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Hot Topic Archives
August 7, 2008
Marriage is Church and State
Filed under: Hot Topic
I don't typically write about hot-button politically charged issues mostly because it's not the way I'm wired, but I do enjoy healthy conversation and debate about such topics! One of the reoccurring conversations I find myself in, especially living in California, is the subject of gay marriage.
For a while now, I've been seeing two dimensions to marriage. One is the spiritual perspective and the other is the State perspective. More to the point, I've never understood how marriage became a State issue. It has always been a spiritual issue.
A union between two people (regardless of gender) can be recognized by the state. This doesn't mean the Church has to recognize this.
It appears I'm not alone in my thinking as Oliver Thomas wrote about this very subject in USA Today earlier this week. It's a great read.
The conversation continues.
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April 23, 2004
Religious Tolerance, Brad
Filed under: Hot Topic
According to religioustolerance.org, religious tolerance is defined as "to extend religious freedom to people of all religions, even though you disagree with their beliefs and/or practices."
The dictionary defines tolerance as:
The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.
Leeway for variation from a standard.
The permissible deviation from a specified value of a structural dimension, often expressed as a percent.
For the purposes of this topic, I will assume the word "religious" means a spiritual belief structure.
In her essay, "The Origin of Religious Tolerance: Voltaire," Wendy McElroy highlights some key concepts of the correlation between money/commerce and religious tolerance. I highlight a few here...
"In the most famous passage from Philosophical Letters, Voltaire observed, 'Go into the Exchange in London, that place more venerable than many a court, and you will see representatives of all the nations assembled there for the profit of mankind. There the Jew, the Mahometan, and the Christian deal with one another as if they were of the same religion, and reserve the name of infidel for those who go bankrupt.'"
"Commerce, or shop keeping, established an arena within which people dealt with each other solely for economic benefit and, so, ignored extraneous factors such as the other party's religious practices. On the floor of the London stock exchange, religious differences disappeared into background noise as people scrambled to make a profit from each other. The economic self-interest of the Christian and the Jew outweighed the prejudice that might otherwise sour personal relations between them. They intersected and co-operated on a point of common interest: 'the Presbyterian trusts the Anabaptist, and the Church of England man accepts the promise of the Quaker.'"
"If there were only one religion in England, there would be danger of tyranny; if there were two, they would cut each other's throats; but there are thirty, and they live happily together in peace."
Should we show tolerance toward other world religions?
The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 11:16-28a, perhaps not even realizing what he is doing, attempts to explain his position on religious tolerance. He comes at it from a unique perspective. Instead of focusing on the "it" to be tolerated, he holds other belief systems up to the truth of his own realities. May I be so bold as to conclude that Paul assumes all should have a belief system, and that there is an ultimate truth of which he defends for, thus eliminating the need for tolerance. If Paul was tolerant, he probably would not have said what he says here:
"Let me come back to where I started--and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ. Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days. Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along. You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down--even slap your face! I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff. Since you admire the egomaniacs of the pulpit so much (remember, this is your old friend, the fool, talking), let me try my hand at it. Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I'm their match. Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can't believe I'm saying these things. It's crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I'm going to finish.) I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door time after time. I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes, beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that's not the half of it..."
Paul is saying look, I don't care what other people are saying about their belief system because what I believe snuffs any light other beliefs might have. Paul's contention for his faith is evidenced by its validity to stand up against another.
Looking at the last definition of tolerance from above - "The permissible deviation from a specified value of a structural dimension, often expressed as a percent" - it seems clear that tolerance is also a half-hearted way of looking at things. If you deviate from your own beliefs to accept part or parts of another, your own belief structure is weakened.
Perhaps Jesus' silence on the subject of tolerance is drowned out by his second greatest commandment to "Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39)" Love trumps tolerance any day. If I tolerate my wife doing something I do not agree with, where is the love? Love invades the space of disagreement. She will know the thing I do not agree with stands, but that my love for her doesn't let that get in the way. In the same way, Jesus does not frame the other religions of the world in a context for tolerance or acceptance, the same way he doesn't condone sin ("hate the sin, not the sinner").
Conclusions
I find no precedent or benefit to tolerance. If tolerance is accepted, ultimate truth is irrelevant because we all believe that what the other believes may also be true, thus diminishing any ultimate truth. Do I believe that I know the ultimate truth? Of course, as do most others. The question is, which truth holds up? The danger in fighting for tolerance is that we are really fighting for watered down truth. If tolerance is a band-aid for peace, truth is the wound really bleeding.
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April 9, 2004
Justification
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines justification as:
The act of justifying.
The condition or fact of being justified.
Something, such as a fact or circumstance, that justifies
To be "justified" means:
To demonstrate or prove to be just, right, or valid
To declare free of blame; absolve.
To free (a human) of the guilt and penalty attached to grievous sin.
Wayne Grudem, in "Systematic Theology" defines it as "an instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ's righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight."
Grudem says "The primary issue in the Protestant Reformation was a dispute with the Roman Catholic Church over justification. Once Martin Luther realized the truth of justification by faith alone, he became a Christian and overflowed with the new-found joy of the gospel. "
John Murray says "If justification is confused with regeneration or sanctification, then the door is opened for the perversion of the gospel at its center."
Thomas F. Torrance, in his book, "Theology in Reconstruction," says, "Justification is not only the forgiveness of sins, but the bestowal of a positive righteousness that derives from beyond us, and which we have through union with Christ. It is a perpetual living in Christ, from a centre and source beyond us. To be justified is to be lifted up above and beyond ourselves to live out of the risen and ascended Christ, and not out of ourselves."
Robert D. Brinsmead, in his book "The Dynamic, Ongoing Nature of Justification by Faith" says, "Justification by faith is a dynamic, ongoing action in the divine-human relationship. This important concept is so completely foreign to most evangelical circles today... Most evangelicals think of justification by faith as a final, once-in-a-lifetime act. Justification is not static, it is dynamic and ongoing. As we constantly believe, God constantly justifies. Justification is no mere initiatory action in the soteriological process - no mere filling station along the way..."
Alister McGrath, in his book "Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification" says, "The essential feature of the Reformation doctrine of justification is that a deliberate and systematic distinction is made between justification and regeneration. Although it must be emphasized that the distinction is purely notional, in that it is impossible to separate the two with the context of the ordo salutis, the essential point is that a notional distinction is made where none had been acknowledged before in the history of Christian doctrine. A fundamental discontinuity was introduced into the western theological tradition where none had ever existed, or ever been contemplated, before. The Reformation understanding of the nature of justification - as opposed to its mode - must therefore be regarded as a genuine theological novum."
Conclusions
Justification is serious business. It is perhaps the fulcrum of the entire Gospel message. We must be justified in order to be saved. Justification is was bought through Christ's sacrifice and God's relentless love and pursuit of his children (us). I like Grudem's point that "God declares us to be righteous."
On a more personal level (as opposed to a theological one), Jennifer Knapp, in her song "Romans" sums up the concept well...
I don't have to be condemned.
Jesus saved me from the laws of sin.
If I fall I'll try again.
With the spirit as my guide
I'll never have to hide again.
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April 2, 2004
Lust
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines lust as:
Intense or unrestrained sexual craving.
An overwhelming desire or craving.
Intense eagerness or enthusiasm.
Defined by one person as "an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body," lust is number four on the list of seven deadly sins. It is often connected with sex and, according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, sex is second only to food in basic human motivations. The drive and desire for sex appeal is apparent amongst all humans and animals. As a man once said, "God has given men two wonderful organs, their sexual organ and their brain... But only enough blood to run one at a time."
In October of 2002, Charles Rush preached a sermon titled "Lust, the Vice" and detailed some of lust's roots during Greek and Roman history. Quoting Julius Caesar, as Julius was commenting on the Cataline's army in 63 b.c. said "Maidens and boys were raped; children were torn from their parents' embrace; married ladies were subjected to the conqueror's pleasure; temples and homes were looted; there was slaughter and arson. In short, everything was filled with weapons, bodies, blood, and lamentation (Catiline 51.9)."
Rush translates the names of some Greek gods - one particularly interesting god "family" emerged - "the god of violence (Ares) and the goddess of lust (Aphrodite) had an affair and together they bred the twin children panic (Deimos) and dread (Phobos).
Rush goes on.. "just after Jesus died, Gaius Caesar became emperor in 37 a.d., and he openly slept with all three of his sisters, treating one of them like his wife. He had a fund raiser once using the wives of the Roman senators and other boys to set up a brothel. In his own life, excess led to excess, much as one can say about the broad outlines of the Roman Empire as a whole. Gaius Caesar is more popularly known by his nickname, Caligula.
The scary thing about lust is that it is never satisfied. It always needs more. Daily, we are in the process of becoming who we are becoming. When lust is a part of our lives, that daily "becoming" is infiltrated with desires and passions that take our "becoming" to different places that in the end might not have been what we saw at the beginning.
St. Thomas used to say that desire was not bad in and of itself. It becomes a problem when it is misdirected. Then it becomes a perversion of the good. That is what evil actually looks like, it is a perversion of the good.
The Bible has a lot to say about lust...
Job 31:1-4
"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. For what is man's lot from God above, his heritage from the Almighty on high? Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong? Does he not see my ways and count my every step?"
Proverbs 6:23-29
"For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life, keeping you from the immoral woman, from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife. Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?
Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched? So is he who sleeps with another man's wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished."
Matthew 5:28
"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
Choice words from the The Message version put it this way: "Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body." And in reference to those who do mess up and decide to make excuses through divorce or separation, "You can't use legal cover to mask moral failure."
Ephesians 4:19
"Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more."
Colossians 3:5
"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."
1 John 2:16
"For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world."
Galatians 5:16-24
"I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires."
Is it possible to take our lust and re-direct it? To strive for what Paul outlines - love, joy, peace, patience, etc.? To live life by the spirit and not by our eyes?
"An enemy to whom you show kindness becomes your friend, excepting lust, the indulgence of which increases its enmity." - Saadi
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March 19, 2004
Prayer
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines prayer as:
1. A reverent petition made to God, a god, or another object of worship. The act of making a reverent petition to God, a god, or another object of worship.
2. An act of communion with God, a god, or another object of worship, such as in devotion, confession, praise, or thanksgiving: One evening a week, the family would join together in prayer.
3. A specially worded form used to address God, a god, or another object of worship.
Wayne Grudem in his book "Systematic Theology" defines prayer as "personal communication with God." Grudem goes on to say why prayer is not asking God for things, rather having the faith for God to do/provide what it is you are talking to Him about. The Creator/Creature relationship functions best in that format - the creature relying on the creator.
The Psalms are full of David pleading "Hear my prayer..."
Psalm 39:12
"Hear my prayer, O LORD , listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were."
Psalm 54:2
"Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth."
Psalm 86:6
"Hear my prayer, O LORD ; listen to my cry for mercy."
Is prayer more for our benefit or for God's? I suggest both. Grudem suggests three reasons God wants us to pray. 1) Dependence; 2) Deeper fellowship; 3) Involved in activities that are eternally important.
Jesus is in example of what it means to pray as He prays to God all throughout the Gospels.
Matthew 19:13
"Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them..."
Mark 1:35
"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed."
John 17:1
"After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed"
Luke 5:16
"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."
Luke 6:12
"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God."
Matthew 26:36
"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
Prayer seems to be a very "spiritual" thing by definition. Spiritual in terms of its intimacy with the person to whom you are praying. Just as talking to someone about matters of the heart or requesting petitions of grace with a parent, so too prayer is a holy thing to do. It is vulnerable. It is honesty and truth seeking trust and triumph.
Throughout history, many people have given their comments on prayer:
"Work as if you were to live a hundred years, pray as if you were to die tomorrow." - Benjamin Franklin
"Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused." - Spurgeon
"Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means that we rouse ourselves up to get the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray." - Oswald Chambers
"Work, work, from morning until late at night. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall have to spend the first three hours in prayer." - Martin Luther
"Prayer is not only asking, but an attitude of mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural." - Oswald Chambers
"Pursuing prayer is prayer on a mission. It is diligent, fervent, constant, persevering, determined, and convinced." - David Bryant
"The Christian needs to be alone during a definite period of each day for meditation on scripture...and for prayer...even during times of spiritual dryness and apathy. It matters little what form of prayer we adopt...or how many words we use. What matters is the faith which lays hold on God, knowing that He knows our needs before we even ask Him. That is what gives Christian prayer its boundless confidence and its joyous certainty. We simply make petitions and requests to One who has the heart of a Father. Of course, God's will must be the primary object of our prayers... and we must recognize prayer as an instrument of God's will. Therefore, we pray that God's will may be done throughout the world...and in intercessory prayer we bring people... from around the world...into the presence of God. Every intercession potentially draws the one for whom it is intended into a life-changing relationship with Christ. And in intercession I move into the other man's place. I inter his life...his guilt and distress. I am afflicted by his sins and his infirmity. If...as we pray...we recognize our own responsibility for the world's guilt and our own guilt in the death of Christ...then we can act upon and affect the lives of men and women throughout the world." - Dietrich Bonhofer
Grudem outlines some key ponder points to prayer:
1. Prayer changes the way God acts.
2. Effective prayer is made possible by our mediator, Jesus Christ.
3. Praying "in Jesus' name."
4. Praying to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit.
5. Role of Holy Spirit in prayer.
6. Praying according to God's will.
7. Praying with faith.
8. Obedience.
9. Confession of sins.
10. Forgiving others.
11. Humility
12. Praying earnestly.
13. Waiting for the Lord.
14. Praying in private.
15. Praying with others.
16. Unanswered prayers.
In my own life, I want to pray more - not for the sake of being spiritual, but to connect with a Savior, friend and father who wants to connect with me. In my generation's cry for community, I want my relationship with God - through prayer - to be my example real connection.
There is a place where thou canst touch the eyes
Of blinded men to instant, perfect sight;
There is a place where thou canst say, "Arise"
To dying captives, bound in chains of night;
There is a place where thou canst reach the store
Of hoarded gold and free it for the Lord;
There is a place--upon some distant shore--
Where thou canst send the worker and the Word.
Where is that secret place--dost thou ask, "Where?"
O soul, it is the secret place of prayer!
- Alfred Lord Tennyson
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March 5, 2004
Homosexuality
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines homosexuality as:
1. Sexual orientation to persons of the same sex.
2. Sexual activity with another of the same sex.
"When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one." - Epitaph of Leonard P. Matlovich, 1988
"War. Rape. Murder. Poverty. Equal rights for gays. Guess which one the Southern Baptist Convention is protesting?" - The Value of Families
Distinctions
I see two major distinctions in this topic of being "homosexual." I see the issue of being a Christian and being gay/lesbian and being a human and being gay/lesbian. Both have very real implications yet very different worldviews.
Can Christians Be Gay?
In a July 2001 Charisma magazine cover story by Bill Shepson, he refers to Joy Metropolitan Community Church in Orlando, Florida. The church would be viewed as normal by all accounts with the exception that the congregation of 200 is nearly all openly gay. According to the article they have "reconciled their faith with there homosexuality." They believe the Scriptures regarding homosexual behavior are out of context or not what God meant. They tell gay and lesbians who visit the church that God does not have a problem with their sexual behavior. Joy Metropolitan Community Church is a part of a denomination (UFMCC) that is 300 churches strong in over 18 countries representing 32,000 people.
Mel White, a dean of UFMCC's Cathedral of Hope in Dallas - the largest gay church in the world - says, "Homosexuals, like heterosexuals, shouldn't repent of their orientation, but of their sinful responses to their orientation."
Although I don't agree with UFMCC and their position, I do think White has a point. What would we think of homosexuality in terms of being something like ADD, or a compulsive gambler, or a drug attic, or a person who has a "porn" problem? It certainly isn't the issue in my opinion as much as the response to it. I wanted to have sex before I was married - was that thought wrong? Had I acted on it, it would have been. If the argument is "we're born that way" then fine, argue that. But that logic breaks down very quickly because can you be born to want to kill, or rape, or lust, or be jealous, or greedy? Absolutely! But that doesn't make it right. The real question of being a homosexual comes down to a moral issue of whether it is right or wrong - just as you have to ask the same question of everything in life. Is ignoring the poor wrong? Is getting drunk wrong? Is cheating on your taxes wrong? Is infidelity wrong?
What happened to our moral compass? Our conscience? Our quest for truth and not just tolerance? I think the reason this "gay" issue is such a hot topic now - and will continue to be - is because as a culture/society, we've been on the downhill dive losing our morality with every sloping inch. This isn't the first time we've had issues with sin and its implications. And it definitely won't be the last.
Can Humans Be Gay?
Exodus International is the largest Christian referral and information ministry dealing with homosexuals. They estimate that 1% to 2% of the population is gay (not the 10% as widely spread). Their response to the question "Is homosexuality genetic?" is educated:
"Relatively recent brain studies done by Dr. Simon LeVay examined a portion of the hypothalamus believed to control sexuality. He used cadavers from a very small sample of homosexual and heterosexual men (their orientation was, in some cases, presumed but not confirmed), and heterosexual women. Some of the men had died of AIDS. He measured this portion of the brain and found it significantly smaller in homosexual men. Although LeVay did not say this proved inborn homosexuality, some among the media and activists eagerly reported the tentative findings as being conclusive.
However, the results are highly speculative. This particular area of the brain is not much bigger than a pinhead anyway. And in fact, researchers debate whether weight or volume is a more accurate measurement method. The results do not shed light on causation: did genetic homosexuality cause a smaller portion of the hypothalamus that governs sexual behavior, or did chosen sexual behaviors cause a change in the hypothalamus? Or neither? Studies of twins aren't any better. If homosexuality were truly genetic, you would expect to find an absolute, one-to-one correlation of sexual orientation for identical twins. In other words, any time one twin was homosexual, the other sibling would be, too.
Yet, that is definitely not the case - findings of 40% to 50% correlation don't match up to the 100% standard needed to "prove" genetic causation. Seeing that research findings do not prove their case, some gay-affirmative researchers and others attempt to bypass this barrier by saying that even a 40% to 50% correlation shows that genes are "at least one component" in a homosexual orientation.
If homosexuality is genetic, then that doesn't explain why we see such a similarity in personal backgrounds among the men and women who seek our help. There is a pretty uniform picture of poor family dynamics in general, a rift in the father-son or mother-daughter relationship growing up, feelings of being an outsider among one's peers during childhood and adolescence, and instances of sexual abuse/incest. These are root issues that men and women can address.
And even if homosexuality were partially or completely genetic in origin, that does not change the moral question involved."
Conclusions
1 Corinthians 6:8-10 says, "Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
Leviticus 18:22 says, "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." A couple chapters later in Leviticus 20:13 says, "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Romans 1:26-27 talks about humans not being born gay. "Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn't know how to be human either--women didn't know how to be women, men didn't know how to be men. Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men--all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it--emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches."
In terms of being homosexual - it is wrong. In terms of accepting homosexuals into society, regardless of their sin - we must. Do we condone it? No. (Do we condone adulterers by making the divorce process easy?) If the homosexuals want a civil union, I say give it to them. A civil union (partnership) is no more than two people starting a business together. Let them see each other in a hospital, let them save on taxes. If they want to be seen as married, than they have an absolute contradiction in their hands! Marriage is a spiritual (Christian) concept, not a civil concept. The more they beg to be married, the more they need to realize that marriage is a God thing, and if you want a God thing, you do it God's way.
Martin Luther may have had good intentions by separating marriage from the church and giving it to the "State," but man did he make things a challenge for us today!
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February 27, 2004
Forgiveness
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines forgiveness as:
The act of forgiving; the state of being forgiven; as, the forgiveness of sin or of injuries;
Disposition to pardon; willingness to forgive;
Compassionate feelings that support a willingness to forgive;
The act of excusing a mistake or offense.
In reference to the "Lord's Prayer," Wayne Grudem states "This daily prayer for forgiveness of sins is not a prayer that God would give us justification again and again throughout our lives... Rather, the prayer for forgiveness of sins each day is a prayer that God's fatherly relationship with us, which has been disrupted by sin that displeased him, be restored..."
Throughout his book, "Systematic Theology," (when referring to forgiveness) Grudem makes it a point to differentiate between forgiveness from God the judge and God the father. God the judge has already forgiven us on the day
we accept the atonement of Jesus. God the father needs daily communication to clear up the daily sin that we cause to get in the way. In other words, forgiveness beckons a better relationship, not a lesser punishment.
I think this is the dividing line where many religions go the other way. In Buddhism, the path of enlightenment is all about getting better karma or better returns in the next life - same with Hinduism and even Islam (show me the virgins). The point is not to better a relationship, but to make the deserving "bad" become deservingly better.
Chander Kanta Sethi, a former Hindu, tells her story of forgiveness...
"It seems like yesterday I woke up to find my husband slumped over the dining room table. I tried to wake him but his hand was cold. As I read the letter on the table, I couldn't believe it. Though he said he loved me, my husband had committed suicide by a drug overdose. He had a successful medical practice. We had a good marriage; we shared everything. I was in shock for the next year.
As a Hindu, my life ended with my husband's death. The Hindu faith says this tragedy happened because of things I did or didn't do in my previous lives. I was only reaping what I had sown. As I slipped into depression, my three teenage daughters encouraged me to attend the church where they had gone to Sunday school as children. I went, somewhat unwillingly. I was surprised at how loving everyone was towards me. They prayed for me and seemed to really care. At Hindu gatherings, I didn't feel the same love and acceptance.
So I kept going back to church even though I was suspicious of Christians. I didn't think I deserved their love. Gradually, through talking with Christians and reading the Bible, I understood there was nothing I could do to gain God's favor. His love for me doesn't depend on what have or haven't done. That's why Jesus died -- to forgive me. He is the only way to God.
Because of that gift of forgiveness, I've been able to forgive my husband and myself for his suicide. Only God can give the peace, love and joy I've experienced since then."
Hebrews 9:22
"In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."
Psalm 103:11-12
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." The Message version says "And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins."
But is forgiveness separation from sin? I'm not so certain. While I do believe God's forgiveness is the acknowledgement and acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice to replace our sins with God's grace, I don't think the sins are forgotten. Perhaps overlooked, but not forgotten.
I am reminded of the scene in "The Passion of the Christ" about the woman caught in adultery. Remembering back to what Jesus said in Jonn 8:11 "Then neither do I condemn you... Go now and leave your life of sin." Jesus' "forgiveness" did not condone (leave your life of sin), but it did overwhelmingly flood her life with grace. She was given a clean slate! I
wonder how the rest of her life turned out? If she really was the character that Mel Gibson interpreted her to be, what an example of the impact forgiveness can have.
Forgiveness is truly the only way to heaven. We must accept the sacrifice for our sins and be forgiven in order to live eternally with God. And what a refreshing perspective as compared to other religions. The burden rests on God to forgive us, not us to get better or improve. How can people live their life not knowing their eternal destination and wondering if they have done enough. It is not what we have done, but what God has done.
And a few random quotes on forgiveness between people...
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." - Oscar Wilde
"Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were." - Cherie Carter-Scott
"Forgiveness is almost a selfish act because of its immense benefits to the one who forgives." - Lawana Blackwell
"Pray you now, forget and forgive." - William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "King Lear", Act 4 scene
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February 20, 2004
Patience
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The dictionary defines patience as:
The capacity, quality, or fact of being patient.
The word "patient" means:
1. Bearing or enduring pain, difficulty, provocation, or annoyance with calmness.
2. Marked by or exhibiting calm endurance of pain, difficulty, provocation, or annoyance.
3. Tolerant; understanding: an unfailingly patient leader and guide.
4. Persevering; constant: With patient industry.
5. Capable of calmly awaiting an outcome or result; not hasty or impulsive.
6. Capable of bearing or enduring pain, difficulty, provocation, or annoyance.
In the Old Testament God displayed patience by being "slow to anger."
Exodus 34:6
"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness..."
Numbers 14:18
"The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."
Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 145:8
"But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."
Jonah 4:2
"He prayed to the LORD, 'O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity...'"
Notice how every verse mentioned above all say nearly the same thing - and are quoting almost verbatim. (As a side note, I do find it interesting that the phrase is "slow to anger." That almost implies that the anger is inevitable does it not?)
The Bible talks a lot about being patient...
Proverbs 19:11
"A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense."
Proverbs 25:15
"Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone."
Ecclesiastes 7:8
"The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride."
Galatians 5:22
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness..."
Galatians 6:9
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
2 Timothy 4:2
"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction."
Even "men" talk about patience...
"If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent." - Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)
"Patience is the companion of wisdom." - Saint Augustine (354 AD - 430 AD)
Conclusions
I think patience is an indicator or reflection that something significant justifies the wait. Whether it be the report from the doctor after the X-rays or the 5 months before the big vacation cruise, patience is the virtue that gives meaning to what is next. Without patience, life's important moments and learning times can become everyday. How many of us tend to remember the every day? How often do we recall the extra ordinary moments in life that were often precluded with a wait.
God's example of being "slow to anger" in the Old Testament is a great example of being patient for what is to come. God's patience was a measuring stick for the promise land. And how sweet that was for God and the Israelites.
I want patience because I want what is next. Not what is now.
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February 13, 2004
Contentment
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines contentment as:
1. A source of satisfaction;
2. The act or process of contenting or satisfying;
3. Gratification; pleasure; satisfaction.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
"Godliness with contentment is great gain." Notice how it doesn't just say contentment is great gain, but godliness with contentment is great gain. My what a scare it would be if we were content without godliness. What a great lesson to learn. Don't be content with anything outside of the context of
godliness. The question of "how do you know when you will be content" can only truly be answered in light of Godliness.
Matthew 5:5
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought."
Notice how the verse does NOT read "you're blessed when you're content with just what you have." No, it says you're blessed when you're content with who you are. What a great way to measure contentment - by who we are, not what we have like I think the Western mindset often does.
John 14 details a moment when Jesus is explaining to the disciples who He is. He is the road and the truth and the life. "No one gets to the Father apart from me." "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!" Then Phillip says, "Master, show us the Father; then we'll be content." Jesus' response seems a little peeved. "You've been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don't understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, 'Where is the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren't mere words. I don't just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act." This moment seems to reflect a longing for contentment on
behalf of Phillip (maybe even the disciples). A contentment that looks to rest in the comfort of knowing who the real person in charge is. It is as if Phillip learns that Jesus has a boss (father) and wants the word from the source. Wants to know that he (Phillip) really does have a future.
Philippians 4:11-13
"Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."
The Puritan preacher of the 1800s Thomas Watson points out in his book "The Art of Divine Contentment" that Paul's point of having "learned" contentment (Philippians 4:11) is key. Too many times we hear contentment, but have we actually learned it?
"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have." -Socrates
"Contentment without external honor is humility." -Grew
"Being 'contented' ought to mean in English, as it does in French, being pleased. Being content with an attic ought not to mean being unable to move from it and resigned to living in it; it ought to mean appreciating all there is in such a position." -G.K. Chesterton
"Content makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor." -Benjamin
Franklin
"It is right to be contented with what we have, but never with what we are." -James Mackintosh
This last quote by James Makintosh at first struck me as right on, but the more I got to thinking about it the more I think it is off. I think we should be content with who we are, but never satisfied.
Content but never satisfied.
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February 6, 2004
Tithe
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines tithe as:
A tenth part of one's annual income contributed voluntarily or due as a tax, especially for the support of the clergy or church.
A search in the NIV for the word "tithe" brings up 28 verses.
Jesus tells a story in Luke 18:10-13. "Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: "Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people--robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a
week and tithe on all my income.' "Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, "God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'"
Jesus goes on to say that the tax man is better off than the Pharisee. The spirit or tone from Jesus seems to be leading up to His death on the cross that will abolish all laws and wipe the slate clean.
Ephesians 2:14-15 talks about Christ coming to repeal [revoke or rescind, obsolete, recall] the law code which called for people to tithe. "The Messiah has made things up between us so that we're now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used
to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody."
It is important to note that although tithing was a part of the laws God gave Moses, it was also referenced several times before God ever even gave Moses the law.
Genesis 14:20: "...then Abram gave him a tenth of everything."
Genesis 28:22: "...and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."
Hebrews 7:6: "...yet he collected a tenth from Abraham..."
Yet even in the context of tithing outside of a "command," tithing still appears optional. There is no supporting evidence that suggests God commanded anyone to tithe - outside of the Mosaic law.
A very interesting article on the reason why tithing is not Biblical can be found at http://www.layhands.com/MustChristiansTitheTenPercent.htm
In all of my studying on this subject, I must say I was very surprised to find so many articles and discussions on why tithing is NOT something Christians need to do. I found very few articles on reasons why to tithe, and even less that were convincing.
Growing up I was always taught to tithe. I gave 10% of everything I grossed. I was told that was God's and not mine so I needed to give it to Him. All of the Scriptures that were used were right from the Mosaic law and all pointed back to getting money to the church. Period. It doesn't seem to me that God was so insistent on getting money to the storehouse as much as he was on people's needs being met, thus I think the spirit of the tithe was called for.
Today, I believe tithing is a principle not a mandate. If someone can't give 10% of their gross income to God (or all of it for that matter), I think we're living life backwards. Life is about giving, it is not about getting. Throughout the entire Bible we see God's examples of giving and of course the ultimate example on the cross. To think that God doesn't get the credit for all that we already have and not want to give out of that blessing is crazy.
We can never out-give God. But it sure would be fun to try.
And wouldn't that same spirit abolish the whole tithing concept altogether?
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January 30, 2004
Speaking in Tongues
Filed under: Hot Topic
Among several, the dictionary defines tongues as:
A spoken language or dialect.
Speech; talk.
The act or power of speaking: She had no tongue to answer.
Speech or vocal sounds produced in a state of religious ecstasy.
Style or quality of utterance.
Wayne Grudem, in his book Systematic Theology, defines tongues as "prayer or praise spoken in syllables not understood by the speaker."
Grudem makes a great introductory point... "We may wonder why God would give the church a gift that operates in the unseen, spiritual realm and that is not understood by our minds. One reason may be to keep us humble, and to help prevent intellectual pride."
In 1 Corinthians 14:27-28 Paul talks about bringing order to the use of tongues. "If anyone speaks in a tongue, two - or at the most three - should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God." There sure are a lot of Pentecostal/charismatic churches that could use this one! I think this is my big rub with speaking in tongues. It seems to be such an emotional time, and if it is not happening
to you, you wonder what must be wrong! Or if it is happening to you, your closeness to God is now better than ever (and everyone else). It just seems a perverted approach.
1 Corinthians 14:22-23, "Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand[1] or some unbelievers come in, will they not say
that you are out of your mind?"
Michael Cortright from Michigan outlines 11 benefits of speaking in tongues:
1. To edify you - 1 Corinthians 14:4, Jude 20
2. To speak to God divine secrets - 1 Corinthians 14:2
3. To speak the wonderful works of God - Acts 2:11
4. To magnify God - Acts 10:46
5. To pray perfectly - Romans 8:26,27
6. To give thanks well - 1 Corinthians 14:17
7. To have the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit - Romans 8:16
8. To know you are a joint-heir with Christ - Romans 8:17
9. To strengthen you with might in your inner man - Ephesians 3:16
10. To be a sign to unbelievers - 1 Corinthians 14:22; Mark 16:17
11. Rest to the soul - Isaiah 28:11,12; 1 Corinthians 14:21
Grudem has great insight into the issue of "not all speak in tongues." He convincingly argues that tongues are not for everyone just as the rest of the gifts of the spirit are not for everyone. According to 1 Corinthians 12:11, the holy spirit "apportions to each one individually as he wills."
Conclusions
I think tongues is a way to communicate with God - in private. Sometimes you don't have the words to pray, or sometimes God impresses stuff on your heart and you don't know details, but you feel a burden. Tongues can be a great way to speak in a language that God understands.
Regarding public use of tongues, I think of rare instances where its usefulness is appropriate.
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January 23, 2004
Self-Control
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines self-control as:
Control of one's self; restraint exercised over one's self; self-command.
It seems as though self-control meant the same thing in the Old Testament as it did in the New Testament - not surprising, but obviously and age old dilemma. Proverbs 25:28 says "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control." What do you think of when you think of a city being broken down? Defenseless, weak, disgraced, broken, etc. So when we lack self-control, we are defenseless, weak, disgraced and broken. No thanks!
I think one of the biggest needed areas for self-control is in the sexuality department. It (sexuality) is perhaps one of the strongest forces in human beings and also one demanding proper usage and context, thus the bridge of self-control is needed to properly align this privilege. Paul speaks to this
very issue in 1 Corinthians 7 when he is admonishing people not to marry, but to go ahead if they can not hold back their sexual passions. It is interesting though in verse 5, "Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control." In other words, husbands and wives need to keep sex a priority so that there is diminished opportunity for lack of self-control!
Galatians 5:23 reminds us that self-control is a fruit of the spirit.
2 Timothy 3:3 reminds us that lack of self-control is an indicator of "last days."
1 Peter 1:13 says "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."
1 Peter 4:7 says "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray."
1 Peter 5:8 says to "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
2 Peter 1:5 is the "addition" verse - "add to your faith goodness; and to your goodness, knowledge; and to your knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love." The notes in my Bible point out that adding self-control to knowledge was Peter's response to many false teachers of the day that said knowledge made self-control unnecessary. What a great point for a world that holds
education and learning so high. Knowing more does not mean we actually put our knowledge into action by refraining from the poisons that are bad for us!
Pastor Martin G. Collins says, "Self-control is the virtue that makes a person so master of himself that he is fit to be servant of others."
Pastor Charles Rush from Christ Church New Jersey preached a message quoting Aristotle... "the self-controlled man was neither cowardly, nor foolhardy but courageous. He was neither gluttonous, nor fasting, but healthy in diet. She is neither ignorant, nor a bookworm, but learned. He is neither a drunkard, nor abstemious, but social. This is what self-control looks like."
Aristotle said "the goal for the development of self-control was to feel the right amount of pleasure at the right things to the right degree."
I often wonder why God gave us so many "good things" here on earth. Food, entertainment, nature, sex, etc., all of these things are ours for the taking and enjoying. But without self-control, our senses can become senseless to the gift's original intent.
Self-control can be the kick in the rear, the pinch, the "heads up" that keeps our life on the right path. Will we ignore it or embrace it?
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January 16, 2004
Divorce
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines divorce as:
1) The legal dissolution of a marriage.
2) A complete or radical severance of closely connected things.
Old Testament View
It seems clear that the context of divorce in the Old Testament was very much the dissolution of a covenant - a separation agreement if you will. And the reasons for divorce were many, often subjective. In Deuteronomy 21:14, it looks like a man could take a woman leftover from the losing nation in a battle and keep her as his wife. If he wasn't satisfied (after sleeping with her), he could end the union.
According to Deuteronomy 24, the "Law of Divorce" went like this (Jesus would later reference this in Matthew 19):
"When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's wife, and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance."
There also seems to be a common thread running through the Old Testament of divorce between nations or nations and God. Malachi 2 talks about Judah being unfaithful. And in Isaiah 50:1 we see Israel's sin and the Lord asking where a certificate of divorce is. What is interesting is that in this
context of this "nation divorce", it is usually a prophet / God speaking on the issue. But the way they discuss it, they are using terms that the people understand. In other words, the concept of divorce must have been a part of their culture for the people to understand what God was talking about. If
God was talking about Judah getting a divorce from another nation, then on an individual level the people would have understood what divorce was.
New Testament View
The first use of the word divorce in the New Testament comes in the very first chapter in the very first book; Matthew 1:19. It is used in the thought process for Mary and Joseph when trying to figure out how to justify or reconcile their pregnancy predicament. There is however a distinction because divorce in this context was a divorce during the betrothal period and not an actual marriage. Although this betrothal was more than just an engagement - even though it was considered husband and wife - there just hadn't been any sexual union. Nevertheless, Joseph thought divorce and God thought differently because the next verse is an angel of the Lord straightening things out. (As a side note, I find it interesting that Joseph thought doing a quiet divorce was the way to go because they would avoid the public judgment and punishment by stoning according to the law. It appears that the laws of the land had lessened their grip and or intensity from the OT times of nothing slipping through the cracks because Joseph obviously thought he could escape it.)
In Matthew 5:31-32 Jesus says, "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
I love how Jesus starts off all of his thoughts on topics in this chapter as "It has been said..." It is as though Jesus is saying the laws before were right on and I'm going to take it a step further. He was bridging the presumably archaic laws of the past and pumping some new life into them within the framework of a humble leader seeking to get to the heart, not the head. Right on!
Matthew 19:1-15 seems to be the most direct communication from Jesus on the subject in which He clearly opposes it with the exception of marital unfaithfulness. My notes indicate there were two Jewish schools with opposing views on what this Deuteronomy law was saying. The school of Hillel
focused on the part of the verse in Deuteronomy about being "displeasing to him" and the school of Shammai took the side of "something indecent (marital unfaithfulness)." Jesus obviously took the side of the Shammai.
Mark 10:1-10 is another version of the Matthew 19 scenario. Also according to my notes, it says "The purpose of Deuteronomy 24 was not to make divorce acceptable, but to reduce the hardship of its consequences."
Conclusions
God did not intend for divorce to be an option. The "two becoming one flesh" is a permanent paradigm. And it seems that Jesus is very adamant about not divorcing - and if you do or if you think you want that as an option, then don't get married. Better to remain single.
Of course the grace of God is always the wild trump card in everything. I see too many stories in the Bible of people messing up the perfect plan and God always working things out - albeit not always as easy as the original intent.
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January 9, 2004
Prophecy
Filed under: Hot Topic
The dictionary defines prophecy as:
1a) An inspired utterance of a prophet, viewed as a revelation of divine will. 1b) A prediction of the future, made under divine inspiration. 1c) Such an inspired message or prediction transmitted orally or in writing. 2) The vocation or condition of a prophet. 3) A prediction.
2 Peter 1:20-21 says "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
This particular passage from Peter is what jumped at me the most when reading many of the passages in the Bible about prophecy. The point that "prophecy never had its origin in the will of man" is so key, and because of this, I think prophecy has kind of lost the priority it once had on us as God-followers. It is as if we see prophecy today coming from the origin or will of man and not from God that causes us to distrust or downplay its significance. And I think in and of itself that built in truth detector is a
good thing, but I also think it causes us to miss the truly divine inspired prophecies. The very definition from the dictionary says prophecy is "made under divine inspiration!"
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 says "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it."
I find it interesting how Paul encourages positive things (be joyful, pray continually), but then switches up his vernacular and goes into only 2 things NOT to do (in the context of everything else TO do). He says to NOT put out the Spirit's fire and do NOT treat prophesy with contempt. This passage from Thessalonians I think is a great way for us to view prophecy today - without contempt, but to test everything. Don't take it at face value, but don't ignore it either.
My biggest reason for not trusting (if that is the right word) modern prophecy is that I think it caters more than it guides or warns. And a lot of the guiding and warning that does go on seems so irrelevant (enough about Israel already!). When I look in the Old Testament it seems as though every
prophecy - although sometimes strange - was right on with audience and context.
The 1599 Geneva Study Bible frames the concept of prophesy into the "The explaining and interpreting of the word of God."
John Wesley says that the context of prophesy in 1 Thessalonians 5:20 is "preaching; for the apostle is not here speaking of extraordinary gifts. It seems, one means of grace is put for all; and whoever despises any of these, under whatever pretence, will surely (though perhaps gradually and almost
insensibly) quench the Spirit."
I see a few categories emerging regarding the subject of prophecy.
Understanding Prophecy
Prophecy About Persons / Future
Prophecy Fulfilled
Prophecy's Purpose Today
Warnings
A.W. Tozer said, "Today we need prophetic preachers; not preachers of prophecy merely, but preachers with a gift of prophecy. The word of wisdom is missing. We need the gift of discernment again in our pulpits. What is needed desperately today is prophetic insight. Scholars can interpret the
past; it takes prophets to interpret the present."
I conclude by personal recollection of the few prophecies I have had over me. Each time they seemed to be right on in terms of the "reading my mail" factor. Yet they all seemed to have some material satisfaction attached. "You will have money, you will be successful, you will be a writer, etc." I
don't remember anything about divine instruction in the context of Scripture or warnings about what is to come. And how many accounts in the Bible are there of individual prophecies for people - outside of Kings and rulers? It seems there is something to the whole fact that prophecies were given to a people or people's leader.
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