I guess I’m a fanatic, probably have lost touch with reality, don’t have a clue about the world in which we live. So be it. If you want to write me off and call me irrelevant, I can live with that as well. However, I just don’t understand how so many children of God have so little to do with their Father, and think of themselves as pleasing to Him.
There is this verse of Scripture that reminds me of what being a child of God demands, and yes, I have no qualms using the term demand. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). Almost everyone takes comfort in the last part of this verse, but do we really consider the first part of this verse?
“Oh, come on, it’s a holiday, do you really expect us to be at church with a three day weekend? Or come back on Sunday night? Get a life!” I do have a life, thank you, and it’s the one my heavenly Father offers me. When I came in obedience to His will and was immersed so that my sins could be forgiven, I entered a covenant relationship with God, I committed my life to Him, I said by that act of submission that nothing would come before Him, that He would be Lord of my life (1 Pet. 3:15). I don’t see in the words “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” the word “except for…” Yet how often is it we say by our actions, “Except for holidays, except for company, except for work, except for play, except, except, except.”
I believe far too many practice a convenient Christianity. Oh yes, we want God to always be there for us, but we get to pick and choose when we take God seriously in our lives. How do we explain what it means to be crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20), to live is Christ (Phil. 1:21), Christ is life (Col. 3:4), and so many other exhortations? In reality, Jesus isn’t Lord of one’s life; the individual is.
Now, why am I saying this? Is there anything easier for us to do than not forsaking our assembling together (Heb. 10:25)? Yet we can’t seem to muster the commitment to do what is easiest anymore. Think about this. There are 168 hours in a week. Let’s take out 8 hours a day for sleep and another 8 hours a day for work. That leaves 56 hours. To attend Sunday Bible class, worship twice on Sunday, and Wednesday Bible class, you have used up 7% of your remaining time, which leaves you 93% for other activities. Tell me again how unreasonable it is to do this.
We want to spend eternity with God, but don’t want to spend any time with Him now. If we can’t find the time to do the easiest for God, what about the rest? Do you share the gospel with others, with your family? Are you committed to personal holiness? To having the mind of Christ? God is not, must not, be a casual acquaintance; He is life!
So, let’s be honest. Do you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness only when it’s convenient, or as an integral and vital part of life you cannot do without? “It’s a holiday!” “Seek first the kingdom of God.” It’s summer! “Seek first the kingdom of God.” “It’s whatever we want to do!!” “Seek first the kingdom of God.”
I’m not saying you can’t have a vacation, or be involved in various aspects of life. I just wonder why they always come in conflict and take priority over the kingdom of God? Maybe I am nuts and out of touch with life today. But I can’t get the image of my Jesus suffering on the cross for my sins out of my head or heart. Perhaps the problem is there are too many Christians who don’t have it in theirs. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). Who is it we really live for?
Robert Johnson
Bible
Monday, May 31, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
A New Testament Christian
What does it mean to be a Christian? How would you define the term in our modern era? While the word is found in Scripture (Acts 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:16), it’s sorely misunderstood today. Christianity overall, and being a Christian specifically, are such ambiguous concepts they can mean almost anything. In today’s environment, you can call yourself a Christian, no matter what you believe or what you practice.
Consider a letter sent to a denominational publication about the concept of hell. The person asks, “What kind of a God would ask, even command us, to forgive seventy times seven in a day and to go the second mile, while He Himself is willing to forgive mankind only in this short span of life?” The answer is, of course, the God of Scripture, where He writes, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36). In this life God forgives us so many more times than the seventy times seven. The depth of His forgiveness isn’t shallow, as He sent His Son in the flesh to die for our sins.
However, forgiveness is a matter for this life, not eternity. The Hebrew writer reminds us, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Paul speaks of judgment as the time when “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). Notice he says the deeds done in the body, in this life. In this life we can seek God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness, but after this life comes judgment, where we are held accountable for the decisions we made in this life, for eternity. This side of eternity is where we find forgiveness, not afterwards. We are reminded of the “great chasm” that separated the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:26), from which one could not pass over to the other. Where one spends eternity is, well, eternal.
The person who couldn’t conceive God condemning people to hell is not familiar with the God of Scripture, or Scripture itself. Such is the modern persuasion of trying to make God into our image, rather than allowing ourselves to be conformed into His. “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’” declares the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isa. 55:8-9).
The name Christian means “a follower of Christ.” To follow Christ one must follow His word (John 8:31-32). Just to wear the name Christian, then, doesn’t make it so, as the above example reveals. How do we distinguish ourselves as Christians, compared with its use in the world around us? With such distorted concepts, we should identify ourselves as New Testament Christians. Such a phrase separates itself from the conflicting views of society, and focuses attention back where it should be, back on Christ and His revealed will. As long as the name Christian is used indiscriminately, there will continue to be confusion and problems in society. Are you a New Testament Christian? Do you live as a New Testament Christian?
Robert Johnson
Consider a letter sent to a denominational publication about the concept of hell. The person asks, “What kind of a God would ask, even command us, to forgive seventy times seven in a day and to go the second mile, while He Himself is willing to forgive mankind only in this short span of life?” The answer is, of course, the God of Scripture, where He writes, "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36). In this life God forgives us so many more times than the seventy times seven. The depth of His forgiveness isn’t shallow, as He sent His Son in the flesh to die for our sins.
However, forgiveness is a matter for this life, not eternity. The Hebrew writer reminds us, “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Paul speaks of judgment as the time when “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). Notice he says the deeds done in the body, in this life. In this life we can seek God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness, but after this life comes judgment, where we are held accountable for the decisions we made in this life, for eternity. This side of eternity is where we find forgiveness, not afterwards. We are reminded of the “great chasm” that separated the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:26), from which one could not pass over to the other. Where one spends eternity is, well, eternal.
The person who couldn’t conceive God condemning people to hell is not familiar with the God of Scripture, or Scripture itself. Such is the modern persuasion of trying to make God into our image, rather than allowing ourselves to be conformed into His. “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’” declares the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isa. 55:8-9).
The name Christian means “a follower of Christ.” To follow Christ one must follow His word (John 8:31-32). Just to wear the name Christian, then, doesn’t make it so, as the above example reveals. How do we distinguish ourselves as Christians, compared with its use in the world around us? With such distorted concepts, we should identify ourselves as New Testament Christians. Such a phrase separates itself from the conflicting views of society, and focuses attention back where it should be, back on Christ and His revealed will. As long as the name Christian is used indiscriminately, there will continue to be confusion and problems in society. Are you a New Testament Christian? Do you live as a New Testament Christian?
Robert Johnson
Saturday, May 22, 2010
All Scripture is Inspired
The Bible is a marvelous work, which stands above any other piece of literature. It is, after all, God's revelation of Himself, and His will, for humanity. Written by approximately 40 individuals over a 1600 year period, it shows unity and harmony in declaring the theme of salvation to a lost world.
Questions have arisen, however, as to how we should approach this book. There are those who contend that each book is an individual unit, separate and complete in itself. They argue it was never intended for us to “interpret Scripture by Scripture.” Thus, we shouldn't consider each book authoritative, and by examining them together, have a complete picture of God's will. For example, they state Romans was written only for the church at Rome, Philippians for Philippi, and so on. Each letter applies only to those situations to which they were originally written. They were not intended to be examined together, taken together for doctrine and Christian living.
Such a loose view of Scripture is used to authorize practices foreign to our worship. For example, instrumental music doesn't matter, as the passages speaking of music were not meant to be applied to the church today. They have authority only to those congregations addressed in those letters. Women leading in worship is not wrong, as Paul's exclusion in Corinthians applied only to Corinth, and not us (1 Cor. 14:34). Such examples could be multiplied.
While this view of Scripture is being emphasized by some in our brotherhood, this is not the view Scripture presents of itself. To Timothy Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul speaks of Scripture as a whole, not individual books or letters that apply only to certain people, under certain circumstances.
Understandably, Paul's teachings reflect such a view of Scripture. To the Colossians, Paul exhorted a letter exchange with the Laodiceans, because of the good both could accomplish for each congregation (Colossians 4:16). To the church at Corinth, Paul wrote of sending Timothy, who would remind them of his ways “which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Cor. 4:17). No matter where Paul labored, or to whom he wrote, he understood it all to be the will of God, and all applying to us as Christians. By reading each of his letters to the various churches, we do learn about the unique situations many of them faced. Not only this, we also have a complete picture of God's will, and how it applies in every situation.
The Bible is not a loose collection of books, each applying only to itself, and not to be related to the rest. The 66 books in the Bible are those inspired by God, those which God wanted us to have as His Word. We recognize they were written under various circumstances and times, to various groups and individuals. However, by also considering them together as a unit, as God's Word for us, we have a complete picture of Him and His will. By examining Scripture this way, we can have a complete understanding of what we must do to be saved, of how we can live the Christian life, of having the promise of eternity. All Scripture is inspired of God, and all Scripture reveals God and His will to us.
Robert
Questions have arisen, however, as to how we should approach this book. There are those who contend that each book is an individual unit, separate and complete in itself. They argue it was never intended for us to “interpret Scripture by Scripture.” Thus, we shouldn't consider each book authoritative, and by examining them together, have a complete picture of God's will. For example, they state Romans was written only for the church at Rome, Philippians for Philippi, and so on. Each letter applies only to those situations to which they were originally written. They were not intended to be examined together, taken together for doctrine and Christian living.
Such a loose view of Scripture is used to authorize practices foreign to our worship. For example, instrumental music doesn't matter, as the passages speaking of music were not meant to be applied to the church today. They have authority only to those congregations addressed in those letters. Women leading in worship is not wrong, as Paul's exclusion in Corinthians applied only to Corinth, and not us (1 Cor. 14:34). Such examples could be multiplied.
While this view of Scripture is being emphasized by some in our brotherhood, this is not the view Scripture presents of itself. To Timothy Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul speaks of Scripture as a whole, not individual books or letters that apply only to certain people, under certain circumstances.
Understandably, Paul's teachings reflect such a view of Scripture. To the Colossians, Paul exhorted a letter exchange with the Laodiceans, because of the good both could accomplish for each congregation (Colossians 4:16). To the church at Corinth, Paul wrote of sending Timothy, who would remind them of his ways “which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church” (1 Cor. 4:17). No matter where Paul labored, or to whom he wrote, he understood it all to be the will of God, and all applying to us as Christians. By reading each of his letters to the various churches, we do learn about the unique situations many of them faced. Not only this, we also have a complete picture of God's will, and how it applies in every situation.
The Bible is not a loose collection of books, each applying only to itself, and not to be related to the rest. The 66 books in the Bible are those inspired by God, those which God wanted us to have as His Word. We recognize they were written under various circumstances and times, to various groups and individuals. However, by also considering them together as a unit, as God's Word for us, we have a complete picture of Him and His will. By examining Scripture this way, we can have a complete understanding of what we must do to be saved, of how we can live the Christian life, of having the promise of eternity. All Scripture is inspired of God, and all Scripture reveals God and His will to us.
Robert
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