaintances and friends, and to know who is a close friend and to keep watch on our friendships is important. This is most important in the Brotherhood. We need to be an encouragement to our fellow brothers, not a distraction. And we need to make sure that those who claim to be followers of the Way that we name our friends are also walking in unity with God, not just with us. If we find that a brother is not walking as he should, we need to help him if possible. If he refuses help we need to make sure that we do what we can to walk in whatever path God has given us. Sometimes this will even mean that God will ask us to no longer fellowship with that person. But make sure to spend time with God in prayer before making such an important decision.

Simple Shortcuts

I enjoy my job. I like working with students, watching them learn and grow, & building solid relationships that carry throughout life. One of the things that humors me is how students assume they will know more than their teacher. I've been teaching the same English, Math, and Social Studies classes for years by now, and every set of students will challenge the correct answer at some time. Some students will challenge the answers all the time, thinking that they in their dozen of years of life have found some secret answer that will unlock the mysteries of Math and make the standard formula of hard work obsolete. But year in and year out, these "awesome shortcuts" are found to lead to wrong answers. "One day," I always say to myself, "One day, they will see that they don't have any secret answers, and that truth doesn't change because you want it to." Yet every class, year after year, tries the same thing.

But aren't we all like that? We look for shortcuts in life, in our relationship with God, and with people. We try to find a 'new' way to understand God, one that people have never seen before. We love the idea that we know something others don't. If you doubt that; go online and you can see hundreds of ads that talk about 'secret' methods or 'super fruit' or one 'simple trick'. In the end they are only there to convince you that you too can have secret knowledge.

When we look at God, we need to realize that He does not change, He is consistent in all He is and does. We try to find 'secret' ways of understanding Him. The Da Vince Code is an example of this attempt at finding secret knowledge, as are any parts of the early churches' Gnostic movement. In the end what we want is the same thing that Adam and Eve wanted- to have what we cannot have- ultimate knowledge.

So what's the point of all this? Well, good question. We as humans try so hard to look for 'better' routes, an 'ultimate' way of doing things, or 'super' foods we forget that we do indeed have the ultimate answer. We are to follow Christ. We get so caught up in our own understanding and concepts we forget that Christ wasn't just a sacrifice; He was our perfect example of life itself. If we really want to have 'one simple trick' then I propose it be this: Follow Christ.

Conclusion

We humans love seeking information. We have thousands of ways of doing it. We will ask all sorts of theologians, teachers, preachers, doctors, or talk show hosts how to do things. And as helpful as some of them can be, we need to remember to go to the source of all knowledge, God Himself. But just as those students do, we think we can outsmart God. My students get me sometimes, but we will never outsmart God.

Needed Knowledge

If there is one thing in the modern world that we value highly, it would be knowledge. Knowledge is what has brought our era to a place that has never been attained by mankind before. We obsess over so many forms of it in our world it is astounding. Never has man had more knowledge available at a moment's notice than now. It has given us more technical progress in 200 years than the preceding 5,000. More knowledge advancements happen in a single decade now than did in some millenniums previous. We have created much good for man, but also a greater ability to commit evil.

So how important is knowledge to us? Well, maybe I should ask instead; how much does it mean to you? Is knowledge a great factor in your life? Do you care what you know? Not just in the sciences or technology, but sports, vehicles, and popular culture. We judge people by their knowledge in whatever fields interest us.

Now some knowledge can be fairly fun, but useless. For example, I can name dozens of characters from comic books, give you a detailed description of their lives and histories, yet they never lived. Other people can do this with sports. I have friends who can name every single player on the roster of their favorite team, and also give me a detailed rundown of that teams history over the decades, often more than they would know about the nation's history. As entertaining as these may be, are they of any use?

Let's leave that thought for a moment and turn it toward something else. What about our Biblical and Theological knowledge? How much do we value it? Is it important to us? Do we care if we know the difference between Sanctification and Justification? Or Remonstrants and Reformers? How about between Preterists and Pre-Millenialists? Maybe you are a literalist and dispensationalist? Do you know? Do you care?

Knowledge is important. If I didn't believe that I would make a poor educator. However, knowledge does not deserve our worship. We can know much or little about God. The important part is what we do with our knowledge. Knowledge of the fact does not save our souls.

But knowledge is important once we wish to be leaders spiritually. I believe that every husband aught to be the spiritual leader of his home. As leaders, we need to understand as much as we can so we may lead in the right direction. Theological study is an important part of that quest. We need to know what we believe so we may lead properly.

Take a look at these two pictures and tell me which is a picture of the ocean.

There is no question that the first picture is the prettier of the two. It is the one we like to look at, we enjoy the beauty of the ocean. But the second one is important in its own right. A painter would study the first image; a captain, the second. Both would do so for good reason. Which of them would you say knows the ocean better?

The painter would be well acquainted with the ocean's beauty and peace. The captain would be familiar with the direction of the underlying tides and importance of being right in even the smallest areas of knowledge. Both know the ocean well, but only one is qualified to lead us into it. The painter enjoys the ocean as well as the captain, but the captain is the one we would chose to lead us from Alaska to Australia.

In a similar way, we can be painters or captains. We can enjoy the beauty and peace of God, and fellowship with Him. It is a wonderful experience. But as leaders, we must do as a captain does. We must buckle down and study the parts that may not be as instantly rewarding. We must see that a small change off the coast in Alaska will mean we miss Australia entirely if we do not correct it. We see that even though the painter does indeed know the ocean, the captain must know the implications of mistakes and how to correct them.

So is it important for us all to be captains? I think not. We need the painters in this world. But if you intend to lead people, make sure you study your maps. We cannot lead based on the pretty pictures we paint, but by studying the accurate knowledge of what is, not what could be.

Conclusion

So am I saying that we can only serve God if we have a Theological Degree? No, God does not need our knowledge. He has it all. When we increase in knowledge it is only that we are coming closer to God's truth, not that God was now somehow enlightened. That being said, we need to watch that we follow that knowledge. God is indeed all-knowing; we are not. We can be of more use to Him as ignorant, but obedient servants than as arrogant, self-worshiping rogues. We need knowledge only as far as it is a help to us, it should never replace God Himself.

Live Long and Prosper

18,265

 Thats about how many days there are between the ages of 20 and 80. In other words, if you are  in your twenties and intend on living into your eighties thats roughly how many days you have left. Sure isn't as many as I had planned.

So what will you do with your 20 grand? Every four years you take a solid grand away from that number. And remember, this count assumes you will live to a nice old age. The odds are some of us will not live to see our 80's.

Psalm 90:12 reads,

"So teach us to number our days,
 That we may present to You a heart of wisdom."

Here we see that it is indeed important to take stock of our days and see what we can do with them.


Psalm 103: 15-16 also says,
"As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
¹⁶ When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place acknowledges it no longer."


 As important and busy as our current lives seem, we need to realize that what we deem important today may be unimportant by next year, next week, or even tomorrow. We need to readjust our perspective and look at things from a point of view that is aligned with God's. We need a perspective that is focused on the eternal, not the temporal. C.S. Lewis said it well when he said, "If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

So what is your main goal in life? Graduation? Marriage? Starting a family? Owning a home? Having a 6 figure job? Winning the lottery? A Porche?

While all these things are not inherently evil, making them the main goal of our lives is. If we become too concerned with this world we cannot focus on what really matters in life. If we focus only on our own pleasure we will fail to attain even that.

We've all heard that money doesn't buy happiness. I've heard more then one person say that they would like to test this theory. But why doesn't money buy happiness? Doesn't it feel good to buy stuff?

Yes, it feels great to buy new stuff. And when that fades we buy more right? So money does buy happiness then. Actually, we feel happy because we have something we feel we deserve, or even better, more than we deserve. We love beating the system, winning the lottery, cashing in on a good sale, or getting the better of an insurance company. We like getting stuff because we like being more important than others. But this doesn't last, if you already have a car, you want a newer one. If you have a new one, you soon want the nicer, pricer car. Eventually we run out of things and we still have this need and desire to have more, better, richer. We cannot win the endless circle of stuff. In the end we will have spent all our time on chasing something that wasn't possible to keep. What do we need then?

Well, what do we desire? We desire attention, affection, being given more than we deserve. In short, we want to be special. Can that happen? Lets look.


Psalm 139 addresses our uniqueness before God wonderfully. We were created unique, in God's very image, He breathed life into us, He loves us. This is what can fill our desire for being special. We are unique beings before God. We can come before Him and thank Him for this. We can praise His name for the gifts He has given us.

Ironically, to realize our uniqueness we need to first realize Who God is. Only when we do this can we appreciate the fact that He loves us, created us, and desires us to be His sons and daughters. We need to remember this as we number our days so we use the 18,000-20,000 days we have wisely. Let us turn toward the Author of Life so we may make the short lives we have truly count.

Conclusion

So, let us turn our hearts toward God. Without Him, no matter how many cars, houses, or Swiss bank accounts you hold, you will always be going for more. I don't know about you, but 20,000 days of chasing my own tail seems awfully tiring to me. Let us turn our hearts to him and present hearts of wisdom.

"So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" -Luke 17:10

Tickled Theology

Ear Tickling. It always makes me think of a feather in my ear. Which makes my ear itch. But as interesting as this mental picture may be, ear tickling is a serious subject in the modern world. (and always will be) What does this term mean?

Well, lets take a look at what Scripture says on this subject. In Second Timothy 4:3 we find this verse. 

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

One of the first thing that comes to mind when we hear this is the Health and Wealth craze we currently endure. The preachers who tell people God will bless them if only they would smarten up and send in a donation. God will just send you a check for double that amount. Its dangerous teaching that people just like to hear. Then we also have the type who are motivational speakers or comedians who are "preachers". Also dangerous. But is that all?

I don't think so. I think that there is more to this verse than we see at first glance. When Paul wrote this he was waiting execution. (most likely) Paul gives Timothy some sound final advice about preaching. I believe that in this book we have some information that is a tad deeper than some people assume.

I started looking into more ways of "ear tickling" that go on in our modern world. I found another blog (credit where credit is due, the other blog is at  http://blog.yanceyarrington.com/2012/02/14/another-kind-of-ear-tickling/) and it also dealt with this issue. I thought the list of ear tickling warnings was quite interesting. Here it is...

1. When they give the impression their people could never understand the Bible without their help.
2. When they want to dazzle the congregation with their erudite knowledge of the original biblical languages (which they clandestinely learned from a computer program in their office) even though it really has no bearing on that particular passage for the day.
3. When they refuse to use lower shelf terms in order that the message might be more accessible for the hearer instead opting to employ obtuse, technical theo-jargon because not doing so might make them sound too normal.
4. When they’ve obviously exhausted their congregation with 20 weeks of word-by-word (not verse-by-verse) teaching on three chapters in the book of Romans and, even though they’ve run the sermons series into the ground, still continue with the homiletical drudgery because they believe they’ve got the preaching chops to make it happen.
5. When they use their sermons to moralize the Bible in order to moralize their people because it’s easier to work the Law over your congregation than show them their need for the Gospel.
6. When they go over that extra 20 minutes week after week because somehow, it would be a great injustice for all they’ve learned in their study to be constrained in the 45 minutes already allotted in that hour and fifteen minute service.
7. When they walk people through the Scriptures each Sunday showing the Bible to be the best “How To” book of success on the planet but miss the truth that it’s the Story of Redemption telling us the Good News we have failed but One has come and succeeded for us.

I agree with this concept. Jesus condemned the Pharisee, not the Publican in Luke 18:9-14. What I see is many preachers who preach sermons that are taken out of context, or extrapolated to a degree that is unsustainable by any proper form of reason, or that make big, grand statements on complex subjects with far too much authority in their voices.

This last group concerns me most. In the modern world we have few leaders. So those who take a stand are noticed. This is good, to a point. But what I am seeing is too many preachers and teachers who are taking things and making a stand on a subject where they are relying only on their own interpretation of Scripture. That is what caused the Roman Catholic Church to crumble in the Renaissance, and it is happening again before our very eyes. The ironic tragedy is that those who claim to have corrected the R.C. errors are now often falling into the same pit of self-verifying Theology. Things are not true because a great preacher says them. Things are true that are in line with God's point of view. If the preacher has God's view (as far as he can) then praise God. But many preachers want to define truth completely. They cannot.

Why can't we define truth completely? Why can we not say exactly who is a Christian and who is not? Because it is God's to judge. Oh, don't get me wrong, we know it is by Faith Alone. But who has faith? How much is needed? In what? We cannot answer these questions about people completely. Why? Because to understand this completely would mean we understood God completely. We cannot do that. To understand God completely would make us God's equals.  Yes, we can understand as much of God as He shows us, but we cannot assume that only what we have seen is part of God.

This is the error that hurts me the most in the modern world. Passing finite judgement on what is a true and false conversion. Yes, I believe false conversion can exist (to an extent). But it is not ours to judge those things. (Romans 14:10) I'm very alarmed by preachers who believe that they  can judge in five minutes who is saved and who is not. If this prayer is valid but that one is not, where do we end? What "salvation prayer" is listed in the Bible? There isn't any one prayer like that listed. I believe that that is an intentional situation that the Author gave us to deal with. Remember, man looks on the outside but God looks at the heart. (1 Sam. 16:7b) The prayer cannot save, the Faith does. Let us let God judge faith. He'll do His job, let us worry about ours. I Cor. 4:1-5

Predicting Prophecy

My cousin texted me yesterday. She was wondering where in the Bible the Nike sign was mentioned. After telling her that anyone who claimed Nike was in the Bible was pulling her leg, I became intrigued. I asked who had told her that. She replied saying that it had been discussed in a school close by. Someone there was convinced that the mark of the beast in Revelation was associated with the Nike Swoosh.

Well as much as that humored me at first, the more I think about it, the more serious this issue becomes. People often point at new tech or company logos as the mark of the beast. I've heard that it was the bar code, now people claim it will be bio-chip implants. Nope, turns out its the Monster Energy logo, or was it Nike?

As you can see, people like to guess what the mark is going to be. We have several references to the mark in the book of Revelation that people look at for their guesses. Many are listed here.

Rev 13:16 "a mark"
Rev 13:17 " the mark"
Rev 14:9 "his mark"
Rev 14:11 "mark of his name"
Rev 15:2 "his mark"
Rev 16:2 "the mark of the beast"
Rev 19:20 "the mark of the beast"
Rev 20:4 "his mark"

 Most guesses are ridiculous, but some are almost believable. These verses are at the same time both very clear, but also leave a lot of room for interpretation. Predicting prophecy is always dangerous. That being said, I can tell you exactly what the mark of the beast will be. It will be an outward mark of their inward decision. The way some people talk you would think that it is some secret mark you could accidentally get. But I believe it will be a real world way to see a spiritual decision. It won't be one of those things you buy without making quite a few decisions beforehand.

Don't be fooled. The Devil has many ways of confusing people. One is by using a complex prophecy (like Revelation) and getting so many ideas out there that we don't focus on what we do know. We know that we are Christ's body, and as such we should trust Him. So do not worry about the mark, worry about being an obedient, faithful follower of Christ. Christ cannot deny His own. (II Tim. 2:13)

Instead of worrying about a mark you don't want, focus on the marks in your life you do want. We are to be visible Christians. In the book of Acts we see that the people took note that the disciples had been with Jesus. That is the mark we are to strive for. (Acts ch. 2) If we focus on the right answer, we don't have to worry about all the wrong ones we don't want. If x + 4 = 6 we know that x=2. In that problem x cannot be 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8. In the same way, if we know we are following Christ, we know we will not take on the mark of the beast. Instead of worrying about all the wrong answers, worry about the right answers that you do know.

The mark frightens many people. Part of that is because it is such a clear image. But the choices you and I make are just as important today as the ones those people will be making in the future. Billions of people have died without that mark and will still be judged by God regardless of that physical sign.

But what about the rest of the book of Revelation? Is it going to happen by 2018? (as a well meaning preacher told me this year) Has it already happened? (like the preterits would claim) Will we be raptured? Will we be left behind?

To answer the last two questions. God says He will not pour out His wrath on us as Christians but on the unbelievers (Romans 1:18) We also know that Christ is the head of the Church. I do not believe that Christ would pour out the Wrath of God on His own Body. Will we suffer? Maybe. Will we suffer God's Wrath? I cannot see how. As Christians we are indeed exempt from God's wrath.

Conclussion

What am I driving at? Well, I think we worry far too much about what we don't know and don't want, and not enough about what we do know and do want. We know Christ is victorious, that we are to be His Followers. Prophecy is important, but let us not worry about what is God's business, let us worry about what He has made ours. If we are obedient in what we do know we will be quite busy enough.

Living Love

God loves you. That is the theme of so many songs, sermons, and motivational speeches in the modern world that we start to zone it out. We hear John 3:16 so often we almost forget it's meaning. But God does indeed love us. This point is very important for our understanding of God and Who He is.

But sometimes we feel like God has to love us. Or we feel like even though God loves us, He probably dislikes us. But the truth of the matter is that God not only loves you, He likes you. He made you, and He like the things He makes.

That concept of God not just loving us but liking us, is something we tend to forget. We hear so many Judgement and Wrath sermons at times we forget that God is only punishing us to improve us. He only punishes us because He cares what happens to us. (Heb. 12:6) If God didn't care then we would need no correction.

With that in mind, lets take a look at why God's wrath and judgement are also important. Before we get into it too far, let us ask this question: What is God's Wrath and why is it poured out?

God's wrath is mention often in the Bible. In the New Testament we see it in John 3:36, Romans 1:18, 2:5, 3:5; Ephesians 5:6, Colossians 3:6 and other places. We hear about vessels of wrath that are prepared for destruction, (Romans 9:22) the falling of Wrath upon the sons of disobedience, (Eph. 5:6) and the wrath of God remaining on people (John 3:36). What is His wrath turned upon?


Well, some would say His wrath is upon the person who sins and others would say upon the sin itself. Which is right? If we state that God is wrathful against our nature we must say that those who were born and died before they could realize this and repent (children/infants) would be condemned by their own nature. Either that or God makes exceptions for them and ignores their natures. Both are dangerous in their implications. God does not ignore sin at times and not others. To say he does is to defy His very nature.

So is it then that His wrath is only against sin? If this is the case we run into some other interesting situations. If it is only against sin, then Jesus death should have covered all sins, therefore there should be no more wrath of God. But there continues to be wrath, and will be in the future. (Rev. ch. 16 and 19) And also if Jesus death covered all sin and it is only sin that receives God's wrath, then all sin is covered and no one would be punished. But we see that that is also not the case.

So it is not our nature or sin that is the only recipient of God's wrath. What then? Let's think about this one. God punishes not just sin, but the choice to sin. (Joshua 24:15) So what does that mean? Well this means that God can and does forgive a sinner (like you and me) and that His wrath is poured on those who choose not to follow and obey Him (Eph. 5:6). Therefore, we need to realize that God does not pour out His wrath against those who are unaware, but those who are aware, and have made their choice.

Conclusion

So does this mean once we are forgiven we no longer suffer under our previous sinful choices? No, it does not. What we sow we will reap, even if we are forgiven for the act of sowing. Forgiving a man for breaking your arm will not heal the arm itself. A repentant murder's victims do not rise from the dead. This applies also to our spiritual and emotional sides as well. When we are forgiven by God, we will still live with the consequences of sin. Samson repented, yet his sight was not restored. However his strength was. Whats the difference? His strength was a testament of God's glory, and therefore it was useful to glorify God one last time. We need to have faith that God will glorify His name and take care of us even in the hard times we go through because of our sin.