Randy Green's Blog, page 363
July 10, 2015
The Born Identity – Part 2
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers [Judges 2:16-17].
You are wondering what happened to the first generation of Israelites, aren’t you? Yes, you are! I distinctly heard you think it. Well, they didn’t trust the word of King YHWH, so they refused to enter the Promised Land at Kadesh-barnea on the south. Consequently, the King sentenced them to banishment from the land. They roamed the desert for the next thirty-eight years (give or take), until the first generation all died out.
The two exceptions to this were Joshua bin Nun and Caleb ben Jephunneh. Those two Israelites of the first generation did believe the word of the King, so they were given the green light to enter the land and receive their inheritance. That is why Joshua led the second generation across the Jordan and conquered the Promised Land.
Here’s where the situation gets dicey, dear friends. This is where the two verses quoted at the start of this study kick in. The Lord was Israel’s King, literally. Israel had no human king like the other nations because the Lord God was King in Israel. He was King YHWH. That is the personal name of God in the Old Testament, YHWH (aka Yahweh or Jehovah).
The Lord ruled Israel as King, and He operated through human instrumentation known as “judges”. That is where the English title of the Book of Judges derives its name. In the two verses mentioned you will note the reference to “judges”. The word refers to these humans whom King YHWH employed as His subordinate leaders.
Anyway, King YHWH (aka the Lord) was faithful to his people. He raised up judges to lead them. They had this problem with their eyesight, you see. They couldn’t see King YWHW with their own eyes, so they required someone physical they could focus on to lead them.
It was a spiritual malady which betokened a serious flaw in their relationship with their King. In the New Testament it is known as walking by sight. They were supposed to walk by faith, you see, and faith comes from hearing the Word of God. They were supposed to hear the King speak, then believe what He said and obey.
Alas, but it didn’t work out that way in practice. Our Bible verses put the finger on the reason:
They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers [Judges 2:17].
We will assay this anomaly in our next study. Spend time with Jesus in the meantime, and converse with Him about our study today.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: born again, eternal life, Judges 2, Judges 3, rebirth, relationship with Jesus, Salvation
July 9, 2015
The Born Identity – Part 1
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers [Judges 2:16-17].
In the first few years of this millennium, a trilogy of movies appeared on the scene. They centered around a fictitious CIA legend named Jason Bourne. The trilogy accordingly wore the names “The Bourne Identity”, “The Bourne Supremacy”, and “The Bourne Ultimatum”.
The shows were blockbuster hits and raked in the moola at astronomical rates. I have to confess, I enjoyed each one of the trilogy installments, even though the theme followed the well-worn and tired plot of devious spies from another sinister and not-to-be-trusted government agency.
The action packed suspense at a pulsating rate from beginning to end—well, it provided enough excitement for us adrenalin junkies. We were cajoled into raking over our hard earned dole, just to sit and watch spellbound as Jason Bourne performed his spectacular exploits.
Whew! I’m short of breath just recalling the trilogy. If you have memorable moments from the trilogy too and are here to reminisce, I am sorry to disappoint you! We will not be talking further about the Jason Bourne trilogy, dear people. We are here to descant on “The Born Identity”, not “The Bourne Identity”. Sorry to all you movie buffs, but what we have to present is far more rewarding than a movie, even a movie trilogy.
The subject matter of “The Born Identity” has to do with eternal matters. Not that they are irrelevant now because these matters begin right here in time. That would be “time” as in “today”! So yes, “The Born Identity” is of the utmost moment for each one of us. Stick around then, if you care about your life.
The scene is ancient Israel circa 1400 B.C. I know that was a long time ago. Okay, so it was a really long time ago. Alright already. You win. It was a really lo~~~~~ng time ago. But don’t opt out on me just yet. The issue is still just as relevant for us today.
Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. Actually, the Lord (aka King YHWH) did the work, but Moses served as the King’s chief cook and bottle washer. Moses then anointed Joshua bin Nun as his replacement, after which he went home to the Lord in eternity.
Generalissimo Joshua then led the second generation of Israelites across the Jordan River from the east bank to the west. The Israelites conquered the Promised Land and settled down on their newfound inheritance from King YHWH.
That was the second generation of Israelites. But what happened to the first generation? We will investigate that issue in our next study. In the interim go to Jesus and discuss what we learned today. See you tomorrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: born again, eternal life, Judges 2, Judges 3, rebirth, relationship with Jesus, Salvation
July 8, 2015
Karen? No, Cherem! – Part 4
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed…And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones [Joshua 7:11-12, 25].
The Lord wasn’t being vindictive with Achan. Now that we have that issue out of the way, the remaining issue has to do with the spiritual truth which the Lord taught by means of Achan’s judgment specifically, and with the concept of cherem generally. Because of the specific example of Achan, we can better understand the general teaching about cherem.
When something belongs to the Lord, if it violates His holiness He cannot have anything to do with it. If something isn’t clean but it is devoted to the Lord, then it must be destroyed. Since it is the Lord’s, no one else can have it. Since the Lord cannot use it, it must be utterly destroyed, lest someone find himself taking the Lord’s things and becoming cherem himself.
Now let’s weigh this truth in the context of everything which belongs to the Lord. All things were created by the Lord, and apart from Him nothing exists. Ergo, everything belongs to the Lord. In the final judgment—i.e., at the Great White Throne on Judgment Day—whatever isn’t clean will be utterly destroyed. It will be cast into the Lake of Fire to burn eternally.
No, the Lord is not being vindictive in that case either. I answered that before you suggested it because I know you were going to do so! And no, it won’t be possible for Him to simply kill folks outright, rather than have them burn eternally in the Lake of Fire.
Why not? Because unlike animals and inanimate objects, man is created in the image of God. All living things were formed from the dust of the ground. However, only man became alive because the Lord breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. This means that man has God’s very own life in him, unlike all other living things. Hence man is created in the image of God.
Whereas God’s life exists eternally, so too does man’s life because his life is the life of God. Ergo, man cannot simply cease to exist: he exists eternally. When man sins he becomes separated from God because God cannot tolerate sin. If man refuses to repent, at the Lord’s Great White Throne he will be adjudged guilty and permanently removed from the Lord’s presence.
The fire of God is directed against all men. Those who repent and are born again are purified by the fire. Those who refuse to repent are burned up by the fire…except they cannot cease to exist, so they burn eternally. This is the concept of cherem.
This was why Achan & Family were stoned to death but then burned to cinders after they were dead. The judgment of fire inflicted on their corpses was a type of the Lake of Fire. Here’s a depiction of that place:
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever…And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire [Revelation 20:10, 15].
This is not a pleasant topic to study. The topic isn’t noted for winning friends! But we had best study it, lest we find ourselves swimming in fire due to self-imposed ignorance of the law. May we take it to heart and examine our hearts in the light of God’s Word. To God be the glory! Great things He has done.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: afterlife, ban, cherem, damnation, devoted to destruction, Firstfruits, hades, hell, Joshua 7, Lake of Fire, Revelation 20, uncleanness
July 7, 2015
Karen? No, Cherem! – Part 3
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed…And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones [Joshua 7:11-12, 25].
Achan was charged with six crimes. Consequences followed. Let’s see what they were.
The next city attacked by the Israelites was Ai. Though Ai was a rinky dink hick town, those few souls in Ai whupped Israel’s rear end and sent them packing! You see, the Israelites sinned by stealing some of King Yahweh’s firstfruits. They cheated on their taxes, to employ a contemporary phrase. Until the sin was judged by all Israel, they were officially cherem. They took the cherem, so they became cherem along with the cherem they took.
It didn’t matter that only Achan took the cherem. The Law applied to the entire congregation of Israel, and they had to enforce it. They didn’t, so they paid the price at Ai. When they finally did judge the sin, they no longer had the cherem among them and accordingly were no longer cherem themselves. So they returned to Ai and destroyed that city because the Lord again fought for Israel.
There is a powerful invisible spiritual truth taught by the concept of cherem. We want to investigate this teaching because it is a heavy message we dare not miss out on.
Because Achan stole the cherem, he himself—along with those in cahoots with him, viz., his family—were also cherem. This means they and all their possessions had to be utterly destroyed too. Listen:
And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones [Joshua 7:25].
Doesn’t that seem wrong to you? Do you see overkill there? I mean, they stoned them to death and then they burned their bodies and property with fire! Why bother to burn them after they were dead? Can the Lord really be that vindictive?
In response, would you rather the Lord had them burned alive? The Lord, you see, taught spiritual truth by means of Achan’s judgment. This truth required that Achan be burned to cinders. Having Achan killed by stoning first was merciful, compared to simply having him burned alive. So, no, the Lord wasn’t being vindictive with Achan.
In our next study we will see why the Lord had Achan burned after he was dead. For the time being let’s meditate on what the Lord has taught us today.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: afterlife, ban, cherem, damnation, devoted to destruction, Firstfruits, hades, hell, Joshua 7, Lake of Fire, Revelation 20, uncleanness
July 6, 2015
Karen? No, Cherem! – Part 2
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed…And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones [Joshua 7:11-12, 25].
The firstfruits always belonged to the Lord, but He cannot use it if it is unclean. What was to be done with it under that situation?
I got it. Let’s give it to the poor. Uh, that would be a no. The Lord’s people were not permitted to contact ritual uncleanness either, or they became unclean and out of fellowship with the Lord and His people. The long and short of the matter is this, dear friends. The Lord couldn’t use ritually unclean things and neither could His people. What’s more, the things which belonged to the Lord could not be used by others, even if those things were clean.
The solution was that all suchlike things were put under the “ban”, “devoted to destruction”, cherem. Since they belonged to the Lord and He could have nothing to do with them, they were utterly destroyed. That is what it meant to be under the ban or to be cherem. The items were literally “devoted to destruction”.
The Israelites crossed the Jordan River under Joshua’s leadership to conquer the Promised Land. The first city they attacked was Jericho, the city of palms. This made Jericho the firstfruits of the Promised Land, so all its people and property belonged to the Lord.
Trouble was, Jericho was a heathen city, living under paganism and idolatry. Accordingly, Jericho was “ritually unclean”, making it unusable by the Lord. Ergo, Jericho was cherem, under the ban, devoted to destruction. The Israelites were commanded to utterly destroy every person and thing in Jericho.
One Israelite, a certain Achan ben Carmi, saw some valuables he liked in Jericho. He fixed his eyes on them and lusted after them, until sin won out and he stole them. He took them to his tent and hid them there. Here’s the list of crimes with which the Lord charged Achan:
sinned
transgressed the covenant
took things under the ban
stole
deceived
put banned things with his own possessions
You may read the verses quoted at the start of this study to confirm that Achan was charged with those six crimes.
Well, criminals must be tried and sentenced justly, so consequences followed Achan’s crime. We’ll assay them in our next study. Jesus calls us at this time. Let us arise and go to Him.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: afterlife, ban, cherem, damnation, devoted to destruction, Firstfruits, hades, hell, Joshua 7, Lake of Fire, Revelation 20, uncleanness
July 5, 2015
Karen? No, Cherem! – Part 1
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things. Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed…And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones [Joshua 7:11-12, 25].
The Law of Moses was the legal code for the Israelites, during the time they inhabited the Promised Land. The Law had a stipulation known as cherem, a Hebrew word written with English letters (i.e., transliterated as contrasted with translated). This stipulation also went by the descriptions “things devoted to destruction”, “things under the ban”, and “the ban”.
Allow me the opportunity to explain this stipulation of the Law of Moses. To do so we need to understand a second stipulation, i.e., the firstfruits. The first tenth of every Israelite’s crops, as typifying the best portion, automatically belonged to the Lord. The Lord was King in Israel, literally. He made their laws and He ruled their land.
In the other nations of the world the king charged his subjects taxes, just as we pay taxes today. This was the equivalent of the firstfruits under the Law of Moses in Israel. Other kings wouldn’t accept whatever their subjects had left over, after they paid their bills and bought what they wanted. No! First came payment to the king, and what was left served as the people’s living expenses.
So the first, the best, portion went to King Yahweh in Israel. Here’s the thing. King Yahweh (i.e., the Lord) is holy. He cannot look upon sin and He cannot be a part of ritual uncleanness.
Huh? What in tarnation is “ritual uncleanness”? I know you wanted to ask that. Yes, you did! Well, under the Law of Moses the Lord employed visible physical realities to teach invisible spiritual truths. He used everyday things of this world to teach about eternity.
One way He did this was to legislate regulations about “uncleanness”. He identified classes of animals and birds and fish and insects, labeling some of them “clean” and others “unclean”. When these regulations are properly understood, we learn truths about spiritual things. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the physical visible realities themselves. The Lord labeled them “unclean” to teach spiritual truths.
The problem arose when some of the firstfruits came from things which were “ritually unclean”. The Lord is holy and cannot have anything to do with “unclean” things. So what was to be done with such portions of the firstfruits ?
We will answer that question in our next study. For now let’s retire to the prayer closet and visit with Jesus a while.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: afterlife, ban, cherem, damnation, devoted to destruction, Firstfruits, hades, hell, Joshua 7, Lake of Fire, Revelation 20, uncleanness
July 4, 2015
You Can’t Tell Me What To Do! – Part 4
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you [1 Thessalonians 4:7-8].
Returning to Paul’s words to the Thessalonian Christians, we now understand the concept of “sanctification”. The Christian is to spiritually mature, so that every aspect of his life is surrendered to the control of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will lead him according to the Bible, not simply utter directions in his ear out of the blue.
The opposite of this is the concept of “impurity”. How the saint lived before he was born again, that is what the word “impurity” has reference to in the context of Paul’s teaching.
Sometimes man’s “impurity” is gross and vulgar and unfit for us to express in words. At other times the “impurity” is moral and church-going and respectable. What makes it “impure” is that the old sinner does it, and sinners don’t obey the Word of God or love God. Sinners make their own decisions about right and wrong and do what seems right in their own eyes. Sinners make themselves God.
So we learn from Points #1 and #2 that Paul teaches the saints to cease from living their pre-salvation lives, and instead live their born again lives. The reason for doing so is that God calls us to salvation for that very purpose.
And this brings us to Point #3 of Paul’s teaching: the Bible carries the authority of God Himself. Paul actually had the audacity to assert to the Thessalonian saints that, should any of them not obey his teaching, they weren’t rejecting him and his words. Oh, no. They were rejecting God and His Word! The nerve of some people, huh?
Either Paul was a wicked liar for speaking that way, or else he was a lunatic for believing such stuff and nonsense. But wait! There is a third option. Perhaps, just maybe perhaps, Paul was telling the truth.
That was the position of the early church, and it continued to be so through all the centuries. But not so in contemporary USA. Today we prefer programs and activities and man’s words about the Bible. Give the Bible esteemed recognition as God’s very own Word? Put it on a pedestal far above every other book? As paying lip service, sometimes. In Spirit and truth, not so much.
Let us harken to the words spoken by the Apostle Paul, as the Holy Spirit inspired him to present God’s Word to us. Let us recognize the qualitative difference between the Bible and man’s books about the Bible. This difference is comparable to that between gold and fool’s gold. If you aren’t sure of how qualitatively different they are, try spending some fool’s gold at the bank. Prepare to be arrested!
A return to the Word of God—not in word only but in daily feeding alone with Jesus, dear people—the Holy Spirit calls us to this today. Nothing else we do or say will make any worthwhile difference. Apart from the Word of God, the whole Word of God, and nothing but the Word of God, no revival will occur, ever.
As Rule #2 for Bible study teaches, “The Bible is our sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.” May Jesus Christ be praised.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: 1 Thessalonians 4, authority of the Bible, inerrancy, infallibility, inspiration of the Bible, sola scriptura
July 3, 2015
You Can’t Tell Me What To Do! – Part 3
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you [1 Thessalonians 4:7-8].
Point #1 of Paul’s teaching states, “God calls the Christian for His purpose”. Since this truth is unknown to Christians today, how can this anomaly be rectified? Paul offers us the solution in Point #2: we learn of His call and purpose from the Bible. We must cease with the programs and activities mentality and return to the Word of God. That’s how to rectify the contemporary church malady.
God calls the Christian. Paul stated it rather bluntly. You can read it yourself and see it. God’s has a purpose in calling the Christian. Again, Paul stated that truth rather bluntly as well. God’s purpose in calling us is not for “impurity” but for “sanctification”.
Someone is scratching his head and musing, “Huh? That doesn’t help me much, teacher! What does it mean?”
Well, it’s like this. In the context of our Bible verses, “impurity” is contrasted with “sanctification”. This makes defining the concept of “impurity” a rather easy task because the concept of “sanctification” is employed extensively in the Bible.
There are three aspects to salvation by faith in Jesus Christ:
justification
sanctification
glorification
When a sinner comes to Savior Jesus by faith and asks Him to forgive his sins and be his Savior, he is born again. He becomes a saint, an adopted son of God by faith in Christ Jesus. At that moment he no longer has any sin. Judge God declares him “Not guilty!” He is justified. Justification is a legal term meaning “not guilty”.
When the saint is promoted to eternity, he receives his resurrection body. This is the same type of body as the resurrected Jesus now has, and will have through all eternity. This is known as “glorification”.
In the interim between being born again and being promoted to eternity—the time during which a Christian remains on earth—the saint is still clothed in his old body of sin. That body of sin (i.e., the sin nature) tempts him daily to live for self and do what seems right in his own eyes.
Unlike the time period before he was born again though, the saint also has a new nature living inside him. The Holy Spirit took up residence in him when he was born again. At that moment he was baptized in the Spirit, born into the Church as a member of the Body of Christ on earth.
The sin nature tempts the saint to live the old way, the way he did before he was saved. The Holy Spirit convicts him of suchlike living and empowers him to live the new way, the way the Lord Jesus lived while on this earth.
Jesus willingly laid aside his prerogatives as God and walked this earth in obedience to the Scriptures, while depending on the Holy Spirit for His success. While remaining on this earth after being born again, the saint is to go and do likewise. This daily process of surrender to the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit is known as sanctification. It lasts until glorification.
Wow! We’re out of time again. Let’s betake ourselves to prayer and meditation with Jesus now. We’ll meet back here tomorrow, same time, same channel.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: 1 Thessalonians 4, authority of the Bible, inerrancy, infallibility, inspiration of the Bible, sola scriptura
July 2, 2015
You Can’t Tell Me What To Do! – Part 2
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you [1 Thessalonians 4:7-8].
The good ol’ USA mentality today is this: “You Can’t Tell Me What To Do!” Christians even adopt this mentality when it comes to the Bible. The Apostle Paul had a thing or two to say about this. We concluded yesterday’s study by noting three points of emphasis in Paul’s words to the Thessalonian Christians:
God calls the Christian for His purpose
we learn of His call and purpose from the Bible
the Bible carries the authority of God Himself
Dear friends, it excites me to learn those three truths! Look around us at the good ol’ USA today. Visit some churches and pay close attention. Few folks know that God calls them, much less that He did so for His own specific purpose. Oh, you may well hear some words spouted which say otherwise. But points #2 and #3 in our list testify otherwise.
If I claim to be a Christian, then the Lord called me into His family. Apart from God’s call I wouldn’t have come. Sinners—and anyone born of Adam the First is a sinner—but sinners just don’t go seeking God on their own. The chief characteristic of sin is that it rebels against God and His Word. It doesn’t embrace God and His Word!
How do I know that? Well, it’s like this. God taught it to me…in the Bible. And that is the problem today. Folks don’t understand Rule #2 for Bible study: “The Bible is our sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.” Once we become distant and aloof from the Word of God, we perforce become distant and aloof from God. It cannot be avoided. Just ask those in the Church of Ephesus (cf., Revelation 2:1-7).
Churches today—and churches are comprised of Christians, so this means Christians today—but we’ve substituted programs and activities for the Bible. We’ve substituted doctrinal statements, Sunday School booklets, and other assorted varieties of man’s words about the Bible, for the Bible itself.
To build today’s church requires mega money for high tech toys, and the latest fad book on “effective” church programs and activities. But tell the old old story, proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, train up the saints in the Word of God and promote daily quiet time alone with the Lord with Bible opened and man’s books closed? No one cares about that anymore, so why waste our time?
Waste our time, indeed! If we don’t build the church God’s way, we don’t build the church. It matters not how many pews are in the “sanctuary” or how many good folks fill the pews. What matters is how many sinners die and saints rise out of death. What matters is how much spiritual maturity God’s leaders in the church foster in these newborn lives.
Point #1 of our Bible verses states, “God calls the Christian for His purpose”. Trouble is, folks in the churches today don’t know this truth, much less personally experience God’s call on them or His purpose for them. Sadly, but the church leaders often don’t even know this truth for themselves, so how can they teach it to those they are supposed to lead? They can’t.
Tomorrow we will proceed with our analysis. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your hearts now, as you chew the cud of today’s study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: 1 Thessalonians 4, authority of the Bible, inerrancy, infallibility, inspiration of the Bible, sola scriptura
July 1, 2015
You Can’t Tell Me What To Do! – Part 1
NEWS FLASH!!! Acts: Volume 8 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes is now available from CreateSpace (paperbacks) and Kindle (eBooks). Click on the link to the right of this page to go to Amazon and place your order.
For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you [1 Thessalonians 4:7-8].
When I was a wee tot, mom told me to take the garbage sack to the can. I responded, “No! You can’t tell me what to do!”
When I went to school, the teacher wanted me to turn in my homework. I challenged her, “No! You can’t tell me what to do!”
When I went to the job, the boss told me to bring him the report I was supposed to have finished. I told him, “No! You can’t tell me what to do!”
When I opened my Bible to read it, the Lord instructed me… I told Him, “No! You can’t tell me what to do!”
Okay. So I made all that up. Sadly, though, it’s all too common, with today’s affluent middle class morality reigning supreme. Even worse, most folks will look at my first three willful responses, and they will find them outrageous. But when it comes to the fourth willful response…well, no biggy.
The Word of God doesn’t hold much authority in the eyes of the people of today’s world. Truth be told, the Bible is contemned by nearly everyone. Oh, I know the word “Bible” is often bandied about in a reverent sense. That only makes it all the worse, when those doing the bandying don’t read it much.
It is a sign of the times—one which clearly spells out how far down the road of apostasy we have gone in the good ol’ USA—that even in churches which still claim allegiance to the Bible, the folks predominantly are Bible illiterate, or at best semi-literate. Perhaps, just perhaps, they can tell you that Noah built the ark and David slew Goliath. But pass a Bible competency exam. Fat chance! Don’t hold your breath.
The “good” churches with the “real” Christians have sunk so low, that the word “Bible” has replaced the actual Bible! I’ll leave it to your imagination what this means for the professed Christians in the more liberally inclined churches. Apart from a real Holy Spirit time of refreshing, methinks it is curtains for America. No government election will alter our course either, dear friends.
Personally, I love to read my Bible every day. I can’t get enough of it! Take, for instance, the Apostle Paul’s words in the two verses we quoted to begin this study. Read them attentively, musing on what he emphasized and what his underlying assumptions are. I note three points of emphasis. They are:
God calls the Christian for His purpose
we learn of His call and purpose from the Bible
the Bible carries the authority of God Himself
We will continue this topic on the morrow. For today let’s hie off to the prayer closet alone with Jesus for a spell.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B00507WC86
Filed under: Church Age Tagged: 1 Thessalonians 4, authority of the Bible, inerrancy, infallibility, inspiration of the Bible, sola scriptura
