A Few Thoughts on Easter

As I begin writing this, I wonder 'what could I write about? What aspect of easter could I tackle that has not been tackled by millions of theologians and pastors throughout the ages?'

I could ask, 'What does easter mean to ME?' But I'm sure many pastors have already based entire sermons off that questions, and besides, it is not the best way of looking at it.

I could wander off into a multitude of theological specifics, as I am known for doing, and leave you all scratching your heads and altogether unedified by my wordy and verbose post.

I could also write a devotional application, using the symbolism of the easter story as a parallel to life experiences. But chances are, your pastor will do that.

So then, I will talk about the gospel.

Imagine, for a moment, that a person once saw the depth of their sin, and the sins of mankind. Seeing the fate of all humanity was eternity in hell, subject to the wrath of an angry God, the person prays this:

Lord, I see that we are hopelessly lost in sin and subject to Your wrath for all eternity. I ask you to send the Second Person of the Godhead, your son Jesus Christ, down to this earth as a man so he can live a sinless life and be beaten, scourged, mocked, and crucified. I ask that he would die, and His blood would make atonement for our sins, and that He would rise again on the third day. I ask that by his innocent blood, we would have redemption from our sin, and I furthermore ask that we would be justified apart from works and by faith alone. I ask that we would, by the sacrifice of Your Son, receive eternal life with you.”

Would not such a prayer, prayed my a mortal man, be blasphemy of the worst sort? Would one not expect a holy, just, and righteous God to refuse such a prayer and let us die in our sins?

But, praise the Lord, this is precisely what God did! He did what no man would have ever imagined He would even think of doing. And all to bring redemption to us!

That easter weekend is the pinnacle of God's redemptive plan. It was the time when, in a backwater country in the Roman Empire, God himself made atonement for us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ His son. The prophet Isaiah predicted this in Isaiah 53 – and the scripture was fulfilled to the letter.

I can do little but quote the whole chapter – it sums everything up with laserlike accuracy:

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

A Defense of the Biblical Creation Account

  Today I am going to be rejecting the consensus of nearly all the world's scientists and upholding Biblical Creation.  May the scoffers scoff all they want, but let God be true and every man a liar (Rom. 3:4).
   Before I begin, allow me to say this: just because it seems the whole world believes something does not make what they believe true. Consider, for example, the prophet Elijah.  He felt like one of the last servants of the Lord alive on the planet.  The whole nation had drifted off into Baal-worship, and they had forsaken the Lord their God.  But who today literally worships Baal? No one, to my knowledge.  Baal was a dead god that could do nothing. But yet, praise God, there have never ceased to be those who worship the true God, the God of Israel, who has proven himself faithful by sending His Son, as He promised He would.
   Why is the world so adamant on promoting evolution?  It is because they know very well that when the first few chapters of the Bible are discredited, the cross of Christ and Christianity as a whole, are completely negated.
   This may seem like a strong statement to some, but consider what I say carefully.  Without the first eleven chapters of Genesis, we have lost support for the doctrines of sin and marriage.  In Genesis chapter 2 we are given the reason for marriage, and in chapter 3 we see exactly how sin entered the world. In Genesis 3:15 we also have our first messianic prophecy, which says something about the accuracy of the first chapters of Genesis. Furthermore, if the first chapters of Genesis are regarded as legend or outright nonsense, what happens to the week?
  If the very first and opening pages to our Bibles are disregarded, where do we begin to take the Bible seriously?  I, for one, would not believe a book that has its opening pages known to be false.  If we cannot even trust the first pages, what CAN we trust?
   Some have suggested that the first pages of Genesis were meant to be poetry,  but this idea runs into a plethora of problems.  As a good many scholars have already demonstrated, the narrative was written to be taken literally.  And from common sense, why would our Lord begin His word with a quasi-narrative that was actually intended to be poetry.  It seems rather ridiculous to think that God would fool everyone with a forged narrative and no one would realize that it was actually poetry until the last few centuries!
   It gets a whole lot worse when one tries to harmonize evolution with the Bible.  Even though many have tried to do so with good intentions, the end result is nothing short of blasphemy.  We are expected to believe that a good God used millions and millions of years of death, pain, and suffering to bring about a creation he called 'very good' (Gen. 1:31). That is nonsense.
   If we want to believe the Bible here without disregarding the first chapters of Genesis and resorting to outright balderdash, we have but one option: we must disregard the virtually unanimous consensus of worldly scientists.  They will laugh at us and mock us, but let us not take their taunts to heart.  It is God who will judge them, and they will most certainly not be laughing on the day they are judged.
  But what about the objections they throw at us? We must remember that most of them are of very little substance, and that there are always answers.  For they believe in time and chance, but we believe in a supreme God who has the power to make something out of nothing. We believe that He made the world in the manner described in Genesis 1, and the only objections people make to that are objections made on a purely naturalistic basis.  We know that God is the One who instituted the laws of nature, hence, it is axiomatic that He is not subject to them. So then, things like distant starlight are not a problem for us, for who says that God did not bring the starlight to the earth when He created the stars?
  I see no reason why we cannot trust the Biblical account of creation.  There have been many attempts to discredit it, and for good reason, because when it is discredited Christianity loses meaning.
   There is a claim circulating that Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 are separate creation accounts. In reality, Genesis 2 is adding details to the events of Chapter 1, but sinners will go to any length to try to destroy the truth of God.  Was the author of Genesis truly dumb enough to create two conflicting accounts in so short a space? I hardly think so!
   The point of this is that we do not need to take the world's ideas and try to harmonize the Bible with them.  God's word is unchanging, but the lies of this world are forever subject to revision.  What was well accepted in the scientific community twenty years ago may be considered complete nonsense in this present day.  Let us therefore stop trying to compromise.  The truth of God must NEVER be made to fit with the ideas of this world. Those who fit the truth of God to the lies of this world are changing the truth of God into a lie (Rom. 1:25). 
   Let us therefore stop this shameful compromise and stand undaunted by the attacks of unregenerate sinners who despise the truth and will resist it to the very bitter end.  We need not fear, for God will judge such persons.  We instead need to hold out the truths of God's word to a world of lost sinners.

Law and Grace, Atonement, and Sanctification

  I am about to touch briefly on three subjects, in a rather impromptu manner. These are things that have been on my mind in the past few days, and they are well worth talking about.
   I have been reading a book by Ray Comfort entitled God has a wonderful plan for your life: The myth of the modern message. I have not yet completely read it (probably about two thirds) but allow me to tell you what I have learned thus far.
   Ray Comfort speaks in the book about the disheartening statistics within evangelicalism today.  Research indicates that roughly 90 percent of those who make 'decisions for Christ' at crusades and within Church denominations apostatize very quickly.  Why do so few 'converts' stay true to the faith?
  It is because the gospel is not being properly preached.  Many preach Christ as if He will shower us with temporal blessings and make our lives better and more purposeful. With apologies to the Gaithers, the modern message often preached is aptly expressed thus: "Heartaches, broken pieces, ruined lives are why You died on Calvary".  When we preach Christ in this way, we are not giving the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).  
  What must we do? We must preach the law first, and use it as a schoolmaster to bring people to Christ (Gal. 3:24). When confronted with the law, people are then made aware of their need for Christ.  Without it, however, the gospel will seem foolishness to them.  It is surprising to see that many will consider themselves 'pretty good' people who can 'please God' enough to get into heaven, if it should happen to be that He exists.  Hence, we must make them see themselves as God sees them - lost, hopeless, wretched, rebellious sinners bound for eternal torment in the fires of Hell and subject to the wrath of God almighty.  When sinners thus see themselves, their souls are now receptive to the truths of the gospel.
   Mr. Comfort used the illustration of a person sitting in the plane, wearing a parachute because it will make his flight better.  When people in the plane start making fun of him for it, he casts it off.  The parachute is not to make one's flight better.  It is to bring one safely to the ground once he must make the 25,000 foot jump.  So it is with the gospel - it does not promise us a prosperous life, but we are guaranteed eternal salvation, and deliverance from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10).
  Which brings me to my next subject - Atonement.  It is vital that we have proper understanding on this subject (and we will hopefully be hearing about it quite frequently this easter weekend).
  Under the old covenant between God and the Israelites, atonement was a huge factor.  Christ not yet having died for the sins of the world, sacrifices and burnt offerings were demanded.  These were temporary sacrifices which had to be repeated over and over as man could not save himself from sin.
   Christ has once and for all atoned for the sins of His people.  As Hebrews 9:12 states, Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
   Jesus Christ died for the sins of all His people, and He is the one and only sacrifice. Apart from Him there is no sacrifice for sins (Heb. 10:26).
   Christ died so we would not have to - He took the punishment we deserved. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
   In Christ we have redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of grace (Eph. 1:7).  Forgiveness is not earned by works, but rather it is accessed by faith.  And how could it be otherwise? Is a single work on our part somehow going to make us more pleasing to God?  NO. We are seen as righteous because of what Christ did for us on the cross. For further reading, please consult the entire book of Hebrews and Romans chapters 1 through 5. :)
  And finally, I am talking about sanctification.  Sanctification is the process by which we are conformed into Christ's image.  The promise of sanctification is not a promise of immediate perfection, as some have supposed.  It is rather an ongoing work of God in the believer's life whereby the Spirit of God works within a person to make him more conformed to the image of God's Son.  It is not entirely internal though - God ultimately uses everything to work together for the good of those that love Him (Rom. 8:28), and that includes using events and happenings of life to draw us closer to Himself.
   I have been reading a book called Holiness: The true and the false by Harry Ironside.  He describes his experiences within the Salvation army, in which he was a soldier in his teenage years.  He spoke of his earnest desire to find a 'second work of grace' that would completely perfect and purify him of every trace of sin, outward and inherent.  He sought this experience with his whole heart, and professed to have had it for a while, but he quickly realized that he was not perfect as, according to the salvation army, he should be.
   His struggles in this regard are not foreign to me - I for a while sought something similar, and was very disheartened that I was not given total and immediate perfection when I 'surrendered myself completely' to God.
   The truth is that sanctification is a growing experience - it is progressive, not complete and immediate.  2 Corinthians 3:18 states, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
   Does this mean we should slack off rather than 'following peace and holiness'?  God forbid! We are commanded to walk in the spirit, and not in the flesh (Romans 8:1).  I would daresay that walking in the Spirit is the central aspect of sanctification. We are commanded, by the Spirit, to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13).  To walk after the Spirit is to do God's will.  This is in part why Jesus says that not all who say to Him, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of the Father.  Paul says in Romans 8:13 "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."  Do you see the connection here? There are a good many who publicly call Jesus Lord, but do not live as Christians, having not the Spirit of God.  To these Jesus will one day utter the solemn declaration "I never knew you; depart from me, you that work lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23).
 But for those who are saved, it is at times a struggle to do God's will. We want to do what is convenient for us, but we must remember who is Lord of our lives.  We are no longer serving ourselves, but we are called to serve Christ, and serve Him fully.  There is a struggle between our will and God's will, and it is a struggle that will continue until the day we leave this earth. But with the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us, let us press on to victory, not giving heed to the temptations we are often bombarded with.  We like to make doing God's will sound as if it were very difficult, but the truth is that we are often unwilling to do it, simply because we don't want to. But to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17).
  So there ... three subjects in a single post. God bless you all, and have a great easter!
  

Homeschool MACHS Conference Overview – Part 2

 Now I am finally getting around to documenting the things I learned on Saturday, the second and last day of the conference.

John Feakes (which, in case anyone missed Part 1 of this overview, was the principal speaker to the youth present at the conference) started off the morning by defending Biblical Creation. It was good of him to do so, and it was very refreshing to hear someone defend a passage which is almost universally rejected by non-believers and believers alike.

The first eleven chapters of Genesis are practically dismissed as nonsense by not only the atheist world, but by a vast multitude of Christians. However, if the first chapters of Genesis are nonsense, the Cross of Christ is nullified. If God used evolution to create the earth, then there was no point in our Lord Jesus Christ coming to this earth and paying the price for our rebellion against God. After all, in that view, God used that which was not 'very good' (namely death and suffering) to bring about His creation of living things. It makes God seem rather arbitrary and self-contradictory, and we know that God is light and that in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Hence, attempts to harmonize evolution with the Bible are not only foolish, but also on the verge of being blasphemous.

Our next session presented by Mr. Feakes focused on the defense of the Deity of Christ. In this session, he presented a lot of internal biblical evidence that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He also spoke about the Trinity, and how God is one being and three persons. His explanation made a lot of sense to me. We as humans are one being and one person. An object is one being but is not a person. God is one being and three persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Mr. Feakes' final session revolved around the Historicity of the Bible, specifically as pertaining to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. He showed how compelling the evidence was for His resurrection. Non-believers have resorted to nonsense trying to explain His resurrection away – suggesting that He did not fully die, His disciples had hallucinations, or perhaps the disciples stole His body and claimed Him to be alive. The evidence is so compelling that even some non-believers have admitted that His disciples sincerely believed they had seen their risen Lord. If not, why did 11 of them die martyr's deaths? Does a person die for something He knows to be a lie?

Furthermore, it takes multiple consecutive generations for a legend to fully develop. Many critics and liberal scholars claim that Christians over time began to develop ideas about Jesus being the Son of God, and so forth. But why then do we see such early dates to the new testament documents which talk about Jesus being the Son of God? All of the Gospels were written before the end of the first century, and the so-called 'synoptic gospels' (Matthew, Mark, and Luke, so called because of their similarities) were written before the destruction of Jerusalem. So we see that this argument by critics is nonsense.

This is no means a comprehensive coverage of all that I learned, but rather some basics. There are a good many places you can go to learn about that which I briefly discussed above.

Homeschool MACHS Conference Overview - Part 1

  Today I attended the first day of the Manitoba Association of Christian Home Schooling's yearly conference. This is my fourth time attending such an event, and I have to say, I have thus far enjoyed it immensely.

I will attempt, for the benefit of the reader as well as myself, to outline some of the things I learned today. Being still a teenager (grumble grumble) I went to the sessions geared towards teenagers, known as Teen Trak.

The speaker of two of the three Teen trak sessions I attended today is named John Feakes, and he is a Christian apologist who, I believe, runs something called CARE ministries. Unfortunately, I forget what the acronym 'CARE' stands for.

In his two sessions, Feakes defended the existence of God. He asserted that apart from God, none can really claim to know anything. We cannot conclusively know anything apart from God. If God is taken out of the equation, chance reigns supreme, and hence, everything is open to question. When we know something to be an absolute fact, it is because God has in essence declared it to be.

Feakes pointed out the fallacy of Descartez' famous statement “I think, therefore I am”. For although it may seem to make sense at first, the correlation between us thinking and us being defined as absolute entities is simply not there. Hence, we cannot base our reasoning on such a faulty statement.

The problem of traditional apologetics is that they can only, at best, uphold God as a possibility, or a probability at best. We cannot begin with uncertain facts, and reason our way to certainty. For apart from God, how can we determine anything to be absolute?

  The Bible contains the answer. God reveals himself to be the one in whom we find all wisdom and knowledge. In [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col. 2:3)

 I am greatly looking forward to tomorrow's sessions, which will defend Biblical Creation, the Deity of Christ, and the Historicity of the Bible.

The other Teen Trak session was presented by the conference's keynote speaker, Rick Boyer. As a father of fourteen, he spoke to us about defending our plans to homeschool our children someday. Although it is axiomatic that not all who were homeschooled will do so with their own children, we as Christians have a major incentive to homeschool our children. The public school system is becoming increasingly Godless and hostile to those who would live out the truth. He also spoke of the way in which the government conditions the brains of those who go through their public school system. His concern was that their individual needs were not being met, and they were stuck up only with those of their own age group, which was not a good thing. Boyer also spoke of the need for Christian leaders in this generation to lead God's army.

What he said contained quite a bit of truth – although the government conditioning my children's brains to be good, obedient, and naive citizens would not be quite as much of a concern to me as the destruction and shipwreck of my children's faith in God that could result because of the sheer Godlessness they would be exposed to on a daily basis. Either reason, however, gives me sufficient incentive to homeschool my children someday, as I know that unless the Lord works a miracle, things in the world and in the schools will only get worse than they already are.

Finally, I attended the keynote session in the evening, in which Rick Boyer shares a testimony from his own life, details of which I will not bother to get into here.

  I look forward to tomorrow's sessions, and you will all hopefully hear more from me about this tomorrow night or Sunday.

Studies in James, Part 5: James 1:22 - 25

  So tonight I am finally getting to my promised blog post on James 1:22 – 27.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (1:22)

With this verse James takes up what is arguably one of the central themes of his epistle – the need for action. True faith brings about results, and it is not something which people will never take note of.

Why then does it seem that while I struggle so much to be obedient to the Word, I still find myself falling short and failing to consistently be a doer of the Word? If the scripture says to be kind and loving, tenderhearted, forgiving others as Christ forgave me, being patient and not easily prone to wrath, and above all, trusting God fully and offering up my body as a living sacrifice, and I find myself failing in every regard, what must be done? Must I conclude that I am not saved? In light of the other teachings of the new testament concerning the Christian's struggle with sin, I would conclude otherwise. But still, what do I lack that causes me to consistently fail being a doer of the word?

This is an age old question to which many people have proposed many different answers. It is said by some that what I would then need to experience is a definite second work of grace which purges me of my sin nature and allow me to live, in essence, sinlessly. On the other extreme, some teach a complete defeatism - as if sin abounds more than grace, and we as Christians are doomed to live in sin until we die.

What does the scripture say on this matter? Let us turn to Romans chapter 6, where the apostle Paul says this:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The answer here is presented in painfully clear terms. We can walk after the Spirit, or walk after the flesh. That is, we can do God's will, or we can do our will – the will of our sinful flesh. It is impossible for the unsaved man to walk after the Spirit, nor would he ever desire to do so. The fact that we loathe and abhor the sin which so easily besets us is, in a way, assurance that we indeed have the Spirit of Christ working in our hearts. But what does it exactly mean to walk after the Spirit? It means to do God's will, which is impossible for us, but with the Spirit of Christ it is possible. When the Spirit works in our hearts, we come to abhor and loathe sin and desire in our hearts to do the will of God.

But we seem to have this unconscious mentality which goes something along the lines of 'how far can I go before I make God mad?' I will talk about this for a bit.

Under the old covenant which God made with Israel through Moses, everything was set out in stone. The people knew what 'made God mad', so to speak. Yet in vain do we search the new testament for specifics on 'how far' we can gratify our desires before sinning against the Lord. Instead, we are simply told in Romans 8:1 to walk after the Spirit, and in doing so we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. God (from what I have observed in the scriptures) does not seem as interested in laying down all sorts of laws for us to follow as He is in having us obey Him out of love from the heart. Indeed, love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:10).

How do we walk after the Spirit? Surrender. How do we surrender? By entrusting our all to God, submitting to His lordship over every area of our life. How is this accomplished? By faith.

    Having quoted an entire chapter of scripture, and spent several paragraphs describing the Christian struggle with sin and our victory in surrender, allow me now to move on to the next verses in James chapter 1.

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 2:23 – 25)

Here we see the Word of God likened to a mirror. We look into it and see all our imperfections, blemishes, and sins. It shows us exactly where we are lacking.

James exhorts his readers to continue to compare themselves with the law of liberty, and not to forget what manner of men they are, but to continually seek to grow into the likeness of Christ.

Again and again, we see exhortations to abandon spiritual lethargy and press on towards perfection.

I think this will wrap up my post for tonight, and I will speak about verses 26 – 27 in a separate post.

Church Evangelism, The Pharisees and Sadducees, and Division

I will begin today’s post with a commentary on the statement I posted to my facebook page earlier today.  This statement may have some controversial implications, but there is a point to be made nevertheless.

  We must GO OUT into the world to evangelize, not expect sinners COME INTO the church to be evangelized.  I know this statement disagrees with virtually all of modern Christendom, and thus it seems rather blunt and arrogant of me to say it. But nevertheless I will ask the reader to excuse my apparent bluntness for a moment and consider what I have to say.

   Jesus commanded His disciples to ‘go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Notice that He tells them to go out into the world, not to pragmatically make their churches cool enough to inspire sinners to come and check out Jesus. 

  It is very comfortable of us to let our Church do the evangelizing.  I’m not saying all evangelism inside the church is wrong, but I am saying that it is not the primary duty of your local church to make itself appealing enough to sinners that they will consider coming to sit on your pews for a service, and hopefully receive Christ as a result.

  I arguably sound very arrogant in contradicting most of modern Christendom,  but let me be clear that it is not my aim to throw another rock into the midst of all the turmoil that the Church already faces. 

   Having said that, I am about to venture back into a topic I have unsuccessfully spoke on before – division.  The amount of conflict within the Christian Church (never mind the world) is simply sickening.  Conservatives bicker over every jot and tittle of the Word, whilst liberals deny the word of God to the point of nonsense.  Those who do either are not doing much for the help of God’s Church – both are equally wrong.

   Consider, for example, the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Pharisees debated every jot and tittle of the law to microscopic shreds, while the Sadducees denied the word of God and rejected a large portion of God’s revelation to man.

   Jesus had something to say to both – and what he said there is of direct relevance to us today.

  To the Pharisees He said: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. “ – Matthew 23:23-28

   Allow me to say that what Jesus said to the radical conservatives of the day applies directly and painfully to the conundrum of the Church today.  To illustrate the point, I will tell you something.  Once, I was reading an internet message board in which King James Onlyists argued with Modern Version advocates.  Both sides involved in this argument  seemingly had a high regard for God’s Word, but it was one of the most ugly disagreements I had ever seen among Christians.  They were openly calling each other servants of Satan, and other unspeakable insults which shall not be named here.  I was saddened to see it. This debate was unprofitable to them.  Whether they were using the KJV or NIV – it was of no relevance to them, for they were not living out the truth of God contained in either of the translations.

  It is this attitude which Jesus rebukes the Pharisees of.  They strained at a gnat, and swallowed a camel.  While they openly appeared so holy and righteous with their strict adherence to the smallest jots and tittles of the law, they unwittingly omitted the more important things – the things which matter far more to God than the observances of minor jots and tittles.  They disobeyed the greatest commandments of the law while straining to obey the least of them.  Thus they were seen by the Lord as wicked. They were true hypocrites who looked down on everyone for not so perfectly obeying the law to the letter.

   This is an attitude which has overtaken many today .  Those of us who identify as ‘conservative’, who strain and struggle to have all the right theology and keep our theological fly swatter ready to crack down on any theology we deem bad, just because we feel like it, are guilty of this error.  I am not saying that discernment doesn’t have its place – but when all we care about is having the right theology, and making sure everyone else has it as well, and we forget what is important, we are doing no better than the Pharisees of old.  Faith and mercy, as well as a heart fully surrendered to God’s will, is far more valuable in the sight of God than having all the correct theology rightly figured out.  Now we ought not to leave the other undone – theology is indeed important, but the Kingdom of God is about so much more than correct theology.

  Having said that, let us see what Jesus said to the Sadducees.  He gave them a mere sentence of rebuke for their utter disregard for the word of God. “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”  - Matthew 22:29

  The Sadducees were the extreme opposite of the Pharisees.  They adhered to only the Torah, disregarding any other part of the revelation of God.  Any doctrines not found in the Torah they rejected, including the resurrection from the dead.  They held to a very humanistic worldview, denying the afterlife altogether.  For such the Lord rebuked them, saying they knew neither the scriptures nor the power of God.

  Those who deny the Word of God are, in a sense, denying Him who is the Word.  Hence, they do not really know his power. There are a good many people who profess to adhere to the teachings of our Lord, but they regard the Word of God as an imperfect work of man.  Such pick and choose whatever part of the Word they like but reject the rest.

   Why is such a view convenient? It is convenient because it seemingly solves a lot of problems that conservatives deal with.  For if we choose to disregard disputed passages of scripture, we have nothing to argue about, right?

   The liberal errs in this regard greatly, denying the scriptures and power of God.  By trampling underfoot the given revelation of God and teaching others to do the same, he is blaspheming our Lord.  Furthermore, when one denies the Word of God in such a manner, he gives himself an excuse to act contrary to God’s will, for he now has no objective truth to submit to.

   What did the Pharisees and Sadducees have in common? Both, although they agreed on little else, wanted Jesus dead.  He had no place in their dead religion.  Let it not be like that for us – let Jesus be the center of all that we do.

   The world today is a mess – not simply on political and economic terms, but also on spiritual terms.  Satan has created a web of lies, lies, and more lies destined to keep as many in darkness as possible.  The truth is suppressed in unrighteousness, and even those who profess to hold to the doctrine of Christ are so utterly divided that it seems there is no hope of anyone actually finding pure, undefiled truth.

  I tell you, if I did not have faith in God, I would probably have renounced anything to do with the doctrine of Christ by now – it seems that those who hold to it are in as much confusion as those in the world.  But I know that my Redeemer liveth, as Job said, and I know that He is still at work.  He has not left us to our own devices, but we have rather leaned on our own understanding and erred from complete obedience to the Word.

   I could say ten thousand words about this (so far I have said 1, 207 J ),but I see no need.  I cannot fix the Church, nor can I fix the world’s problems.  I cannot even fix myself – that is the Lord’s work.

  Humanism is not the solution to the Church’s ills, nor is someone’s idea of correct theology (for even if someone in the church holds to correct theology, there will be ten thousand who disagree with him).  We must each repent and look at our own hearts.

    We will not get anywhere by trying to sort out all our problems.  What we need to do is repent.  When 81% of supposedly born-again Christians in America think that ‘God helps them that help themselves’ is a Bible verse … we need to get on our knees.

Studies in James, Part 4: James 1:17 - 21

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)

In verse 13 of James 1, James warns Christians against accusing God of tempting them. Here, in contrast, we see the point made that every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights. God would no more do evil to His children than a loving parent would do to his or her child. God puts us through testing, yes, but this does not imply that He tempts us to sin. On the contrary, He does not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear (1 Cor. 10:13).

There is no variableness and shadow of turning with God. In other words, he does not repent of the good He does to us. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Rom. 11:29).

Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (1:18)

Here we are told of one of the most precious gifts of God – salvation. Of God's own will were we begotten with the word of truth. The Word of God is able to make us 'wise unto salvation' (2 Tim. 3:15).

He has granted us that we might be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. What does this mean? The firstfruits (a sheaf of grain that the priest would wave before the Lord, Lev. 23:9 – 14) in the old testament were to be brought before the Lord before the grain harvest could begin. In the new testament, this term is used symbolically. This term finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, who is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20). And it is used to represent the beginning of God's harvest – the harvest of souls. As the apostles planted the first churches and made the first disciples, they were rightly referred to as the 'firstfruits'.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

After they are reminded of the gift of salvation, James exhorts his readers to lay off all that hinders them. James instructs those to receive with meekness the engrafted word who have not done so.

We are all supposed to be swift to hear and slow to speak – a rather convicting verse to persons who are talkative by nature (yes, you're looking at me!). We are also supposed to be slow to wrath, because the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God, and how can it? When we are wrathful, we are more prone to saying and doing things that are in direct opposition to what we know to be right.

I will cut this third installment of my study in James short, because there is quite a lot to be covered yet in James Chapter 1, and for the sake of accessibility I will write the remainder of my study of James 1 in another blog post.  

The Doubting Christian

'God, show me that you exist! Please ... just pop in here for a few seconds so that all my doubts and unbelief can be zapped forever!'

Who of you can truthfully say that they have never prayed a prayer along the lines of this one? Have we not all come to such moments, where, against our better judgment and everything we have been taught, some unbelief seems to get the better of us, causing us to demand God to show us some tangible evidence?

Well, perhaps there are some of you who have never had to struggle with such things, but I know that I certainly have had to. To one who has been raised in a Christian home, one who has been taught Christian values literally from his infancy up to now, such doubts can be very disturbing. It is in such times that we hear the tempter come to us, and tell us ,'think outside the box. You've been raised with your parent's beliefs, and now it's time for you to find some beliefs of your own.' Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I was raised in a Christian home, I've gone to church my whole life, I was saved and baptized in my church, and to cap it all off, I was (and am still) homeschooled by my Christian parents. I am now 16, and far more rational then I was in my childhood. It is natural for people, as they get older, to question the beliefs which they were raised with. Secular public schools, universities, and colleges readily recognize this as being particularly true of young Christians, and sadly, many young people who went through college/university have completely cast off the faith which they have been raised with.

Doubt is dangerous. But the world is forever making us question the Word of God. On every turn, we see things engineered to destroy our faith. Allow me therefore, to be of some assistance to those of you who struggle with unbelief.

First of all, we as Christians believe in absolute truth. Truth is not relative, but it is found in God's Word. Truth is unchanging from generation to generation.

But how do we know God's word is true? How do we know that God actually is who the Bible says He is? How to we know that we are worshiping the right God? Did Jesus actually rise from the dead? Questions like these haunt many young Christians, but I will not answer them here. I have no need to, as there are many very fine Christian apologetic websites that can present evidence to appease the rational mind. I would rather say this: we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). Furthermore, blessed are they who have not seen, and yet believed (John 20:29).

'But wait!', screams the tempter. 'Don't be so dogmatic! You can't rely on the Bible!' Oh yes I can.

1. The gospel of Jesus Christ is self-authenticating. Those who have been transformed by it will forever testify of its power. Sinners of the vilest sort have found forgiveness, peace, and liberty.

2. The Bible is self-authenticating in general. God promised that Christ would come, hundreds of years before He came. And when He came, He did what the prophets said He would do. God promised something in His word, and it came to pass. Christ has promised to return, and we wait expectantly for His promised return, even though the world thinks that we are ridiculous.

We are commanded to believe, even though it seems as if the odds are against us. God will prove Himself faithful, just as He always has.

When struggling with doubt, the first thing you need to do is pray – and pray hard. You can spend long periods of time looking through apologetic material, but we cannot completely rely on apologetics to help us – they are helpful, indeed, but we cannot base our faith merely on evidence.

Every so often there is a stir in the evangelical world about someone who supposedly 'went to heaven' and 'came back', often with lots of fanciful stories about the amazing things that happen there. While I would hesitate to dispute the authenticity of some of these experiences, there are undoubtedly quite a few frauds.

Why do these frauds gain so much momentum? It is because the perpetrators of these frauds realize they can make a lot of $$$ off faithless, naive Christians who are scrambling here and there to find some scrap of evidence to support their faith. How foolish of us! Did not Christ give us His Spirit, who can give us discernment between truth and error? Should we not use our heads a bit before completely buying into the idea that some dead person saw God and lived to tell about it?

We must learn to have faith in Christ alone. When someone's near death experience is proven a fraud and a lot of people leave the Church because the 'evidence' was brought to nothing, we know true faith is lacking.

Now I am not saying that we ought to completely shun evidence when struggling with doubts. Far from it! Evidence and reason are very helpful! However, we must remember, above all, to bring our doubts before God. And we must not make the error that some have made, in naively embracing frauds as concrete 'evidence'.

I realize nothing I have said thus far is very comforting to one struggling with doubt. This is why I will now turn to the scriptures, which will be of a lot more help than I could ever be.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Heb. 11:3)

The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. (2 Samuel 22:3).

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. (Psalms 20:7)

There is confessedly a LOT I did not cover in this blog post. I covered the things that were on my heart, without caring to give you a comprehensive coverage of the subject.

Anyways, I hope you got something out of it anyways. I do most certainly welcome feedback - if there is anyone among you who has struggled with doubt and has overcome it and wishes to share some things that I missed, you are welcome to do so either in the comments or on my facebook page.

Thanks for reading. God bless!

Let there be truth!

Is it possible to preach the gospel, or teach the Bible at all without being dogmatic?  It seems, in this day, that Bible teachers and preachers seem to inundate their sermons with their own theological leanings to the extent that it can become confusing to us. It seems as if we have adopted a post-modernistic mindset within our thinking (I have MY theology, and you have YOUR theology, and I am not any more wrong than you are.). Does this necessarily have to be so? 'Just wait a second there Zeke!', screams a voice inside your head. 'Are you about to suggest that all those who call themselves 'Christians' unite under one giant ecumenical canopy regardless of any doctrine?' I am most certainly not suggesting that ... however, I am merely suggesting that we as Christians go to the scriptures prayerfully, asking the Spirit to guide us into all truth, and lead us to shun false doctrine.  There have been, and will be, many lengthy and verbose discourses defending and rebutting every theological position out there, but are we really called to play theological ping-pong all the time?  I am not saying that doctrine doesn't matter. It most certainly does! But what I will say is this: There are better ways of learning true doctrine and shunning false doctrine than playing an endless match of scripture ping-pong.  Instead of going to the scriptures with a preconceived notion of what we believe about certain matters, should we not go to the scriptures with an open heart to the Spirit of God?  Are we willing to accept that, no matter how persuasive our arguments are, perhaps we are wrong?  This goes for me as well - I am one who is inherently very eager to debate theology with someone. But we are told very explicitly to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). Trusting in the Lord and leaning not on our own understanding requires us to be willing to bend to God's will, contrary to our own. However crafty our logic and arguments may be, if they disagree with God, then we must be willing to allow our views to be brought in line with the truth. The Church today is, as it seems, hopelessly divided, and unbelievers look on with glee, as if it were absolute proof to them that the Bible is wrong.  If we listen to the voice of the enemy, so to speak, we would be told that there is no such thing as absolute truth, and thus the quest for any sort of unity of the Body of Christ is an impossible, and rather laughable endeavor.  For if the Bible is not true, then we are indeed beyond hope in this matter, for we would then bicker on for all eternity with no hope of ever resolving any issues.  But, praise God, the Bible is true, and knowing that, there is hope. We must understand that the Kingdom of God is more than theology, and furthermore, we serve Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). He has given us His Spirit to guide us into all truth, and therefore the reason we have for becoming so divided is that we have been leaning on our own understanding, just as the sinners do.  As I said before, we must not neglect doctrine and move under a big ecumenical umbrella with all those who profess to have some form of Christianity, but we must prayerfully come to the scriptures knowing that God has given us His Spirit to guide us into all truth.  In Christ, we have victory.  He who bought us with His own blood will not leave us nor forsake us. He will not leave us to believe lies.  Let us therefore come to Him, swallowing our pride and trusting Him with our whole heart, that He may be able to lead us into all truth, and direct our paths. (Proverbs 3:6). Let there be truth!

Studies in James. Part 3: James 1:9 - 16

"Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways." (James 1:9-11)

  James here exhorts brethren of low degree rejoice in their exaltation, and at the same time tells the rich to rejoice in being made low.  Notice here that, although he refers to him of low degree as a brother, he seemingly not refer to the rich as such. In fact, he speaks of them fading away in his ways, and likens them to withering grass. Compare this to the first six verses of James chapter 5, where James delivers a scathing denunciation to the rich (in the style of the old testament prophets). Therefore I initially had concluded that he referring to the rich tormentors of God's people, not Christians. However, a friend of mine who, unlike me, knows greek at least partly proved me wrong on the above point. It is actually probable that the above reference is to rich christians, due to the fact that the sentence can be read such that rich is an adjective with brother as its antecedent. Hence my editing of this post ... sorry guys, I was wrong.
  Having said that, I would remind the reader of what Paul said to Timothy: "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy".  We are not to trust in riches, for although they may give us pleasure for a moment, they will eventually be destroyed, and come to nothing.  Therefore let us trust in the Living God, who richly blesses us with spiritual blessings that will never pass away.

   "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (1:12)

 Here James once again turns his reader's attention to enduring temptation. He assures them that when they have been tried, they shall receive the crown of life. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death (Rev. 2:11). He that endureth to the end shall be saved (Matt 10:22).

  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.

  It becomes evident now that James is talking about a different kind of temptation than the one mentioned earlier in the chapter (1:2 - 4).  In those verses James spoke of our faith being tested, and here he is speaking of temptation to sin.
   The first principle James would have us realize is this: God does not tempt anyone with evil, nor is he tempted with evil.  Having said this, he goes on to describe what is the cause of our temptation. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Notice the words 'his own lust'.  Temptations are tailored for the individual - something that may seem tempting to you may not seem tempting to me, and vice versa.
   Notice something else: lust (in this case, desire) brings forth sin.  The temptation itself is not sin.  It is when we allow the desire to take hold of us, causing us to succumb to the temptation, that we sin.  And of course, as James rightly states, sin when finished leads to death.  That is not to say we lose our salvation if we fail one temptation, but we must come to the realization that sin is our enemy.  We must not allow ourselves to adopt the mentality. 'how far can I go before I make God mad?'  We are supposed to walk after the Spirit, and by the Spirit put to death the desires of the flesh (Romans 8:13). We must not err.




  

  

  

Studies in James, Part 2: James 1:1-8

This will be the first proper expository blog post in a series of posts where I go through the book of James in-depth.  Today, I will look at the first eight verses.

 "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." (1:1)

  This is a greeting wherein James identifies himself and his recipients. James was the physical half-brother of Jesus Christ, and probably the oldest of Jesus' half-siblings, since he is at the top of the list in Matthew 13:55.

  James was originally not a believer (John 7:5), but he was one of those whom Jesus appeared to after his Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7), and he ended up becoming a prominent leader in the Jerusalem Church (Galatians 2:9 mentions him as a 'pillar').

  Interesting to note is the designation which James applies to his recipients. He mentions them as the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. This is in part because they were Jewish, and in part because they were scattered. Acts 8:1 informs us that there was a great persecution against the Church which caused them to be scattered.

  "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." (1:2-3)

  James exhorts his readers to count it all joy when they fall into diverse temptations. Why would this be? Because the trying of their faith produces patience (which is properly rendered 'steadfastness' in some versions). 

  God uses trials to strengthen our faith.  When our faith is tested, whether it be spiritually, intellectually, or circumstantially, we can rest assured knowing that God is allowing these things to happen to strengthen our faith.  He will not suffer our foot to be moved (Psa. 121:3), and when our faith is tempted, we can be comforted knowing that God is not allowing our faith to be destroyed.

  Hence, when our faith is tested, we should count it as a positive thing.  Trials and temptations cause us to be dependent on Him who allows them in our lives - thus increasing our faith, and causing us to be more steadfast. 

 "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." (1:4)

Again, 'patience' here means 'steadfastness'.  James exhorts his readers to be steadfast and unwavering when faced with temptations and trials, that they may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing. For when one is steadfast and unmovable (1 Cor. 15:58), he lets no foe drag him down. In Christ, we have victory - no matter how strong the foe seems to be. Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).  When we are completely steadfast, and let steadfastness have its perfect work (or 'full effect'), we are complete and entire, lacking nothing.  Why is this? Because we stand steadfast in Christ, and He never fails. He gives us the victory - time and time again.

  "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (1:5)

  Here James assures us that those who lack wisdom and ask God for it will most surely get it, the condition being that they ask it in faith (I will touch on the faith aspect in just a moment). What kind of wisdom is James prescribing? It is wisdom that comes from above (James 3:17).  It is wisdom that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. It is wisdom that effects in us the fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22, Eph. 5:9). James assures us that those who lack such wisdom, if they ask it in faith, will be given it.

  "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." (1:6-8)

  Here James places a condition on what he said previously - that those who ask God for wisdom (or ask him for anything, for that matter) must do so in faith.  We must believe that God will actually give us that which we have asked (as long as what we have asked is according to his will).  In this case, the Bible is full of exhortations to find wisdom, so we can know beyond a doubt that it is God's will that we all have wisdom, and do not lack. So then, let those who lack wisdom ask in faith, that it may be given to them.  If we go to God and say "God, I want wisdom", but we are not fully persuaded, beyond the shadow of a doubt that He will give it to us, we should not expect to get any wisdom, for we did not truly ask it of Him in faith.

  What is this reference to a double minded man?  A double minded man is one who does not go to God in faith, but rather (in some way) doubts God's capability to do as He promises .  Such a man is unstable in all his ways, for he is leaning on his own understanding and trying to do things his own way (Prov. 3:5).

 What do these verses have in common? Verses 2-4 exhort us to be steadfast when our faith is tempted, and verses 4-8 tell us to have faith when we go to God.  What James is telling us here is that we must completely trust God, whether it be in trials and temptations, or when asking God for wisdom (or anything else).

  

    

  

  

  

Studies in James - Part 1 (Introduction)

  I am attempting, in the following weeks, to write within my blog a series of posts wherein I go in-depth through the book of James.
  There are few books in the Bible which have garnered as much controversy from theologians through the ages as the book of James.  Luther, upon finally rediscovering the truth of Justification by Faith, made the error of disregarding this book, as it seemed upon first glance to contradict what Paul said in Romans and Galatians about justification by faith.
  However, God did not fumble when it was included as part of the canon of scripture, and it most certainly has its rightful place there.  Therefore, let us go into this book with the same respect as we would have for the writings of Paul, Peter, or any other apostle.
   This book seems to consist of exhortations and warnings. The readers are exhorted:

  To count it all joy when falling into diverse temptations (1;2)

To let patience (some translations read 'steadfastness') have its perfect work (1:4)

To ask God for wisdom, without doubting (1:5-8)

Not to blame God for temptations, for God cannot be tempted, nor does he tempt with evil (1:13)

To be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath (1:19)

To put aside all filthiness and receive the word with meekness (1:21)

To be a doer of the word, and not a hearer only (1:22)

To cease showing partiality (2:1)

Speak and act as one who will be judged by the law of liberty (2:12)

Not to have many 'masters' (meaning teachers) (3:1)

To submit to God and resist the devil (4:7)

To draw nigh to God. (4:8)

To humble themselves in the sight of the Lord (4:10)

Not to speak evil of each other (4:11)

To be patient to the coming of the Lord (5:7)

To be patient and establish their hearts (5:8)

Not to not grumble against each other (5:9)

Not to swear, but to let their yes be yes, and let their no be no. (5:12)

To confess one another's faults to each other (5:16)

To convert those who err from the truth (5:19-20)

One of the prevailing themes throughout this book seems to be action. Just because the gospel is true, and Jesus did wonderful things for us, even allowing us access into His Kingdom and justification by faith, does not mean we have an excuse to grow lethargic and slack off.  The book of James is full of profitable advice for both the saved saint and the lost sinner, as we will soon see. Those who have true faith will see it evidenced in works, for faith without works is dead (Jam. 2:20, 26).  

There is a prevailing idea today that each apostle had their own distinct theology that often contradicted with the theology of the other apostles.  It is my aim to disprove this notion and rather agree with Paul that all scripture is inspired, and profitable (2 Tim. 3:16).  

I hope you all enjoy this study in the book of James.  

Paul on the roles of women within the Church

 In today's post I will be discussing, hopefully in some detail, some of those statements made by Paul and Peter about women – statements that make us scratch our heads. We have all probably come across these statements, and being humans who tend to explain away things we don't like to hear, we are like “No, Paul, you can't be serious. Of course you don't mean that!”

When we read these verses in context, it becomes most apparent that Paul is indeed serious - Not that he ever had a habit of messing with us in his epistles. So then, we start doing the same thing sinners do – suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. We seek to explain away these verses as much as possible.

What's just as bad is – there are those who have taken those verses to the literal extreme, to the point of becoming legalistic. We don't want that either!

Before I continue, it is important that we remember that all scripture is inspired, and profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in holiness (2 Tim. 3:16). Hence, we must not conclude that only SOME scripture is relevant to us, but we must look at it as a unified whole wherein God reveals Himself and His will for His people. Scripture is not open to interpretation (2 Peter 1:20), nor can we add or take away from God's word (Prov. 30:6, Deut. 4:2). We cannot feel free to pick and choose which parts we like, and disregard the rest. There is no portion of scripture of less value than another.

Having said that, let us continue. Before we look at these statements, we would do well to look at what Paul said to the Galatians:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” - Galatians 3:28

God shows no partiality to His own. There is not one child of His which He regards as any lower than any other. This same principle is applicable to men and women. God does not, as some have supposed, love men more than women or hold them in higher esteem.

I shall now get into the verses themselves.

“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” - 1 Corinthians 14:34 – 35

What? What is this? Did Paul give them the gospel without any added requirements at first, only to do damage control later? I hardly think so! Nevertheless, this seems like a rather difficult verse to understand, in part because Christians in general don't seem to like it very much and thus shove it under the carpet, and in part because it seems, upon first glance, to be contrary to the purpose and import of the gospel. Or course, it isn't at all, but a single context-free glance at this verse might convince us that it is.

When attempting to understand this verse, there are several factors which must be taken into account. First and foremost, we need to know the context in which it was written. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul is speaking rather exclusively about spiritual gifts. He is expressing the need that everything be done 'decently and in order' (v. 40). He shows them the roles of these spiritual gifts, and the motivation and purpose in which they are to be used.

Furthermore, why were the women not to speak? Because the men, being the heads and spiritual leaders of their respective households, were to do it. If the men failed to the point where the women performed the man's role, it meant that the men were obviously not doing their job. The fact that the women were to ask their husbands at home (v. 35) implies that the men should be able to answer that which they were asked. (And by the way, 'speak' here does not just mean any kind of speaking.  It means speaking in the sense of taking charge, teaching, and usurping authority over the men, which will be discussed later on in this post.) As Christ is the head of the Church, so men are the heads of their households.

Having said that, let us look at another passage:

“But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.” (1 Tim. 2:12 - 15)

Why does Paul bring up the fact that Eve sinned first? Would not practically every person in the world today tell Paul to be nice and not say such a thing, because many would find it offensive? Perhaps so – but the gospel itself is an offense to those who are perishing. Go read 1 Corinthians 1 if you have any doubt about that.

The reason Paul brings up this point (Besides the fact that God told him to) is because it was Eve who was deceived into sinning, and she in turn deceived Adam into sinning as well, and thus the curse of sin was inflicted upon the whole world. Paul warns that if the women are allowed to usurp authority over the men within the church, bad things will happen. As for the last verse quoted here (about being saved in childbearing), it is rather beyond the scope of this post, and I will not go into it here.

Now I am going to back up a few verses.

“In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.”

As for the first verse quoted above, Paul is merely making a distinction between inward beauty brought about by the fruit of the spirit and outward beauty brought about by costly attire, and exhorting that women display the former, rather than the latter. He is not necessarily forbidding any of the few things he listed there. If he were intent on entirely forbidding such things, I am sure he would have gone into a lot more detail and listed a lot more things which women were forbidden to wear.

What Paul said above makes a lot more sense in light Ephesians 5:22-33– it essentially sums up the Bible's teaching concerning the family.

22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

Furthermore, Peter says this:

1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

6 Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

My conclusion from this rather lengthy blog post is this – God does not make mistakes. He did not allow the disrespect for women prevalent in the culture of that day to invade His Holy Word, as many would suppose. Nor did Paul contradict himself. Nor does the Bible contradict itself, although those who are predisposed to see contradictions do certainly see them, because they will create contradictions that do not actually exist.

And that sums up my post! I hope you enjoyed reading this, and if anyone has anything to say that I missed, or if anyone has a scriptural reason to disagree with any of the points I made, feel free to leave a comment.

  God bless you all!