This is a great article that defends Paul from accusations that he knowingly lied to churches for the sake of culture.
This is a great article that defends Paul from accusations that he knowingly lied to churches for the sake of culture.
Over the past months, we have been hearing about this movement called “Occupy Wall Street.” It would seem that this movement is gaining momentum and its springing up in almost every city in the country. The mountains of NC are no exception. I keep hearing about this movement called “Occupy Asheville” and the difficulties it is causing for the people/government of Asheville. It would seem that the government would like these people to fade quietly into the background.
The question I keep hearing is what are these people standing for? What are they against and what are they hoping to accomplish? It would seem that the theme for this movement is summed up with the statement, “We can no longer afford to allow corporate greed and corrupt politics to set the tone of our country.”
Before we are quick to point fingers or call names just remember how movements like this have shaped our country. Who can forget the “Civil Rights movement” or the “Women’s Liberation movement?” Each of these movements called for a better way for all people. This is just two and that’s not mentioning all the other movements that shaped the beliefs of our country. In fact it was a religious movement similar to occupy that shaped this very church. The Restoration movement called for Christians to go back to their bibles and restore the grandeur of the Lord’s Church. As a country and a church we owe a lot to people who were willing to stand against the status quo, people who would stand up and demand something better.
Remember that the call to end greed and corruption is consistent with the teachings of the New Testament. I will not tell you whether or not to embrace the “Occupy” movement that is something you must decide for yourself. However, I will tell you that the bible speaks loud and clear on such matters.
Let me encourage everyone to go to their bibles and read what God has to say on such social and moral issues. Here are just a few of the verses that come to my mind as I thought about this: 1 Timothy 6:3-5, 6-10; Prov. 30:7-9, 11:28; 1 John 2:16-17; Eccl. 5:10-12, 13-14; Matt. 19:24; Luke 6:24; James 5:1; Luke 16:19-26; Rev. 3:17; Acts 4:32-25; Luke 3:11; Matt. 19:21-24; Luke 19:1-10, 12:15-21; Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:14-15; Eph. 5:5-7; James 2:1-7; Psalms 10:2-3; Hab. 2:5, 6-11; Prov. 15:27, 29:4, 28:25, 1:19, 22:7-8; Matt. 3;24-26.
Let’s make it our calling to allow the teachings of the Bible to “Occupy” our hearts and minds.
Jeff
Matt. 16:24-28
This is a question that we often ask. We ask it whenever we are shopping for something we want. I did this just the other day while at Goodwill. I was looking at the dress pants and found several nice pairs of dress pants. After looking at the pants and deciding that I would like to have them. I asked that all too familiar question, “How much does it cost?”
In life and in Christianity, this is an important question to ask. In Matthew 16:24-28, Jesus reminds us of the cost of following him. Giving up on our desires and taking up the cause of Christ is a price we must be willing to pay. Jesus even took this so far as to say we must be willing to give up our lives for him.
Most of us would agree that at Goodwill we are not paying much for the items there. Luckily for me those pants were only $3.75 a pair. We spend great amounts of time trying to find the best bargain we can. However, I am afraid that we are doing this to Christianity as well.
Most of us like the idea of being a Christian but we don’t want to spend much of our time, effort, or money to do it. We are so concerned that it might take more than we are willing to give that we often shortchange being Christians.
Jesus understood that this would be the case with people and ask the question, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” Or “What shall a man give in return for his soul?” Jesus has promised that it would be worth the cost saying that each person will be repaid for what they have put into the Christian life. Not to mention that we gain our souls for eternity by following him.
How much does it cost is a great question to ask. Perhaps this is the question that we should ask next time we consider doing something we know is sinful. Is it really worth what it will cost me?
That the Bible nowhere says, “Accept Jesus as your personal Savior?”
That the “Rapture” is not mentioned once in the Bible?
That no one in the N.T. was ever told to “Ask Jesus into your heart” in answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?”
That every verse in the New Testament in which baptism and salvation appear together everyone lists baptism prior to salvation?
That no where in the New Testament is there a command or example for a baby to be baptized?
That “faith only” is mentioned just once in the Bible, and then it says, “not by faith only” (James 2:24)?
That Peter was not a pope and that he had a wife (Matthew 8:14)?
That there is no example or command in the Bible for preachers to wear special robes, clothes, or to have special titles?
That everyone that has put Christ on in baptism is a “saint” (Ephesians 3:8; 4:12; 5:3; 6:16; Philippians 1:1; 4:2)?
That there is nothing in the Bible mentioning or even suggesting that you can be brought out of or prayed out of purgatory?
That denominational churches did not exist in the first century?
That you can be saved without ever “joining” a denominational church?
A little girl, being asked by a priest to attend religious instruction, refused, saying it was against her father’s wishes. The priest said she should obey him, not her father. “Oh! Sir! We are taught in the Bible to “Honor thy father and thy mother,” she replied.
“But you are to call me father,” was his answer, to which she replied, “No, for the scriptures say, ‘Call no man your father upon the earth for one is your father, which is in heaven.”
The priest was not anxious to lose a religious discussion to one so young, and he said, “You have no business reading the Bible.”
Then why did Jesus tell me to “Search the Scriptures?” she asked? He replied by saying, “But that is only for the clergy. You understand that a child cannot know the Scriptures.”
“Then why,” she asked, “did Paul write to Timothy, ‘from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures’?”
Surely there was some way to get the best of this young upstart. So the priest said, “Timothy was being trained to be a bishop and he was taught by the church authorities.”
“No sir,” said the little girl, “He was taught by his mother and grandmother. At least that is what Paul wrote.”
The priest turned away and someone said they heard him mumbling something about, “She knew enough Bible to poison a whole parish.”
(Big Clifty Church Bulletin, Vol. 32 No. 33 – Aug. 16, 2009)
It is my hope that we too know too much Bible to be led astray.
We live in a world where it is an unforgivable sin is to be intolerant of others. Those same people who are quick to point out that someone is “intolerant” are themselves incredibly intolerant of others. They seem to be tolerant of almost anything except Christian values. As soon as someone says they are a Christian or they attend church, there instantly labeled as intolerant.
I think we need to define this word tolerance. The worldly definition of tolerance seems to be “accepting all views as true.” [1] Whereas, Oxford’s dictionary says “showing tolerance (of a plant, animal, or machine), able to endure specified conditions or treatment.” [2]
Is tolerance really about just accepting their views are correct? Does God really expect me to just accept someone’s view as true, just because it’s someone’s view? Truthfully, I can hold to all kinds of ideas about all kinds of things, but just because they are my views does not make them right. Obviously if I hold a certain view I believe it to be right but am I really correct?
I think this gets to the real problem most have with tolerance. We live in a world that does not want anyone to tell them they are wrong. Friends the bible I read says that I cannot just accept everything as true. God expects His followers to question all things (1 Thess. 5:21) and hold to the good. The very words good and bad imply that something’s are right and others wrong. To make matters worse, the world’s use of tolerance violates a simple law of logic. The law states that if we have two contradictory statements there are only three viable options. One is right and the other is wrong or both statements are wrong. We cannot have all contradictory views being correct. If Jesus is not the only way to heaven (John 14:6) then what is the right way?
So are you intolerant of anothers belief simply because they differ from yours? Excuse me but I thought we lived in a country where having an opinion was ok or even desirable. The bible is very clear on this. I must differentiate between what is good and what is bad. But in the process I cannot forget that the same bible tells me to treat people fairly, to love them, and to try to help them find the truth about God and salvation.
True tolerance does not require you to be ignorant and blind to the truth.
Footnotes:
[1] Ted Cabal, Chad Owen Brand, E. Ray Clendenen, Paul
Copan, J.P. Moreland and Doug Powell, The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight
Answers, Stronger Faith (Nashville, TN:
Holman Bible Publishers, 2007). 1882.
[2] Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson, Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
No matter what else you are doing-
from cradle days through the end-
You’re writing your life’s secret story;
each day sees another page penned.
Each month ends a thirty-page chapter,
each year means the end of a part;
And never an act is misstated,
never a wish from the heart.
Each day when you wake the book opens,
revealing a page clean and white.
What thoughts and what words and what actions
will cover its surface by night?
God leaves that to you-you’re the writer,
and never one word shall grow dim
‘Til someday you write the word, “finis”
and give your life book to Him.
– Author Unknown
The theme for our youth rally this year was “Dare to be Different.” It was taken from the book of Daniel; from the life of Daniel himself. We had three speakers: Michael Rowand, Ken Hicks Jr., and Kristie Gray. Each one of them had to deliver lessons on Daniel’s life and help us to see how we too could be different than the world around us. I was thinking about this rally and I wanted to share with you some thoughts about Daniel and how we can be different from those around us.
Daniel was a man of purpose.
Daniel 1:8 tells us that Daniel purposed in his heart. As a young man in a strange land, he was immediately challenged to break God’s laws to fit in to the group he was now a part of. Despite the obvious pressures to conform, Daniel upheld the law of God and did not eat the king’s food. We are in desperate need of Christians who will not conform to the world around them, Christians who will stand up for what they know is right and be men and women of purpose.
Daniel was a man of principle.
Daniel was faced with numerous opportunities to blend in to the world he lived in. Three times he faced huge obstacles in his life. As we have already spoken, Daniel had to refuse to eat the king’s food and drink his wine. Once he had to refuse to accept the gifts the king wanted to give him for interpreting the dream. Another time Daniel had to rebel against the law of the king because the law would not allow him to pray. We need Christians today who will have principles like Daniel. We need Christians who are committed, who have drawn their line in
the sand and will not cross it.
Daniel was a man of purity.
Daniel was a man who had purity in all aspects of his life. He conducted himself in such a way that his opponents could not find anything to accuse him of doing (Dan. 6:1-4). This purity helped him to rise to positions of power and great responsibility. His reasoning for being pure in all that he done was related to his purpose and principles. He would not let his feelings lead him down a path to displeasing God. As Christians we must have the same purity in our lives (1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:6-8; Titus 2:9-10). It doesn’t matter if it’s sexual purity, business purity, and moral purity. It should all be important to the child of God.
Daniel was a man of prayer.
The thing that tied all these things together was the fact that Daniel was a man of prayer. It didn’t matter what others thought or did, Daniel prayed. He knelt in prayer, he prayed often, he prayed to give thanks even in the midst of turmoil, and he prayed by habit. Daniel learned to pray often when he was young (Dan. 6:10). We need to teach our children by our example and words that prayer is an important part of being a child of God. If we look at our own life, can we not see that the times that went well were the times when we prayed often?
These lessons are important for any Christian to learn. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, new or experienced at being a Christian. Learning to be a person of purpose, principle, purity, and prayer will aid your life and will help you find eternity.
Central Haywood Church of Christ 