It is said that there is nothing new under the sun. Paul says here that "since there is so much immorality" men and women should marry. Sounds like something that could be written today, in the 21st century. I did not think that immorality was such an issue in the 1st century. Apparently it was. I guess the style of dress, alcohol, drugs, the internet, TV and such are not as big of an influence on this basic sin of man as I thought. Interesting how little changes as things change!
Was Paul ever married? I don't know. I believe he was not. He indicates here that he is not currently married. A Google search produced the following:
"Some believe that the Apostle Paul was married because history tells us that a member of the Sanhedrin was required to be married. However, Paul never stated that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. He definitely seemed to be on the path, "I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:14). However, Paul might not have advanced that far before He converted to Christ." So, was the Apostle Paul married? It is possible that he was at one time, but again, the Bible does not specifically say."
If Paul was once married, what happened to his wife? Did she die? Was Paul divorced?
If he was never married, how is he able to give marriage advice. It has always amazed me how people who have not gone through situations that I am going through seem to think that they have great advice for how I should face my situations. Not that advice is not good or not needed. It is just that the source of some advice seems questionable to me. How can someone who has not raised children give advice on how to raise children? How can someone who has never been married or who has not had a sick spouse give advice on how to love your wife through all circumstances? Also. advice needs to be exactly what the word is - ADVICE = an opinion or recommendation; a suggestion. Too often "advice" in the church is a command of what to do instead of advice. That is something all of us need to be very careful about.
I like how Paul separates command from advice in this chapter.
2009-06-30
2009-06-28
I Corinthians 6
Again, the question of what is a "big" sin and what is "small" comes up. Paul says that we should not be deceived, that: "Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." So, is this the "big" sin list? Are these the really bad sins? But where is the line that defines what sexually immoral really is? Or what is idolatry? What exactly constitutes adultery? Or drunkeness? What does it mean to be a slanderer or a swindler?
In Matthew 5, 6 and 7, Jesus pretty much blows any notions of lines out of the water. He says that lusting after a woman in our heart is adultery. He says that cursing someone out is murder. He says that divorce is wrong and that anyone who marries a divorced woman causes her to commit adultery. He says that swearing is wrong and that saying anything other than yes or no "comes from the evil one" - I guess that means it is sinful.
Paul says that some of the Corinthians were "big" sinners before they 'washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus.' But then what? Obviously they did not stop sinning. Paul writes this letter to them specifically because they are sinning. They are returning to their roots. They are doing things the way they did them before. They have divisions among themselves (competing with each other for position), they are not speaking out against the sin of a member of the church (my guess is that this guy was a popular member, maybe someone who gave a lot of money to the church or some other similar thing), and here they are suing one another.
They have brought their former lives into the church. But is this not in fact normal? Don't all of us struggle with having our former life of sin creep back into our current life that we want to be devoted to God? I have not blogged for 4 days. Why not? I got busy and I just did not seem to have the time to read the Bible, meditate and blog. I have not been a total heathen for the past 4 days, but I made a commitment to myself when I started this blog to spend some time in dedicated meditation of God's word every day. I failed in that commitment. I let my "sin" of busyness, distractions and excuses creep back into my life.
So, where do I go from here? Quit and give up? Should I beat myself up? Should I call three people and confess my "sin?" Should I feel guilty and shame myself into doing better in the future?
I used to think that way. Where did it get me? I would argue, just about no where! I don't see where self flagellation did anything but drove me farther away from God. For awhile I did different, but eventually I felt so bad and guilty that I gave up. Today, instead of feeling bad, I am going to feel great that I read the Bible and blogged today. I am going to feel what Mac said a few days ago. I cannot draw a line between what is sin and what is not. But I can draw a line between "a sinFULL life and one where the individual fights it." I think that fighting it means getting off of the ground and trying again. I will fail in my fight not to sin but I will not fail in my attempt not to continue to sin.
Thanks Mac. I am not sure that I completely understand all of this in a manner that allows me to clearly state, but I know that what is churning in my head is clear and I believe that what is churning in my head is biblical. More reason to continue to read/study the bible - to keep things like this churning. As I recall, butter comes from churning cream. It changes in form/substance but that will only happen if the churning continues. If the churning stops, nothing develops. I will churn (read/study/meditate on the bible) to keep the ideas I have developing. That is what I believe being a follower of Jesus is really all about.
In Matthew 5, 6 and 7, Jesus pretty much blows any notions of lines out of the water. He says that lusting after a woman in our heart is adultery. He says that cursing someone out is murder. He says that divorce is wrong and that anyone who marries a divorced woman causes her to commit adultery. He says that swearing is wrong and that saying anything other than yes or no "comes from the evil one" - I guess that means it is sinful.
Paul says that some of the Corinthians were "big" sinners before they 'washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus.' But then what? Obviously they did not stop sinning. Paul writes this letter to them specifically because they are sinning. They are returning to their roots. They are doing things the way they did them before. They have divisions among themselves (competing with each other for position), they are not speaking out against the sin of a member of the church (my guess is that this guy was a popular member, maybe someone who gave a lot of money to the church or some other similar thing), and here they are suing one another.
They have brought their former lives into the church. But is this not in fact normal? Don't all of us struggle with having our former life of sin creep back into our current life that we want to be devoted to God? I have not blogged for 4 days. Why not? I got busy and I just did not seem to have the time to read the Bible, meditate and blog. I have not been a total heathen for the past 4 days, but I made a commitment to myself when I started this blog to spend some time in dedicated meditation of God's word every day. I failed in that commitment. I let my "sin" of busyness, distractions and excuses creep back into my life.
So, where do I go from here? Quit and give up? Should I beat myself up? Should I call three people and confess my "sin?" Should I feel guilty and shame myself into doing better in the future?
I used to think that way. Where did it get me? I would argue, just about no where! I don't see where self flagellation did anything but drove me farther away from God. For awhile I did different, but eventually I felt so bad and guilty that I gave up. Today, instead of feeling bad, I am going to feel great that I read the Bible and blogged today. I am going to feel what Mac said a few days ago. I cannot draw a line between what is sin and what is not. But I can draw a line between "a sinFULL life and one where the individual fights it." I think that fighting it means getting off of the ground and trying again. I will fail in my fight not to sin but I will not fail in my attempt not to continue to sin.
Thanks Mac. I am not sure that I completely understand all of this in a manner that allows me to clearly state, but I know that what is churning in my head is clear and I believe that what is churning in my head is biblical. More reason to continue to read/study the bible - to keep things like this churning. As I recall, butter comes from churning cream. It changes in form/substance but that will only happen if the churning continues. If the churning stops, nothing develops. I will churn (read/study/meditate on the bible) to keep the ideas I have developing. That is what I believe being a follower of Jesus is really all about.
2009-06-23
Draw the Line
The question has been asked, ‘where is the line?’ concerning what is acceptable sin and what is not. Obviously everybody sins (Romans 5:12, 11:32, 1 John 1:8, e.g.), so what is ‘acceptable’, and what is not?
The Catholic religion, if I can call it that, have a thought about ‘deadly sins’, versus those not leading to ‘death’. Seven is their magic number: lust, anger, pride, sloth, envy, gluttony and greed. Guess murder and rape and the such are not deadly?????? Maybe they just consider these to be the ‘result’ of one (or more) of the SEVEN.
Paul seems to also separate sins into deadly and non-deadly ones: “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.”—1 John 5:16-17. But the following verses do not seem to separate the different wrongdoings. (Except ‘keep away from idols’---seems minor compared to ‘the seven’, YET, it is God’s ‘first’ commandment!)
It is obvious to me that we all sin. Not just because of what the Bible says, but from observation of people. Oh, I am sure some folks sin a LOT less than others, but …..hmmm…a thought just hit me….I don’t remember my mom sinning! REALLY. Lust? Nope. Anger? Not really. Pride? Definitely not. Sloth? NOPE! Envy? Maybe, but she never seemed to show it. Gluttony? No way. Greed? Absolutely not? Murder, rape, and ‘all the others’? Absolutely not! Is my mom perfect? Probably not, but to me she is. Now, I didn’t know her in her younger years (she was 27 when I was born), but her actions today sure seem to reflect on a very good life. I love my mom. Okay, sorry, back to the subject….is there a line between what is acceptable sin and what is not?
In society, there certainly is. Laws have been developed over the years to separate allowable actions, vice those punishable. And these laws are continuing to be developed. For example, it is now a ‘crime’ to spank your child in some locations. I don’t mean ‘harm’ your child, but a simple ‘spank on the butt’ is taboo, and is actually punishable by law in some states. Simply amazing. Also, it is now against the law to ‘talk bad’ about somebody, ESPECIALLY if it is along racial lines. You can get fired, or even go to jail, for saying things concerning race. Again, simply amazing. Where did our first amendment rights go? I can see if someone DOES something that causes harm to some one of a different race, but someone calling me ‘a honky’, or a ‘mick’ (I’m of Irish descent), or even ‘wasp’ (white anglo-saxon protestant), certainly doesn’t, in my mind, violate any laws nor cause me ‘harm’. Now, it might cause someone ELSE to sin, and I guess, in doing that, the person causing them to sin, sins as well (1 Cor 1:8 and Rev 2:14). But should that be against a ‘law’? Oh well, I digressed again.
John, one of the original Disciples quotes Jesus concerning sin: "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Yet Paul says, “… We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Yet, starting in Romans 6 verse 4, and continuing through Romans 8, around verse 6, Paul says that we should NOT be in sin (at all!).
Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends and followers, tells us that by the wounds of Jesus, we have been healed, and that we ‘died to sins’.
And again, John writes that ‘no one who lives in him (Jesus) keeps on sinning’.
YET, we KNOW we sin most every day (and probably my mom does, but she hides it well!!!).
I don’t believe, after all I’ve written here, and read throughout the Bible, that there IS a line. I also don’t believe that there isn’t a ‘gray area’, which could mask a line. I believe all sin is sin (and we aren’t limited to just seven ‘deadly’ ones either…they are all bad in God’s eyes. The confusing part about all this, separating sin into groups, or drawing lines between the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ ones, is that there is NOT a simple solution. We know Jesus died for us. We know we (Christians) died ‘with’ Him during our baptism. We know we continue to sin. We know that any sin can keep us from Heaven. We know a lot about what sin is, what it can do to us, and how to ‘avoid’ it. We DON’T know much about the ramification of committing sin and then confessing it. Do we NEED to continually confess sins? Or did the death of Christ answer for all of them already? Is there a separation from adulterers, murderers, rapists, and liars (or any other of the many, many sins listed within our Bible? Will God take into Heaven a murderer just as ‘quickly’ as he’d take one who is greedy? Will he take neither? So many questions one simple question begs. I can’t draw a line between sins, however, I can draw a line between a sinFULL life and one where the individual fights it. I believe, without the intervention at some point by God, that those who live a life full of sin (Galatians 5:21), will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The line is between constant fighting sin, and giving it to it all the time. I can’t draw one between any individual, or set of, sins. Only between wanton, sinful lifestyles, versus one in which people actually try to live for Christ.
Mom, I love you! (Even though you're not reading this.)
The Catholic religion, if I can call it that, have a thought about ‘deadly sins’, versus those not leading to ‘death’. Seven is their magic number: lust, anger, pride, sloth, envy, gluttony and greed. Guess murder and rape and the such are not deadly?????? Maybe they just consider these to be the ‘result’ of one (or more) of the SEVEN.
Paul seems to also separate sins into deadly and non-deadly ones: “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.”—1 John 5:16-17. But the following verses do not seem to separate the different wrongdoings. (Except ‘keep away from idols’---seems minor compared to ‘the seven’, YET, it is God’s ‘first’ commandment!)
It is obvious to me that we all sin. Not just because of what the Bible says, but from observation of people. Oh, I am sure some folks sin a LOT less than others, but …..hmmm…a thought just hit me….I don’t remember my mom sinning! REALLY. Lust? Nope. Anger? Not really. Pride? Definitely not. Sloth? NOPE! Envy? Maybe, but she never seemed to show it. Gluttony? No way. Greed? Absolutely not? Murder, rape, and ‘all the others’? Absolutely not! Is my mom perfect? Probably not, but to me she is. Now, I didn’t know her in her younger years (she was 27 when I was born), but her actions today sure seem to reflect on a very good life. I love my mom. Okay, sorry, back to the subject….is there a line between what is acceptable sin and what is not?
In society, there certainly is. Laws have been developed over the years to separate allowable actions, vice those punishable. And these laws are continuing to be developed. For example, it is now a ‘crime’ to spank your child in some locations. I don’t mean ‘harm’ your child, but a simple ‘spank on the butt’ is taboo, and is actually punishable by law in some states. Simply amazing. Also, it is now against the law to ‘talk bad’ about somebody, ESPECIALLY if it is along racial lines. You can get fired, or even go to jail, for saying things concerning race. Again, simply amazing. Where did our first amendment rights go? I can see if someone DOES something that causes harm to some one of a different race, but someone calling me ‘a honky’, or a ‘mick’ (I’m of Irish descent), or even ‘wasp’ (white anglo-saxon protestant), certainly doesn’t, in my mind, violate any laws nor cause me ‘harm’. Now, it might cause someone ELSE to sin, and I guess, in doing that, the person causing them to sin, sins as well (1 Cor 1:8 and Rev 2:14). But should that be against a ‘law’? Oh well, I digressed again.
John, one of the original Disciples quotes Jesus concerning sin: "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” Yet Paul says, “… We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Yet, starting in Romans 6 verse 4, and continuing through Romans 8, around verse 6, Paul says that we should NOT be in sin (at all!).
Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends and followers, tells us that by the wounds of Jesus, we have been healed, and that we ‘died to sins’.
And again, John writes that ‘no one who lives in him (Jesus) keeps on sinning’.
YET, we KNOW we sin most every day (and probably my mom does, but she hides it well!!!).
I don’t believe, after all I’ve written here, and read throughout the Bible, that there IS a line. I also don’t believe that there isn’t a ‘gray area’, which could mask a line. I believe all sin is sin (and we aren’t limited to just seven ‘deadly’ ones either…they are all bad in God’s eyes. The confusing part about all this, separating sin into groups, or drawing lines between the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’ ones, is that there is NOT a simple solution. We know Jesus died for us. We know we (Christians) died ‘with’ Him during our baptism. We know we continue to sin. We know that any sin can keep us from Heaven. We know a lot about what sin is, what it can do to us, and how to ‘avoid’ it. We DON’T know much about the ramification of committing sin and then confessing it. Do we NEED to continually confess sins? Or did the death of Christ answer for all of them already? Is there a separation from adulterers, murderers, rapists, and liars (or any other of the many, many sins listed within our Bible? Will God take into Heaven a murderer just as ‘quickly’ as he’d take one who is greedy? Will he take neither? So many questions one simple question begs. I can’t draw a line between sins, however, I can draw a line between a sinFULL life and one where the individual fights it. I believe, without the intervention at some point by God, that those who live a life full of sin (Galatians 5:21), will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The line is between constant fighting sin, and giving it to it all the time. I can’t draw one between any individual, or set of, sins. Only between wanton, sinful lifestyles, versus one in which people actually try to live for Christ.
Mom, I love you! (Even though you're not reading this.)
I Corinthians 5
Thanks Mac. Your "lesson" was instructive. I am still undecided on the issue. My main point was that I like to think of the benefits of being a follower of Jesus without the costs. Being able to lead and teach others, having special powers from God, and so on sounds much better than Paul's description of the life of an apostle.
What does Paul mean by "hand this man over to Satan?" I guess he means put him out of the church. I guess the goal is to knock some sense into the guy so that he sees that what he is doing is offensive to God.
Why would the Corinthians (the people in the church in Corinth) be "proud" of the fact that some guy in their church is married (sleeping?) with his father's wife? First of all, this sounds like a TV soap opera. Second, something is really twisted up in this church.
Paul makes an interesting point at the end of this letter. He tells us that we should not judge people of the world. We can teach, train, correct and rebuke people in the church, but it is "none of my business" to judge those outside the church. Is it not amazing how much people in the "church" in the United States judge those outside of the church? I see stories in the paper nearly everyday where "Christians" are judging or trying to correct "non-Christians." In our political system, we "seem" to have a party that is "Christian" leaning and a party full of idolaters (at least that is the way they are often portrayed on at least one news network). There is much conflict between the "Christians" and the "non-Christians."
At the same time, there is a reluctance or fear to speak up in the church. As I think about it, I believe I hear much more conversation about the heathens outside of the church than I do about sin within the church.
Another thought I had while reading today was, where is the line? A guy sleeping with his father's wife - I assume most consider that to be over the line! Paul also talks about those who are sexually immoral, greedy, those who are idolaters, slanderers, drunkards and swindlers. If I apply Jesus' definition to sexual immorality (Matt 5:28 - "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart") then I should not associate with anyone in the church (including myself!). The same can be applied to greedy - wanting more than I need. Is anyone in America not greedy according to the world's standards? Our economic system is based on greed. Idolaters are those who place anything before God - since I did not have a QT yesterday (I placed things before God), I am an idolater. Slanderers - have I ever slandered anyone? Have I ever passed on a story about someone that I heard but did not know for certain was true?
So, who should we associate with? Where is the line? What should be preached in the church? How much should we be in someone else's face? Who of us is innocent enough to correct someone else? Can you rebuke me for drunkenness if you are greedy? Can you rebuke me for immorality if you are a slanderer?
I don't know. Today's reading left me with many more questions than answers.
What does Paul mean by "hand this man over to Satan?" I guess he means put him out of the church. I guess the goal is to knock some sense into the guy so that he sees that what he is doing is offensive to God.
Why would the Corinthians (the people in the church in Corinth) be "proud" of the fact that some guy in their church is married (sleeping?) with his father's wife? First of all, this sounds like a TV soap opera. Second, something is really twisted up in this church.
Paul makes an interesting point at the end of this letter. He tells us that we should not judge people of the world. We can teach, train, correct and rebuke people in the church, but it is "none of my business" to judge those outside the church. Is it not amazing how much people in the "church" in the United States judge those outside of the church? I see stories in the paper nearly everyday where "Christians" are judging or trying to correct "non-Christians." In our political system, we "seem" to have a party that is "Christian" leaning and a party full of idolaters (at least that is the way they are often portrayed on at least one news network). There is much conflict between the "Christians" and the "non-Christians."
At the same time, there is a reluctance or fear to speak up in the church. As I think about it, I believe I hear much more conversation about the heathens outside of the church than I do about sin within the church.
Another thought I had while reading today was, where is the line? A guy sleeping with his father's wife - I assume most consider that to be over the line! Paul also talks about those who are sexually immoral, greedy, those who are idolaters, slanderers, drunkards and swindlers. If I apply Jesus' definition to sexual immorality (Matt 5:28 - "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart") then I should not associate with anyone in the church (including myself!). The same can be applied to greedy - wanting more than I need. Is anyone in America not greedy according to the world's standards? Our economic system is based on greed. Idolaters are those who place anything before God - since I did not have a QT yesterday (I placed things before God), I am an idolater. Slanderers - have I ever slandered anyone? Have I ever passed on a story about someone that I heard but did not know for certain was true?
So, who should we associate with? Where is the line? What should be preached in the church? How much should we be in someone else's face? Who of us is innocent enough to correct someone else? Can you rebuke me for drunkenness if you are greedy? Can you rebuke me for immorality if you are a slanderer?
I don't know. Today's reading left me with many more questions than answers.
2009-06-21
Are you an Apostle?
Are You an Apostle? Good question, Rich.....here are my thoughts.....from a lesson I did 4 years ago on 10 July (when I was living in my temporary home as they were rebuilding this one)...
No, really, are you? What is an apostle?
I was reading Hebrews this morning and I saw something I had never seen before (simply amazing how this happens time and time again). In chapter 3, Paul, or whoever was the writer of this letter, stated OF JESUS. "the apostle and high priest whom we confess." Jesus is an apostle? I remember being taught that in order to be an apostle that you had to have been with Jesus during His teachings. How many of you remember that? But right here, it calls Jesus Himself to be an apostle---He had to have been with Himself during His teachings????? Anyway, because of that verse, and what I had always considered to be an apostle. I decided to do a little research.
Let's look in Acts, chapter 1. Peter, an apostle, stood up and gave a short speech. With the suicide of Judas Iscariot behind them, he thought it necessary to fill that vacancy amongst 'the twelve'. Verse 21: "Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us." This criteria, of having to have been with them for that 3+ years, seemed to be a requirement to become an apostle. As I had been taught in the past, that one had to have actually seen Jesus and carried on His message, in order to become an apostle. But, this logic quickly falls apart when we read other Scriptures that refer to others, not just 'the twelve', Matthias and Joseph(Barsabbas/Justus). Paul, as we all know, had not been with the original twelve during that time frame, in fact, we know that he was opposing them at that time, and was not even in the area where Jesus was teaching. In 1st Corinthians, Paul calls himself an apostle, although the least of one he said, but still, an apostle. In addition, if you turn to Acts, chapter 14, and read verse 14, you will see that Luke calls both Paul and BARNABAS (son of encouragement), apostles. So now, we have Jesus, 'the twelve', obviously Matthias and possibly Joseph, and now Paul and Barnabas all called apostles. I am not sure if Barnabas was 'with' Peter and the other eleven or not, so, based upon Peter's own description, he COULD have been an apostle. Paul writes of two others in his letter to the Romans as being "outstanding among the apostles" (Both NIV and NASB): Andronicus and Junias. The reference in the language used here is that they were not just "among" the group of apostles, but were actually "amongst", or part of, them. The book of 1st Thessalonians, penned (or dictated) by Paul, talks about "we" did this, and "we" did that. In fact when he talked about "them", as apostles, not being a burden to that church in chapter 1, verse 6, he was talking about himself, Silas, and Timothy (see chapter 1, verse 1). So, theoretically, we can now add Silas and Timothy to our 'list' of people referred to as apostles in Scripture.
I used my Vine's Bible dictionary to help find the meaning of the word apostle, to help me better understand the paragraph above. What I had been taught seems to have been incorrect. I found that the one of the Greek words translated as 'apostle', is apostolos. The definition of the word is "one sent forth". Now, what I have written above becomes more clear to me. Jesus was 'sent forth' from God (Heb 3:1). Paul was 'sent forth' by Jesus Himself (Acts chapter 9). 'The twelve' were sent forth by Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). And, with that definition, being 'sent forth', can apply to anyone who has accepted the challenge of Jesus. We are sent forth to spread the gospel, are we not? Now, I am not going to profess to be an apostle, but I believe I could if I desired. I am certainly not going to denounce people in other churches who refer to themselves as apostles. And I am also now in belief that you did not necessarily have to have been with the original twelve in order to be one. I believe Peter's message, his calling for a replacement, was based more on attempting to find someone with knowledge and first hand experience to join that elite group. Not necessarily a group of apostles, but a group of men with a formidable mission ahead of them. They needed someone who ALREADY knew all about Christ, one they would not have to treach anew, one that could 'go forth' from that point on, ready for the battle ahead.
I hope this short study has helped you also determine what an apostle is, and who can be apostles. It is not meant to mislead anyone, but just by beliefs after briefly looking at Scripture and word definitions.
Mac
No, really, are you? What is an apostle?
I was reading Hebrews this morning and I saw something I had never seen before (simply amazing how this happens time and time again). In chapter 3, Paul, or whoever was the writer of this letter, stated OF JESUS. "the apostle and high priest whom we confess." Jesus is an apostle? I remember being taught that in order to be an apostle that you had to have been with Jesus during His teachings. How many of you remember that? But right here, it calls Jesus Himself to be an apostle---He had to have been with Himself during His teachings????? Anyway, because of that verse, and what I had always considered to be an apostle. I decided to do a little research.
Let's look in Acts, chapter 1. Peter, an apostle, stood up and gave a short speech. With the suicide of Judas Iscariot behind them, he thought it necessary to fill that vacancy amongst 'the twelve'. Verse 21: "Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us." This criteria, of having to have been with them for that 3+ years, seemed to be a requirement to become an apostle. As I had been taught in the past, that one had to have actually seen Jesus and carried on His message, in order to become an apostle. But, this logic quickly falls apart when we read other Scriptures that refer to others, not just 'the twelve', Matthias and Joseph(Barsabbas/Justus). Paul, as we all know, had not been with the original twelve during that time frame, in fact, we know that he was opposing them at that time, and was not even in the area where Jesus was teaching. In 1st Corinthians, Paul calls himself an apostle, although the least of one he said, but still, an apostle. In addition, if you turn to Acts, chapter 14, and read verse 14, you will see that Luke calls both Paul and BARNABAS (son of encouragement), apostles. So now, we have Jesus, 'the twelve', obviously Matthias and possibly Joseph, and now Paul and Barnabas all called apostles. I am not sure if Barnabas was 'with' Peter and the other eleven or not, so, based upon Peter's own description, he COULD have been an apostle. Paul writes of two others in his letter to the Romans as being "outstanding among the apostles" (Both NIV and NASB): Andronicus and Junias. The reference in the language used here is that they were not just "among" the group of apostles, but were actually "amongst", or part of, them. The book of 1st Thessalonians, penned (or dictated) by Paul, talks about "we" did this, and "we" did that. In fact when he talked about "them", as apostles, not being a burden to that church in chapter 1, verse 6, he was talking about himself, Silas, and Timothy (see chapter 1, verse 1). So, theoretically, we can now add Silas and Timothy to our 'list' of people referred to as apostles in Scripture.
I used my Vine's Bible dictionary to help find the meaning of the word apostle, to help me better understand the paragraph above. What I had been taught seems to have been incorrect. I found that the one of the Greek words translated as 'apostle', is apostolos. The definition of the word is "one sent forth". Now, what I have written above becomes more clear to me. Jesus was 'sent forth' from God (Heb 3:1). Paul was 'sent forth' by Jesus Himself (Acts chapter 9). 'The twelve' were sent forth by Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). And, with that definition, being 'sent forth', can apply to anyone who has accepted the challenge of Jesus. We are sent forth to spread the gospel, are we not? Now, I am not going to profess to be an apostle, but I believe I could if I desired. I am certainly not going to denounce people in other churches who refer to themselves as apostles. And I am also now in belief that you did not necessarily have to have been with the original twelve in order to be one. I believe Peter's message, his calling for a replacement, was based more on attempting to find someone with knowledge and first hand experience to join that elite group. Not necessarily a group of apostles, but a group of men with a formidable mission ahead of them. They needed someone who ALREADY knew all about Christ, one they would not have to treach anew, one that could 'go forth' from that point on, ready for the battle ahead.
I hope this short study has helped you also determine what an apostle is, and who can be apostles. It is not meant to mislead anyone, but just by beliefs after briefly looking at Scripture and word definitions.
Mac
2009-06-20
I Corinthians 4
Did you ever wish you were an apostle? I have. Apostles were chosen and specifically appointed by Jesus (the 12) and/or by God (Paul). Paul says in 2 Cor 12:2: "The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles ...." Apostles had great powers! They could heal people. The could work miracles. Apostles were cool!
But then I read I Cor 4:9-13. Yuck! End of the procession. Men condemned to die. Spectacles. Fools. Weak. Dishonored. Hungry and thirsty. In rags. Brutally treated. Homeless. Work with hands. Cursed. Persecuted. Slandered. Scum of the earth!
Do apostles still exist today? I was taught that there was no longer a need for the "signs, wonders and miracles" stuff because we now have the Bible. Apostles had these powers to show/prove that they were from God and that they spoke God's words. The writings we have (the New Testament) were written by Apostles (or about Apostles). So, the signs, wonders and miracles are not there (I guess), but are there still apostles?
I did a Google search on that question. Wow! There are some different opinions out there on this one. Some say that missionaries are apostles. Some church leaders claim to be Apostles (i.e., appointed/anointed by God to preach the word and lead his people). Others say that the Bible clearly teaches that there are no apostles today.
Look at the following links for some interesting views:
http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=146
http://www.learnthebible.org/apostles-today.html
http://www.globalchristians.org/articles/apostle.htm
So, do apostles still exist today? I personally don't think so, but I cannot say for sure. So, what did I learn today? I learned that this is a hot topic. But I finish today wondering why Paul wrote this in I Cor 4. Why did he write about his "qualifications?" He says that he did it not to shame but to warn. To warn them of what? To warn them not to want to be apostles? To warn them not to claim to be more important than someone else? To warn them not to be arrogant in their knowledge, "position" in the church, associations, friends? Yes, that is what I think is going on.
Paul is warning the Corinthians that words mean nothing. He is telling them that God's way is very different from man's way. In the world, knowledge, position, associations, friends, money, etc. are measures of power. Not so in God's kingdom. In God's kingdom, all are equal. We are all the same. As Paul says (I Cor 4: 6-7):
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
I think that in the church that God wants us to have, all men should be equal. No one should be above anyone else. No one should be treated as being more holy, more anointed, closer to God, more popular. But that is so hard to do when we all live and work in a world where these things are what separates all of us.
I was talking with my son and daughter this morning (before I read the Bible today) and the topic of cliches among friends came up. My daughter is in middle school. It was amazing to hear her talk about groups at school and how the different groups view one another. It is like a caste system in middle school. There are the popular and snotty kids, groups in between, and the bottom level kids (what others call the losers). It was sad listening to her talk about this. But then I thought about what it is like in my work place. The same. I thought about what it is like in my neighborhood. The same. And I thought about what it is like in the church I sometimes go to. The same.
It all makes me wonder.
But then I read I Cor 4:9-13. Yuck! End of the procession. Men condemned to die. Spectacles. Fools. Weak. Dishonored. Hungry and thirsty. In rags. Brutally treated. Homeless. Work with hands. Cursed. Persecuted. Slandered. Scum of the earth!
Do apostles still exist today? I was taught that there was no longer a need for the "signs, wonders and miracles" stuff because we now have the Bible. Apostles had these powers to show/prove that they were from God and that they spoke God's words. The writings we have (the New Testament) were written by Apostles (or about Apostles). So, the signs, wonders and miracles are not there (I guess), but are there still apostles?
I did a Google search on that question. Wow! There are some different opinions out there on this one. Some say that missionaries are apostles. Some church leaders claim to be Apostles (i.e., appointed/anointed by God to preach the word and lead his people). Others say that the Bible clearly teaches that there are no apostles today.
Look at the following links for some interesting views:
http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=146
http://www.learnthebible.org/apostles-today.html
http://www.globalchristians.org/articles/apostle.htm
So, do apostles still exist today? I personally don't think so, but I cannot say for sure. So, what did I learn today? I learned that this is a hot topic. But I finish today wondering why Paul wrote this in I Cor 4. Why did he write about his "qualifications?" He says that he did it not to shame but to warn. To warn them of what? To warn them not to want to be apostles? To warn them not to claim to be more important than someone else? To warn them not to be arrogant in their knowledge, "position" in the church, associations, friends? Yes, that is what I think is going on.
Paul is warning the Corinthians that words mean nothing. He is telling them that God's way is very different from man's way. In the world, knowledge, position, associations, friends, money, etc. are measures of power. Not so in God's kingdom. In God's kingdom, all are equal. We are all the same. As Paul says (I Cor 4: 6-7):
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
I think that in the church that God wants us to have, all men should be equal. No one should be above anyone else. No one should be treated as being more holy, more anointed, closer to God, more popular. But that is so hard to do when we all live and work in a world where these things are what separates all of us.
I was talking with my son and daughter this morning (before I read the Bible today) and the topic of cliches among friends came up. My daughter is in middle school. It was amazing to hear her talk about groups at school and how the different groups view one another. It is like a caste system in middle school. There are the popular and snotty kids, groups in between, and the bottom level kids (what others call the losers). It was sad listening to her talk about this. But then I thought about what it is like in my work place. The same. I thought about what it is like in my neighborhood. The same. And I thought about what it is like in the church I sometimes go to. The same.
It all makes me wonder.
2009-06-19
Obedience
Do you want a lesson in obedience? If so, read on.
Jeremiah, the guy who got all kinds of instructions from God, was taught a very important lesson one day during the reign of King Josiah. He woke up one morning and God gave him some instructions: “Go get the Recabite family, bring them into the Temple, and offer them some wine.”
Sounds innocent enough, and being a person who generally obeyed God, Jeremiah proceeded to round up the various members of that family. He brought them into ‘the house of the Lord’, asked them to sit down, and offered them some wine (probably very fine wine if it was located at the Temple). What Jeremiah heard, probably surprised him a bit.
“Oh, we don’t touch wine,” they said, “in fact, not only do we not drink wine, we don’t build houses to live in—we live in tents. We also don’t plant or grow vines which would produce wine. We’re simple Nomads.” Jeremiah didn’t have to ask ‘why’, as they explained to him that one of their ancestors, Jonadab --aka Jehonadab, son of Recab, gave a command to his offspring that they should never drink wine, build or live in houses, nor plant seeds or grow vineyards. This command was to be followed by all generations following Jonadab. Recab, if you know your Bibles, was a murderer whom King David had put to death (in 2nd Samuel), so maybe Jonadab was somehow trying to make right with God for his father. Anyway, the command was given for all his descendants, and they had kept this command throughout those previous generations. Even when King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon invaded the Israelites’ homeland, the Recabites moved to Jerusalem and continued to keep to the commands of Jonadab.
After they had told this story to Jeremiah, God pipes in again. “There, see? These people (descendants of a murderer) kept the commands of their forefather, now go, go tell the men of Judah and Jerusalem that this is an example of obedience. Will they not learn a lesson and obey my words? Best you go and tell them I am fairly upset!” (words in this quote are not necessarily quoted directly from God’s Word, but I took the liberty to paraphrase). God continued and told Jeremiah and Jonadab that Jonadab would always have a descendent who served Him.
What a message! God loves it when people follow commands, especially His. The command to not drink wine or grow grapes to make wine sounds kinda weird when one of the staples of live back then was wine, as safe drinking water was usually hard to obtain. Wine was safe. But wine also caused sinning, in the form of drunkenness, which lead, I am sure, to even more sins. So, when all of Jonadab’s descendents had kept this ‘simple yet hard’ command all those years, God was please.
The moral of this story (found in Jeremiah 35 btw) is that we should be obeying God’s commands, not matter how ‘simple’ (or hard) they may seem.
Jeremiah, the guy who got all kinds of instructions from God, was taught a very important lesson one day during the reign of King Josiah. He woke up one morning and God gave him some instructions: “Go get the Recabite family, bring them into the Temple, and offer them some wine.”
Sounds innocent enough, and being a person who generally obeyed God, Jeremiah proceeded to round up the various members of that family. He brought them into ‘the house of the Lord’, asked them to sit down, and offered them some wine (probably very fine wine if it was located at the Temple). What Jeremiah heard, probably surprised him a bit.
“Oh, we don’t touch wine,” they said, “in fact, not only do we not drink wine, we don’t build houses to live in—we live in tents. We also don’t plant or grow vines which would produce wine. We’re simple Nomads.” Jeremiah didn’t have to ask ‘why’, as they explained to him that one of their ancestors, Jonadab --aka Jehonadab, son of Recab, gave a command to his offspring that they should never drink wine, build or live in houses, nor plant seeds or grow vineyards. This command was to be followed by all generations following Jonadab. Recab, if you know your Bibles, was a murderer whom King David had put to death (in 2nd Samuel), so maybe Jonadab was somehow trying to make right with God for his father. Anyway, the command was given for all his descendants, and they had kept this command throughout those previous generations. Even when King Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon invaded the Israelites’ homeland, the Recabites moved to Jerusalem and continued to keep to the commands of Jonadab.
After they had told this story to Jeremiah, God pipes in again. “There, see? These people (descendants of a murderer) kept the commands of their forefather, now go, go tell the men of Judah and Jerusalem that this is an example of obedience. Will they not learn a lesson and obey my words? Best you go and tell them I am fairly upset!” (words in this quote are not necessarily quoted directly from God’s Word, but I took the liberty to paraphrase). God continued and told Jeremiah and Jonadab that Jonadab would always have a descendent who served Him.
What a message! God loves it when people follow commands, especially His. The command to not drink wine or grow grapes to make wine sounds kinda weird when one of the staples of live back then was wine, as safe drinking water was usually hard to obtain. Wine was safe. But wine also caused sinning, in the form of drunkenness, which lead, I am sure, to even more sins. So, when all of Jonadab’s descendents had kept this ‘simple yet hard’ command all those years, God was please.
The moral of this story (found in Jeremiah 35 btw) is that we should be obeying God’s commands, not matter how ‘simple’ (or hard) they may seem.
I Corinthians 3
If Paul wrote a letter to me, I wonder if he would address me as an infant or as worldly - a mere infant in Christ. Sometimes I think I am mature. WHEN I study the Bible and contemplate the mysteries of God, I believe that I have some deep thoughts. I know much more now about the Bible and I think that I understand people better now than I did 20 years ago. But other times I believe I am in fact a mere infant. My lack of conviction about so many things makes me wonder. I read about great men and women in the Bible (Paul, for example). Did he ever struggle with the things I struggle with? Did Paul ever get so busy that he did not make time for prayer or meditation? Did Paul ever feel distant from God? Did he ever quarrel with friends? Was Paul married? I don't believe he was, but if so, did or would he fight with his wife? If Paul had children, would they say he was a great father? Did he ever do anything wrong?
This is one of the reasons (one of many lame reasons) that I sometimes do not read the Bible. I look at the people described in the Bible and I think there is no way that I could ever be like that. After 20 years of being a Christian, I cannot stand next to Paul. Heck, I am not even in the same league that Paul was in - in fact, sometimes I do not think that I am even "playing" the same game that Paul played.
Paul felt comfortable enough with his faith that he was able to call someone else an infant! I don't believe that I would feel comfortable calling anyone else an infant in Christ. That is to my shame. I do feel comfortable calling someone in my profession an infant. I have been working in my profession about as long as I have been a Christian. I am still intimidated by some people in my profession, but I believe that I know much more than others. I am more confident today in my profession than I was 20 years ago. Why do I not feel the same way about God and about my faith?
It is interesting that Paul talks about building (our faith). How much effort do I put into "building" my faith? I don't think I ever really thought about it this way. I was provided a solid foundation when I became a Christian - I am convinced of that. When someone was breathing down my back all the time, I built on that foundation using good materials, although my labor was not a labor of love. I did what I did for many reasons, but one of those was not a true love for learning and growing. Through many years and many changes and challenges, I believe that I am finally getting to a point where I am making the decision of whether I really do want to build on my faith with "gold, silver and costly stone" or whether I want to build with stray and hay. If the latter, I am just going to give up, because the latter is not worth it. The latter is just going through the motions for the sake of others. I am tired of doing that. If I am going to build, the building that I do will be with materials that will survive, not with junk.
Many years ago I used to make things as cheaply as possible. When I was doing a project around the house or when I was building something for the kids, I would look for cheap alternatives, use junk I had around the house instead of buying new, and cut corners when I could. Now I take the time to plan out and to buy what I need and spend what is necessary to do the job right. I have learned how to do it right from learning how to do it wrong. As I think about what Paul says today, perhaps I am applying some of the maturity that I have gained in life to my desire to grow spiritually. Perhaps I am a little further along than an infant. Perhaps maturity is not being perfect. Perhaps maturity is not being Paul, but maybe maturity is using my mind, experiences, and energy to grow in my knowledge and understanding of God.
I cannot KNOW the will of God for my life and I cannot KNOW the mind of God, but as I get to know God better, I believe that I will understand more than I understand now. Not sure if that makes sense.
This is one of the reasons (one of many lame reasons) that I sometimes do not read the Bible. I look at the people described in the Bible and I think there is no way that I could ever be like that. After 20 years of being a Christian, I cannot stand next to Paul. Heck, I am not even in the same league that Paul was in - in fact, sometimes I do not think that I am even "playing" the same game that Paul played.
Paul felt comfortable enough with his faith that he was able to call someone else an infant! I don't believe that I would feel comfortable calling anyone else an infant in Christ. That is to my shame. I do feel comfortable calling someone in my profession an infant. I have been working in my profession about as long as I have been a Christian. I am still intimidated by some people in my profession, but I believe that I know much more than others. I am more confident today in my profession than I was 20 years ago. Why do I not feel the same way about God and about my faith?
It is interesting that Paul talks about building (our faith). How much effort do I put into "building" my faith? I don't think I ever really thought about it this way. I was provided a solid foundation when I became a Christian - I am convinced of that. When someone was breathing down my back all the time, I built on that foundation using good materials, although my labor was not a labor of love. I did what I did for many reasons, but one of those was not a true love for learning and growing. Through many years and many changes and challenges, I believe that I am finally getting to a point where I am making the decision of whether I really do want to build on my faith with "gold, silver and costly stone" or whether I want to build with stray and hay. If the latter, I am just going to give up, because the latter is not worth it. The latter is just going through the motions for the sake of others. I am tired of doing that. If I am going to build, the building that I do will be with materials that will survive, not with junk.
Many years ago I used to make things as cheaply as possible. When I was doing a project around the house or when I was building something for the kids, I would look for cheap alternatives, use junk I had around the house instead of buying new, and cut corners when I could. Now I take the time to plan out and to buy what I need and spend what is necessary to do the job right. I have learned how to do it right from learning how to do it wrong. As I think about what Paul says today, perhaps I am applying some of the maturity that I have gained in life to my desire to grow spiritually. Perhaps I am a little further along than an infant. Perhaps maturity is not being perfect. Perhaps maturity is not being Paul, but maybe maturity is using my mind, experiences, and energy to grow in my knowledge and understanding of God.
I cannot KNOW the will of God for my life and I cannot KNOW the mind of God, but as I get to know God better, I believe that I will understand more than I understand now. Not sure if that makes sense.
2009-06-16
I Corinthians 2
What am I thinking about right now? You probably cannot guess. I was thinking about a seagull flying low over the ocean near the shore moving up and down with the waves. Who knows what I am thinking at any point in time? You can guess, but there is no real way to KNOW. I think this might be what Paul is talking about in the last half of I Cor 2.
Whoever created all that we see (call the creator God) is so great, so awesome, so far removed from us in strength, power, ability, insight, etc. that there is no possible way we can even guess what is in his mind. As Paul says, "no one knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God."
What is the spirit of God? I did a Google search on that question and found some interesting sites. One says that in the OT, the Hebrew word for "spirit of God" literally means breath, or more specifically, breathing out. Breath represents life, a living, creative force. Genesis 2:7 says "then The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." So, I guess the spirit of God is what gives life to all that we see. Without the spirit of God there is no life.
As I understand the Bible, we are dead in our sins and we become alive when we unite with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. At that time we receive the spirit of God as a seal or as a guarantee of eternal life. Ephesians 4:30 says: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." I don't know about the grieving part, but it seems to me that the spirit of God is a seal that was put on us that will guarantee that we will be properly judged on the day of redemption.
If that is true, then all who accept Christ receive the spirit of God. The spirit of God is inside of us or upon us. So, I can actually know the thoughts of God. Even though I cannot possibly fathom who or even what God is, I can know and understand his thoughts. That is completely amazing! I can understand the thoughts of God. I can know his interest in me and know his will for my life!
Interesting .... I need to think about this some more.
Whoever created all that we see (call the creator God) is so great, so awesome, so far removed from us in strength, power, ability, insight, etc. that there is no possible way we can even guess what is in his mind. As Paul says, "no one knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God."
What is the spirit of God? I did a Google search on that question and found some interesting sites. One says that in the OT, the Hebrew word for "spirit of God" literally means breath, or more specifically, breathing out. Breath represents life, a living, creative force. Genesis 2:7 says "then The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." So, I guess the spirit of God is what gives life to all that we see. Without the spirit of God there is no life.
As I understand the Bible, we are dead in our sins and we become alive when we unite with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. At that time we receive the spirit of God as a seal or as a guarantee of eternal life. Ephesians 4:30 says: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." I don't know about the grieving part, but it seems to me that the spirit of God is a seal that was put on us that will guarantee that we will be properly judged on the day of redemption.
If that is true, then all who accept Christ receive the spirit of God. The spirit of God is inside of us or upon us. So, I can actually know the thoughts of God. Even though I cannot possibly fathom who or even what God is, I can know and understand his thoughts. That is completely amazing! I can understand the thoughts of God. I can know his interest in me and know his will for my life!
Interesting .... I need to think about this some more.
2009-06-15
I Corinthians 1
Paul is the quintessential salesman! All of his letters start essentially the same way. He first establishes his own authority - an apostle called by God. Then he associates himself with someone that his audience can identify with. Here it is Sosthenes. According to Acts 18 (the only other mention of Sosthenes in the Bible), Sosthenes was a synagogue ruler in Corinth. Obviously, the people in Corinth (to whom this letter is written) could identify with Sosthenes. He was "one of them." Next Paul praises his audience. He tells them how good they are. And after that, Paul tells them all that is wrong with them or with their life and he tells them that he has the cure. Paul's cure is Jesus and obeying the will of God. Salesmen sell all kinds of things. The best make you feel like you are a good person, but that you lack something that will help you be a great person. That something you lack is what they are selling. And if you buy what they are selling, you will be happier, healthier, smarter, more popular, or something else.
Salesmen should probably study Paul to learn how to sell better. Paul was totally sold out to what he was "selling." He believed in his "product" so much that he was willing to sacrifice whatever was necessary to "make a sale."
I am not putting down Paul or claiming that Christianity is like buying a useless product on TV. All that I am saying is that the techniques that Paul used to convert people and to lead them or change them is much the same as the techniques used by good salespeople.
I think that is one of the reasons why I was not good at "evangelizing." I am not a salesperson. I do not work in sales because if I did I would probably not eat. I am a thinker and a teacher. I am an analyst. I can support salespeople, but I cannot be one. When I think of the people who were most successful at evangelizing, they were also salespeople. Most of the leaders in the church, those who were successful in "bringing people to the Lord" were salespeople. Many who left leadership or left the church went into sales - not surprising.
I was recently introduced to a business opportunity by a friend in a multi-level marketing scheme. I researched the company and the MLM deal online and found that in fact it was legitimate and could be successful. The friend who told me about this deal was a salesperson. They were successful and they were "offering" me an opportunity to be successful like them. I thought about the offer for awhile. The potential to make money was great. However, I finally admitted to myself that I am not a salesman and that I had to be a salesman to make this work so I said NO to the deal. Thinking about that and coming to grips with who I am, made me contemplate this "salesman" connection to evangelism. And then today I read Paul's first few lines in I Cor and I think about Paul being a salesman.
Interesting!!!
My goal in reading the Bible is to better understand the nature of God and to better understand the nature of man. In I Cor 1, I see that man is naturally predisposed to disagreement, factions, and disunity. God wants us to be unified. It seems important to God that we get along with one another. I guess that means that disunity is from the devil. Unity leads to peace; disunity leads to fights, battles, wars. The world is a disunified place. As I read through the paper I see mention of disunity, threats, fighting, riots, terrorism, fear, and on and on. Countries are disunified (even when they have alliances), government is disunified (political parties against one another, states against the federal government, counties fighthing, people against government, ...), famililes are disunified.
God wants unity. Paul talks about one way to have unity in I Cor 1. I see it as everyone having a proper view of God. God is greater than all of us. God's weakness is greater than our greatest strength! God is so far above us and so much more powerful than us, that there is not even the most basic comparison. God's foolishness is greater than our greatest wisdom. God is awesome and we are nothing in comparison to him. If we all see ourselves relative to God, we will stop seeing our minature marginal differences as being significant. It is like the distances in the universe. The differences between us is like light moving across a room or maybe even around the earth. As noted yesterday, it takes 1 second for light to travel around the earth 7 times. Light across a room is measured in nanoseconds. It would takes 13.7 billion light years to travel to the end of the known border of the universe. When you compare the distance across two different rooms (a fraction of a nanosecond different) to the distance across the universe, the room difference is so insignificant as to be totally and completely meaningless.
Perhaps if just my wife and I saw ourselves relative to God is this way, the disunity that sometimes exists in our life would go away. Maybe that is where I should start. I cannot change the world but I can change myself and those closest to me.
Salesmen should probably study Paul to learn how to sell better. Paul was totally sold out to what he was "selling." He believed in his "product" so much that he was willing to sacrifice whatever was necessary to "make a sale."
I am not putting down Paul or claiming that Christianity is like buying a useless product on TV. All that I am saying is that the techniques that Paul used to convert people and to lead them or change them is much the same as the techniques used by good salespeople.
I think that is one of the reasons why I was not good at "evangelizing." I am not a salesperson. I do not work in sales because if I did I would probably not eat. I am a thinker and a teacher. I am an analyst. I can support salespeople, but I cannot be one. When I think of the people who were most successful at evangelizing, they were also salespeople. Most of the leaders in the church, those who were successful in "bringing people to the Lord" were salespeople. Many who left leadership or left the church went into sales - not surprising.
I was recently introduced to a business opportunity by a friend in a multi-level marketing scheme. I researched the company and the MLM deal online and found that in fact it was legitimate and could be successful. The friend who told me about this deal was a salesperson. They were successful and they were "offering" me an opportunity to be successful like them. I thought about the offer for awhile. The potential to make money was great. However, I finally admitted to myself that I am not a salesman and that I had to be a salesman to make this work so I said NO to the deal. Thinking about that and coming to grips with who I am, made me contemplate this "salesman" connection to evangelism. And then today I read Paul's first few lines in I Cor and I think about Paul being a salesman.
Interesting!!!
My goal in reading the Bible is to better understand the nature of God and to better understand the nature of man. In I Cor 1, I see that man is naturally predisposed to disagreement, factions, and disunity. God wants us to be unified. It seems important to God that we get along with one another. I guess that means that disunity is from the devil. Unity leads to peace; disunity leads to fights, battles, wars. The world is a disunified place. As I read through the paper I see mention of disunity, threats, fighting, riots, terrorism, fear, and on and on. Countries are disunified (even when they have alliances), government is disunified (political parties against one another, states against the federal government, counties fighthing, people against government, ...), famililes are disunified.
God wants unity. Paul talks about one way to have unity in I Cor 1. I see it as everyone having a proper view of God. God is greater than all of us. God's weakness is greater than our greatest strength! God is so far above us and so much more powerful than us, that there is not even the most basic comparison. God's foolishness is greater than our greatest wisdom. God is awesome and we are nothing in comparison to him. If we all see ourselves relative to God, we will stop seeing our minature marginal differences as being significant. It is like the distances in the universe. The differences between us is like light moving across a room or maybe even around the earth. As noted yesterday, it takes 1 second for light to travel around the earth 7 times. Light across a room is measured in nanoseconds. It would takes 13.7 billion light years to travel to the end of the known border of the universe. When you compare the distance across two different rooms (a fraction of a nanosecond different) to the distance across the universe, the room difference is so insignificant as to be totally and completely meaningless.
Perhaps if just my wife and I saw ourselves relative to God is this way, the disunity that sometimes exists in our life would go away. Maybe that is where I should start. I cannot change the world but I can change myself and those closest to me.
2009-06-14
Why Read the Bible? (continued)
I believe that God (or at least some supreme being) made the world. When you really think about it there is no other logical conclusion. Every man made theory can just go so far. You can always ask the question, "where did that come from?" At some point, there is no answer other than "it just appeared." At that point, the logical conclusion is God.
I look at creation, at the wonders all around me and I can only conclude that some unbelievably powerful being did all of this. Just consider the size of the universe. Scientists estimate that the size of the visible edge of the universe is 13.7 billion light years away. Just how big is that? Consider some facts that I found:
My son watches the explorer channel of TV. I have seen several shows with him that show that humans have only explored a small percentage of the oceans in the world. One fact we just saw was:
Oceans cover 70 per cent of the earth's surface, yet less than 5 per cent of the ocean floor has been mapped in detail. In fact, there are better images of the moon and Mars than of much of the world's undersea topography.
Also, we heard that there is more life in the ocean that we do not know about than we know about!
Why did God (or the supreme being who created all of this) create the universe as he did? I don't know. I don't understand why anyone would create the world we live in - the universe we live in! It is beyond my little mind to understand.
There is someone who actually claims to have created all of this. That someone is described in the Bible. Whether you believe the Bible or not, the Bible is the only source we have that describes the being who claims to have made the universe. No other religious leader that I have ever heard about claims to have made the universe (not just the earth, but all creation that we know of).
So, why read the Bible? It is the only source that I know about (tell me if there is something else) that tells me something about the nature of God and gives me some clue about why all of this exists. It is the only source that I know about (tell me if there is something else) that tells me about the nature of man and about why man thinks and acts the way he does.
It seems only logical that I should read this book that claims to be from God. Perhaps it is a hoax. The only way to find out is to read it.
So, I plan to read the Bible to learn and to see if it will answer some of the many questions that I have. Maybe as I read it I will find what others have claimed - the book transformed their lives. For all of the years that I have read the Bible so far, I have always read to confirm beliefs that I already have. I am going to try to drop all of that and just read to learn. I want the Bible to teach me and I want to see if reading the Bible with an open mind, with a true desire to learn, with a hunger and with passion, will really change my life. If not, then what have I really lost? I read books all the time. I read about all kinds of goofy things in the paper, in magazines, online and in mystery, fantasy and murder books that I read. I am sure that I have read the number of pages in the Bible in books, magazines, newspapers, the internet, etc every year of my life. Now, I just choose to use my "reading" time to read the Bible. It is the book that I choose to read. So, if all I get is just a good read, so be it. If I also get to know and understand the God who made all that I see around me and if that or something else that I read changes my life for the better, than I gain much more than I spend.
I look at creation, at the wonders all around me and I can only conclude that some unbelievably powerful being did all of this. Just consider the size of the universe. Scientists estimate that the size of the visible edge of the universe is 13.7 billion light years away. Just how big is that? Consider some facts that I found:
- A lecture hall is approximately 10 meters across, and light travels across it in about 30 nanoseconds. (Scientists use light, which travels at 300,000,000 meters per second - that is, about 186,411 miles per second to Americans -to quantify distances).
- The earth is 6378 km in radius, and light would travel seven times around the earth in one second if itcould travel in a circle like this.
- It takes light about 1.25 seconds to travel from the earth to the moon.
- The sun is about 8 light-minutes away from the earth.
- Jupiter is about 40 light-minutes from the earth.
- Pluto is about 5.5 light-hours out from the earth.
- The brightest star in our solar system is 4.5 light-years away - take a moment to appreciate this big jump!
- The center of the Milky Way (our galaxy) is about 25,000 light-years away.
- The nearest external large galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy—about 2 million light-years away.
- The nearest large cluster of galaxies (Virgo Cluster) is about 50 million light-years away.
- The edge of the visible universe is about 13.7 billion light years away.
My son watches the explorer channel of TV. I have seen several shows with him that show that humans have only explored a small percentage of the oceans in the world. One fact we just saw was:
Oceans cover 70 per cent of the earth's surface, yet less than 5 per cent of the ocean floor has been mapped in detail. In fact, there are better images of the moon and Mars than of much of the world's undersea topography.
Also, we heard that there is more life in the ocean that we do not know about than we know about!
Why did God (or the supreme being who created all of this) create the universe as he did? I don't know. I don't understand why anyone would create the world we live in - the universe we live in! It is beyond my little mind to understand.
There is someone who actually claims to have created all of this. That someone is described in the Bible. Whether you believe the Bible or not, the Bible is the only source we have that describes the being who claims to have made the universe. No other religious leader that I have ever heard about claims to have made the universe (not just the earth, but all creation that we know of).
So, why read the Bible? It is the only source that I know about (tell me if there is something else) that tells me something about the nature of God and gives me some clue about why all of this exists. It is the only source that I know about (tell me if there is something else) that tells me about the nature of man and about why man thinks and acts the way he does.
It seems only logical that I should read this book that claims to be from God. Perhaps it is a hoax. The only way to find out is to read it.
So, I plan to read the Bible to learn and to see if it will answer some of the many questions that I have. Maybe as I read it I will find what others have claimed - the book transformed their lives. For all of the years that I have read the Bible so far, I have always read to confirm beliefs that I already have. I am going to try to drop all of that and just read to learn. I want the Bible to teach me and I want to see if reading the Bible with an open mind, with a true desire to learn, with a hunger and with passion, will really change my life. If not, then what have I really lost? I read books all the time. I read about all kinds of goofy things in the paper, in magazines, online and in mystery, fantasy and murder books that I read. I am sure that I have read the number of pages in the Bible in books, magazines, newspapers, the internet, etc every year of my life. Now, I just choose to use my "reading" time to read the Bible. It is the book that I choose to read. So, if all I get is just a good read, so be it. If I also get to know and understand the God who made all that I see around me and if that or something else that I read changes my life for the better, than I gain much more than I spend.
2009-06-13
Reasons for Reading the Bible
Perhaps a better place to start this line is to admit the main reason for why I do not read the Bible everyday = I am too busy and/or I don't have the time. I am awake about 16 hours per day. It takes a 30 minutes to read a chapter in the Bible and write about it. Who can say they don't waste at least 30 minutes per day on things that, in the long run, really do not matter?
The reason I do not read the Bible everyday is that I do not consider the Bible to be more important than reading the paper everyday (I do that for at least 30 minutes a day), watching the news on TV (at least 30 minutes per day), watching sports on TV, or when there are no games, wasting time watching ESPN on TV (I can tell you the latest news about the Braves, Falcons and Hawks, I can tell you which baseball teams are in first place, I can tell you who won the Stanley Cup last night, give you my opinion - based on ESPN "facts" - whether Orlando has a chance to beat LA in their next game, and many, many, many more irrelevant bits of information), or playing on the computer (I do that for much more than 30 minutes per day)!
The FACT is I have the time! The reason I do not read the Bible everyday is that I do not consider it to be important enough!!!
So, why read the Bible? For many, many years, I thought the answer to this question was: 'so that I could please God.' And if I 'pleased God' things would go well for me. My life would be better! I thought that reading was a way to get the 'things' I really wanted in life. Some of these 'things' were noble - good marriage, healthy children, good friends, happiness, and so on. Some of these 'things' were purely selfish - more money, a new car, a bigger house, a submissive wife, obedient children, and such. I thought that if I just put in my 30 minutes per day reading God's word, GOD would do these things for me. I thought GOD would make everything better. I thought GOD would work miracles in my life.
I don't think that is true anymore. I am beginning to FINALLY see that we make our own life and we deal with our own issues. God does not swoop down when we cry out to him and make it all better. It is not "magic." Reading the Bible is not a way to get something easy. As my dad always told me, 'the best things in life cost the most' and there is no such thing as 'the easy way.'
I now think that the Bible is a gift that God gave to us to help us understand life! Reading the Bible does not put God into action. Instead, it equips us to deal with life's twists and turns in a way that will more often than not lead to success instead of failure. Not that 'success' automatically means health, happiness or wealth. Instead, the Bible can teach us how to face challenges when they come.
It is a manual of sorts. I just finished reading Genesis with my daughter. She reads about one chapter in the Bible every night out loud to me before she goes to bed. Genesis is full of deceit, murder, theft, sexual activity and even perversion - SIN to the max. I cringed many nights as she read. If you just listen to what is said, it is amazing. And most of this is from God's 'chosen' people! But as I listened, I began to think more and more about how the people in Genesis are just like people today. There really is 'nothing new under the sun.'
So, I plan to start reading the Bible to explore, to learn, to see, to experience, to equip. I plan to read with an open mind. I plan to marvel at the good and the bad that is there. I am not going to try to explain it all. I just want to see what it says and to learn what I can. I believe that someday, in someway, what I read with help me.
Yesterday I installed a ceiling fan in my back room. There is no way I could have completed the job without the instructions. I looked at the instructions for every step. I have installed other fans and I have done other similar work, so in fact, other manuals that I have read while working helped me understand yesterday's fan instructions and it helped me do a better and quicker job than I would have done if yesterday was the first manual I read. I think the Bible and daily reading is about the same. I don't know how a fan works, I don't really know everything about electricity, about electric motors, about lights, about variable speeds, about remote control via wireless clickers, or about many, many other things. But I do know how to use these better because of the manual and the doing from yesterday.
I don't understand God. I don't understand nature or creation. I don't understand humans. I don't understand marriage or children or friends. But I can read the Bible and by reading perhaps know how to use these in my life better and more effective than I have been.
My random thoughts for today. Tomorrow, again, reasons for reading the Bible. Then I plan to start I Cor 1 on Monday.
The reason I do not read the Bible everyday is that I do not consider the Bible to be more important than reading the paper everyday (I do that for at least 30 minutes a day), watching the news on TV (at least 30 minutes per day), watching sports on TV, or when there are no games, wasting time watching ESPN on TV (I can tell you the latest news about the Braves, Falcons and Hawks, I can tell you which baseball teams are in first place, I can tell you who won the Stanley Cup last night, give you my opinion - based on ESPN "facts" - whether Orlando has a chance to beat LA in their next game, and many, many, many more irrelevant bits of information), or playing on the computer (I do that for much more than 30 minutes per day)!
The FACT is I have the time! The reason I do not read the Bible everyday is that I do not consider it to be important enough!!!
So, why read the Bible? For many, many years, I thought the answer to this question was: 'so that I could please God.' And if I 'pleased God' things would go well for me. My life would be better! I thought that reading was a way to get the 'things' I really wanted in life. Some of these 'things' were noble - good marriage, healthy children, good friends, happiness, and so on. Some of these 'things' were purely selfish - more money, a new car, a bigger house, a submissive wife, obedient children, and such. I thought that if I just put in my 30 minutes per day reading God's word, GOD would do these things for me. I thought GOD would make everything better. I thought GOD would work miracles in my life.
I don't think that is true anymore. I am beginning to FINALLY see that we make our own life and we deal with our own issues. God does not swoop down when we cry out to him and make it all better. It is not "magic." Reading the Bible is not a way to get something easy. As my dad always told me, 'the best things in life cost the most' and there is no such thing as 'the easy way.'
I now think that the Bible is a gift that God gave to us to help us understand life! Reading the Bible does not put God into action. Instead, it equips us to deal with life's twists and turns in a way that will more often than not lead to success instead of failure. Not that 'success' automatically means health, happiness or wealth. Instead, the Bible can teach us how to face challenges when they come.
It is a manual of sorts. I just finished reading Genesis with my daughter. She reads about one chapter in the Bible every night out loud to me before she goes to bed. Genesis is full of deceit, murder, theft, sexual activity and even perversion - SIN to the max. I cringed many nights as she read. If you just listen to what is said, it is amazing. And most of this is from God's 'chosen' people! But as I listened, I began to think more and more about how the people in Genesis are just like people today. There really is 'nothing new under the sun.'
So, I plan to start reading the Bible to explore, to learn, to see, to experience, to equip. I plan to read with an open mind. I plan to marvel at the good and the bad that is there. I am not going to try to explain it all. I just want to see what it says and to learn what I can. I believe that someday, in someway, what I read with help me.
Yesterday I installed a ceiling fan in my back room. There is no way I could have completed the job without the instructions. I looked at the instructions for every step. I have installed other fans and I have done other similar work, so in fact, other manuals that I have read while working helped me understand yesterday's fan instructions and it helped me do a better and quicker job than I would have done if yesterday was the first manual I read. I think the Bible and daily reading is about the same. I don't know how a fan works, I don't really know everything about electricity, about electric motors, about lights, about variable speeds, about remote control via wireless clickers, or about many, many other things. But I do know how to use these better because of the manual and the doing from yesterday.
I don't understand God. I don't understand nature or creation. I don't understand humans. I don't understand marriage or children or friends. But I can read the Bible and by reading perhaps know how to use these in my life better and more effective than I have been.
My random thoughts for today. Tomorrow, again, reasons for reading the Bible. Then I plan to start I Cor 1 on Monday.
2009-06-12
Why Read the Bible?
I did a Google search on the topic: "why read the bible?" I found many interesting postings, most from religious sites. In one of the postings, I saw the following:
A lad of seven years took the Bible one day from the library table in his home and asked, "Is this God's Book, Mother?" "Certainly It is," was her reply. "Well," continued the lad, "don't you think we might as well send It back to God? We don't use It here, do we?" This incident may cause us to smile, but it reveals a sad and vital lack of reading the Bible.
I thought this funny at first, but then after some reflection, I realized that I was really not much different from the mother. I tell people (so I guess I must believe) that the Bible is the "Word of God" and that it contains the "words of life." I can quote II Tim 3:16-17 by heart: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. I can also quote Hebrews 4:12 by heart: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Are you impressed? You shouldn't be - if you knew me, you wouldn't be.
Being able to say the right thing or having the ability to quote some scripture from memory, does not prove anything. The proof is in the actions of my life? Do I read the bible every day? NO! Do I pray daily for insight and understanding? NO! Do I practice what I seem to preach? NO!
So, what should I do? I see three options.
ONE: Throw my Bible away and claim it all to be a fake. The Bible is worthless. God does not really exist. If he did, my life would be better. I tried reading the Bible in the past, some times diligently for long periods of time, but my life did not really change all that much. I did not inherit lots of money. My job did not get better. Illness issues in my family did not go away. So, instead of turning God and to the Bible, I will turn away. Instead of embracing, I will reject. That is one option.
TWO: I can just lay down and proclaim myself to be a failure. I have tried many things in my life for a period of time and then quit. I guess I just don't have what it takes to be spiritual. I tried and I failed, so I should give up. God cannot stand me anyway. I made many, many promises to him that I have broken. How can he possibly care about me. He knows I am a liar. He knows the thoughts that run through my mind. Those convict me without doubt. I cannot do it and even if I did, it would not please God. I have done so much wrong that no matter what I do or say, it will never be enough. So, I just give up. That is another option.
THREE: I grab on to what I have been told about God, forgiveness, and love and I read/study because I want to know more about God. I am not doing anything to gain favor - according to what the religious people say, I have already received that. I get up and try again and again and again, because I am who I am and I know that I am not perfect. God, the world, human nature, Jesus, forgiveness, love, ...; these do not make sense to me. I know the words, but I do not think that I really understand what these mean. I will read to learn. That is the option that I am choosing. I want to learn about God.
For the next few days, I am going to write out some reasons for why I think it is good to read the Bible. If anyone has anything to add, please do so. If not, I write for myself to clarify my feelings, to organize my thoughts, and to record these so that I can come back some day to see what convictions I had and to see what convictions I have then.
A lad of seven years took the Bible one day from the library table in his home and asked, "Is this God's Book, Mother?" "Certainly It is," was her reply. "Well," continued the lad, "don't you think we might as well send It back to God? We don't use It here, do we?" This incident may cause us to smile, but it reveals a sad and vital lack of reading the Bible.
I thought this funny at first, but then after some reflection, I realized that I was really not much different from the mother. I tell people (so I guess I must believe) that the Bible is the "Word of God" and that it contains the "words of life." I can quote II Tim 3:16-17 by heart: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. I can also quote Hebrews 4:12 by heart: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Are you impressed? You shouldn't be - if you knew me, you wouldn't be.
Being able to say the right thing or having the ability to quote some scripture from memory, does not prove anything. The proof is in the actions of my life? Do I read the bible every day? NO! Do I pray daily for insight and understanding? NO! Do I practice what I seem to preach? NO!
So, what should I do? I see three options.
ONE: Throw my Bible away and claim it all to be a fake. The Bible is worthless. God does not really exist. If he did, my life would be better. I tried reading the Bible in the past, some times diligently for long periods of time, but my life did not really change all that much. I did not inherit lots of money. My job did not get better. Illness issues in my family did not go away. So, instead of turning God and to the Bible, I will turn away. Instead of embracing, I will reject. That is one option.
TWO: I can just lay down and proclaim myself to be a failure. I have tried many things in my life for a period of time and then quit. I guess I just don't have what it takes to be spiritual. I tried and I failed, so I should give up. God cannot stand me anyway. I made many, many promises to him that I have broken. How can he possibly care about me. He knows I am a liar. He knows the thoughts that run through my mind. Those convict me without doubt. I cannot do it and even if I did, it would not please God. I have done so much wrong that no matter what I do or say, it will never be enough. So, I just give up. That is another option.
THREE: I grab on to what I have been told about God, forgiveness, and love and I read/study because I want to know more about God. I am not doing anything to gain favor - according to what the religious people say, I have already received that. I get up and try again and again and again, because I am who I am and I know that I am not perfect. God, the world, human nature, Jesus, forgiveness, love, ...; these do not make sense to me. I know the words, but I do not think that I really understand what these mean. I will read to learn. That is the option that I am choosing. I want to learn about God.
For the next few days, I am going to write out some reasons for why I think it is good to read the Bible. If anyone has anything to add, please do so. If not, I write for myself to clarify my feelings, to organize my thoughts, and to record these so that I can come back some day to see what convictions I had and to see what convictions I have then.
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