 Political flip-flopping makes headlines. Christian flip-flopping gets no press. How have we come to the point in history where what God said is debatable? Sure in the past it was permissible to say, "God never said we couldn’t dance and even in the Bible we read about people dancing for the Lord." The prohibition against dancing goes back a long way. Is there anything wrong with dancing? Well, yes and no. The yes stems from why preachers preached against dancing in the first place. Recall a verse of New Testament that states to "refrain from even the appearance of evil"? Grandma Mat told her twelve children and her dozens of grandchildren, "Stay away from that dance! The only reason a man wants to dance is rub up against somebody’s wife!" She may have had a point knowing human nature? What about fishing on Sunday? It isn’t anything but harmless recreation so what’s the problem? If you consider that Orthodox Jews don’t cook on the Sabbath nor travel on the Sabbath nor pull out a stray nose hair you might learn something. They believe God when He said, "Keep the Sabbath holy!" Nothing that can be considered work is to be done. Fishing, although Westerners consider it recreation is work. Fishing is how many people around the world and in ancient Israel made their living. For one thing fishing keeps a lot of people out of church on Sunday. Does God mean what He says? The simple answer is yes and for good reason. Man will abuse anything given the opportunity. Many Biblical prohibitions seem harmless but like a man who looks at the picture of a young woman in a bikini, he may well move on to pornography and from there to committing rape. Some will say well that is like the argument against marijuana leading to becoming a heroin addict. True, but we must always remember than man is given to addictions. If man could control his desires and his impulses the ten commandments would have been enough. But we are creatures easily tempted and easily addicted. One beer doesn’t always make an alcoholic but one a day leads to two a day. One pack of cigarettes leads to a lifetime of addiction. Take away one addiction and another replaces it. The old monks in the first couple of centuries after Christ had it right, the only way to avoid the addictions was to seal yourself in a cave. A recent poll found that only fifty percent of Evangelical Christians now believe in Hell. Ten years from now it is predicted that number to drop significantly. On one hand we have professors of theology and mean in the pulpits of the world saying "God is love and therefore because it is His nature to love He will not condemn anyone to a place as described in the Book of Revelation. The logic makes sense but to get to that sensible understanding there has to be a re-ordering of God’s attributes. Also, it will be necessary to erase a good portion of the Old Testament and re-interpret much of the New Testament. Theologians are always re-thinking what the Bible has to say. They do historical, analysis, throw in contextual analysis and comparative analysis and other means of analysis. There isn’t anything wrong with such analysis as along as "God said" is not replaced by "man thinks God said". Too often theologians are placing too much weight on what some theologian has written about what they think God meant when "God said". The ongoing debate on homosexuality is a good example of putting weight on what one theologian said and adding that to what another theologian said. The end result is a justification. An examination of the homosexual justification theology shows it came about as the result of a long history of theological debate. Roman Catholic theologians since founding of the church in Rome have been engaged in this debate. Protestants also joined the debate very early on in their history. The one piece of information not divulged is the number of men engaged in those debates who were practicing homosexuals. Church history, both Protestant and Catholic, reveal many ministers and priests engaged in homosexuality. A logical conclusion for a person studying homosexuality and the justification of homosexuality would conclude those ministers and priests had a good reason for justifying homosexuality. Does God mean what He says? When it comes to sin, yes. Sin is death, eternal death, separated from God from all eternity. Why? Because by saying yes to sin man is saying no to God. "The soul that sins will die" is how the Bible states it. That is pretty clear but there are many other verses that can be flung into the debate that discount the statement. Does God really mean man will die if he commits a sin? Here we are at the very crux of the matter, does God mean what He said. Is what He said open to discussion and debate? Man in order to justify his sin will say yes. Remember man has a vested interest. As long as we can debate and discuss we do not have to concern ourselves with the result of sin. Imagine two men sinking in quicksand. One friend says to the other, "I don’t think we will sink." The other says, "Maybe not for awhile." The first friend says, "No I don’t think we will sink because it wouldn’t be right." The second friend says, "You have a point it wouldn’t be right but still if we do sink it might take a year and by then someone will come along and rescue us." To which the first friend says, "A year, no I would say a year and a month." Their debate and discussion doesn’t change the fact that they are sinking. Man can debate and discuss but it doesn’t change the fact that God said, "The soul that sins will die." God is loving and wants the very best for each person. True, but that is no reason to stake eternity on the belief God will forsake justice. If you step in front of a fast moving freight train the odds are against your survival. To go against "God said" is to deny God will be just. One of the things about God in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is justice. He holds people accountable and justice is exercised as surely as the train coming down the track. It is impossible to say, God will not punish those who sin in the face of so much Biblical evidence of God’s justice. Christian social activist are quick to bring justice to debate and discussion. They argue that all people deserve a chance, even a second chance. "God" they emphasize "is loving". Jesus even stated when asked about forgiveness that man should forgive seven times seventy. To them there is no wrong that can’t be forgiven. This line of thinking is devoid of God as just. The ten commandments given by God are statements of conduct God demands if man will have a relationship with Him. Failure to keep those commandments carries one penalty - God will disassociate Himself with offenders. The history of Israel is a history of justice for when the people take up other gods or forget the covenant God withdraws and punishes. It is well worth nothing that He will not force a person to be in His presence if the person chooses not to be in His presence. The person who sins chooses not to be in God’s presence. God’s justice does not allow Him to go against man’s choice. God may try to persuade but He can not force. Think for a moment of someone like Samson, he had every opportunity to do according to God’s direction but time and again chose to do what he wanted. God time and time again brought hardship to Samson but Samson would not change his actions. This unwillingness to change leaves God no option but to disassociate Himself from the offender. A relationship with God depends on a person’s willingness to accept God’s terms of the relationship. Those terms are laid out in "God said". Does God mean what He said, yes. He is the one who defines the terms of the relationship. Men can debate those terms with other men but in the end the only thing that matters is what "God said". It is not up to man to define the terms of the relationship. |
Monday, October 27, 2008
God Means What He Said
The Christian and The Economy
Philadelphia Baptist Church was organized before there was a United States. The cemetery contains many old, old gravestones dating back two hundred years. Almost as old are the minutes of the church. There are not many pastors around today that would be happy to receive as their monthly salary a pound of nails, a dozen eggs, a pig and a wagon of hay. But that was how it was done those many years ago.
In times past the church helped out the members. In hard times the church would take food to those in need. The men would help with the crops. Orphaned children would be taken in. The sick would be tended. The deacons would be active and meeting needs.
Prayer was as important in the church as was discipline. When prayer meeting rolled around the people prayed not just the pastor. The sick and the unfortunate were prayed for at length. It can be said that whatever was going on in the community was known to everyone and God.
The years have come and gone but churches like Philadelphia remain. The buildings have been replaced; the members many years buried are replaced. The history and legacy remain. Sandy Creek Baptist is the oldest North Carolina congregation and First Baptist of Charleston the oldest South Carolina congregation. History and legacy. In hard times those old congregations reached inward as well as outward.
As Christians we have an obligation according to Scripture to care for those of the church. “All things in common” is the model we are to follow. If a brother or sister is in need and God has blessed, we are to share. It’s that simple. Tough times means making sacrifices.
Elijah was blessed at the brook. The brook dried up and he journeyed to live with the widow and her son as God directed. God blessed Elijah, the woman and the son with a cruse of oil that never ran out and a container of meal that was never depleted. With such blessings they survived because each was obedient unto God and they shared.
We, the United States, are facing difficult days ahead. It is predicted it will become a second great depression. In the days to come every congregation is going to have to prepare. Budgets will need to be based on meeting needs as well as missions. Some things we have accepted as common will become luxuries. As families are forced to tighten their belts and budgets so too will the church. Those following God’s leading will begin to consider the coming year while planning their budgets. How can resources be allocated to meet the needs of more people in the church and in the community? Rather than a trip to some country halfway round the world, perhaps God is saying, “Meet the needs where you live.”
Last century there was that GREAT DEPRESSION that brought so much suffering. Churches were not prepared. Let us pray and plan should such an event overtake us.