Heavy Heart

I shared a link today where an atheist group is suing to have the 911 cross removed from the 911 museum.  I can't say I am surprised to hear that and I find that I am a bit aggravated by it.  Instead of being angry, I am literally in tears because of what this is representative of.

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment." (Luke 16:22-28)

If even those who can admit that there is a God will go to hell without repenting of their sins and accepting Christ, how much more certain is it for those who refuse to acknowledge that God even exist.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:21-23)

What is it that stops someone from coming to Christ?  Is it pride, or fear, or shame?  Does intellect get in the way?  Does one structure their beliefs around the hypocrisy they see in those who claim to be Christians?  I am sure there is some custom excuse for each and every one.

That hole you feel inside when your alone and no distractions remain is your separation from God.  No amount of money, or things, or adventure, or drugs, or alcohol, or escapism will ever fill that hole.  And living a life of constant distraction or living vicariously through reality TV will only comfort for so long.

The reality is this...

Everyone is a sinner
Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one"
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"

We cannot save ourselves
Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
Titus 3:5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
Christ payed for our sins on the Cross
1 Peter 2:20-26 "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."
Revelation 1:5 "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood"
Hebrews 9:22 "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

Salvation is free
John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name"
Acts 16:30-31 "And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

I plead with all of you to stop trying to fill that emptiness with things and activities and replacement realities.  Without Christ, you have no hope and your fate is an eternal tormented separation from God.  God will meet you where you are.  You only need to seek Him.

Context

I understand that it is common practice to use phrases to express oneself.  But this practice is only effective if a common context exists within the conversation.  Without common context, these quick little sentences can take on many different meanings within a group of people.  Even when a common context exists, however, that context can be wholly different than the one where the phrase originated.

As an example, lets use the common phrase "Judge not lest ye be judged."  I think I can safely say that most who use this phrase realize it is a passage from the Bible.  It is often used to instruct others that they should not judge other people.  Outside of the Biblical context, it may be a perfectly acceptable response to someone who is judging.  It really depends upon the setting.  However, when the discussion is how a Christian should act, the context is clearly identified as a Biblical one.  This is where this phrase is normally incorrectly applied.

If we look at the entire context of that passage, a different meaning emerges.

Matthew 7:1-5 Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

In context, this does not say Christians should not judge.  Instead it is in regards to hypocritical or self-righteous judging.  In fact, verse 5 addresses the hypocrisy by saying first remove your plank so you can clearly see how to remove the one in your brother's eye.  It does not say you are not permitted to remove the plank from your brother's eye.

If we continue reading to verse 6, we are actually instructed to make a moral judgement so we avoid vainly sharing the Truth of the Lord with those who have turned from God and find no value in Him and those who would viciously oppose Him.  There is and even deeper discussion here, but for brevity I will leave that for another time.

Matthew 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

If we were not to judge, then how would we know that we are giving something holy to dogs or pearls to swine?

There are many references in the Bible about judging and there are many more passages that are judgemental.  In John 7:24, Jesus says to Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.  So we are being told how to judge here.  In Matthew 4:17, Jesus says Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.  Jesus was judging them as sinners needed to repent.

I imagine I could go on for pages citing example after example, but I think the point has been made.  Without context, a phrase could mean anything to anyone.  It is important to know the circumstances before true understanding can be achieved.

The Identity Crisis! (Part I)

I was watching TV the other day and a Dos Equis commercial came on.  It is probably familiar to you as “The Most Interesting Man in the World.”  After the commercial I stopped and thought about it a bit.  As I dove deeper into the appeal and the message, I could see how this and a countless number of other messages being fed into the minds of people around the world help define their identity.

Identity is a very deep philosophical subject but I don’t want to write a book here so I am going to limit it a bit in this blog.  I would like to keep it constrained to a couple of ideas; who as a person we are to others and how our actions reflect how we and others perceive ourselves.

It seems to me that these ideas are more of a chicken or egg question.  I think that who we are to others is based on what we want to show them for the most part.  But what we show is determined by what we think would accurately reflect who we are and these decisions are influenced by external information.

Let’s say, for example, that we think we are a nice person.  Maybe that concept is based on holding the door open for someone, or helping someone cross the street, or serving on the local fire department, or countless other actions that are considered “nice.”  So, are we nice because we chose to do these things or are we nice because our actions are considered thoughtful or self-sacrificing by others or ourselves?  Put another way, do we do these things because we are nice, or are we nice because we do these things?  Or is it a combination of both?

I know this is a rather simplistic example but it illustrates how complex the idea of identity is.

Here is a simpler example.  Maybe I work on cars for a living.  I identify myself as a mechanic.  I do this because of a general understanding that someone who can make a living fixing cars is considered a mechanic.  My view of myself and the view of others are the same.  Now say I retire.  I still consider myself a mechanic, but others may not know what I used to do and would not call me a mechanic.  Maybe to them I am a Retiree.  If I wanted others to know me as a mechanic again, I would need to go out and get a job as a mechanic.

Considering all this, what shapes our ideas of success, or attractiveness, or how interesting we are.  Are these definitions part of our DNA and we “just know” them, or are these ideas shaped by the world around us?  I think you need look no further than advertisements and entertainment for an answer.

All these sources of media have one goal; to make money.  They all appeal to the ideas that make us who we are and attempt to show us how to be more, have more, and do more.  By my product and you will be more beautiful.  Follow my plan and you will be wealthy.  Take this pill and you will be slimmer.  Escape into this reality and you will be happier.  Buy this car and you will be the envy of your neighbors.  Drink this beverage and you will be like this interesting guy.

We are constantly bombarded with ideas that promise or suggest that we will be better, who we are will be better if we do what they want us to do, or have what they want us to have, or live like they want us to live.  What’s worse is that on the other side of the coin, we will be less or deficient somehow until we do or have or live like they want us to.  Can you see why there is an identity crises in the world today?

I think that creating your identity through the world around you is what Paul was urging Christians to avoid in Romans 12:2 where he wrote “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God”.  Instead of allowing the world to define your identity, allow God to show you who He created you to be.

Paul was not offering an alternative either.  In John 17, Jesus prayed for his disciples and all who believe in Him.  In that prayer in verse 16, He says “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”  Paul was showing that because we are not of this world, we should not be conformed to it but should instead be transformed by the things of God.

Controversy

I recently encountered a post on Facebook where the person had shared someone else’s post about a supposed employment flyer from a fast food restaurant which said that homosexuals (implied by wording) and those living in sin need not apply.  News articles have since uncovered that the flyer was part of a satirical protest against a local restaurant and the company in general.

This post was a call for those who “support equal rights for the LGBTQQIAP community” to boycott the fast food franchise.  I don’t think I need to address someone getting all wound up over false or misleading information.  Everyone one of us is guilty of doing that at some point in our lives.  Instead, I would like to talk about the controversy surrounding Bible based moral positions.

Since the LGBTQQIAP community was brought up in this post I will use some of their issues in this blog post.  With that, let us begin with “gay marriage” since it seems to be the most talked about controversy lately.

First, let me define gay marriage as marriage between two men or marriage between two women.  I know it seems self-defining, but I did not want to leave any room for misinterpretation. 

Now I know next to nothing about what reasons non-Christians have for opposing gay marriage so I will not include their positions here.  Also, I will not try to address any “religion’s” position on the matter.  Only a Bible based, Christian perspective will be discussed.

I believe that most Christians familiar with scripture would refer to Genesis 2:22-24 when defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.  Those verses say:

“22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made him a woman, and brought her unto the man.  23 And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

In Matthew 10:4-6 part of Jesus’s reply to the Pharisees concerning divorce identifies what marriage is.

4  And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read , that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,  5 And said , For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?  6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

The last verses I would like to quote are from Paul in 1 Corinthians 1-3:

1 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry.  2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.  3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.

These verses should provide some insight into what marriage means to a Christian.  It should also highlight that marriage is more than just a contractual obligation.  It is also a deep commitment and sacred responsibility because “…They are no more twain, but one flesh.  What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.” 

For a Christian, marriage is clearly defined in scripture and is not between two men or between two women.  Asking a Christian to recognize gay marriage is in essence the same as asking a Christian to disregard what is written in scripture.  For a true Christian, scripture is all or nothing.  You either believe it is the Word of God, or you don’t.  Disregarding anything in the Bible is to a Christian the same as disregarding the Bible completely.  This does not leave any room for compromise in the context of marriage.  Gay marriage simply will not be accepted, and those who claim it has Biblical support or is not defined in the Bible are misinformed or are not Christians at all.

I understand that you can probably find someone or some organization claiming to be Christian that would support any immoral and sinful act or belief.  I discuss these imposters in early blogs so I will not go into this here.  And this is not to imply that a person is a Christian just because they do not accept gay marriage.  I am just saying that it would not be hard to find someone or some organization that would provide some perceived legitimacy within a social context.

While there are many who do want to be accepted as LGBTQQIAP Christians, I would think most are focused on the legal aspect of marriage.  I also believe that Christians and their Churches that do not accept gay marriage are one of the main roadblocks to changing the laws across America concerning marriage.

In addition to a Christian’s position on gay marriage, I believe another factor in this controversy is their position on homosexuality.  The following are just some scripture references concerning homosexuality:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. (Leviticus 18:22)

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.  In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.  Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. (Romans 1:26-28)

If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. (Leviticus 20:13)

Once again a Christian has scriptural foundation which is contrary to the actions and beliefs of those who want gay marriage.  This is a more personal affront because it goes to the core of their emotions and affections and intimacy.  They are not faced with only a lack of acceptance; they are also faced with their lifestyle being identified as sinful.  I think this raises the level of controversy.

It is clear that there is cause for the controversy.  I also think some Christians spend too much time and effort in self-righteous activism and protest.  In their pursuits they fail to realize they have sinned as well.  And I recognize that some sin has a greater impact on families and the fundamental core of Christianity than others and should get as much attention as possible.  It is just my belief that some have lost sight of the person when focusing on the group.

The conflict is not against Christians.   The conflict is against God.   It is His Word that has drawn the line that we should not cross.  And judgment will come to everyone because we have all crossed that line.  That line, however, is not just for judgment but also for Love.  God has made clear His expectations because He loves us.   If we did not know right from wrong, how can we repent of our sins?  If we do not know why Jesus died on the Cross, how would we know to come to Him for salvation?

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 talked about sinners and how they will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  There is a feeling of hopelessness in that.  But verse 11 provides the hope when Paul says “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Some will never come to accept their sin.  Others will understand they have sinned and receive salvation.  As Christians we must stand on the Word of God, but our goal should be more than perseverance.  It should also be love and discipleship.  We should reach out in love and share the gospel of Christ to the lost.  Conviction will come from the Holy Spirit, not from us.  Realize that the controversy is between God and sinners and don’t forget that you once were as lost as they are.