I also think it is a good idea to emphasize that this message is for myself as much as anybody. We all need to be more diligent with our personal Bible study. There have been periods in my life when I have been more diligent with my Bible study and periods when I have been less diligent. Also I can mention that whenever anyone gets up here and preaches or teaches it is predicated on the idea that everyone will go home and follow up with his or her own independent Bible research. (Acts 17:11) When Don read the previous post he characterized it as being on the topic of “personal responsibility” I am planning to use that characterization in my presentation also.

We all come from different and widely varied backgrounds. We all believe different things about the Bible some of these things are correct and some are incorrect. The Spiritual challenge facing us here today is to come together and be in agreement (have unity) on what the Bible actually says. We need to all grow together in our best understanding of what the word of God is telling us. None of this can be accomplished without each of us spending time with God’s word every day. This is an especially important message for the newbie. Habits now have to change. I was raised in a culture that did not include reading the Bible. In fact in my personal religious experience I was discouraged from reading through the Bible myself. Those of us who come from this sort of religious background need to firmly set our hearts on the task of making the Bible an integral part of our daily lives. Let me know what you all think of these points. The next post will start to look at some of the Scripture references I intend to use. Any suggestions are welcome.

I have had a few discussions that touched on some of the possible points that perhaps should be included to make this a useful and helpful sermon. It became clear that one point that needs to be included in this presentation is the importance of the word of God. Now of course, no one will give me an argument on this one but I hope to spur everyone on to greater diligence in the daily reading of the Bible. Certainly there are passages of Scripture that we are all more familiar with than others, but there should be no part of God’s word that we have not read. So first I would like to encourage all to read through the entire Bible especially if they haven’t or haven’t in quite some time.

It is not possible for each of us as individuals to firmly and confidently follow God’s instruction if we are not well versed in what the Bible actually says. We should not rely on the preacher or anyone else to tell us what it says or what it means. We can be helpful to one another in study and application, but each of us needs to go home and do the necessary study and this starts with reading through the entire Bible and becoming familiar with the text.

I had thought about speaking on the topic of some departures from the faith that are common in the Church of Christ so that we can each be on guard and prepared to deal with these issues. But the main tool that we have to accomplish this is God’s word, and so we all need to be encouraged to develop a closer relationship with God’s word. Other topics have been suggested also, like women of the Bible, and this is a first stab at preliminary conversation. So I hope to get some responses here, and we can shape this event together.

So now is the church an idea that came from God and is part of his eternal plan for us or did this idea come from man?   The gospel of Matthew records a conversation between Jesus and some of hid disciples:

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Jesus is telling Peter that the firm belief that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” is the rock that Jesus will build his church on.  He goes on to say that this idea came from God and not man. On the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter two, the apostle Peter instructed his listeners to repent and be baptized and then the chapter goes on to indicate that after that they continued to meet together and follow in the apostles teaching.  The chapter ends with the statement: “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved”.  In the letter to the Hebrews chapter ten we find this instruction:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

This is a clear instruction not to choose the route of going it alone.  One of the reasons given here is so that those in the church can “encourage one another”.  God knows that we all need help.  Especially in Spiritual matters it is crucial to have the support and encouragement of those who also believe in God’s promise because we are immersed in a world that works to pull us away from God.  Much of the Bible deals with this very struggle.  The apostle John makes some very strong statements about those who left the church.  Look at this passage from 1 John chapter two:

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

The apostle John made this connection very clearly that being a part of the church is a necessary part of being there to love your Spiritual brothers and sisters.  We need to gather to help each other and do the things that Jesus Christ instructed us through his apostles.  Look at the contrast the apostle John makes later in the same letter:

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Clearly John puts his emphasis on love.  But this idea did not come from him.  He is following the example that Jesus Christ set for all of us.  Jesus always did exactly as God the Father instructed him. And Jesus summed up the law and the prophets by saying that you should love God and love your neighbor as yourself.  Jesus also connected loving him with following his instructions.  The gospel of John chapter fourteen quotes Jesus saying this:

If you love me, you will obey what I command.

If we claim to love God and love our fellow man we will follow his instructions.  Those who believe the things God has promised and follow his instruction will receive eternal life with God in heaven.  Clearly, included in these vital instructions is the instruction to gather together as the church.  This includes but is not limited to assembling for worship on the first day of the week, Sunday.  Jesus also said:

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.

Now someone might look at a statement like this and just think that it expresses a nice sentiment.  but remember this is the word of God and is for our instruction.  This is more than just a comforting sentiment.  If we decide to go it alone we will not be following God’s instruction.

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:  I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

I have covered my thoughts on this passage in various postings in the past so I will just say here that our unity is clearly very important to Jesus Christ.  Our continued disunity undermines the very authenticity of the Gospel as the world observes us. The apostle Paul understood the importance of unity among believers and when divisions arose in the church at Corinth he was very specific and firm in his response:

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

The apostles commands us to be “perfectly united in mind and thought”.  So when these disagreements come up, even minor ones, we all need to be obeying this command and making every effort to come to perfect unity in Spirit and in truth.  The way this should work itself out in our nuts and bolts daily interaction is that when we become aware of any points where we are not “perfectly united in mind and thought” it should be job one to obey the instructions found in the word of God and make every effort to agree with one another.  Over time divisions will naturally become more entrenched and we will be moving away from the kind of people Jesus Christ wants us to be.

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Obviously Jesus could speak with authority because of who he is, but there is a deeper Spiritual principle that contributes to the authority of his presentation.  We can apply this principle to make our teaching more authoritative.  notice what Jesus says here:

So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.  The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

We should follow the example that Jesus laid down.  When we teach we should speak only what we find in the word of God.  We should keep conjecture and opinion out of our teaching as much as possible.  That is the only way we can have a prayer of being able to speak with any sort of authority.  In other words that is the only way we can pass on to people the things that they must do.  Not to mention informing people about what pleases God and pleasing God ourselves.

Now let me give you an example of how this might work in our day to day teaching.  This is actually a pretty minor point but it often comes up and might be useful as an illustration.  The letter to the Hebrews does not indicate the identity of the author.  Some consider the writing style to be indicative of the apostle Paul.  Some point to elements that may indicate otherwise.  We do not know.  The text does not say.  Some teachers go as far as to indicate their opinion concerning the identity of the author.  The class is now divided according to their own various opinions.  And no definitive position is able to prevail because God chose not to provide that particular piece of information in his word.

Is this how we should teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  Do we have the authority from the Father to include our opinion on this issue as part of our Gospel teaching?  We do not.  God has made it clear that he knows exactly what is going on and he has given us everything we need for life and godliness.  So what he hasn’t given us we don’t need.  A step away from passing on exactly what we have heard from the word of God is a step away from the example that Jesus Christ laid down.  let’s keep our opinion points to a minimum.  let’s resist the urge to go beyond what is written.  The Bible does not say who wrote the letter to the Hebrews and we can say no more than that  and still be speaking with authority.

All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.  I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one:  I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

What Jesus Christ did and said was always in perfect agreement with God the Father.  He even went so far as to say: “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.“  His prayer for us as we see from the passage above is that we all do the same.  We should all be in perfect agreement with each other because we are all in perfect agreement with God the Father just as Jesus was.  So what then is our responsibility when we disagree, especially on religious matters?  Well we need to get ourselves into agreement.  One thing that will very much help that process along is if we each decide to keep within the boundaries of what God has given to us for our religious expression and practices.  Let’s avoid clever ideas and inference upon inference that is not specifically supported by the text.

The reason why there is so much division is that most in the religious community fail to do this.  If someone states some principle or practice and some other conscientious student of the Bible does not agree then this disagreement  is evidence that one or both of them has gone beyond what is written. One or both of them is not in perfect agreement with God the Father.  As I stated at the beginning of this post, if every effort is not made to get to the truth of this dispute, both parties will walk away believing they each are more correct and these divisions will only deepen over time.  Also please note from the prayer of Jesus: the unity we demonstrate will let the world know that this is from God.  If we fail to have unity our case for divine discipleship is weakened.  So this is important.  If we make every effort to achieve unity and we truly succeed we will only then actually be more correct.

Why is this a problem?  This sort of associative reasoning changes with the times so you have an ever changing list of “sins”.  disputes arise when the listener has in his or her mind a different context or set of conditions than what the speaker has.  This causes disputes and divisions and leads to often tedious arguments that are not shedding any light on God’s thinking, which is what we actually should be focused on.  Also an argument sometimes goes on like this: one states gambling is a sin because it often leads to sexual immorality (which clearly is a sin).  Then another one does not agree that gambling is a sin, then the first one accuses the second of arguing in favor of sexual immorality.  This sort of thread of reasoning is often employed and causes nothing but division and results in the obscuring of God’s clear instruction.  Now some instructors are able to successfully navigate these pitfalls but the environment is created where the less experienced or less knowledgeable teacher often stumbles.

Finally, let me play the unity card here.  Jesus prayed to the father as recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter seventeen that we be one just as he and the father are one.  The apostle Paul echoed these instructions when he appealed to the church in Corinth against divisions in that church.  We can only have unity if we follow the example of Jesus in only doing and saying what the father has shown us.  Even after many, many years of attempting to get some traction with this issue of conditional instructions in various religious settings I am unable to see the correctness of those who strongly disagree with this line of reasoning.  This either indicates that I am exceedingly stubborn or stupid (a possibility I am willing to accept) or that the text does not support the widely held method of declaring all sorts of things sin.  If we are serious about following God’s instructions we will do our very best to correctly sort these matters out according to the truth and have unity.  This is my goal.

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. 

“Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!  If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

These are all conditional statements yet the underlying instruction is just as strong as any direct command, perhaps even stronger.  Jesus is not only vividly underscoring the vital importance of doing away with the things that cause us to sin, he is also demonstrating quite graphically how conditional instructions can still be very strong statements.  Many well meaning individuals when preaching the Gospel often shy away from the conditional element in many instructions in order to say: such and such is a sin.  I am not certain if they reason that the listener might not have the intelligence to understrand or if they were never taught the thing correctly in the first place.  Jesus was fully capable of making a strong but conditional instruction.  The apostle Paul did not dumb down the message either.  Some of his discussions included multiple conditional clauses, yet he still was able to make an extremely compellling statement.  Why then, do some distort the Gospel in this way?

In Acts chapter fifteen food sacrificed to idols appears as part of the recommendation: “If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well“.  It’s appearance in this setting is not defining eating food sacrificed to idols as a sin despite the fact that another item in this list (sexual immorality) is a sin.  This would contradict the words of the apostle Paul mentioned in the previous post.  This full list applies to people living under the conditions that this note was sent.  Now let me say two things about this.  Saying: “If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well” does not weaken the command for those who have set their mind to carefully following the instructions from God.  If God suggests something it has no less weight to us than any direct command.  But when we are attempting to communicate God’s mind to those who have not made any sort of commitment to God we look at the very least dogmatic and perhaps even ridiculous if we fail to express the conditions of the instructions.   The mind of the listener is not in the same place as ours concerning God’s word and not taking this condition into account is similar to the wounding of a weak conscience that the apostle Paul talked about in First Corinthians chapter eight.  It does not have the same weight to them as it does to us so the reasoning behind the conditional instructions needs to be expressed to be able to bring others into agreement.

It also puts us  in the realm of saying things that maybe might be true, that is if our body of inferences is correct and applies in this instance.  Jesus spoke with authority because he always said exactly what he heard from the Father.  The apostle Paul was always careful to indicate when he was stating one of his own conclusions despite the obvious validity his conclusions would carry.  We can only speak with authority what we find in Scripture, the further we get out on a limb of various conditions the less authority we have.  We can only say something is sin if God says it’s sin.  If we are making an inference about something under certain conditions we have to be at least as careful as the apostle Paul to indicate what is clearly from God and what is an inference no matter how necessary or compelling we might find the inference to be.  If we fail to do this we sin because we are either adding to or subtracting from God’s word. 

The apostle Paul expresses a conditional element and a flexibility that is so often missing today.  While still maintaining the absolute integrity of the instructions from God he draws an equally absolute distinction between the divine edicts and his own inferences based on his thinking and the current situation.  Even while clearly expressing the validity of his inferences because of his connection with the Gospel he still nonetheless leaves room for the clear and conditional limitations of his own utterances.  He is an apostle and therefore has more authority than the average Gospel teacher today yet many teachers today fail to either recognize or express these distinctions and therefore take on an authority  to themselves that is greater than what the apostles themselves had.  These teachers are going beyond what is written and placing themselves above God.  I have yet more to say on this topic and so “Conditional Instructions Part Three” will follow soon

Then Paul turns his attention to some of the topics they wrote to the apostle about.  One of these issues was food sacrificed to idols.  Now this specific issue does not come up these days but the treatment the apostle Paul gives this question is very much applicable to many questions that come up today concerning properly following the word of God and correctly handling the Scriptures.  The instruction the apostle Paul gives concerning food sacrificed to idols is a conditional instruction.  What do I mean when I say: “conditional instruction”?  Let me explain by pointing out a contrast.  In chapter five of this same letter the apostle Paul talks about sexual immorality.  In this instance a man has his father’s wife.  Paul strongly instructs them not to permit any sort of sexual immorality in their midst.  The Bible always speaks of sexual immorality in these strong terms.  It is always wrong.  So if someone asks me if sexual immorality is a sin I am on firm ground saying: “absolutely yes”.  There are no examples in the Scriptures where God permits any sort of sexual immorality.  But look at what the apostle says about eating food sacrificed to idols:

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.  For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.  But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

This is a conditional instruction.  Eating meat sacrificed to idols is not, in and of itself, a sin: “we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do“.  We are sinning though, if we do not consider the spiritual condition of others before we exercise this freedom.  And this is a very serious matter.  But if someone were to ask me for an unconditional answer to the question: is eating meat sacrificed to idols a sin? I would not be faithful to the Scriptures if I made any other response than: “no”.  It would be a sin under certain conditions and these conditions are important so considering the conditional nature of this issue it would be wise for me to say: “no, but”.  Then I could continue with a discussion of the important relational spiritual considerations that the apostle Paul brings up in this chapter.  It is not correct for me to respond yes to the question: “Is eating meat sacrificed to idols a sin?”

Many in the religion business are eager to label this or that thing a sin.  Observing the religious world and my personal experiences prompts me to say that we can say something is a sin only if God has indicated it a sin.  Anything else is going beyond what is written and not keeping in step with God.  but people in the religion business do this sort of thing every day.  An example more applicable to our culture today is gambling.  Many Christians want to say that gambling is a sin.  But since the word of God does not say that gambling is a sin it is a sin for any of us to take it upon ourselves to pronounce gambling a sin.  Now it is certainly true that gambling can lead to, or bring us into contact with all sorts of sinful things.  Therefore we might do well to avoid it.  This is a conditional instruction.  The correct answer to the question: “Is gambling a sin?” is: “no, but…..”. I want to say more on this topic and explore the concept of things we would do well to avoid.  Please feel free to comment on this so we can move this discussion along.  I know many do not agree with me on this, so speak up!  Part Two will be coming up soon.

This sort of discussion confuses some people.  One reason for this is many in today’s society get God and government mixed up.  Government is there to protect the rights of everyone.  Government needs to be impartial to do that.  Government needs to resist the imposition of one groups moral code on another.  Everyone needs to come to an understanding of the truth without the interference of the government.  Government is there to provide a safe environment for us to do that.  The confusion comes because there is some overlap between the functions of God and government.  The separation of church and state is one of the most important concepts to come out of the last few hundred years.  Let Government be impartial and protect everyone.  Let the church be the instrument of God’s love.  And love of course cannot be impartial.

Some religious types, zealous for their own viewpoint, see an advantage in placing in government those whom they consider able to legislate their religious convictions.  This sort of thinking is unwise because it is only a temporary advantage.  As soon as someone gets elected with a different point of view then all the “faith based” legislation of the past can be undone.  Better to keep the separation of church and state.  And so no one’s rights get trampled on because of another’s religious views.  Let the government do it’s job with no partiality.  Let the church be an instrument of God’s love.  Let’s not get those functions mixed up.

God intends to maintain his preference for good till the very end.  He will then make a final assessment that will be anything but impartial.  He will makes choices depending on the criteria he has specifically spelled out clearly in his word, the Bible.  We would all do well to make sure we are thoroughly acquainted with God’s criteria.  Some will certainly be surprised at God’s final expression of partiality.  God is not an impartial God.  I’ll close with the word’s of Jesus Christ:     

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

 ”Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 ”The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

So the media, used to these questionable “fair and balanced” methods does the same with spiritual and religious topics.  So many conflicting positions, look at them all and chart a compromise that is equidistant from all.  This consensus approach is no way to get at the facts and no way to find the truth.  Even a cursory walk through the Bible reveals that the majority position is just about never correct.  The middle road between the partisan points is just about never the truth.  Look for yourself.  There is a correct position on any spiritual issue and more often than not most don’t get it.  SO when the media reports spiritual news in the same way they handle politics it serves no one.  The truth is obscured by all the rhetoric and back and forth debate between two sides that are often equally incorrect.

Sometimes on PBS there is an attempt to establish certain facts before the partisan pundits are brought in to dispute each other.  This almost never happens in the commercial media.  But even on PBS, despite the facts just reported, the pundits are able to make points that fly in the face of the facts and continue unchallenged by the reporter or moderator.  Seeing both sides of the story and considering all positions is important for an enlightened individual.  But both positions must be examined in light of the facts.  Understanding the truth should be our objective no matter where the truth lies.  It may indeed be much closer to one position or other.  Or the truth may lie right up the middle.  Our objective should be to uncover and accept the truth no matter how it relates to both sides of the story.    

If both sides decide together to explore the truth rather than being in opposition they are now a team working together to further the cause of truth.  Perhaps then both sides will realize that they each have something to learn.  If there is an issue where no clear cut position from God can be discerned then perhaps that topic does not belong in a discussion of religion.  God knows what’s going on and if he chooses to be silent on a certain issue we should see the divine wisdom in that and do the same.  This is an important point by the way.  Religion should be all about God.  If we are focused on God and decide to firmly stand for only the things that God firmly stands for then we are sticking to firm ground and there is at least a possibility of achieving agreement.  If our religious mind wants to venture away from the topics that God has spoken clearly on we then are in the realm of man made issues and the possibility of agreement disappears.

Let’s focus on the truth.  Let’s focus on the truth that God has clearly spelled out.  Let’s devote our efforts to exploring and distributing God’s point of view.  Then we won’t have the time for all this man made controversy because our lives will be filled with the truth.  We do indeed have to make the decision to embrace the truth no matter how difficult.  Even if the truth does not agree with the traditions we have been raised up with.  So many people blindly cling to religious traditions that make no sense.  This does not bring us any closer to God.  One thing the Bible makes clear is that religion as man practices it is always moving away from God and always in danger of becoming merely rules taught by men.  We have to be ready to accept this truth concerning our family upbringing because chances are it is true.  We must be ever ready to step away from the man made false religious practices and return to the truth once again.   

One manifestation of the above mentioned error that has occurred more than once in my life has to do with my assumptions concerning how others would react to the possibility that something is not right concerning their relationship with God.  I’ve had conversations with many individuals who despite the fact that they agree with me on the existence of God are not concerned about their relationship with God.  To put it another way, when introduced to the notion that something can be wrong with our relationship with God, some do not become concerned.  When this concept was introduced to me as a young man, I paused to consider if such a thing could possibly be true.  That pause gradually developed into concern and that concern gradually developed into action.  What is the truth about this?  Do we need to be concerned or will things just work out okay by themselves?  In this world, things generally don’t just work out okay by themselves.  In this world this sort of attitude is a recipe for disaster.  

I’d rather know the truth, no matter how hard or uncomfortable that truth is.  So if the truth indicates that my relationship with God is not as good as I think it is, I want to know that.  Most people are able to accept the concept that God loves us.  Love requires a proper response.  How well do you think you would get along with your loved ones if you never consider how your various actions and attitudes effect them?  It is the same with God.  God loves us and therefore cares intensely about what we think and do.  That is the truth.  He especially cares when our actions and attitudes do us and others no good.  Our bad decisions and incorrect actions grieve God.  We need to understand the truth about how God views us and cares for us in order to have a productive relationship with God and not cause us and him grief.  There is much going on in this world that obscures this truth, so in order for us to live a life pleasing to God and truly do well, we must all be truth seekers.       

Now there are many people out there who would disagree with the above comments.  I received many comments to the previous post to that end.  One thing all these commenters have in common (besides not agreeing with me) is that they do not understand God’s reasoning.  Step one in order for us to have a dialog about reason is for us to all understand the various schools of thought we are considering.  I welcome dialog with all those who wish to disagree with me.  That is what this forum is for.  First we must all make sure we understand the various schools of thought we are considering.  Now a number of years ago more then a few people brought up Ayn Rand when discussing God’s reasoning.  So I investigated and studied to make sure I sufficiently understand Ayn Rand to carry on a reasonably informed conversation.  We all must do the same.  Those who wish to dialog with me and compare and contrast God’s reason with man’s various systems of reason must also study and put some effort into understanding God.

So many have heard all sorts of things.  But let’s not go exclusively by what various people say about God, let’s go to the source.  The Bible is the place where God chose to lay out his system of reason.  Now it is extremely difficult to read through the Bible and forget all the various things we have heard about the Bible all our lives, but that is what we must do.  The contrast is sharply drawn throughout the entire Bible between God’s reason and man’s reason.  In order for us to have an informed discussion we must be able to at least tick off these various points of contrast.  

One point for example that many, who are unfamiliar with the Bible, disagree with me on is God’s method for proving his existence.  The pervasive thought common to many human philosophies is that we cannot prove the existence of God.  God lays out a system of reason to prove his existence clearly in the Bible.  So if we are going to argue the existence of God we must all understand the various elements of proof that God lays out in his word.  Then we can tackle each element in turn.  We can do that if we all make the effort to first educate ourselves about what we are talking about.  So let’s do that.  Let’s not just toss about all sorts of gossip, innuendo and unsubstantiated principles no matter no how long or how widely they have been held.  Let us reason together.  Let us prepare by learning about what we are talking about in this forum of reason versus reason.

Ayn Rand was certainly an incredible talent and I enjoy her works immensely.  But her philosophy, especially as it expressed itself in her personal life is fraught with contradictions.  Of course this is true for all of us.  But it is not true of God.  God is all about reason.  God is all about thinking and then applying that thinking to how we live.  Read the second chapter of the apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and you will see how this is true.  The apostle Paul often made the point that God’s reasoning is superior to the various philosophies of man.  The problem is taking the time and effort to truly understand God.  The problem is made even more complex by all the false religious information we have been fed all our lives.  Everyday day I am learning some new thing that I got wrong as I make every effort to draw nearer to God.

So what man does with religion often points people away from God.  People attempt to apply reason to their understanding of religion and of course religion as it is often taught today does not measure up.  So religion is often then dismissed as the refuge of a feeble mind.  But this is because of things that man has done to religion over the centuries.  So in this way the idea of reason above religion can help us to rise above the mess man has made of religion and find our way to a higher reasoning that comes from God.  It is a fatal error to dismiss God because of the failings of man.  Religion should reflect the reasoning of God and do honor to him, it all too often does not.  The fault though, lies not with God but with man.  Adopting the concept: “reason above religion” might just help us sort through all the nonsense mankind has piled on top of religion and find our way to the truth.  Then we will begin to understand the reasoning of God .

Looking back over the years now, at that time when I began learning things the “state of the art” in the word of God was at that time the Bible and today the Bible is still “state of the art”.  This is so comforting to me in this ever changing world in which we live in (apologies to Paul McCartney).  In fact the Bible was ”state of the art” when it was completed almost two thousand years ago and it is still “state of the art” today.  This is the way God designed it to be.  This is in such stark contrast to the things of man that are here today and gone tomorrow.  Of course “state of the art” often reflects an improvement in things and that is always so necessary with anything that man creates.  This is also in such stark contrast with the work of God.  Once his work is completed it is perfect, “state of the art”, no room or need for improvement.

This is of course not to say that many have not attempted to improve on the word of God.  But these attempted “improvements” have always faded away.  The thing that stands as “state of the art” despite these misguided efforts is surely the work of the one true God.  We should keep this in mind.  Often the newest thing is very enticing.  The publicity and hoopla surrounding the latest thing fades more quickly everyday.  But with each passing year the timeless presence of the Bible proves the eternal and prefect nature of it’s author.  So my time is better spent understanding just what is being said in the Bible than it is in studying the latest “state of the art” thing.  Understanding the word of God has a permanent benefit.  So such an investment reaps eternal rewards.  Therefore I encourage all of you to examine this work of God that is eternally “state of the art”.    

So here we are with an organization that God designed for us to all be free and equal and mankind is happy instead to put people in places of authority where they don’t belong.  The preacher is the guy who has the desire and the ability to stand up and instruct, that’s all.  I find it so interesting that the various news media do not do a little bit of investigative journalism and see that the preacher is not the leader of the local church.  This then makes his remarks less newsworthy and that is perhaps the key to the mews media’s lack of interest in the truth.  So perhaps Jeremiah Wright’s biggest sin is assuming a place of authority that no one has the right to assume.  But of course that is not news.  Certainly not the kind of news that helps sell whatever product is sponsoring the program.

In the church we have an organization designed by God to be free from oppression.  All we need to do is follow God’s instructions.  But look around and see how many local churches would rather follow human patterns of organization and put some so called “spiritual leader” in charge to oppress.  This is the wrong thing to do.  The real news about the flap over Jeremiah Wright’s comments is that no one stood up and spoke the truth about the lack of significance of his comments.  The guy preaching should be giving instruction about the Gospel.  He should be enlightening and encouraging.  Discussion of any social injustices or agenda needs to be kept in that context.  But the man in the pulpit is a fellow member with everyone else in the local church.  His job is to assist in the process of understanding God’s instructions and then applying those instructions.  All the rest of this activity that we so often see connected with so called “pastors” goes beyond God’s instructions and should not be seen in the church of his Son Jesus Christ.

Two classes of people who can’t help but pontificate from time to time, not because they are qualified, but just because they have an audience are pop music performers and sitcom writers.  I find it amusing but in a very dangerous way.  Many times you hear some singer-songwriter going on about some point of philosophy or religious truth hoping to correct us all but their approach is so often woefully misinformed.  Sitcom writers are always cleverly sneaking in some important spiritual point amidst the pratfalls and scatological references.  I would not be so quick to comment if I myself have not been guilty in the past of inflicting my half baked maxims and platitudes often to the frustration and detriment of my unfortunate hearers.  So I know what I am talking about here.

The point is that it is human nature to teach.  It is human nature to want to help those we consider less well informed.  If then we do not make every effort to make sure that we actually know what we are talking about, we are part of the problem.  We must carefully do our best to understand the truth before we get up on the inevitable soap box.  The upside of this situation is that we do not have to fix it all at once.  We just need know that there is a problem and each day put in a little effort to educate ourselves.  We can’t just rely on what happens to get passed on to us from our environment and family history.  This is how mankind has gotten so far off base over the years.  This is a central theme of the Bible and a vital part of God’s message for us.  So we should all get it and get it now.  We should all do our best to do it better because everybody does it.   

Of course also, over and over on the news last week I heard reporters, pundits and ordinary people referring to a conversation that Jesus Christ had with his disciples that is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew chapter sixteen.  It’s always nice to hear Holy Scripture quoted on the news.  But in all these cases the Scripture is being misapplied.  A reporter sticks a mike in the face of one of the bystanders and witnesses of the Popes arrival and the bystander says about the Pope: He is Peter and Jesus made Peter the rock on which he built his church.  This is a misquoting of Scripture.  It is easily seen from a simple examination of the text that Jesus is not declaring Peter the Pope.  Let’s look at the text and see if we can agree.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

The topic of this conversation is: Who do people say that Jesus is?  The disciples indicate that various people say various things.  Then Jesus asks the disciples: “Who do you say I am?“  Peter is the one who speaks up and says that Jesus is the Christ, in other words the messiah and the Son of God.  This is the answer that Jesus is looking for and the point of this passage of Scripture.  The rock that Jesus will build his church on is the belief that he is the Son of God.  The rock is not Peter it is the faith that Peter just put into words.  Looking at the whole passage makes that clear.  There are many other passages in the Bible that support this idea.  The are no passages in the Bible that support the idea that Peter is the first Pope and the head of the church.  Also notice what Jesus says to Peter later in that same chapter: 

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Jesus is not calling Peter Satan here.  He is once again making an assessment of the significance of what the apostle Peter just said and the larger Spiritual truth his words and heart just expressed.  Jesus is no more proclaiming Peter Satan here than he is proclaiming him Pope in the previous passage.  More Pope fiction.  What is under consideration here is what Peter is saying and the heartfelt beliefs those words indicate.  Read the entire chapter again and I am sure you will agree.  There are no passages where Jesus talks about a Pope or a Papal succession or any of the institutional trappings we see in the Catholic Church.  These are all things that men made up.  These are all symptoms and indications of a church that has wandered away from God.  These also are things that Jesus warned about and surely the things he said have indeed come to pass.  We need to find our way back to the truth.  We do not need any more Pope fiction.

“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

History according to the Catholic Church indicates that the Pope in A.D. 95 would be Pope number four and he was called Clement One.  But this important message from Jesus Christ did not go to the Pope.  In fact this Papal succession that had gotten us up to Pope number four in A.D. 95 is not mentioned at all in God’s word.  This is because the Papacy did not actually exist at that time and the “history” that is recorded is a fiction made up many years later to make it appear that a man made idea (The Papacy) came from God.  There is no mention of the Pope in God’s word.  Men just made it up.  Pope Fiction. 

Let’s now bring us to today:  Wednesday, April sixteenth in the year two thousand and eight.  So I am sitting at my computer this morning working.  The TV is on, and a special bulletin comes on about the Popes arrival at the White House.  The setting is the south lawn and the President is welcoming the Pope.  The President comes on and I am not looking at the screen, just listening to the sound.  I hear the president say “Holy Father” and I think the president is about to pray to God so I look at the screen and see the President turning toward the Pope sitting behind him.  The President kept addressing the Pope as “Holy Father”.  As a student of the Bible this of course struck me as very wrong.  Now President Bush presents himself as being a Christian and therefore having some knowledge of the word of God.  One would think then that he or his handlers would be able to satisfy the political needs of the situation without violating the word of God.  All believers are brothers and all equal.  It is the pattern of man to  create the sort of hierarchy we see in the Catholic Church.  This is what the Pharisees did in the time of Jesus and Jesus criticized them and gave this instruction:

“Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.  And do not call anyone on earth ‘father ,’ for you have one Father , and he is in heaven.

“Holy Father” can only be speaking of one person, that is God the Father.  This is an intrusion into the devotion that we should have for God alone.  The Pope, The President, and everyone else involved in the current hoopla are doing exactly what the Pharisees did in Jesus day.  Jesus was not pleased with this sort of thing then and there is no reason to believe that he is pleased by all this today.  The Pope is a usurper and a spiritual distraction and he should know better because I know he has read and studied the Bible.  Read some of his writings from before he became Pope and you will see that he indeed does know better but he finds himself trapped in an entrenched tradition and misguided institution.  He needs to screw up his courage and stand up for the truth.  He should not be standing between us and God.  There is only one mediator between God and man and that one is Jesus Christ.  Just before Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins he prayed to God the Father and called on him as “Holy Father” we disrespect his sacrifice to violate his instruction and call any man on earth “Holy Father”.  Jesus said this in that prayer:

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one.

It’s not that the Pope is this harmless little guy with a God complex, he represents an institution that has wandered away from the teachings of God a very long time ago. All this hoopla, while giving the appearance of some sort of holiness is actually the very opposite thing.  This is all not bringing anyone closer to God.  What is really happening is that people are being drawn away from God to follow the Pope.  Also a huge stumbling block is being created in the hearts of all those who are taken in by this misguided and hollow display.  We are all harmed by this Pope Fiction. 

Methodology is an interesting word.  It takes in the concepts of various ideas in a discipline and a comparison and critique of various approaches and methods in whatever discipline we are talking about.  God has a particular methodology for dealing with all the evil that is in the world.  My methodology should be informed by and at the very least in agreement with the methodology of God.  This goes for all of us, our methodology in dealing with the bad things of this world can make us part of the solution or part of the problem.  This is the central Spiritual challenge facing us all.  God’s methodology is focused on faith.  We must firmly believe in the truth concerning God to be able to grasp his methodology.  Our understanding is fueled by our faith and our faith is in turn fueled by our understanding.  This is a crucial element of the methodology that God has chosen to employ in dealing with evil.

Some might say that this approach flies in the face of rational thought, but a careful examination of the Bible indicates strongly that God does not agree with this assertion.  God carefully lays out a logical and rational approach to faith.  People often do not make sense.  God always makes sense.  So before you toss out God’s methodology it is wise to make sure that you have made every effort to understand it.  If you really understood you would not be so quick to dismiss it all as illogical rubbish.  The challenge is to understand and then to do, based on that understanding.  This is a lifelong challenge.  The sooner we start, the better.  So I encourage everyone to study and understand God’s methodology and then view our own methodology in the light of God’s methodology.  Then every effort should be made by each of us to correct our thinking and make our methodology God’s methodology.      

Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.  However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.  David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered. 
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

The things we do in response to God’s gracious promise are a sign to all of the special relationship we have with God through faith.  This is important.  Some reason that since God knows our hearts there is no need for us to do anything to show our faith.  This would work if God was not interested in showing his grace to the whole world.  Our actions in obedience to God are an integral part of spreading the good news of God’s grace.  In the case of Abraham for example his obedience is an example to countless generations.  It is not the same as obeying a law.  Laws are put in place to make transgression easy to detect.  In contrast the relationship we have with God is based on a promise.  We receive the gift based on our faith, the things we do are a by product of that faith.  Following God’s instruction  grows out of our belief in God promises in James chapter two we read:  

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

This what we are talking about with this living your faith business.  Law is all about judgement.  God’s instruction is all about freedom.  Now the previous passage might seem a bit cryptic by itself but James follows with a nuts and bolts explanation of what he is talking about:

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.  And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.  You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?  As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Living your faith is all about following God’s instructions because you believe his promise.  Abraham did not completely understand what God was accomplishing through him but we see by the writings of both James and the apostle Paul that it was absolutely necessary for Abraham to do what God told him to do.  We now benefit from his obedience.  But we benefit only if we are also obedient as Abraham was.  Jesus Christ is the best example of this.  He always did and said just as God the father instructed him.  Through Jesus all of us including Abraham can have eternal life as God has promised.  But only if we are actually living our faith.