Is The Pope Catholic?

This seems like a proverbial and unambiguous or obvious question, but is it?  What do I mean by "catholic?"  The word denotes being universal in application (all true believers) and specifically to the Roman Catholic Church denomination of Christianity.  Roman Catholicism does not refer to a sect or cult, but a bona fide division of our faith like the Orthodox and so-called Protestant schisms. This means you can be a true Christian in either denomination or division of Christianity, but that doesn't mean because you adhere to one that you are automatically a Christian.  Catholics, as a rule, don't believe Protestants are saved; while Protestants believe some Catholics are saved--they just don't accept their soteriology or dogma of salvation that all Protestants subscribe to (salvation by grace through faith).  So this begs the question, "Which denomination is sectarian?"

By Reformed tradition and interpretation of the doctrines of salvation, and Martin Luther was excommunicated for his faith, Catholics do not have saving faith by definition because they regard "merit" and see faith as a work and not a gift--we are not saved by works. In effect, they save themselves.  Catholics officially believe you are saved "through the Church," obeying the teachings of the Church, and accepting their dogma without question. It is solely the responsibility of clerics to interpret Scripture, though the parishioner can read it.

The Pope is allegedly the Supreme Pontiff of the universal church and the vicar of Christ on earth, who speaks ex-cathedra when pronouncing from St. Peter's chair--this is known as pontificating, and it is infallible or without error (he claims to be speaking for Christ.)  (Catholics have a lot of faith in the Pope and priests--you must trust Christ alone to be saved because it is the object that saves, not the faith--they have misdirected faith--in the wrong person.)

Catholic (small c) denotes the general and universal church at large of true believers (the Nicene Creed says there is "one holy and apostolic catholic church") if you go by definition and not what the Church says; therefore, the Pope must know Christ to be catholic. He can be "Catholic" and not catholic, catholic and not Catholic,  and even Catholic and catholic.  Christian by definition can be any denomination, is really universal terminology and is nonsectarian--sectarian spirit is sin according to Paul, because "Christ is not divided."  (We shouldn't squabble over leadership.)

We should be "one in Spirit" (cf. Eph. 4:3) with all believers and not find differences but commonalities and be able to walk hand in hand without seeing eye to eye on every issue. True Christians are able to have fellowship with other believers around the world and across denominational lines if they know the Lord, regardless of sectarian bias or affiliation.  There is no fellowship with an unbeliever.  There is a time to be nondenominational and a time to stick to your guns and be faithful to your creed.  But note: Christianity is not a creed, but a relationship! But we have to turn our creeds into deeds and make good on our faith because true saving and obedient faith is a fruitful faith--we are known by our love producing good deeds.

"Woe unto you when all men speak well of you," Jesus said.  (They all thought well of the Pharisees!)  I don't know of anyone more popular in the world and that has more friends than the Pope, who tries to be everyone's friend and peacemaker.  If you think the Pope is a Christian, then you may be a Catholic at heart--there are many Catholics who disagree with him!  A former Pope made a "mecca" to Fatima to place something on the statue of the Virgin Mary, thanking her for saving him from assassination.  What he stands for is anti-Christian because he exalts himself to a position only God is worthy of and will bear his judgment on the Last Day.

Because his judgment tarries and we don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't a sure thing.  But he deceives many and God is patient for His elects' sake because they believe in Him in spite of being Catholic, not because they are Catholic.  To be specific: The Catholic way or following the Pope is the road of good intentions leading to hell.  Ever since the Council of Trent (1546) justification through faith alone has been anathema (cursed)--their misdirected faith in the Church won't save if they are converted solely to the program as do-gooders--granting false assurance.

They say that love is the test and we shall "know them by their love."  You must believe right (orthodoxy) as well as act right (orthopraxy).  Love is not God, God is love.  "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love;"  "Whoever loves has been born of God, for God is love."  (1 John 4:7-8, ESV).  Do not be deceived!  Don't say, "Oh he is such a lover; he must be saved."  (Love without faith, as well as, faith without love is nothing.)   This is how we shall know the brethren who believe the right creed from impostors or charlatans who claim faith and don't love. What it implies is that we shall not know solely by their creed, possessions, or testimony.  Love must be the main ingredient and without it we don't have salvation, regardless of faith.  Just having love per se doesn't prove salvation, it's just a sign to notice.


(Now, I am aware that you cannot judge whether a person has saving faith (only God sees the heart), Catholics freely admit to believing a creed contrary to grace and grace orientation--their salvation is a cooperative venture between us and God known as synergism, while "salvation is of the Lord" according to Jonah 2:9 and is monergistic or God's work only.  How important is grace?  It is the one thing that  distinguishes Christianity from religion and Catholicism, (Catholics do believe that grace is necessary, just not sufficient and must be improved upon by merit) and by definition, Catholicism is legalism (mixing works with faith), not Christianity, ergo the Pope is not catholic at heart but sectarian. What is religion?  Its main effort is to reach God, is the best man can do.  The Catholic dogma--a creed that is contrary to sound doctrine- is a do-it-yourself proposition of merit; Christianity is God reaching down to man, the best God can do and gives God the credit or glory (Soli Deo Gloria!) and we get none. Beware of the sin of Diotrephes, who liked to be number one and put himself first!  Ego problems! Only Christ is the Head of His Body.)

The question also arises as to whether a "sincere" Catholic is saved.  God says that ignorance is never an excuse because we all have His Word as a witness of the truth and are responsible to know it.   Sincerity is important, but it is not everything--you can be sincerely wrong.   Many Catholics have misdirected zeal without knowledge (cf. Rom. 10:2) and faith in the wrong object, which should only be Christ. Having faith in Christ and a combination of someone or something else (like the Mass) is not saving faith.  One must wonder whether they know the Lord or not.

To clear something up the Reformed teaching is that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone and that God alone gets the glory--"Salvation is of the Lord" (per Jonah 2:9 is their stand). Catholicism adds works to faith and merit to grace, teaching that they are necessary, but not sufficient and must be improved upon with our cooperation with God, helping Him out, as it were.  Grace is not only necessary but wholly sufficient and needs no aid on our part to participate. Faith doesn't save, no matter how great it is, but the object saves (i.e., Jesus Christ).  What one doesn't usually hear is that Paul was angry at the Galatians for teaching "another gospel" and pronounced a curse on them--this is what Catholics are doing, as they change Paul's doctrine to suit their traditions, ideas, and notions.    Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Talk Cheap?

The Romans were practical people who believed talk was cheap and actions are what matter because sometimes actions do speak louder than words.  Did not Pilate ask Jesus, "What did you do?" and not "What did you say?"  If we don't make good on our talk it is cheap and we lose the validity of our testimony.  Most people that believe talk is cheap are those who don't know how to talk or haven't acquired the skill to converse intelligibly.  It is a matter of mutuality or give and take, listening and talking because there are times when listening is a better skill and more valuable than speaking.  We may need someone to listen to us at times of need and God can give us a word of encouragement, and it is a gift to be able to speak a word in season and to know how to comfort someone in their loss.

Talk can be therapeutic, too.  People that have problems need to talk them out and resolve personal issues together with other peers or trusted counselors.  To give someone the silent treatment is one of the cruelest forms of punishment because it cuts him off from communication and fellowship. All believers need the fellowship of their brethren and no one is a rock or island in need of no friends. Like the song by The Beatles, "I Get Along With A Little Help By My Friends."  People who need people, it is said in another song, are the happiest people.   Personally, I can testify that there have been periods in my life when I just wanted "talk therapy" and needed to talk out my problems and to get some empathy or sympathy.  I have been to the point of such loneliness that I was desperate to talk to even anyone.

We relate to one another by communicating not by doing works, which are a validation of our witness, and show that our faith is real.   Like Paul would say, "I will show you my good deeds by my faith," and James would say, "I will show you my faith by my good deeds."  They go together and can be distinguished, but not separated--you cannot have one without the other and works and faith are each other's flip side.  One work we are commanded to do is to witness of our conversion and of the gospel message and this is via words, not actions, through our actions prove our witness is real to us and show the gospel in shoe leather.

Talk can be cheap if it isn't backed up by a testimony that isn't jeopardized and is without hypocrisy. It can be empty talk that has no inner meaning or edifying or redeeming value to the listener. Some people know how to talk so well that their talk is their profession and they heard no matter the season because they have proved themselves or have the training and experience to back it up. We all want to hear from someone who has been there and done that or has learned through the school of hard knocks and has a story.  A person with a message to relate will always find hearers.

We earn the right to be heard and no one is obligated to listen to us if we haven't earned this privilege.  People who are good talkers have learned to be good listeners first and have often learned the hard way and not just through books.  Scholars don't necessarily have all the answers either; it is a matter of knowing God and having the gift of wisdom that He alone can bestow.   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Poor Follow-through

You can have the best of intentions, but if you don't make good on them,  they are only gestures and not worth recompense.  Sincerity is necessary, but it is not sufficient, you must practice the truth as well as know it;  this is known as orthopraxy vs. orthodoxy (right conduct and right creed).  We can all be in danger of being more empty talk and promise and less delivery of the goods. Intentions don't count without making good on them.

Some just preach or talk about what people want to hear and to please their itching ears and try to water down the truth and make it more palatable, instead of telling it like it is.  The truth can knock you out of your comfort zone, wake you up from your dogmatic slumber, and upset the applecart. Jesus was known for challenging authority and being "anti-establishment" and to invade the turf of the Pharisees so that they were jealous of His influence.

Sometimes we can tend to be all heart and not have the follow-through to apply what we feel or get convicted of--it is just sentiment.  We are to follow the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind; this means our whole person and ability, talent, time, gifts, and resources that we are stewards of and are accountable for.  Following God begins in the heart but we must graduate and go on to know the Lord and follow Him in obedience to His commands.

We must never jeopardize our testimony by not living up to our creed; we must turn it into deeds and make it our own to God's glory, for which we are saved. We tend to agree with each other in principle, but fail to carry it out in practice as a reality and testimony to others, making us look like hypocrites who don't practice what we preach.  I can't stress enough the value of going the "extra mile" and putting in the extra effort to please God to the best of our ability, and do the best job we can for the Lord ("Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not unto men," quoting Colossians 3:23).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Knowledge Has Its Place

"...knowledge puffs up, but love edifies"  (1 Cor. 8:1b).

Does this mean that knowledge is inappropriate?  Why do we pursue knowledge anyway?  Do we just have a desire to be smarter than everyone or to have all the answers?  Knowledge is indeed a byproduct of knowing the Lord and being obedient in the faith by discipleship and application.  We should never pursue it for its own sake because it is merely a means to an end, and not the end itself--we must always ask ourselves why we are learning something and what our inner or ulterior motives are.  We can't all be scholars (and some don't even know the Lord to their shame, like the Pharisees), but there is a need for them in the body and they have their function.  We can't all be theologians who organize Bible teaching (doctrine just means teaching pertinent to a subject), but there is a need for them to defend the Bible (polemics) just like we need apologists to defend the faith.  We are all basically theologians, it just varies how good of a one we are--they are not just Christians good at theology, i.e., we all have a viewpoint or interpretation of Scripture that biases us, and no one is impartial completely, except God, who alone is objective in toto.

When teaching others, we want to aim to disciple them, not educate them, and that means to lead them on to a personal relationship with and knowledge of the Lord through Bible application--and no sermon or teaching is complete without making application, or it is just theory without practice or just something to talk about and not do something about.  We should be stirred to do something new by way of application that we wouldn't normally do.  The tendency for some students of the Word is to become intoxicated with the deeper truths of the Bible that they forget or neglect the basics of the Word or feel they have outgrown the milk of the Word, just because they can digest the solid food. We must restrain our natural curiosity and not just study for curiosity sake, but for a yearning for the things of God and a genuine thirst for the Word itself.

We need to pass the baton to the next generation what we have learned so they won't make the same mistakes!  A good teacher doesn't balk at teaching the whole counsel of God to the best of his ability and training and doesn't just have a personal agenda and motive to convert them to his way of thinking or interpretation.  There is a big danger in getting a big head and having too high an opinion of yourself when you have increased in knowledge without application.  The goal of the teacher should be to make the student independent of his teaching so he can in turn disciple others and the cycle continues.

The Pharisees knew a lot about the Scriptures and didn't know the Author and so they couldn't interpret it; they just had religiosity and customs to pass on.  They had in effect externalized religion and thought that going through the motions was all that mattered.  This is called "memorizing the dance of the pious."  It is formalism without any heart involved or what Jesus called being lukewarm in Revelation 3:19.  We don't want to be like the debaters who made it their way of life to just talk about the latest ideas or theories, but be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers (even if we gladly hear it).  Everyone doesn't have the same mental capacity and to whom much is given much is required, so we are not to hold everyone to the same standard, but let God be the judge.c

We also don't want to be hypocrites like the Pharisees who didn't practice what they preached either (Jesus said to listen to them, but don't imitate them). The more eager we are to learn and the more we apply it and pass on to others, the more God will reveal to us--but it is always a byproduct and we are not to compare ourselves with ourselves.   Remember that the Hebrews went into captivity because of their ignorance to their shame ("My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..," says Hosea 4:6a).

We don't want to know "about the Bible" but to know the Author of the Bible and use our knowledge constructively and to edify others. Knowledge is a spiritual gift and some believers are simply gifted with more of it, and we are not to hold everyone to the same standard.  They can become serious students of the Word to detect error and heresy and to pass on sound doctrine.

Note also that knowledge can be dangerous, especially when one gets an exclusive mindset thinking he is right and everyone else wrong and gets highly sectarian and dogmatic on nonessential doctrine. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and a half-educated person can do more damage than an uneducated one.  Always bear in mind Augustine's dictum:  "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

In conclusion, don't fall under the delusion that ignorance is bliss, because knowledge is power according to Blaise Pascal and Proverbs 24:5 (ESV):  "...and a man of knowledge enhances his might"; however, anyone who thinks he knows it all or knows some secret others don't (like the Gnostics who thought they were in "the know" and clued in above others and they had the secret to salvation), doesn't yet know as he ought to know, because no one has a monopoly on wisdom, or inside track, revelation, or knowledge.  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Sun That Melts The Butter Hardens The Clay

We must never forget our Maker and that we are just clay in the Great Potter's hands to use us for His purposes--God will fulfill His purpose for you, with or without your cooperation because He is sovereign and is Lord of all, whether we accept it or not; it is just a matter of our enjoyment and glorification that matters. "...as I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand" (Isaiah 14:24).  We are always to be prepared to meet our Maker says Amos 4:12.  God doesn't have a Plan B or other emergency exit, backup strategy, or alternate route to take--it's up to us!

We must never forget that adversity, suffering, testing, tribulation, heartbreak, ordeals, tragedy, crisis,  trouble, and trials will come to all believers and Christ didn't even exempt himself from them!   Our crosses pale in comparison to His!  He is our exemplar and we need to bear the cross and follow Jesus as part of what we signed up for.  It is our crucible and God knows as Job says, "The LORD knows that way that I take when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold."  God never promised us a bed of roses and we must acknowledge that without a cross there is no crown.  If we have a "why?" to our suffering and see Jesus with us, we can bear almost anything!  There is a place for negative stress, even a psychiatrist will admit that--if we have an easy life we become soft.  Don't pray for an easy going life, but to be made strong!  "Been there, done that!"  Knowing the "why," we can bear any "how."

It is the crises of our daily grind that molds our character to become more Christlike and God does it for our own good, as a parent disciplines a child he loves.  God has good intentions: "Behold, the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope"  (Jer. 29:11, ESV).  Some of us learn only from the school of hard knocks, while the wisest ones learn from Scripture and take God at His Word.  We don't want to learn life's lessons the hard way.  It is pruning and not a punishment that God uses to develop our character. God punished Jesus for our sins, and we are not punished for them too.  (It has been said that experience is what happens in you, not to you.)  Suffering is par for the course.

We have a will to exercise according to our desires at the moment, but God is in charge of the circumstances.  God made our natures that sanguine, melancholy, impetuous, impulsive, introverted, happy-go-lucky, ad infinitum, and we act accordingly. We are not the captains of our souls nor the masters of our fate. God knows how to manipulate and orchestrate events to get His will done and can change our minds; for instance, it may have been your notion to never get married, but you discovered God had other plans!   If a man can change a ladies mind, certainly God can.  "I do not like crises, but I like the opportunities they afford"  (Lord Reith).

The flip side of butter being melted by the same sun is being hardened like clay.  We can become bitter or better as they say.  Habakkuk experienced the worst of experiences when he seemed to have lost all but made a hymn to the joy that he still had God and if we have Him we have all we really need--sometimes we have to get to the end of ourselves or lose everything to discover this:  "Behold the goodness and severity of God" (cf. Rom. 11:22).   His confession was simply:  "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab. 3:18).  Note that God reserves the right to have mercy on whom He will have mercy and to harden [i.e., judicial hardening] whom He will harden (cf. Rom. 9:18).  Remember what God did to Pharaoh and know that God can do the same today.

God is in control of the hearts of kings to make them do His will according to Proverbs 21:1 (ESV) which says:  "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD, he turns it wherever he will."   God leaves nothing to chance--Albert Einstein noticed that "God doesn't play dice with the universe."  It is equally said that God doesn't leave one out of His control and that there is not one maverick molecule in the universe.  God doesn't just reign like the British monarch, but actually rules over all ("For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations," says Psalm 22:28 and in Isaiah 40 God says the nations are but a "drop in the bucket" to Him.)

Let me add that God works on us to the very end and doesn't give up, we are always a work in progress and won't be glorified in this life, which is only a training ground, a test station, or proving grounds for glory.  You may ask the silversmith when he is done refining the silver:  when he sees himself in it!   The sculptor takes away everything that doesn't look like his subject--his icons!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Go Ye Therefore ....

Those are words out of the Great Commission of our King in Matthew 28:19-20, and it is given to the church universal and local to be fulfilled as a body working in Christ using the various gifts of the Spirit, and each doing his or her part as God gives the opportunity. Our marching orders, as it were, are reiterated by the way in all three synoptic gospels and in Acts.   Many Christians think that when it says "Go ye therefore and make disciples..." it means that they have to go somewhere. Some don't want to become Christians because they think God will send them to Africa.  An apostle is actually a "sent one" and some of us are fighting on the home front.  Actually, in the Greek, it means "as you are going" make disciples!  

This means that we surrender our everyday life to a commitment to look for each opportunity God gives an open door that we can utilize.  Or you could say as we are going about our daily activities.  We are to be busy doing everything in the name of the Lord and to His glory in our daily tasks and routines.  We need to "practice the presence of God," as the sixteenth-century, humble, Carmelite monk in a French monastery named  Brother Lawrence, called it, and just be sensitive to His promptings and leading--seize the day and don't regret a lost opportunity.

To whom much is given, much is required (cf. Luke 12:48); therefore no one is overwhelmed and in a position, he cannot bear or get a handle on or grip on.   Before we talk to someone about the Lord, it is advisable to talk to the Lord about the person.  The Great Commission, it has been said, is not an option to be considered, or The Great Suggestion, but a command to be obeyed.  God gives no suggestions in Scripture and this is not the Great Suggestion, as some are deluded to believe.  The Great Commission was important enough to be at the conclusion of each synoptic gospel  (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47 and in Acts 1:8).  The book of Acts begins with the command to go into all the parts of the earth with the gospel as witnesses.  Jesus said that as soon as the gospel had been preached to every nation He would return.

"Go ye therefore and make disciples" means evangelism, and we must all have a mission and vision for the future ("For without a vision, the people perish," says Proverbs 29:18).  "Baptizing them" means to bring them into the fellowship of the body and accept them--giving them the "right hand of fellowship." Baptism is the initiation whereby we proclaim publicly our faith.  "Teaching them" entails discipleship; this never ends either.  Follow-up is too often forgotten in today's church--getting them saved is only the beginning.   I have heard it said that a great Christian has a great commitment to the Great Commission.

The message we preach (per 1 Cor. 2:2 is "Christ, and Christ crucified") is to be the gospel message about Jesus--that God settled the sin nature and personal sins question once and for all by the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son. The sin question's remedy is justification by the blood and the fact that we have sin natures is delivered by the cross of Christ. Saved from the penalty of sin and delivered from the power of sin!  The way of salvation should be simple and straightforward:  We are saved by grace alone (no merit involved); through faith alone (faith as a gift and no works involved); and in Christ alone (not in the leadership or church dogma or even yourself).

Christianity is more than dogma or creed to be believed; it is a lifestyle and relationship with the living Christ and we are to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (get a spiritual workout). We cannot work for our salvation--we show works as proof of it (we are not saved by works, and not without them either--dead faith--without works--doesn't save).  We are not saved by works, but unto (i.e., foreordained) works ("For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto [for the purpose of] good works...").  (James 2:17 says:  "Faith without works is dead".)  The Reformed formula was:  "Saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone [without works]."

The gospel is profound, yet not too difficult for the child to understand.  It put to shame the wisdom of this world.  Paul said he got his gospel from Jesus Himself and Romans is the most complete dissertation on salvation in the Bible--a compendium on the subject.  When we get a handle on the gospel message we can share it and leave the results to God. We all need to pray for doors to open and for the right words to use; even Paul did!  Don't be a bystander or stand on the sidelines;  do your part because no gift is insignificant, even waiting on tables like Philip and Stephen did.  What is most effective is when we make our message our own and give a testimony that cannot be refuted:  "I was blind, but now I see." Let us proclaim with Paul in Romans 1:14-16:  I am a debtor, I am ready, and I am not ashamed! We cannot always choose our place of service but must learn to bloom where we are planted and be a sower of the Word.  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Pursuit Of God

"If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them"  (John 13:17).
"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain..." (John 15:16). "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing"  (John 15:5).

Of course, I realize that my title was also the title of a famous book by A. W. Tozer, but I must borrow it to make my point right off the bat.  Is knowledge about God a requisite for knowing Him? Can we afford to be ignorant but good people?  What good does it do to know a lot "about God?" You must turn this knowledge about God into a personal knowledge of God.  Because to know Him is to love Him!  If you really study Psalm 119 (probably written by the Bible scholar Ezra), you will come to the realization that the psalmist loved the Scriptures and they were his meditation all the day long.  But loving the Bible does no good if we are not applying our knowledge. When God opens our eyes and enlightens us we are responsible to share our insights or pass them on if we want more, and thus be good stewards and faithful witnesses to His light.

This is not an attack on learning or the thirst for knowledge per se, which has its own reward and we should thank God for our enjoyment of it.  If one studies law, he should pray God turns it into His glory in some ministry so that all that study is not wasted.  The pursuit of knowledge and the pursuit of God are two separate goals unless the knowledge is to the glory of God. We are not just to be philosophers or lovers of knowledge, but lovers of God.  "Whether you eat or whether you drink, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).  This is being purpose-oriented.   We may enjoy history, for example, but unless it is to the glory of God and put into practice it is bunk as far as the kingdom of God is concerned.

The reward of knowledge is in the putting it into practice ("...knowledge puffs up, but love edifies" and "to whom much is given, much is required"), like the ultimate reward of studying medicine is in the healing of people not getting educated.  We enjoy a lot of things in life, and we should thank God for them, but we are not rewarded just because we enjoy them (e.g., eating, drinking, reading, sports, politics, and even sex). God blesses us all with common grace to enjoy and have a capacity for life--"...who gives us richly all things to enjoy"  (1 Tim. 6:17). The subject of this post is the pursuit of God and being rewarded at the Bema by Christ, not how much we enjoy the blessings of life.

To delineate the problem with many believers, what they are guilty of is balking at the deeper things of God while leaving the so-called doctrine or dogma to the theologians or clergy. Erasmus said that doctrine is the bugbear of the Church and many believers today have followed suit--thinking it is just philosophy.  Actually, theology is the Queen of the Sciences!  They have come full circle from the Reformation, in that they blindly follow the clerics and don't become like Bereans, who search out matters for themselves and study their Bibles.  An understanding of sound doctrine is necessary for a sound life; one cannot live a sound life apart from sound doctrine.  On the other hand, you can know all the doctrine and get a degree in it, or great kudos, and not have a sound life to be practicing what you preach or know.  You could say that doctrine is necessary, but not sufficient (you have to use it as a means to an end, not as an end per se) because there is more than just knowing or being familiar with doctrine.

We are all theologians in that we come to our own basic understanding, interpretation, or viewpoint of Scripture.  The question is, is how good of a theologian are we and do we subscribe to false doctrine.  What we believe has a definite impact on our behavior (orthodoxy or right doctrine influences orthopraxy or right ethics).  We cannot ignore basic and sound doctrine because that is not an option for the believer who wants to walk close to Christ.  We make so many mistakes simply because of our ignorance and Paul repeatedly says he would rather not have us ignorant.  Now it does say in 1 Timothy 2:9 that an elder must hold to the deep things of God with a clear conscience--he is obliged to have the lowdown on doctrine and be able to correct those who contradict it.

The believer must be cognizant that he has decided to be a disciple or "learner" while being enrolled in the school of Christ and dedicated to His curriculum all his life--the search for God and truth never ends and one should never be complacent and think he knows it all, but always positive and receptive to learning more and never even getting tired with the milk of the Word, even when we crave the meat or solid food and have been weaned from our spiritual infancy. "As the newborn baby desires the pure milk of the Word" so are we to never get bored with Scripture or be blase and apathetic, which Christ calls lukewarm and is odious to Him in Revelation 3:19.

Our knowledge of God does no good remaining just "theory" or knowledge that isn't applied.  In other words, we don't pursue knowledge as an end in itself or, you could say, for its own sake.  Yes, it is a sign of spiritual health to be interested in spiritual matters, and in the 17th century it was the hobby of a gentleman to be conversant with theology or "God-talk;" however, one can get spiritual "intoxicated" with the deeper truths and become unbalanced and losing focus of the basics of our faith, especially the marching orders of Christ, the Great Commission

But knowledge about God should ultimately lead to knowledge of God and a closer relationship with Him, because "knowledge puffs up [making us feel superior and important, as it were]"  according to 1 Cor. 8:1.  I  have it said by friends that they want to take a college course on the Bible to learn it in more detail.  I have to ask them "Why?"  Do they feel led by the Spirit to do this or do they just have a desire to be "informed" or in the know about spiritual matters?  If they have been called to teach it may be necessary to prepare for a life-long study of the Scriptures, but to do do it for its own sake, as an end in itself, if vain in God's eyes and will accomplish nothing.

I'm not for ignorance, but I am against knowledge without purpose and end in mind, (knowledge is the means to an end).  You can be so preoccupied with the Word, actually doing nothing but reading it all day like a monastic monk and not apply it:  "Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only." We must not only intake but have output to be healthy.  Just like inhaling and exhaling for our bodies. The proof of the pudding is in the eating they say; what kind of believer we are depends upon our attitude toward Scripture.

You must contemplate why you are pursuing knowledge and you must also distinguish knowledge of God from mere knowledge about God.  You can literally know a lot about someone and not really know them at all on a personal level, too, as an analogy.  The goal is a relationship with Christ and a closer walk with Him.   According to Colossians 1:10 we are:  "Bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God."  See how they correlate?  Putting our knowledge into action reinforces it and cements it into our spirit and makes it good for something--not just theory or philosophy.  Two extremes to avoid are having Bible fatigue on the one hand whereas we get bored and it has lost its zing and being engrossed in the Bible in an academic approach on the other hand, like just having the desire to know all the answers.

One doesn't have to be privy to some secret, arcane, or academic knowledge to know the Lord (in fact you may know very little and know the Lord quite well), and make the same mistakes as the Gnostikoi in the Apostolic age who claimed that knowledge was the secret of salvation and they were "in the know" (gnosis means to know).  We are responsible for what we know or had the opportunity to know (no one can claim ignorance--there is no excuse for not knowing God) and God distributes gifts according to our abilities and His purposes, not ours.  Some may have the gift of knowledge, for instance, and God may entrust them with much knowledge, wisdom and understanding.  Much knowledge is a byproduct of a productive life, not the goal itself.  Just like one may acquire a knowledge of trivia unconsciously and know more than he realizes.

Knowledge per se is not the measure of a believer's productiveness, because we are rewarded according to what we sow, not what we know!  Just imagine someone saying he wants to study medicine but has no plans to practice medicine, or one who go to law school for the heck of it and doesn't want to practice law!  We must be practicing theologians putting our faith into action!  They say that if you can't do, you must teach;  that is one option and that is probably why we have preachers professors, and even scholars who are heavy on the learning and light on the application.
  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Self-improvement Craze

Prayer by Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr:  "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."  Used by AA and known as the "Serenity Prayer" (AA believes you must come to an end of yourself and realize you cannot help yourself before God can help you).

"Woe unto him who strives with his Maker"  (Is. 45:9). Remember, He is the Potter, we are the clay.

God raised Jesus from the dead and is still in the resurrection business; changing lives is His domain!

William Ernest Henley, the author of Invictus, claimed to be the master of his soul and captain of his fate, and thanked whatever gods may be for his unconquerable soul--what a humanistic outlook!


The twentieth century saw the self-improvement and positive thinking takeover of Christian thought as the pop culture.   It sold and people bought it; well, it worked and some most people believe that the test of an idea is whether it works (pragmatism), not whether it is true (for example, yoga works but is a dangerous undertaking for the Christian to dabble in).  Evil can work and even be efficient.  However, Christianity works, because it is true; it isn't true because it works. The cliches "Don't knock it if you haven't tried it," and "Try it, you'll like it," and "It works for me!" are invalid to believers--don't experiment! God even makes the wicked to prosper if they go by the rules and are wise, but that's not the gospel.  Things may work as applied from the Bible, but that's not the essence of Christianity--our commission is to preach the gospel message, and this is applicable to everyone.

If you can market your dogma to the unbeliever it is not the gospel, because only His sheep will hear His voice and not that of a stranger.  There are many false prophets out there telling people what they want to hear, and whitewashing the bad news that we are sinners in need of salvation, not that we are good enough to be saved.  The gospel has bad news too--we are lost in need of a Savior and we must get them lost first before we preach the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Christ.

We must "look to the rock from which we were hewn and the quarry from which we were dug" (Isa. 51:1).  We are simply clay in God's hands and He is our Potter.  Thinking that Christianity is a philosophy and just a matter of getting a good attitude is a recipe for disaster and failure.  We are setting ourselves up for calamity when we think that we are ultimately in control of our lives and what happens is that we give ourselves the glory and credit for our success.  Our future is in God's hands (cf. Psalm 31:15).  If you think about it, you can achieve it by faith.  What we should say is with William Carey: "Expect great things from God, but attempt even great things for God!"

What we have to come to realize is that Christianity is not a system of rules and regulations, a catalog of dos and don'ts or a standard of achievement to reach.  It isn't a matter of being "in the know" or "knowing the scoop," as it were, but of knowing a person and having a relationship with Him who can change your life.  "Victory in Jesus!"  This is the lowdown:  We give God control of our lives and He transforms us into new creatures, not just improves upon the old self.  Self-improvement is no improvement because we want God-improvement.  We don't just wake up every morning and resolve to be positive but to love Jesus more and walk closer with Him as He guides us in the way. The better we know Jesus, the more we will love Him and the closer we will follow.

Christianity is not a creed or doctrine, but a relationship and it is just like knowing your kin--it doesn't satisfy just to study them and know their rules--you have to take the challenge and get to know them personally and apply your knowledge.  We turn our creed into deeds and put it into practice (as we bear fruit in every good work, we increase in the knowledge of God, according to Colossians 1:10). We are commanded to "grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ" in 2 Pet. 3:18.

We have the power of choice and do indeed make choices all the time and are responsible for them; the problem is that we make bad choices and cannot take control of our lives--we must let God take over and cease trying to save ourselves.  Ovid said, "I know the better ways and I approve them, but I follow the worst"  We are infected with sin as a virus and our old sin nature or old man is still much alive and active after our salvation--we must do less trying and more trusting.  God wants to approve and say, "Great is your faith," not "You sure try hard."  We can get an E for effort, and fail in God's perspective because we gave ourselves the credit.  We have the power to make choices, but that doesn't mean we have an absolute free will--we cannot be what we want to be like God who is what He is and can be what He wants to be.  We cannot say that we will henceforth never lie or never have a lustful thought if that is our easily besetting sin. "Who can say I have made my heart pure, I am pure from my sin?" (Proverbs 20:9).  We all have a sin that easily overcomes us and besets us according to Hebrews 12:1 and is exhorted to set it aside and walk in faith as we learn that God can set us free. We are not born free but must be set free in Christ.  We are no longer under sin and sin has no dominion over us as believers according to Romans 6:14.  Instead of turning over a new leaf every day and resolving to do better, learn to walk closer to Christ and let Him make you the person He wants you to be.  It is not about putting a new suit on the man, as they say, but putting a new man in the suit.

We are forgiven from the penalty of sin at salvation, but we learn to overcome the power of sin and it's influenced in our walk.  There is no overnight transformation into perfect people because we are all works in progress and God isn't finished with us yet.  He isn't finished until He sees Himself in us like a silversmith refining silver looks for his reflection to know the silver is pure.  However we should be are of this:  God says in Philippians 1:6:  "Being confident of the very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."  God never gives up on us--it is us who give up!   God can always use us for His glory because that's what He saved us for:  (cf. Isaiah. 43:7) and we are a blessing to others:  "So will I save you and ye shall be a blessing" (Zech. 8:13).  Our trials and tribulations are not only met to teach us but to be a light to others and give us the wisdom to encourage them.  There is no one philosophy that we can ascribe to our faith because it is more than a philosophy--it is a relationship (this has become a cliche but must be stressed). We all need the attitude check and change to grace-orientation because the best attitude is gratitude.

Christ didn't come to make bad people good, but to make dead people alive.  He made us the way we are and has a purpose for doing it in His outreach.  You may develop a great personality and a wonderful disposition and still be a failure as a believer, hardly knowing your Lord. We can be a success in one domain and a failure in another--no one succeeds in everything.   Remember that Paul was choleric, Peter was impetuous but sanguine, and Jeremiah melancholic, but God used them the way they were.  John the Baptist was sure eccentric, but God never told him to go get some help! Christianity is about transformation, not an improvement! God meets us where we are and accepts us, but we will not stay that way after He works on us.

The problem is that we have an innate nature that God has to deal with and we are subject to that nature just like a dove eats seed and a vulture carrion by nature--we cannot change our nature, but God can change our character and still let us have personality and individuality.  Point in fact to heed: we act according to our nature, not contrary to it,  according to our depraved and fallen will (we all even fall short of our own ideas).  It is not about getting a balanced, well-adjusted, and respectable life, but one of touching others in their time of need. God loves us the way we are and we don't have to change to be more acceptable--and so we should accept one another too--we are not cookie-cutter Christians.  The way you are is the way God made you, believers shouldn't have a problem with that.
I've heard it well said:  "God doesn't make junk!"

In the final analysis, it is not a matter of willpower, but of faith--not trying, but trusting! "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit" (cf. Zechariah 4:6).  Religion is a do-it-yourself proposition and lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps--thank God there's hope for the weak and needy. The goal of our salvation is God-confidence, not self-confidence.  In the final audit of our lives at the Bema or Judgment Seat of Christ, we shall be asked whether we learned to love and trust Christ and apply what He taught us, not given a personality inventory checklist.  Progress is what God wants, not perfection.

There is rhyme and reason behind the madness:  All things work together for good for them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).  The catch-22 is that we must see how bad we are to be good, and we don't know how bad we are until we've tried to be good!   We must come to Christ on the lowest possible credentials crying for mercy to us as sinners who cannot save ourselves and need Jesus--this means dying to self not becoming self-confident that we can be all we can be and do anything we put our mind to; the people furthest from God are those who are self-sufficient and don't see their need, loving their own sin too much to recognize it.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Are You Too Busy For God?

Everyone sooner or later faces challenges in time management and setting priorities if you have an agenda, bucket list, or a to-do list; here's some pertinent teaching:

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might..."  (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
We always find time to do the things we want to do as a rule, but we must learn to be flexible and adjust to God's timetable and plan--things don't always go according to agenda because life is unpredictable and our autopilot may be beckoning us.  God's providence has a reason and time for every purpose under the sun.

In today's rat-race and the dog-eat-dog world, we seem to attribute business as a virtue per se, regardless of the purpose.  If you don't know why you're so busy, your life may be unmanageable and you need to make priorities.  They say that time is of the essence.  Tempis fugit, (time flies) the Latin expression goes, and when we're having fun we don't know where the time goes.  The funny thing about our life is that it is like a vapor that vanishes and is soon over.  Ernest Hemingway said, "Time is the thing we have least of;" that is true because we are just stewards of the time God gives us (all things belong ultimately to God).  The abler we are, the more God assigns to be a steward of.

The point is to be faithful in what God gives you and not to compare yourself with others--their lifestyle is none of your business and not for you to judge--he is accountable to his God.  What's the point in being busy when you don't have a purpose in living--that is just being a workaholic and being busy for its own sake.  Sometimes God wants us to slow down and just enjoy life and Him in meditation.  Life can get hectic, but if we don't watch it the devil will make us so busy we crowd God out of our lives.  We should never be too busy for the Lord's work, just as Jesus never considered an interruption an inconvenience.  Some people do have time on their hands and God is trying to teach them to redeem the time and live one day at a time:  "This is the day that the LORD has made, let us be glad and live today"  (Psalm 118:24).  There are many things we can do to the time allotted to each of us, and we all have 168 hours per week to invest in God.

Work can be done to the glory of God--there is no special status to spiritual matters that qualify them to be of more inherent worthiness to invest in.  Praying is no more "spiritual" than washing dishes to the glory of God!  Work makes us realize the image of God in us and we see God at work through us--we have many given opportunities to work as unto the Lord.  There are several things we can do to time:  invest it, as in prayer because prayer saves time and the busier we are the more we need prayer;  we can just spend time or be doing something to keep busy; we can waste time by doing nonproductive activities that don't glorify God; sometimes we can even be known to kill time because we have downtime and don't know what to do with the extra time available.

But remember, the most important pertinent admonition from Scripture is to "redeem the time because the days are evil." Find ways to bring glory to God in what you do.   Being busy is not a virtue in itself unless it is to the glory of God; however, we should distinguish between being busy and staying busy. Workaholics are not virtuous because they are busier than most people, in the sense that they always have an excuse not to do the Lord's work.   I can always find something to do and never get bored, but I am not ever too busy to drop everything and answer God's call.  Stay busy, but don't get too busy your priorities are wrong--like crowding out family matters because work becomes your identity or number one priority.

When God's work is Job One, then everything falls into place.  Our work doesn't define us, but how we do it and our attitude does.  The thing we have to beware of is being slothful, lazy, or lethargic  (one of the "seven deadly sins").  Christ promises us a more "abundant life" and as a blessing, we are given more opportunity to serve Him.  In accountability, God doesn't want the leftovers of our time, but the prominent place and everything revolving around Him and to His glory. Lost opportunities can never be retrieved, like a spoken word or spent arrow, and we are accountable for them likewise as sins of omission.  The book of Haggai shows us that as soon as the Jews put God first in building the temple, God blessed them for getting their priorities straightened out.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Should We Be Proud?

Notable and applicable verses on being proud:

"Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low; tread down the wicked in their place"  (Job 40:12, KJV).
"He is proud, knowing nothing..." (1 Tim. 6:4).
"Let the proud be ashamed, for they treated me wrongfully with falsehood..." (Psalm 119:78).
"God stands against the proud, but favors the humble"  (James 4:6b, CEB).
"The LORD detests all the proud of heart..." (Proverbs 16:5).
"Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin!"  (Prov. 21:4).
"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall"  (Prov. 16:18).
I shouldn't have to remind you that pride is one of the so-called Seven Deadly Sins of Roman Catholicism.

Paul said that he'd speak of nothing but of which Christ has accomplished through him in Romans 15:8.  The whole point of our achievements is that they amount to zilch in God's eyes:  "All our righteousness is as filthy rags..." (Isaiah 64:6).  Salvation in Christ is about God's accomplishment, not our achievement(s).  "To obey is better than sacrifice" as King Saul found out, who had manifold achievements, but only half-heartedly followed the LORD and disobeyed.  The point must be clear that God wants our OBEDIENCE (according to our opportunities and gifts),  not our achievements!

There is no place for boasting in God's presence nor in man's, because "apart from [Christ] we can do nothing" and all that we have accomplished, He has done through us (Isaiah 26:12). Bragging is a work of the flesh and has no place in the godly behavior.  That is another way of glorying in something, and all the glory goes to God unless He is sharing His glory.  Satan's sin was his pride (he lifted up his soul) and that was because he was proud in his estate, and he got booted out of heaven because of it.  God lists the sins that are an abomination to Him and that He hates in Proverbs 6:17:  "A proud look..." is mentioned first

Don't ever let God find pride in you because you will fall into the condemnation of the devil (he will probably say, "There you go, you're just like me!") and you will be severely disciplined by God if you are a believer, and punished in hell if you are not.  We do not deserve anything we have got or have achieved because if we only did it in our own strength, it is nothing:  "...' Not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit,'  says the LORD Almighty" (Zech. 4:6).

There is a difference between taking pride in one's work and being proud or having pride.  We must do our work as unto the Lord, and our work doesn't define us, but how well we do it does.  This is the work ethic, that all work is to God's glory and work is not a curse but helps us become more like the image of Christ.  Galatians 6:4 says:  "Each person should test their own work and be happy with doing a good job and not compare themselves with others." When we are proud or boast we are comparing ourselves with others and setting up an artificial standard other than Christ.  The KJV says:  "Let every man prove his own work, then he shall have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another."  Being braggadocio is always sin but I'm not saying we think less of ourselves; we are to have good self-esteem and God-confidence too.

George Whitefield was asked what he thought of a man going to the gallows:  "There but for the grace of God, go I."  We are to think more highly of others not less of them and realize that we are all one in Christ.  He has leveled the playing field and we cannot boast, but we are blessed and should be thankful that God has made us a vessel of honor.  There is no place for an elite in Christianity, but we are one family and no one can say he has no need of another member.  Soli Deo Gloria!