The Everyday Do-Gooder

But as it is written: WHAT NO EYE HAS SEEN AND NO EAR HAS HEARD, AND WHAT HAS NEVER COME INTO A MAN'S HEART, IS WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."  (1 Cor. 2:9, HCSB, boldface mine).

"[Who] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began"  (2 Tim. 1:9, HCSB, italics mine).

You might have heard someone say that his religion is the Golden Rule or the Sermon on the Mount. When you reduce Christianity to a formula, creed (you aren't saved by creeds, but by trusting in the person and work of Christ), or list of dos and don'ts (legalism), you make it a philosophy or religion (they all deny grace and are based on good works for merit), but Christianity is essentially a living, growing, vital relationship with the Savior Himself--knowing Him and making Him known! Two persons of different faiths can feel unity in that they have the same creed:  Do all the good you can! (borrowed from John Wesley).  But this is not salvation!

Many people actually believe that living a righteous life is living the good life, achieving the American dream--that blessing is a sign of God's approbation. However, some people's reward is in this life (cf. Psalm 17:15).  We are not saved by service but unto service.  Good deeds is a sign we are saved and have faith, not the substitute for it. We cannot merit or earn our way to heaven by self-reformation. The new life in Christ is not an improvement, but a transformation!   We are new creatures in Christ, behold, all things become new (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17).

Religion says, "Do!" Christianity says, "Done!"  We don't do good works because we "have to" but because we "want to."  There's a world of difference:  We don't say, "In order to..." but "therefore!" The believer's works are a byproduct of his faith and not the way to gain approval with God, however, he wants to please God and wonders, "What would Jesus do?" in the situations of life.   There's a big difference because we cannot reach out to God, He has to reach down and condescend to us and make the first move.  James and Paul said complimentary comments about their works: James would say, "I'll show you my works by my faith!"  

Paul would counter, "I'll show you my faith by my works."  James was dealing with people who were do-nothings and needed to realize that that kind of faith doesn't save ("Faith without works is dead," per James 2:17).  Paul dealt with the other end of the spectrum:  Those trying to earn their way in by obeying the law of Moses and legalism--they were doing too much and had no faith either--begun in the Spirit, but finishing in the flesh (cf. Gal. 3:3)! They were nullifying grace or as Paul says to the Galatians 5:4 (HCSB), "... [You] have fallen from grace."

The point is that if you have no good works, your faith is suspect and no fruit means no faith, because we are known by our fruits.  We will be judged by our deeds, not our faith (cf. Romans 2:6)!  We are not saved by works, however, but not without them either--they go hand-in-hand and can be distinguished, but not separated.   The Reformed formula of salvation was: "Saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone." Works are the natural result of true faith just like apples from an apple tree. They prove the faith is genuine and not bogus.  There is a difference between a profession of faith and the reality of faith.

Faith is not something you have, but something you see and do, and it is abstract and must be demonstrated: "By faith Abraham obeyed...." We must put it into action, according to the measure of faith God has granted us (cf. Rom. 12:3).  The book of James, not the epistle of straw that Martin Luther thought it was before he saw the reconciliation, shows us that the faith you have is the faith you show!  We must not just talk the talk, but walk the talk and put it into action--faith is a verb and has feet!   It is well put that "only he who is obedient believes, and only he who believes is obedient," by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, et al.  We must bring forth the fruits of salvation and we can distinguish them but not separate them:  There's no such thing as faith without works, but there are works without faith (the kind that doesn't please God, for all our "righteousness, is as filthy rags," per Isaiah 64:6).


We are not saved by our service, but unto service, as we are vessels of honor being used by God for His glory.   Paul said in Romans 15:18 that he ventured not to speak, but of what Christ had accomplished through him!  God crowns His own work done through us by His Spirit and power.  It is a futile and vain hope to believe you can be good enough to merit salvation or do enough good deeds---God's requisite is perfection and the standard is Christ Himself.  Some people's creed is to do all the good they can, but no one does good according to Romans 3.  I'm not against good deeds and sincere works, but only those done in the energy of the flesh.  The problem with doing good deeds is that God sees the motive and most people just do them out of self-interest or to gain the applause of others or get attention or approval.

You cannot tell an unbeliever to "do good," because he is incapable (Paul declares that no one does good in Romans 3:12); only believers can do the works of God, which is to believe in Jesus (cf. John 6:29).  The best motto or creed would be to determine to be used by God and submit to His will and be obedient and willing to do it--God doesn't want works, He wants us!  Submit and see what He can accomplish through you in the power of the Spirit!

Don't ever let someone add something to grace, such as merit, because (the Reformed formula says) we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, God alone be the glory, and on the authority of Scripture alone. You are saved through Jesus alone; not Jesus plus works, which would be moralism; nor Jesus plus feeling, which is emotionalism or sentimentality; nor Jesus plus knowledge, which is intellectualism or the cult of Gnosticism.  Remember this:  A motto to do all the good you can is a good and rewarding philosophy, but it won't bring salvation.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Ready For Heaven

"So it is with the resurrection of the dead:  Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body.  If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body"  (1 Cor. 15:42, HCSB).

I want to dispel the common notion that people have that they want to go to heaven, but are in no hurry to get there!  WE ARE JUST PILGRIMS WITH SPIRITUAL GREEN CARDS; DON'T GET TOO COMFORTABLE OR AT HOME IN THIS WORLD.  

As Matthew Henry said:  "It ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day." We are to live each day as if it were our last and prepare daily to meet the Lord in the air, and we can do this with gusto if we are looking forward to heaven, which means we must have some idea what it is like--through our knowledge is really speculation based on Scripture.  "No eye has seen...."  Yet we do know some facts and can cast away some common fallacies and misconceptions.  For instance, we won't be sitting on clouds playing harps all day.  We won't have to go to church (yes and no!).  We are the church and we shall worship in all our activities, whether work, leisure, or play, but the Lord will be present to have a Spirit of worship.

There will be work in heaven, but perfectly suited for us and our talents, gifts, and desires--what we enjoy doing!  Work will have meaning and not drudgery or be menial and boring, and there will be no physical exhaustion involved because the curse will be removed which made us work by the sweat of our brow.  Since Adam worked the Garden of Eden before the curse we know that we are not made for idleness, but in God's image and He is always at work.  We express God's image in our work and find fulfillment and satisfaction and meaning in it.  If we are faithful in little, we shall be faithful in much and God gives all of us opportunity to express our faithfulness.  Many of the tedious chores like hygiene will no longer be necessary, as we know them because we will have spiritual and not physical bodies--sown physical, but reaped spiritual.

We will be recognizable and have none of our physical flaws in our appearance that make us unattractive to others or ourselves--we will appreciate beauty in others and return our identity as men or women but not be given in marriage or be involved in procreation.  The most important element of heaven will be our authority over angels and be rulers with Christ--we shall all reign, some of us just have more authority or responsibility due to temporal faithfulness.  The key is that we are really servants of the Lord in heaven and be glad we are subordinate to Him.  Our bodies are not just improved from this one, but transformed into a new fashion that defies gravity, has no weakness, such as gaining weight, or getting out of shape, and can pass through walls at will, yet eat to prove we really have bodies.

When we realize the wonders and excitement of heaven, then we want to go there and live in light of eternity!  Paul said that to die was gain, but to live was Christ (cf. Philippians 1:21)--live or die he was content!  You can only really live after you are ready to meet your Maker and have prepared for your final day--you don't want to go unprepared but ready.  "... Prepare to meet your God, O Israel," says Amos 4:12 (ESV).  Every day when we rise we should announce that we are ready to meet God and ask Jesus if this is the day we will finally see Him face-to-face and be satisfied with the beatific vision.   We shall all be changed when we see Him as He is and be fulfilled and completely sanctified or holy and glorified.

Preparing for that day does not mean making funeral arrangements or writing a will, but making your peace with God and being faithful in the calling He has given you.  We want to receive a full reward and not just enter by the skin of our teeth, as if by fire (cf. 1 Cor. 3:15).   It is sadly said, that man lives like he's not going to die, and dies as if he never lived--may this not be the case with us, but that we lived to bring glory to God. ("The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever," as the Westminster Divines proclaimed.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

WORLDVIEW DISCIPLINES

THE TEN MAJOR ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES:

THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY:  "IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH"  GEN 1:1
ETHICS:  "KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL"  GEN 2:9
BIOLOGY:  "ACCORDING TO ITS KIND"  GEN 1:21
PSYCHOLOGY: "A LIVING BEING"  GEN  2:7
SOCIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY:  "BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY; FILL THE EARTH"  GEN  1:28
LAW:  "I COMMANDED YOU" GEN  3:11
POLITICS AND LAW:  "WHOEVER SHEDS MAN'S BLOOD"  GEN  9:6
ECONOMICS: "IT SHALL BE FOR FOOD"  GEN  1:29
HISTORY:  "ENMITY BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN" GEN 3:15

CHRIST IS FULFILLMENT:

THEOLOGY:  "THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD" COL 2:9
PHILOSOPHY:  "THE LOGOS"   JOHN 1:1
ETHICS:  "THE TRUE LIGHT"  JOHN 1:9; 3:19-20
BIOLOGY:  "THE LIFE"  JOHN 1:4; COL 1:16
PSYCHOLOGY:  "SAVIOR"  LUKE 1:46-47; TITUS 2:13
SOCIOLOGY: "SON"  LUKE 1:39-31; ISA. 9:6
LAW:  "LAWGIVER"  GEN. 49:10; ISA 9:7
POLITICS:  "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS"  REV 19:16; 1 TIM 6:15
ECONOMICS:  OWNER OF ALL THINGS   PSALM 24:1; 50:10-12
HISTORY:  "THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA"  REV. 1:8


WESTERN CIVILIZATION IS BUILT AND BASED ON THESE TEN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES WITH THEIR FOUNDATION IN SCRIPTURE!  


ADAPTED FROM:  UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES, BY DR DAVID A. NOEBEL

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

Never Too Busy!

The disciples interrupted the people from taking Jesus' time when He was blessing the children because they assumed He was too busy for them (cf. Matt. 19:14, KJV: "... [Suffer] the little children to come unto me...").  Jesus doesn't see interruptions--but only opportunities. Everything is Father-filtered!  How you handle these are a test of your patience!  God's timing is always perfect and He is the Author of time and "[our] times are in [His] hands," according to Psalm 31:15. Our future, then it is in His hands and He has no Plan B, as it were. We can frustrate our plans and they may never come to fruition, but God cannot be thwarted and will not fail; however, we are on the winning side and are in solidarity with Christ or in Christ.

The greatest obstacle to God's will is our will, it has been said. When we walk in step with the Spirit things go according to the glory of God and He is glorified through us; we must learn to walk with God like Enoch and Noah did. There is ample and adequate reason for everything that happens during our day and God has a time and purpose for every occasion in God's creation and under the sun, or so it says in Ecclesiastes. NB:  It's only because man has the precious gift of time consciousness and can anticipate the future and remember the past that he has the side effects of worrying about the future and regretting the past--two notorious time thieves!

We can do many things with our time:  We can invest it to bring dividends from God-like in spiritual ventures; we can spend it on profitable enterprises and things of extrinsic value; we can gain an intrinsic reward from the saving of time (what a joy!) by prioritizing what is important to God, not us; we can also spend our time on things of intrinsic worth like those that are edifying, educational, and inspiring; we can even waste time by killing it and doing nothing notable with it worth remembering and we may even regret doing; we can do nothing with our time because of boredom or sloth, but there is always something to do if we are willing to do it;  we enjoy time the most when we learn to spend it serving others as Jesus said in Mark 10:45 (ESV):  "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and give his life a ransom for many." 

The happiest people are too busy thinking about others that they never wonder about their own happiness (it makes them happy to see others happy!). I believe there will always be downtime as a test of our ingenuity with redeeming the time (biblically commanded), and finding out what we're made of, and this will always be a challenge of our character. Chuck Colson relates a story of a convict who refused to have a TV in his cell because he felt you could waste a lot of time watching it.


But we will be held accountable for the time allotted us at the Judgment Seat of Christ (bema), and we should be"redeeming the time," according to Paul, because "the days are evil."  Time is precious, we will never get back lost opportunities or time wasted. "An idle hand is the devil's workshop!"  As they say, carpe diem, or seize the day! The best overall use of time is to make it into something that will outlast you, or that is bigger than you! The only way to do this is to realize your potential in God's kingdom and learn to do "kingdom living." We are not wealth builders, but kingdom builders. Day by day we learn to discipline ourselves into time management and the precious use of the opportunities God grants us by grace. The worse use of time:  Regret and worry (looking back or ahead!).  They say that worry is the interest you pay on a debt you don't owe.  God can free us from regret and guilt by giving us a clean conscience and reason to go on living.  He wipes the slate clean and gives us a fresh lease on life with a new start with Christ in control as our autopilot.


How much time you think you have depends on how big your God is, or if your world is too big for your God? and how much time you believe He gives you.  God will never overwhelm you, but only gives you a yoke and burden you can manage.  Jesus said:  "My yoke is easy, My burden is light" (cf. Matt. 11:30).  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you," according to Isaiah 43:2 (ESV). We can handle whatever God can throw at us if we are willing and obedient through the power of the Holy Spirit ( Philippians 4:13; 2:13; Heb. 13:21; Col. 1:29; Isa. 26:12; Romans 15:18).  We can also handle whatever the world can dish out with the aid of God being with us through the rivers of life.

Busyness in itself is not a virtue! (This is no excuse!)   It is good to be busy, but this is not synonymous!  If you have priorities you always have time for God and the Lord's work--this is what we're living for.  When you have a purpose you have the motivation to work hard ("Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might," says Eccl. 10:11, ESV).  Work is meant to be a blessing and we demonstrate the image of God when we work; even God is at work!  Adam worked and it is not a curse; we can all find inner meaning in it:  Bro. Lawrence, a monk, wrote a book, The Practice of the Presence of God, in which he prayed all day as he washed dishes for the Lord in a 16th-century monastery.

There is a difference between being too busy and keeping busy:  Jesus was never too busy, though he kept busy and productive with His time, except when He needed R & R because He was human and got tired and exhausted, too:  He never wasted time, though!  There's a difference between being lazy and tired and needing a break from the routine with some downtime.


Rick Warren says:  The number one enemy of kindness is busyness.  How often we say, 'I am just too busy.  I don't have time to get involved.  It might mess up my schedule or agenda.  I have my priorities and pressures to think about.  I am too busy to fix a meal for my sick neighbor ... I am too busy...." Christ's opportunities may come when we are busy to see if we have time for Him and He knocks on our door.  That opportunity may never come again!  Interruptions are just reminders that we are not in control of the situation, but God is sovereign over our time and has the best intention in mind for us.

If you realize you are called to do something you want to do, you are motivated to do your best and not be slack.  A new mother soon realizes that her time is not her own!  We are all realizing our potential and no one has arrived yet, we are all "works in progress!"  But being a "work-a-holic" is not necessarily good because we are meant to enjoy our lives too and not be all work and no play. What you enjoy may be your calling in life and work can be a calling but there is more to life than work. You can work yourself sick or to a mental or emotional disorder, and even end up in a mental hospital or lose sanity--God has decreed us to get our rest as a principle in the Sabbath. We all need R & R on occasion and need to have our "fun" or whatever is fun to us. It is a blessing to know what you enjoy doing and to enjoy doing it, no matter how much time it consumes.

If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy, I've read somewhere, and I affirm this adage. It's too easy to get into the habit of putting off spiritual things (even on Sunday, of all days--the Lord's day), and thinking only of our own advantage and pleasure or interests. We don't want to become sluggards or slothful but to be hardworking believers who demonstrate the Christian work ethic and become productive citizens who give back to society--not just receiving its benefits pro bono.  God gives us the power to be productive in His kingdom, not necessarily in the world, though--which may despise us.

It is not true that you be so heavenly minded you are no earthly good unless you mean being irresponsible and slothful, but this depends upon your definitions of the terminology. We can make things happen and do God's work, which is more important than our work and should always have preeminent importance. The more dedicated you are to putting God first and prioritizing Him, the more time you will be able to redeem for Him and His work and you don't find the time, you make time.

We will be accountable for all the opportunities, time, resources, money, skills, talents, and blessings God has bestowed on us because nothing belongs to us--we are just stewards of God.  In short, we should proclaim boldly:  "I'm never too busy for the Lord or the Lord's work!" Caveat:  There is a curse on him who does the Lord's work with slackness in Jeremiah 48:10.

These verses are relevant: Whatever we do, we find to do we should do with all our might and as unto the Lord and to His glory per Scripture admonition. "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Col. 3:23, ESV). "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus...." (Col. 3:17, ESV). "..."Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31, ESV). "Making the best use [redeeming] of the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. 5:16, ESV).   Soli Deo Gloria!

It's A Miracle!

Jesus never did miracles on demand, as Herod had hoped to have a personal show of the supernatural. There was also never a biggie miracle or grandstanding that the Pharisees had demanded if they were to believe because of their cynicism.  Jesus would not accommodate the Pharisees' demand for a "sign." Case in point: The bystanders told Jesus to come down from the cross and they would then believe in Him.  The miracle was that He stayed on the cross--it was love them kept Him there and the temptation was to come down and use His powers independently of the Father's will.  But Jesus did thirty-five recorded miracles and numerous ones not mentioned, but if they were, "the world could not contain the books that would be written!"  The thing about miracles is that they only make the appetite for more miracles and don't make a skeptic become a believer--it takes a work of God in the heart to make a person a believer, which is also a miracle in its own right.

What Jesus did were called "signs" by John because they were not helter-skelter, to attract attention, or even for personal promotion, but to meet a need and teach something about Himself:  He is the Bread of Life; the Light of the World; the Resurrection and the Life, etc. Each of the seven recorded signs of John's gospel (actually there are seven miracles in John if you count the one after His resurrection), are for a reason to bear witness of the Deity of Christ in a different aspect and light. Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness to turn stones into bread and use His powers for personal advantage--but He never did take advantage of His powers!  Christ didn't want to be known simply as a miracle worker or healer or even teacher or martyr, but He would've been a mere footnote in history had He performed none!  Miracles are essential to prove the Deity of Christ and the ultimate proof is His resurrection.  If you remove the miracles from other religion's Scriptures, the religion remains intact, but not so with Christianity--they are essential.

People believe that all they need to believe is a miracle. They say:  Miracles do not produce faith; faith produces miracles!   The Jews in John 12:37 "would not believe" despite Christ's miracles.  If you are cynical and have a hardened heart, no miracle will make a believer out of you.  The heart of the matter, then, is that it's a matter of the heart.  There is plenty of evidence of the miraculous to those who are seeking it and are willing--just look in the mirror and you will see a miracle!  Sunrise is a miracle, yet because it happens every day we don't give it a second thought; life itself is not some fluke of nature, but a miracle--if these things happened all the time we'd call them regulars.

Science cannot forbid miracles, it can only say that they don't normally or regularly occur.  When you say they are against the laws of science, nature, or what they term natural law, you are personifying science and nature as if they are persons making up rules, and are not subject to rules.  In our case we can make laws and break them; the penalty is inherent.  God is a Lawmaker, Judge, and Executor of his will and laws.  God is the Author of the laws of nature and its Lawgiver and can suspend, cancel, or revoke them at will, just like people commonly say rules are made to be broken.  Jesus did miracles out of need and not to promote Himself: likewise, we should meet people's needs with the miracles of modern-day science and technology.

What then are miracles?  All events are caused by God as He is the causa prima or First Cause; miracles are just unusual events caused by God. If you remember the "Miracle on Ice" back in 1980 you would attribute that to being a miracle, and the 1969 World Series when the New York Mets won, they may have been unusual, but they don't meet the definition of miracle: Which must defy the natural in such a way as to make a person come to a decision as to whether he believes in miracles (events unusually caused by God) or not.  The purpose of miracles in Scripture is to confirm faith and authenticate the messenger by demonstrating God's power.


Miracles in the Bible are different:  They are not performed for no rhyme or reason, for prestige, for money, or for power, but in sympathy for the suffering of man and to increase his faith.  No!  People were not gullible, ignorant, superstitious, or unsophisticated in His day and knew what was a miracle and what wasn't.  There are false miracles and ones that could have a natural explanation.  The presence of the counterfeit does not preclude the reality of the real thing and prove they are spurious.

But the timing is what makes them miraculous (like the drying up of the Red Sea).  Laws describe what happens, and don't control what happens, so whether miracles occur is ultimately a historical and philosophical question, not scientific (which only describes repeatable, observable, and measurable events producible under laboratory conditions with controlled variables and constants). The question and issue is this:  Are the documents accurate and the veracity of the sources reliable? If one believes in God, it follows by definition that God can do what He wants, and that would include miracles. However, modern-day Secular Humanism and Postmodernism deny the supernatural as a presupposition and won't even go there or admit a divine foot in the door.

Sometimes we trivialize them like when we find a parking space or hit a hole in one in golf we attribute the events to something miraculous, but we mustn't downplay them and realize that we live in the presence of miracles--we just don't see them because they are all around us and happen without our awareness.  Miracles are for the reason to elicit or evoke faith where a seed has been planted and a person is ready to believe with an open mind, needy heart, and willing spirit:  "Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me"  (John 10:25, NKJV).  Jesus implored them to believe for His works' sake.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Hold Fast That Which Is Good

Paul says: "[B]u] test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thess. 5:21, ESV).  John says that we are to "test the spirits" to see whether they are of God.  We are to treasure the gifts of God and be accountable for the gift or gifts we are blessed with. "Christ is all, and in all," says Paul.  The difference in the Christian faith is that we are not living in our own effort, but by the mighty power of God in us (cf. Col 1:29; Heb. 13:21).  Paul says he ventures not to speak, but of what Christ has accomplished through him (cf. Rom. 15:18).

Even a prophet is "not without honor," says Jesus, "except in his hometown and in his own family." Paul also says not to "despise prophesying"--but what does he mean by that? Charles Colson was a modern-day prophet in that he was a clear-thinking interpreter of the times we live in and opened the eyes of many to the sign of the times.  There are a plethora of spiritual books, even from false prophets and doomsayers, on the market and we are blessed to be edified by so much scholarship, but one cannot read every one; one must make value judgments, make recommendations, and learn to read with a purpose and organize his reading so that he knows what is worth filing, making note of, referencing, footnoting, or reading again and again--some books are to be digested, not just read superficially or skimmed through.

We must learn to learn from each other, for we all have something to contribute and share, and we can learn from the experience and scholarship of others. When we get discernment we can readily appraise what we read to organize it in our minds and reference it.  Some books are just worth a quick perusal or skimming or speed-reading.  They may be worth just ten minutes of our time, we might think. When we are given large reading assignments, we must learn to assess the relative value and worth or importance of what we read and read with a purpose.  Some of it may not even have been worth our time or even a waste of it (hopefully we learned a lesson, though), but hopefully, we can discern books, etc., by their titles and judge whether we might be able to apply or use the information contained.

A bad habit to get into is to read spiritual matter for entertainment or to kill time instead of redeeming or invest time (it should be for edification, thirst for the truth, and inspiration)--we should always read sincerely so that God can speak to us through the scholarship of others, and we can benefit. Even Paul asked Timothy to bring his parchments to him so he would have reading material--it is wrong to think that God only wants us to read Scripture (I believe Paul enjoyed reading since he had been a Pharisee), and that reading only the Bible is somehow holier or mature.  When we are to "hold fast that which is good," it means explicitly that we are to retain and organize for future use any material we do read, as an application.  We may have our favorite books that we refer to over and over again and have become a part of us, and ones that we might as well part with, having no heart feelings or regret.  It is one thing to know "how to read" literally, and HOW TO READ: it's quite another matter to know what you're reading and how to do it!

Good writing, it has been said, comes from a good soul and spirit, and one should know the author to have insight into the writing. Remember, if you don't read good writing you will read bad writing or "feed on trash," as they say GIGO or garbage-in-garbage-out!  "The wise hunger for the knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash" (cf. Proverbs 15:14).  Non-believers are those who "reject the truth" and "do not love the truth" according to 2 Thess. 2:20 and Christians must learn to love knowledge, wisdom, and understanding because "knowledge is power," according to Sir Francis Bacon, citing Proverbs 24:5, which says that he who increases knowledge increases power per the ESV: "... a man of knowledge increases his strength".  Soli Deo Gloria!

Repecting All Men

"Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor" (2 Pet. 2:17, NIV). We ought to respect all authority figures or those in delegated authority. We must learn to give all due respect (cf. Romans 13:1-2), even if we don't like them. All men deserve dignity by virtue of being human. The Scripture expects us to pray for all those in authority, and that includes constables, representative, mayors, legislators, senators, judges, school board members, the president, and what have you, including respecting your elders and teachers in school.  In the military, you might have ambivalent feelings for your drill sergeant, but you will learn to respect him.

People sometimes have doubts about certain so-called dubious occupations, such as lawyers or car salesmen, but we are not to make stereotypes and generalize about all members of that profession. There may be a few bad cops, for instance, that doesn't eliminate our duty to honor them.  In the service, you may not respect the officer himself, but you learn to respect the office he holds.  In Jesus' day, the Jews had no respect for publicans or tax collectors and sinners (Jews who weren't observant), and Jesus went to the home of Zaccheus and converted him.  This was quite appalling to the Jews who thought that this would defile Him.  Roman soldiers were certainly not respected but Jesus commended the Roman centurion for his faith and John the Baptist converted them (he didn't advise them to leave the Roman army).

The point is that you should judge people individually and not as groups they belong to, which is prejudice, profiling, and bias.  Just because some lawyers are crooked, doesn't mean a Christian cannot become a lawyer (the church father Tertullian was a lawyer).  Just because you've had a bad run-in with police doesn't give you the right to judge their profession--there are much noble police doing a fine job and this is not an easy job, the chances they take and the dangerous situations they encounter.  The fact is is that there are bad people in every legitimate profession and we cannot judge them as a group.  For instance, police are ordained by God as being in authority over us--to despise or show contempt for their authority is to dishonor God.

Our attitude toward authority is a mirror of our attitude toward God  (it all began with the fourth commandment to honor our parents who are in loco Dei, or in the place of God).  Many people never grasp authority like the centurion officer who said to Jesus, "I, too, am a man under authority." Veterans and service personnel have a better concept of authority than others because many times they've had to accept authority they didn't like and found out what respect entails.  The law is given for wrongdoers and if we obey the law we have nothing to have an issue about or to fear--we have only ourselves to blame for breaking the law, not the officer for enforcing it.  (Leniency or mercy aren't leniency and mercy if they are required or earned--they don't have to give us a break!)  Have you ever given a beggar some alms? Why haven't you extended that grace to all?

God establishes the death penalty for those who commit murder in Genesis 9:6, and this is because human life is sacred and inviolate in God's eyes, because we are in the image of God.  We are not to be inhumane to anyone under any circumstances. but only render what strict justice requires under the law and not to be vindictive, unusual, or cruel.  God put a limit on revenge by saying that it should be eye-for-eye and life-for-life.  The value of one soul is worth more to God than the entire universe; for what would it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?  (Cf. Mark 8:36). Certain occupations seem to become stigmatized or losing respect, but their occupation must not be maligned.  Authority figures are there for a reason (to keep people in line and keep evil at bay) and mean that we should respect their authority or delegated authority.

When politicians react expediently, and not on principle, it is demeaning to the profession, and we must realize that this is a hazard of the job--it will cost you to gain respect and you must be willing to make the sacrifices.  We live in a day and age when people are losing respect for everyone and no occupation seems sacrosanct.  Doctors and nurses are doubtless respected, but there are crooked, unethical, and dishonest ones, too. Teachers are highly regarded in most societies, but some of them are unconscionable cheaters or slackers, and even unskilled.  It is all right to disagree or to not like an individual, but we must never categorize entire professions, which is generalizing, because of our experience--just think if Jesus had been biased against publicans and sinners--where would we be?
Soli Deo Gloria!

Having A Foundation

Some misled believers sincerely believe it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere. This is fallacious and what you believe is the most important thing about you.  Ideas have consequences and you cannot engage in heresy without it having the side effect of wrong behavior or mislead and misguided action.  Doctrine is not simply your philosophy but means "teaching" in plain English.  "All Scripture is profitable for doctrine..." (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16).

We think in terms of vocabulary and the bigger our vocabulary, the more profound or engaged our thinking can attain to. Doctrine is akin to the vocabulary of the Bible and one must master the basics of the milk of the Word to move on to the meat or solid food of the Bible.  You are unskilled in the Word of Righteousness if you don't know the ABCs of doctrine.  We think in terms of doctrine and applied doctrine as our vocabulary and shouldn't base our learning upon experience, such as mystics do. Doctrine is rudimentary and we cannot avoid or escape it without committing spiritual suicide.

Teachers are to "teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine" (cf. Titus 2:1) and to pay attention to their doctrine, and "rebuke them sharply that they may be sound in the faith." (cf. Titus 2:13).   Learning doctrine requires a disciplined mind, but when you enroll in the school of Christ it comes with the territory. Now it is important to have the right doctrine or orthodoxy, but orthopraxy (right ethics) is also vital. Just because our doctrine is impeccably correct doesn't mean everything is copacetic.  It is more paramount that our hearts be right with the Lord than our minds fixated on the right beliefs.  But both are important to a healthy Christian walk.  R. C. Sproul says:  "You can have sound doctrine without a sound life, but no sound life without sound doctrine."

No matter how much faith we have and no matter how sincere we are, if our doctrine is heretical we are not saved.  Sincerity is important but it is not everything--you can be sincerely wrong and lost.  Mature believers are defined in Ephesians 4:14 as those who are not "tossed about by every wind of doctrine."  This stability only comes with a basic foundation that cannot be shaken and getting a frame of reference so that the believer knows what he believes and even what beliefs are negotiable, and which ones are not. (Augustine's dictum says, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.")   We must know when it is appropriate to be dogmatic and stand up for the faith, contend, and when to cut some slack! "For the time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine." (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3). 

Yes, there is false doctrine in the church; however, we are to be ever vigilant and to answer it with sound doctrine, not avoid it entirely.  To avoid doctrine because of false doctrine is only spiritual suicide and abandoning the search for the truth, whereas godliness is through the Word of Truth and we feed on doctrine resident in the soul.  In the final analysis, you are rewarded according to your good deeds, but you are saved according to what your beliefs--these two are correlated, and can be distinguished, but not separated or divorced.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Knowing What To Believe

Someone has remarked that people get their beliefs like they catch colds (probably referring to The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, where he alleges that "faith is caught" and religion is a "mental virus"), and they get faith from hanging around certain people and becoming infected--they don't think independently, but get easily persuaded by the loudest and most vociferous voices heard. You can predict what these people think of the crowd they hang around. They have not learned the science of critical thinking and know nothing of being skeptical when it does matter.


Consider the source!  Who is saying what and what is the authority of that source?  They have not thought it out or been challenged in their thinking. Do they know what the person means by their terminology, sometimes there may be a semantic problem or a simple misunderstanding of definitions that can cause quarrels and misunderstandings?  Knowing what you believe is only the prelude to knowing why and defending and contending for the faith and your position as commanded. People have to come to the realization and awakening that it doesn't matter what people believe, but what matters is the truth and we must find it and defend it.


We often agree more than we disagree and it is vital to find commonality and not stress our differences, yet we are prone to disputations because of our human nature. Not knowing what you believe can be disastrous to keeping the faith.  You become susceptible to influence and persuasion by those more educated if you have no foundation and don't know the rules of the game or of engagement. The unschooled, unseasoned believer is "tossed to and fro ... by every wind of doctrine," according to Ephesians 4:14, ESV.  Scholars can sometimes take advantage of the unskilled in the Word (especially those skilled in the Koine Greek or Hebrew) and naive students are easy prey. People who are skilled at the technique and art of debate and polemics know that you should be able to argue both sides of a case to be able to be in a position to judge the merit of it.


Keep your mind open till you have considered the relevant verses, such as proof texts.  The reason is that you need a frame of reference and viewpoint to interpret reality and God's truth.  Sound doctrine is foundational--the building block on which all other knowledge, discernment, and wisdom rest, the simple basics and starting point. Doctrine cannot be avoided without committing spiritual suicide; it is the infrastructure of Bible knowledge and it's mandatory to learn the ABCs  You shouldn't just be able to converse on the subjects, but know where you stand and be ready to defend (cf. 1 Timothy 2:15) your convictions (you hold beliefs, by the way, but convictions hold you!). This is rudimentary and not subject to compromise!


You cannot be biased at the beginning and must be willing to go where the evidence leads, even if it is against your gut instinct and presuppositions, which may become shaken up a little and shock you out of your comfort zone. Flannery Connor said that truth doesn't change according to our ability to stomach it!  You will never arrive at the truth if you are unwilling to go there, or even consider it as an option!  You should know why you believe something, and not just because you accept someone's word for it or you accept someone's authority as a teacher.  For instance, Roman Catholics don't believe they have the individual authority to interpret Scripture, but that it is the domain of the clergy. This is why they swallow the belief that tradition is of equal authority with Scripture--they've never checked things out for themselves.


We are to follow the example, the Berean Jews who searched the Scriptures to see if these things that Paul taught were so (cf. Acts 17:11). This is a dangerous presumption to forego our responsibility to interpret Scripture because you are literally blindly putting the fate of your soul into someone's hands. This is literally coming full circle from the Reformation!  The Bible is the sole and final authority (sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone, as authority was a battle cry of the Reformation), and God has given each of us the privilege to interpret it, but also the responsibility to do it right.  God wants us to read the Word, and if we don't believe we can interpret the Bible, we will be less likely to do this.


There are a few critical questions (this is not original of mine) one needs to ask if one is to be skeptical and doubt someone at their word: Where do they get their information?  Is there evidence? Do they footnote it or do they assume you accept their authority?  Be vigilant about the meaning of terms and words, because they may mean something you don't understand.  Ask them to literally tell you what they mean by the words in question--this will reveal a lot.  Don't take words for granted! Always ask them what they mean by their proposition.  And most importantly, you must consider the issue of how they know it's true--is there evidence?  Some people confuse belief with truth and "feel" in their hearts something as true and that is "evidence."  Believing something doesn't make it true!  


Are they mystical and relying on their own experience (you'd be surprised how many people just "feel" something is true in their hearts!), or are they mere scholars (not that scholars are to be avoided--they are needed too!) who quote so and so?  The authority of the source is vital and one should weigh in on the validity of this source--for instance, do you have a Bible verse for that or are you just theorizing this for yourself? For example Martin Luther said he would only be persuaded by Sacred Scripture or evident reason, otherwise, he would not recant (not the papal authority either) at the Diet of Worms. Remember, "no Scripture [cf. 2 Pet. 1:20] is of any private interpretation," and this means no one can come up with some newfangled meaning, secret or esoteric knowledge, or "spiritualization" no one else will realize or apprehend.


John MacArthur has rightly said, that not knowing what you believe is a sort of non-belief!  We are not to waver in limbo not knowing anything for sure, but to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior and to study to show ourselves approved unto God, as workmen, not needing to be ashamed, but rightly diving or handling the Word of Truth (cf. 1 Timothy 2:15).  Not knowing what you believe will only make you susceptible and vulnerable to false doctrine and even doctrines of demons and, when people attack the faith, you will have no basis to answer them or defend the faith (contending for the faith is not the option, but commanded in Jude 3).


The childish believer balks at learning the things of God in depth (cf. 2 Tim. 3:9) and isn't able to distinguish good from evil (cf. Heb. 5:14), therefore he tends only to the milk of the Word and is unskilled in the Word of Righteousness and isn't ready to digest the meat of the Word.  The more you are aware of what you believe, the better equipped you are to battle the forces of evil which attack us with ideas from the devil himself in an onslaught.  There is a false religion, false doctrine, and false mysticism out there that must be revealed and brought to light so that we are not influenced by it.

Knowing what you believe is the very foundation of living in faith and should also be a building block to the truth.  Never assume you have arrived or have monopolized the truth.  No one has cornered the market and we all need each other in the body to share insight and enlightenment.  We are to think in terms of doctrine as a vocabulary of the Spirit, not experience, and we need to learn how to think in a godly manner and be doctrinally correct to root out misconceptions and error from our thinking--we all need to get our thinking straightened out!  

Caveat:  Don't allow teachers or authorities to be the arbiters of truth--they often contradict each other--God alone is the arbiter of all truth based on what is revealed to us in Scripture (cf. Deut. 29:29, ESV, which says:  "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.").


In the final analysis, it is far more important to live out your beliefs, put them into action, and turn your creeds into deeds, than to be impeccably correct in all your doctrine. You cannot have a sound life without sound doctrine, according to R. C. Sproul, but you can have sound doctrine without a sound life--both are necessary and we shouldn't downplay either one.  Faith is only valid when it is acted upon, it is knowledge put to work to glorify God.  We will be judged by our deeds, not our beliefs; God isn't going to ask us what doctrinal position we hold on such and such or what church we went to, either--we aren't saved by our theory of the atonement, for instance!  

It is not that we will make assumptions (this is unavoidable), but the crux of the matter is on what evidence they rest! Remember:  To gain any knowledge you must first admit your ignorance (be teachable!), according to Socrates. You cannot avoid doctrine by claiming it is too arcane or only has academic value.
Soli Deo Gloria!

Let God Be True

"The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17, ESV).

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth"  (1 John 3:18, ESV).

This is the name of the primary Watchtower Bible & Tract Society book which denies the Trinity as being the doctrine invented by Satan himself.  Actually, the church father Tertullian coined the word, and even though it isn't a biblical word, it is taught throughout Scripture from creation, where God is in the plural (Elohim--"Let us create ...") to the Great Commission where we are to baptize in the name (singular) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  All members of the Godhead are equally God and equally divine, sharing all attributes of deity alike.  

The reason Charles Taze Russell denied the Trinity was because he thought it was irrational--what made him presume God is able to be comprehended by man (The philosophers of antiquity said, "The finite cannot grasp the infinite") or in Latin: "finitum non capax infinitum").   The more one contemplates this truth, the more one realizes it is from the revelation of God, and not man's invention. Truth is that way, it is not something we would've guessed!  Christianity is a revealed religion and we know it by special revelation, personal visitation, and encounter by God Himself in the person of His only Son, our Lord.

There is one God, though manifested in three personas as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  All of one essence, but having different self-distinctions or consciousnesses.  What trait, characteristic, or attribute of one can be said of the others.  They always act in harmony and concurrence of will (there is no conflict of interest, disharmony, ill-will, or disagreement). If the members of the Trinity disagreed they would be lying by definition of the law of noncontradiction.  They work according to the role and domain they have, such as the Father purposing or proposing salvation, the Son accomplished it, and the Holy Spirit executing and making it known and real in the believer.  

The Father also authored and planned it, the Son did the work of redemption, and the Holy Spirit applied it.  They also worked in concert in creating heaven and earth.  Jesus is known as the logos or logic of God and is called the Word (expression or icon) of God (cf. John 1:14).  Jesus was the incarnation and manifestation of truth itself, proving we can know and grasp it (cf. John 14:6). He pronounced: "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free" (cf. John 8:32).

One thing that is impossible for God to do is lie; while man is a liar and lies from the womb according to the Psalms.  Lying isn't just saying something that is contrary to fact on purpose: not saying the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; misspeaking; giving someone a line; making up something as you go along for impression's sake; saying something to gain the upper edge or advantage; false compliments; insincere flattery; any half-truth; misleading statements; exaggeration for effect; saying something to gain advantage; deceptive practices; giving off a false impression; jumping to the conclusion; misrepresentations; saying something that hurts; bearing false witness against your neighbor; disinformation; contradicting yourself; propaganda; not being honest in niceties or pleasantries, such as in greetings and saying you're feeling fine, when you're not; not telling the whole story; leading astray; acting the con man; flirting; buttering up someone; creating a false impression or going along with one; fooling someone; putting spin on something; saying something with bias or subjectivity; pre-judging someone or something; gossip; slander; judging; false portrayal of situations or events, etc.


Face it: We all stand guilty as charged when we realize all this encompasses and more to boot, including omitting the truth as a sin of omission, and anything God wouldn't say. Remember, telling one lie makes you a liar!  But God cannot lie according to Titus 1:2. If God could lie, what kind of God would he be?  President George Washington claimed that he couldn't tell a lie; actually, that's a lie--he could, but chose not to on intentionally. The Bible calls all men liars (cf. Romans 3:4).  President Jimmy Carter told us he wouldn't lie to us, but this was an impossible task as Chief Executive.

Philosophically, Thomas Aquinas believed and affirmed what Augustine had said in that all truth is God's truth and concluded that all truth meets at the top. Francis A. Schaeffer said the Bible is "true truth." Jesus said that God's Word is truth and sanctifies us (cf. John 17:17). Jesus said that the Father is the "only true God" (cf. John 17:3). Truth is what transforms and doesn't just inform or reform. Truth changes lives and is alive and powerful and fills us then makes us hungry. It reads you as you read it!

God judges those who practice deceit and lie on purpose or deliberately like false teachers or prophets, and they will not enter the kingdom of heaven  (cf. Rev. 22:15, ESV:  "... [T]hose who love and practice falsehood").  Satan is a liar and the father of lies, the father of all men before salvation, and when he speaks a lie he is speaking naturally, for this is his nature.  The man who insists he's telling the truth and swears in God's name is probably the most insecure of his integrity.  Like Shakespeare writes: "Methinks thou dost protest too much!"

Note that the Bible records Abraham as having lied about Sarah. When I say someone is a liar I am delineating someone who practices the sin intentionally and loves or approves of it--not some besetting weakness that is confessed. After conversion we have a new nature able, to tell the truth, and overcome the sin of lying--we are no longer prone to lie; however, the flesh is still tempted.  People generally associate liars as those who got caught; however, we are all liars, we all just didn't get caught!  Don't strive to be the ideal man with unrealistic expectations, but to be a real man with ones in touch with reality and needing God to overcome sin--always a battle till glorification.

To claim that you don't lie is a lie and a claim to divinity because only God can claim this:  "... Let God be true and every man a liar" (cf. Rom. 3:4, ESV).  In essence, this is blasphemy (which is a lie by definition) and a direct insult to God's holiness, as He is a jealous God and will tolerate no rivals or someone asserting deity or divinity.  If you've never realized what a liar you were before salvation or that you still are prone to do it because of the resident old sin nature, you have never been convicted of sin and don't know what the word really means or its connotations--the more you realize lies and the more sensitive you become, the more honest you become, the closer to the truth you get, the more aware you become of sin, and then the less sin!


The sad fact is that people aren't concerned with whether an idea is true anymore, but just whether it works, and works for them in particular. There is no Truth with a capital T and all truth is relative now, especially the ones relating to Christianity.  Christians are to proclaim the truth incarnate and that it is knowable, relevant, and profitable. New Age adherents believe something is true if it feels right. Morality is always based on transcendent truth that we all should know and appeal to, not personal opinion, feelings, or conjecture. Unbelievers are those who reject the truth (cf. Romans 2:8). People today deny universal truth that is valid for everyone but insists that it might be true for you, and not for them.


Objective truth is true whether believed or not. (Note:  Even the Greeks sought and loved the true, the good, and the beautiful.)  Two contradictory ideas cannot simultaneously both be true. What they tend to believe is that there is no truth and it is vain to search for it or claim you've found it.  Just like Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:38 what truth was, but didn't stick around for an answer. If you seek the truth with your whole heart you will find it and it will set you free--then you can speak forth truth, and not the lies and deceptions of Satan.   Soli Deo Gloria!