I dare say that we all know what it means to be a hypocrite; in fact I'll bet that we have all had the term directed at us, at some point or other in our Christian walk! Don't get me wrong; I'm not condoning hypocrisy: I'm not saying that it's okay to be one! I'm also not saying that we shouldn't do our best not to be hypocritical; we should!
Wikipedia's definition of hypocrisy is 'acting in a manner contradictory to one's professed beliefs and feelings, or conversely, expressing false beliefs and opinions to conceal one's real feelings or motives.'
Concerning the Christian 'walk', as it often does; hypocrisy is probably one of the greatest reasons that people, both Christian and non-Christian, give for not fellowshipping together in a church setting. 'There's just too many hypocrites there', they might say. Unfortunately; this is all too true! 'Why would I want to be a Christian; I don't see any difference', might be another response you have heard of. One problem that we, as parents, face ( and I must admit that I have failed miserably, and still do ! ) is that our children, although sometimes following our good examples, more often than not, follow our failures, our bad examples, and then when we reprimand them for acting wrongly, they tell you that you're a hypocrite, and them blame their own failures on you. Again; I'm not excusing our own bad behavior, but neither should we excuse theirs, just because we're at fault as well!
I have recently had an email 'conversation' with a friend of mine, in which he brought up the fact that he used to pray to God to be free of his smoking habit. He admitted that; because he did not want to quit: he could not. He had what he termed 'a false faith'! He said that because he had prayed ( in faith ), but didn't actually want to quit: he was not able to quit, because James said, 'faith without works is dead'. Even if we pray in faith, if we do not act upon that faith, then that faith is useless, even to the point of being hypocritical!
We, as Christians, need to be very careful that our 'walk' is not hypocritical, not least, because of the position that God has placed us in, as the only Christ that most people will ever see, and as fellow-workers with Him, building and working for His Kingdom on earth!
Let us pray for one another, building each other up, and acting upon those prayers, and using the strength that Christ has given us to make better choices, changing the patterns of our own lives! I have much to work on in this area myself, and I ask that you would pray for me, that I would follow this example by practicing what I preach!
for the Kingdom,
Charles Shank
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Our Eternal Home
I don't know if Isaac Watts realized the full impact of the words that he penned here, especially in the first and last stanzas, although I think that I would most probably agree with much of his theology, as far as that goes; but the fact that God is our Home, our resting-place is the main thing that I wish to focus on here. I've discussed this here on my blog before; but the notion of a 'place' somewhere out there, even far off, although a traditional and orthodox belief, doesn't make alot of sense when you really think about it! When the Author of Genesis penned the first few phrases of what we know as Genesis chapter 1, we see that 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth', which I believe, as I've written in several different articles, referred, not to the creation of the physical universe ( although I want to make very clear that He did create them! ), but had a primarily symbolic meaning of the 'forming' of His covenant people. The 'heaven', as you might recall if you've ever studied the Hebrew and Greek, simply means 'sky', and only by speculative extension means 'the abode of God' ( which doesn't make much sense either; did God create His own abode, or has it too, been from Eternity ( always )? ) This 'doctrine', along with so many other man-made doctrines, brings up so many hard and even divisive questions: 'Why would God, the Creator of all, need to have a specific dwelling?' We know that God, as a Spirit, is present everywhere; this a fairly well-accepted fact, right? Both Peter ( in Acts 7:48 ) and Paul ( in Acts 17:24 ) have said, emphatically, that God does not dwell in 'temples made with hands'! Does that include His hands? Does a Spirit have hands? The Bible tells us so! It also says that He has a back part and a face but I don't think that anyone, no matter how much of a literalist, envisions God with actual physical hands, or any of the human parts that we've mentioned. These are just several difficulties that we face when we try to physicalize spiritual 'places'.
We can plainly see, from Scripture, that when we hear mention of a 'Heaven', as the dwelling-place of God, that it is not always in reference to what we think of as just the sky, or the air around us.
In Genesis 28:12, which most of us are familiar with as speaking of 'Jacob's Ladder', we see that, he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Exodus 16 is pretty familiar to most as the passage speaking of the 'bread from Heaven' or 'manna'; and lends some credence to the idea of 'Heaven'; Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.
We can see, in Deuteronomy 4:36, that God dwells in 'heaven': Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire. Moses, in Deuteronomy 26:15, declares outright that God's habitation is 'Heaven'; Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”’[d]
In Deuteronomy 30:12, he remonstrates about the Law, with the children of Israel; 'It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
Many times in the book of Deuteronomy 'heaven and earth' are called upon, to bear witness against the rebellious deeds of the children of Israel; but there is nothing inherent in this language to imply that 'heaven' refers to anything but the priests of God, the leaders of His errant children! Reading the story of the announcement of the birth of the prophet Samuel, in Judges 13: we see that, 'it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar—the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.' Praising God for deliverance from his enemies, in II Samuel 22:14; David sings,“The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. When Solomon dedicated his Temple, in I Kings 8:27, he asks the Lord; “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! ( see especially 30-49 )
Remember the famous 'Burning Bush' of Exodus 3? So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” God then told Moses, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Moses found it rather strange and intriguing that this bush was burning, but was not burned up; but we know that the bush was not 'consumed' because God was in it's midst; and even the area around it was 'holy ground' because of the Presence of God within it. We, as Christians, could be called 'holy ground' because of the Presence of His Holy Spirit within us! Jeremiah, in Lamentations 3:22, praised God that, 'Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.' After David, the king of Israel, had sinned against God by numbering the children of Israel, in I Chronicles 21, and God had levied His punishment on them; when God's justice had been fulfilled: And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the LORD; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering. When Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, in II Chronicles 18, would join forces with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel; Micaiah the prophet used the phrase 'host of heaven' in a slightly different context than we may be used to thinking of it: Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left. ( see also Isaiah 34:4 ) There are many other passages throughout the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, that clearly speak of Good's dwelling in 'heaven', including II Chronicles 30:27, the books of Ezra & Nehemiah, Psalm 11:4, 78:24 ( see also 105:40 ), 102:19, 103:19, 139:8 ( see also Amos 9:2 ), Isaiah 14:2, 63:15, 66:1, Jeremiah 23:24, Lamentations 2:1 ( see also Revelation 12:10 ), Daniel 2:44 ( see also Isaiah 9:7 ), Malachi 3:10 ( see also Genesis 7:11, in reference to the 'windows of heaven' ), Matthew 3:2, 5:12, 23:9, and Philippians 3:10, just to name a few; but for the sake of time and space ( also, that you may study these things for yourself ) , we will suffice with these, and say only that although one *can* gather from Scripture that God dwells in a special 'Heaven', from the context of the passages we have mentioned, and many others like them, that, in many cases, the word 'sky' could be inserted, rather than 'heaven'. One cannot help but remember too, what Jesus told the Pharisees, in Luke 17:20 & 21, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’[d] For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
Much more could be said here, concerning a certain place called 'Heaven', as a final resting-place for the believer ( in Christ ), but I want my readers to decide for themselves whether or not the traditional doctrine of Heaven 'holds water'!
As always; I pray that my readers will be Bereans, and search 'the Scriptures daily to see if these things are so', and that this study will both strengthen, edify, and comfort you with the knowledge that, through His Holy Spirit in us, we are 'holy vessels' of His, and inhabitants of 'Heaven', His 'dwelling-place'!
'In' His Kingdom,
and for His Glory., the edification of His Body,
Charles Shank
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
What is Love?
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve"
Bilbo Baggins' Party Speech from 'The Lord of the Rings' Book 1
The Bible says that 'love is the fulfillment of the law' ( Romans 13:10 ). There is no law that says that you must 'like' someone, as Bilbo said above, in order to love them. I daresay that we, too often, find his words true! Even we, as Christians, have a hard time, sometimes, liking those that we love. The sense of 'love' that we get in this day and age, from movies and especially television, is not true love; but rather a feeling, more akin to liking someone. It is also viewed as an animal lust, as we see in too many movies and television shows today. Too often; when a man and women declare their love for each other: the next scene shows them falling into bed together, in some state of undress. 'The morning after' many times brings a different attitude, and some sort of 'problem'! It may be that one partner or the other will not have been satisfied; they may figure out, after the deed had been done, that they really don't like the others personality. Scripture also say that 'love................ does not seek it's own' ( is not selfish- I Corinthians 13:5 ). Paul himself said earlier in this same letter, I Corinthians 10:33, that 'just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.' True love then, is sot selfish; it seeks the well-being, the edification of others. The 'love' that we see in most media today, whether it be the movies, television, books, and even the newspaper, seeks it's own liking, or 'lusts', above the needs of others! You probably heard the saying, 'look out for number one', the idea that if you don't look out for ( take care of-I'm guilty of this attitude sometimes ) yourself; no one else will! As Christians; we like to say that we have, as we should, agapao, or un-selfish ( unconditional ) love for each other, as our Savior shows to us. This is true; we can have an agapao, or agape', love for the brethren, because of the agapao that He first showed to us! The apostle John wrote, in I John 4:19, that 'we love Himb]">[b] because He first loved us.' John said earlier, in I John 2:5, that 'whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him.' I know ( from experience ) that our love does not always 'seem' perfect', or even un-selfish; in fact, I'd be willing to bet that even the most sincere act of love ( on our part ) has an ulterior motive behind it, even unconsciously! When John penned the words above; I'm sure that he felt the same way about it; but really, in context, John was saying rather that the love of God is fulfilled, or completed, in us, when we share the love that we have been given with others! Earlier, in I John 4:12, John says that 'if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.' I think that this is the key that we must alwas remember; 'His love has been perfected in us': We must love one another, but it is God who *has* perfected, or completed, His love in in and through us; remember, He first lo9ved ( us ), enabling us to love ( Him, and others )!
I pray that this little study will edify my readers, and strengthen or desire to love others, not forgetting our 'first love', God; for it is through Him alone that we love others!
in and through the love of Christ,
and for His Kingdom,
Charles Shank
Bilbo Baggins' Party Speech from 'The Lord of the Rings' Book 1
The Bible says that 'love is the fulfillment of the law' ( Romans 13:10 ). There is no law that says that you must 'like' someone, as Bilbo said above, in order to love them. I daresay that we, too often, find his words true! Even we, as Christians, have a hard time, sometimes, liking those that we love. The sense of 'love' that we get in this day and age, from movies and especially television, is not true love; but rather a feeling, more akin to liking someone. It is also viewed as an animal lust, as we see in too many movies and television shows today. Too often; when a man and women declare their love for each other: the next scene shows them falling into bed together, in some state of undress. 'The morning after' many times brings a different attitude, and some sort of 'problem'! It may be that one partner or the other will not have been satisfied; they may figure out, after the deed had been done, that they really don't like the others personality. Scripture also say that 'love................ does not seek it's own' ( is not selfish- I Corinthians 13:5 ). Paul himself said earlier in this same letter, I Corinthians 10:33, that 'just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.' True love then, is sot selfish; it seeks the well-being, the edification of others. The 'love' that we see in most media today, whether it be the movies, television, books, and even the newspaper, seeks it's own liking, or 'lusts', above the needs of others! You probably heard the saying, 'look out for number one', the idea that if you don't look out for ( take care of-I'm guilty of this attitude sometimes ) yourself; no one else will! As Christians; we like to say that we have, as we should, agapao, or un-selfish ( unconditional ) love for each other, as our Savior shows to us. This is true; we can have an agapao, or agape', love for the brethren, because of the agapao that He first showed to us! The apostle John wrote, in I John 4:19, that 'we love Himb]">[b] because He first loved us.' John said earlier, in I John 2:5, that 'whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him.' I know ( from experience ) that our love does not always 'seem' perfect', or even un-selfish; in fact, I'd be willing to bet that even the most sincere act of love ( on our part ) has an ulterior motive behind it, even unconsciously! When John penned the words above; I'm sure that he felt the same way about it; but really, in context, John was saying rather that the love of God is fulfilled, or completed, in us, when we share the love that we have been given with others! Earlier, in I John 4:12, John says that 'if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.' I think that this is the key that we must alwas remember; 'His love has been perfected in us': We must love one another, but it is God who *has* perfected, or completed, His love in in and through us; remember, He first lo9ved ( us ), enabling us to love ( Him, and others )!
I pray that this little study will edify my readers, and strengthen or desire to love others, not forgetting our 'first love', God; for it is through Him alone that we love others!
in and through the love of Christ,
and for His Kingdom,
Charles Shank
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Why Wait?
This morning, as I was traveling toward one of my places of ministry, a friend of mine, as we were listening to some rather beautiful music from Sarah Brightman, commented, 'I would like to learn all of these songs in 'Eternity'! As I thought about this, I realized that her statement, a nice thought, was representative of the thought patterns of many people today. The main reason, of course, that most people, Christian and non-Christian alike, make statements like this, is that they have accepted the traditional assumption, especially among evangelical Christians, that we will not enter 'Eternity', aka-'Heaven', until we physically die, or 'pass from this life'. I must remind my readers, at this point, though, what Jesus told Martha, in John 11:26;
"And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
In biblical context, we realize that Jesus was speaking, not of physical death, but of spiritual death, which, as we read also in parallel passages in the Revelation, will never come to those 'in Christ', and transversely, if we will never spiritually die, then we must have spiritual life now. If we have spiritual life now, as I have argued to greater extent in 'A Spiritual Body', then we must also be 'in' eternity! This brings up several questions, which I may treat at a later date: 'What is 'Eternity'?', and 'Can we be in 'Time' and 'Eternity' at the same 'time'? ( 'What, for that matter, is 'Time'?' ) In Isaiah 57:15, we see that:
'For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“ I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. '
Getting back to the subject of my friend's representative statement above then; does it really matter whether we believe that we inhabit 'Eternity' now, or whether will will inhabit it only after we die, whether we can have a physical body and a spiritual body at the same time, inhabiting the physical realm, or Time, and the spiritual realm, or Eternity, simultaneously? Why wait to learn these songs? Why not learn them NOW, enjoy them Now, praise God with them NOW, bless others with them NOW! We have an eternity to learn them! If we wait till we 'pass from this life' because we have made the assumption that we can just 'wait' for 'Eternity'; who's to say that in some future, spiritual 'Eternity' with God, that we'll even be concerned about learning new songs?!
I pray that this will be edifying to you and that you will ponder these things in your heart ( understanding ) and not wait to do things for God's glory because we don't have 'Time'!
for God's glory,
and for His Kingdom (now ) !
Charles Shank
"And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
In biblical context, we realize that Jesus was speaking, not of physical death, but of spiritual death, which, as we read also in parallel passages in the Revelation, will never come to those 'in Christ', and transversely, if we will never spiritually die, then we must have spiritual life now. If we have spiritual life now, as I have argued to greater extent in 'A Spiritual Body', then we must also be 'in' eternity! This brings up several questions, which I may treat at a later date: 'What is 'Eternity'?', and 'Can we be in 'Time' and 'Eternity' at the same 'time'? ( 'What, for that matter, is 'Time'?' ) In Isaiah 57:15, we see that:
'For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“ I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. '
Getting back to the subject of my friend's representative statement above then; does it really matter whether we believe that we inhabit 'Eternity' now, or whether will will inhabit it only after we die, whether we can have a physical body and a spiritual body at the same time, inhabiting the physical realm, or Time, and the spiritual realm, or Eternity, simultaneously? Why wait to learn these songs? Why not learn them NOW, enjoy them Now, praise God with them NOW, bless others with them NOW! We have an eternity to learn them! If we wait till we 'pass from this life' because we have made the assumption that we can just 'wait' for 'Eternity'; who's to say that in some future, spiritual 'Eternity' with God, that we'll even be concerned about learning new songs?!
I pray that this will be edifying to you and that you will ponder these things in your heart ( understanding ) and not wait to do things for God's glory because we don't have 'Time'!
for God's glory,
and for His Kingdom (now ) !
Charles Shank
Monday, February 09, 2009
I Still Love You!
This is a short article that I wrote for the church that I attend, and I have used the Authorized King James Version, in deference to them.
In the 13th chapter of Romans, verse 8; the apostle Paul said,
'Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.'
Later on, in his first letter to the Corinthians, in the 13th chapter, verses 1-3; he said,
In the 13th chapter of Romans, verse 8; the apostle Paul said,
'Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.'
Later on, in his first letter to the Corinthians, in the 13th chapter, verses 1-3; he said,
'Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.'
Our Lord Himself said, in the Gospel of John, chapter 13, verse 34,
'A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.'
Several chapters over, in John 15:12, He repeats this command, thus showing the importance that He placed upon it.
'This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.'
This reminds me of Peter's discourse with our Lord, after His resurrection Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him. Peter replied thrice that he did indeed love the Lord; but rather than using agapaō, as Jesus did, at least, the first two times, he used phileō. agapaō means simply 'to love', and has more a connotation of an active love while phileō means 'to be a friend to ( be fond of ), have affection for', and has more a connotation of a passive love, merely a feeling. Jesus simply wanted to know if Peter loved Him, but Peter wanted Jesus to know that he would be His friend, that he was fond of Jesus, that he had affection for Him! Jesus doesn't want just our friendship, or for us to like Him; He simply wants our love, and ffor us to share the love that He has given us with others! ( This is found in John 21:15-17 )
How do we do this?
Back to I Corinthians 13 now, in verses 7-13, Paul tells us that,
'Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.'
Paull uses much the same word here to describe how we must treat each other, in the Body of Christ. agapē means pretty much the same as agapaō, but has more a connotation of, rather than just a love for God, a love for your fellow man. You've all probably heard someone use the phrase, 'I still love you!': that's what Paul's talking about here; if a brother or sister cause hurt ( real or imagined ) to us, our response to that hurt should be, 'I still love you!' We should not selfishly try to exalt ourselves, particularly at the expense of others: if our brother or sister truly transgresses, we should correct them by reminding them, or telling them the truth, in love. As God, in Christ, bore our sins upon the cruel cross of Calvary, enduring the shame of crucifixion, believing that His heavenly Father would raise Him from the dead as He promised; so we, as the image of Christ, little Christs, if you will, should bear each others burdens ( Galatians 6:2 ), un-selfishly suffering whatever pain or shame they might purposely or unwittingly cause us. We should believe them when they tell us that they love us; placing our hope in Christ that they are being truthful, and showing them an enduring love: 'I still love you!'
Friday, January 16, 2009
Blessed Assurance ( I John 1:9 )
Most, if not all Christians find great comfort in the above mentioned passage, which is all right and very good! We should, as Christians, find much comfort: but even more, an assurance in those words. I think that many well-intentioned Christians have used this verse in the manner of Jonathan Edwards in his 'hell-fire and brimstone' sermon, 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' ( this is just one outworking, and really, maybe, just the beginning of the 'going to heaven when you die' mentality ). To be fair to those ( many ) Christians; I will humbly admit that, as John clearly says, we must confess ( and repent of ) our sins if our sins are ( to be ) forgiven.
From the very beginning of John's letter; he seems to be reminding his people ( the Jews ) of the grace of God, manifested in the flesh through His Son Jesus and His Holy Spirit. Could we not assume here ( safely ) that John is doing the same in the remainder of this first chapter? The Jewish people had heard, if not received, this good news of the Gospel from Jesus Himself: they had already heard ( and accepted, in some cases ) this 'formula' at the hands of Jesus and His apostles; why, do you think, would John feel the need here to repeat what they had already heard? Obviously because some had not accepted this doctrinal teaching, although some had, and I believe, as we can see from the very first verse of the next chapter ( 'my little children' ) that John was writing primarily to the latter group here, those who had received this Gospel, confessed and repented of their sins, and been forgiven and cleansed.
My main reason for writing here, is to encourage my readers to realize that John's admonition, in this passage, is a reminder of what has transpired, rather than a 'formula' to be followed every time that we fail to follow our Lord's example. Should we confess our 'sins' to our heavenly Father, and even to each other? Certainly we should!
In the fifth chapter of James' letter to these same people; he instructs them to,
16 Confess your trespasses[e] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Paul, in Romans 10, speaking to this same people; says that,
'if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved'.
The forerunner of Jesus, the Christ, taught his listeners that they should confess that they had sinned, repent, and be baptized. Confession ( of sins ) is a fairly common theme throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly in places like Leviticus 5:5, I Kings 8:33-36, II Chronicles 6:26, Ezra 10:9-11, and Proverbs 28:13 give us but a few examples of this; while we find in passages like Leviticus 26:40-42 almost the same language that John uses in his letter.
Unfortunately; many Christians have shuddered under the load that if they did not confess their sin 'at every turn' that Jesus would not forgive them of that sin, and cleanse them from all unrighteousness, and while it is true enough that our sins are not forgiven if we 'founder' willingly in the 'sea' of sin and lust forever, not admitting that we have sinned, and not turning from that sin: it is obvious ( to me ) that John's words in the 9th verse are words, more of absolution than of how we are forgiven ( I don't think that he is ' merely' repeating the Gospel! ). One of my favorite passages, in the Hebrew Scriptures is Ezekiel 36:25-27: while it is certainly implied ( 'you will keep My judgments and do them' ), in verse 27 that His people would confess and repent, turning from their sins, it is by no means spoken of as prerequisite for God cleansing them; in fact, before His people are told that they will do His will, He tells them that He will first cleanse them, giving them a ( made ) new heart, and giving them of His Spirit!
David pleaded with God, in Psalm 51,
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
In Jeremiah 33; still speaking of the restoration of His people; God spoke these words through His servant;
6 Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. 7 And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. 8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.
More comforting ( to me, anyway ) is the thought that since God has cleansed us, has given us a new heart, that we do confess our sins, we do repent of our wickedness, and turn, doing His will, His works! We are not forgiven of our sins and cleansed from all iniquity because we confess our sins and repent of our wicked works; rather the other way around: we are enabled to confess and repent because we have been forgiven and cleansed!
Finally; in Mark 5, we see that Jesus healed a man, paralyzed, being carried on a stretcher.
5 'When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “”
Both Matthew and Mark record that when Jesus saw the faith, not of the paralytic, but of the men who brought; He healed, not only his physical body, but his spiritual body: 'Son, your sins are forgiven you'. I don't think that these men even thought of this man being healed spiritually; but maybe they did: they knew the Scriptures!
May God give us all comfort in knowing that our sins are forgiven, and we are cleansed from all unrighteousness; for Jesus paid the penalty for those sins, and gave us a ( made ) new heart, putting a right Spirit within us!
In His service, and for His glory,
Charles Shank
From the very beginning of John's letter; he seems to be reminding his people ( the Jews ) of the grace of God, manifested in the flesh through His Son Jesus and His Holy Spirit. Could we not assume here ( safely ) that John is doing the same in the remainder of this first chapter? The Jewish people had heard, if not received, this good news of the Gospel from Jesus Himself: they had already heard ( and accepted, in some cases ) this 'formula' at the hands of Jesus and His apostles; why, do you think, would John feel the need here to repeat what they had already heard? Obviously because some had not accepted this doctrinal teaching, although some had, and I believe, as we can see from the very first verse of the next chapter ( 'my little children' ) that John was writing primarily to the latter group here, those who had received this Gospel, confessed and repented of their sins, and been forgiven and cleansed.
My main reason for writing here, is to encourage my readers to realize that John's admonition, in this passage, is a reminder of what has transpired, rather than a 'formula' to be followed every time that we fail to follow our Lord's example. Should we confess our 'sins' to our heavenly Father, and even to each other? Certainly we should!
In the fifth chapter of James' letter to these same people; he instructs them to,
16 Confess your trespasses[e] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Paul, in Romans 10, speaking to this same people; says that,
'if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved'.
The forerunner of Jesus, the Christ, taught his listeners that they should confess that they had sinned, repent, and be baptized. Confession ( of sins ) is a fairly common theme throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, particularly in places like Leviticus 5:5, I Kings 8:33-36, II Chronicles 6:26, Ezra 10:9-11, and Proverbs 28:13 give us but a few examples of this; while we find in passages like Leviticus 26:40-42 almost the same language that John uses in his letter.
Unfortunately; many Christians have shuddered under the load that if they did not confess their sin 'at every turn' that Jesus would not forgive them of that sin, and cleanse them from all unrighteousness, and while it is true enough that our sins are not forgiven if we 'founder' willingly in the 'sea' of sin and lust forever, not admitting that we have sinned, and not turning from that sin: it is obvious ( to me ) that John's words in the 9th verse are words, more of absolution than of how we are forgiven ( I don't think that he is ' merely' repeating the Gospel! ). One of my favorite passages, in the Hebrew Scriptures is Ezekiel 36:25-27: while it is certainly implied ( 'you will keep My judgments and do them' ), in verse 27 that His people would confess and repent, turning from their sins, it is by no means spoken of as prerequisite for God cleansing them; in fact, before His people are told that they will do His will, He tells them that He will first cleanse them, giving them a ( made ) new heart, and giving them of His Spirit!
David pleaded with God, in Psalm 51,
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
In Jeremiah 33; still speaking of the restoration of His people; God spoke these words through His servant;
6 Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. 7 And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. 8 I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.
More comforting ( to me, anyway ) is the thought that since God has cleansed us, has given us a new heart, that we do confess our sins, we do repent of our wickedness, and turn, doing His will, His works! We are not forgiven of our sins and cleansed from all iniquity because we confess our sins and repent of our wicked works; rather the other way around: we are enabled to confess and repent because we have been forgiven and cleansed!
Finally; in Mark 5, we see that Jesus healed a man, paralyzed, being carried on a stretcher.
5 'When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “”
Both Matthew and Mark record that when Jesus saw the faith, not of the paralytic, but of the men who brought; He healed, not only his physical body, but his spiritual body: 'Son, your sins are forgiven you'. I don't think that these men even thought of this man being healed spiritually; but maybe they did: they knew the Scriptures!
May God give us all comfort in knowing that our sins are forgiven, and we are cleansed from all unrighteousness; for Jesus paid the penalty for those sins, and gave us a ( made ) new heart, putting a right Spirit within us!
In His service, and for His glory,
Charles Shank
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Waiting For the Other Shoe ( to drop )
'What a strange title for a Christmas message!', you may say!
I know myself, that even though I often preach against it, I find myself, much of the time, living as if I'm 'waiting for the other shoe to drop'! I was thinking about it this morning, as I traveled to my place of 'work'; 'why do we use that phrase?', and 'why do we live that way so much?' ( I know that many of you might not be guilty of this, but I sure am! ). I must realize that for us, who have become in Christ, the other shoe will never drop. We, as Christians, should realize, especially in this season in which we remember especially, and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, that it is because of this miraculous birth, and the final revelation of our True Light that we need not fear for the other shoe to drop. As much, then, as I preach this Gospel truth, as much as I try to live as if I believed it; I find myself acting as if I'm not sure.
Paul said, in Romans 8:15; 'For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” He repeats this phrase in II Timothy 1:7; 'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.'
We preach it, we teach it; why do we find it so hard to live it, sometimes?
I mentioned, in a previous article, that many Christians fail daily to live according to Jesus' words in Matthew 6:33: I am not condemning anyone! Most certainly not; God forbid, because I am guilty of the same!
On a more personal note; I know that I have often lived in an almost morbid fear of God's retribution for when I 'messed up', and did something I knew that I shouldn't. It was and is right that I should feel remorse over my sin; but it is not right that we who have been forgiven by Christ should expect further retribution from God on that account We can always expect human retribution when we 'flub up'; but like I tell my children, when they complain of their sibling 'tattling' on them: 'If you don't do anything wrong, they wouldn't have anything to 'tattle' on, would they?'
A friend asked me the other day, how we can find happiness in Christian living. I told her that we have a choice, that it is not necessarily what we are given that makes us happy; rather, it is what we do with, how we receive, what we are given. When God tests our faith, as He did in the Garden, with Job, with Joseph, David, and so many other Old Testament saints, not to mention the prophets; it has always been how they treated that 'testing' that determined whether it was a blessing or curse, good or evil, to them ( I speak in human terms )!
I have often quoted, and will continue to do so, Paul's comforting words in Romans 8:28;
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
The apostle James said, 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.'
God has promised that everything that happens to us, happens, not only for our good, but is good! We don't always like the manner, shape, or form in which God sends these things our way, but we can trust Him that it's all good!
When we focus on things that we have done wrong, for which we know that God would be most just to punish us; I think that we tend to forget almost, the reason that the Christ was born in the flesh, to take away any fear of the other shoe dropping: 'Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe...........'! As I said before, also in a previous article; we need to focus, not on what we can, or think we must, do, rather we must focus on what Christ has done: I think that if we truly followed Christ's command to 'seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness'; then we would find it much easier to put our minds on the job ahead, and serve God ( and each other ) with all our heart, mind, and strength, with our whole being!
As I was going over this phrase in my mind this morning; I thought that we could view it metaphorically, as speaking of the footfall of a person coming to find you out, and most likely to punish you for a misdeed, but as I was further ruminating just now, I thought; 'the reason that we don't have to fear those footfalls, is because He walks with us, in our footsteps, or rather, we walk in His', if indeed we do walk with Him, and each other, in Love!
As we celebrate, in this season especially, but all year round; let us keep in mind that it is because of this miraculous and heavenly divine Gift that we no longer have to fear the other shoe dropping. In this haman existence then, let us live for and to Him always, and stop living as if we're 'wating for the other shoe to drop'!
I know myself, that even though I often preach against it, I find myself, much of the time, living as if I'm 'waiting for the other shoe to drop'! I was thinking about it this morning, as I traveled to my place of 'work'; 'why do we use that phrase?', and 'why do we live that way so much?' ( I know that many of you might not be guilty of this, but I sure am! ). I must realize that for us, who have become in Christ, the other shoe will never drop. We, as Christians, should realize, especially in this season in which we remember especially, and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, that it is because of this miraculous birth, and the final revelation of our True Light that we need not fear for the other shoe to drop. As much, then, as I preach this Gospel truth, as much as I try to live as if I believed it; I find myself acting as if I'm not sure.
Paul said, in Romans 8:15; 'For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” He repeats this phrase in II Timothy 1:7; 'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.'
We preach it, we teach it; why do we find it so hard to live it, sometimes?
I mentioned, in a previous article, that many Christians fail daily to live according to Jesus' words in Matthew 6:33: I am not condemning anyone! Most certainly not; God forbid, because I am guilty of the same!
On a more personal note; I know that I have often lived in an almost morbid fear of God's retribution for when I 'messed up', and did something I knew that I shouldn't. It was and is right that I should feel remorse over my sin; but it is not right that we who have been forgiven by Christ should expect further retribution from God on that account We can always expect human retribution when we 'flub up'; but like I tell my children, when they complain of their sibling 'tattling' on them: 'If you don't do anything wrong, they wouldn't have anything to 'tattle' on, would they?'
A friend asked me the other day, how we can find happiness in Christian living. I told her that we have a choice, that it is not necessarily what we are given that makes us happy; rather, it is what we do with, how we receive, what we are given. When God tests our faith, as He did in the Garden, with Job, with Joseph, David, and so many other Old Testament saints, not to mention the prophets; it has always been how they treated that 'testing' that determined whether it was a blessing or curse, good or evil, to them ( I speak in human terms )!
I have often quoted, and will continue to do so, Paul's comforting words in Romans 8:28;
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
The apostle James said, 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.'
God has promised that everything that happens to us, happens, not only for our good, but is good! We don't always like the manner, shape, or form in which God sends these things our way, but we can trust Him that it's all good!
When we focus on things that we have done wrong, for which we know that God would be most just to punish us; I think that we tend to forget almost, the reason that the Christ was born in the flesh, to take away any fear of the other shoe dropping: 'Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe...........'! As I said before, also in a previous article; we need to focus, not on what we can, or think we must, do, rather we must focus on what Christ has done: I think that if we truly followed Christ's command to 'seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness'; then we would find it much easier to put our minds on the job ahead, and serve God ( and each other ) with all our heart, mind, and strength, with our whole being!
As I was going over this phrase in my mind this morning; I thought that we could view it metaphorically, as speaking of the footfall of a person coming to find you out, and most likely to punish you for a misdeed, but as I was further ruminating just now, I thought; 'the reason that we don't have to fear those footfalls, is because He walks with us, in our footsteps, or rather, we walk in His', if indeed we do walk with Him, and each other, in Love!
As we celebrate, in this season especially, but all year round; let us keep in mind that it is because of this miraculous and heavenly divine Gift that we no longer have to fear the other shoe dropping. In this haman existence then, let us live for and to Him always, and stop living as if we're 'wating for the other shoe to drop'!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Joy to the World
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.
This most-beloved ( among many ) of songs that are sung during this time of the year is a very hopeful song; and not only hopeful: it speaks very boldly, assuming a present reality! Although many people do love to sing this song, especially during this season, in which we celebrate the birth of our Savior; I think that many fail, if not to realize what they are saying, to see the full implications of what Isaac Watts' words say! ( I think that Watts himself didn't realize fully, what he wrote! )
He writes, in the second verse; 'Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!'
I think that most of my readers will agree with me that He does reign; but in the spiritual plane, in our 'hearts', so to speak. Most people who sing these words, do not see Jesus' reign as over this physical earth, especially not as a present reality.
In the third verse; Watts really 'brings it home', in a manner of speaking, when He says that Jesus came to make His blessings ' irrigate' the 'ground' that was cursed after the Fall of our first father, Adam. The words here in this third verse though, have less a weak hopefulness in them, than a sovereign certainty. He is not saying that Jesus came, hoping to make His blessings flow, and then left it up to weak-willed humans to accept these blessings, and to 'let' them flow through them! He wrote, in a very Scriptural tone, which words we most often sing without thinking, that Jesus, not only came, but stayed, to MAKE His blessings flow, wherever the curse is found, and through our joyful lives, where the curse of sin has been removed!
Watts re-enforces his words in verse 2; stating, in the last verse, that 'He rules the world'!
I suppose that it's very easy ( and tempting ) to look at all the 'bad things happening to good people' all around the world, and say that, well; 'maybe in a spiritual sense, He is ruling now; but He will not really rule over this world until He returns physically to rule and reign on the earth from His throne in a physical Jerusalem'. As I've explained in previous articles, though; I believe that Scripture shows us a much different scenario: Jesus said, in Luke 17:20 & 21, that God's kingdom would not be something that we could see; but rather that it was a kingdom of the hearts, minds, and lives of men. As I've stated previously; the writer to the Hebrews, in chapter 12, told those first-century believes that they had ( already ) come to the heavenly ( or New? ) Jerusalem, and saying at the beginning of verse 23, that they had come to, or joined with, the company of the elect, Christ's Body on earth; thus equating the heavenly Jerusalem with the Church!
As I've said before; when Jesus said, in Isaiah 45 ( He repeats these words in Romans 14:11 ),
23 I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.
He was saying, not only that all those who came to him would willingly 'bow the knee' and worship Him, but that even those ( in the first-century ) who refused to acknowledge Him for who He was, would be forced, unwillingly, 'like it or not', to acknowledge Him as their Creator: even so, I believe, Watts was saying in the final few lines of this beloved carol, that He would make the nations prove, or reveal, His righteousness, whether they meant to or not!
As we celebrate the coming of the True Light of the world in this most joyous of holyday seasons, and sing the words of this beloved carol; let us remember what Isaac Watts was actually saying when he penned these words. These words should give us hope and strength, not only for the future, but also, and maybe even moreso, for the present!
For His Kingdom, and in the JOY of His Holy Spirit,
Charles Shank
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The Reason for the Season
In this, most joyous of holyday seasons; we all look forward to the time when we, to whatever extent, will gather together as a family to celebrate the birth of our Lord, and the revealing of the true Light! As we gather, then; I wish to remind us all, that we should celebrate this coming, this revelation, not only in this season, and time of the year; but year-round, in everything that we do and say!
When I checked my e-mail this morning; I found that I had received an email from a friend, entitled 'Family'. I'm sure that most or many, at least, of my readers have received this e-mail at some point in their e-mail experience: here it is below:
Sorry for the length of this post, but this is how the email came to me; and it got me to thinking; 'Why DO we find it so easy to be polite and congenial to strangers, yet when it comes to dealing with our own family ( and this really 'hit home' for me! ), we quickly, and usually, without thinking, respond in kind?'! Getting to the 'heart' of this post, and relating to the above e-mail: why do we come together and celebrate Christ's birth ( as a family ) only at this time of year? Why DON'T we celebrate His nativity every time we gather together, to whatever extent? I think that part of our problem ( and we all suffer from this, to some extent ) is our busyness. We have so much to do, so little time to do it in, and often too little money to do it with! We are too concerned sometimes, I think, with working extra hard and long, so that we have the money that we need, to do the things that we 'need' to, and maybe make up a little time to do all the things we need to!
Sad to say; all this busyness often makes for rather difficult, if not strained, family relations!
Jesus said, in a passage that we often quote to each other, 'Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.' I dare say that we all understand what Jesus was saying there; but do we really act like we believe it? I think that we often fail to realize the full import of what Jesus said. What does it really mean to seek His Kingdom first, or above all? In the immediate context of His words; Jesus was telling us not to worry about what we need to eat, or about what we need to wear, for He is the one who provides all these things for us; but I think that it's even more than that! Everything in this earthly existence that we have need of; He has provided, and does provide, so why are we so 'caught up' in this busyness, in which we worry unnecessarily for the temporal things of this life?
What DOES it mean to seek first His Kingdom? I think that most of my readers will agree with me, that according to what Jesus said in Luke 17:21, God's kingdom is within us, that He rules in and over the hearts of men. What does Jesus command us to do then, in this Kingdom? He told the lawyer, and tells His disciples, in Matthew 22:34-40, that the most important things in God's Law are to love God first of all, but also to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In John 13; Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment, which really wasn't so new, after all; 'Love one another; as I have loved you.....'. I think that from these passages, that to seek God's Kingdom first means, most importantly, humanly speaking anyway, to love our neighbor, not only as ourselves ( for we often don't love ourselves much ), but as Christ loved us! When Christ encountered the rich young ruler, in Mark 10:17-22; although this young man boasted that he had been faithful to God's Law, He, knowing his heart, told the young man that he lacked one thing; he was not willing to love the brethren: he had missed that one importance principle of God's Law, to love his neighbor as himself!
Having said all this; I am not accusing all those out there who do not have all the time in the world to do everything that they would like, or even ought to do, of not seeking first God's Kingdom; but I think that we all need to begin to take more seriously Jesus' command to seek His Kingdom first, and above all else, and focus more on what He has put right in front of our face, rather than seeking elsewhere for things to do that 'need' to be done; whether or not we think that we are serving Him better in doing so.
As we celebrate His birth this year, in this season; let us purpose, then, in our hearts, to love each other more as we ought, and celebrate that Love all year round, by forsaking our busyness and focusing more on what He has given us.............EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!
In the love of Christ in which we share,
Charles Shank
When I checked my e-mail this morning; I found that I had received an email from a friend, entitled 'Family'. I'm sure that most or many, at least, of my readers have received this e-mail at some point in their e-mail experience: here it is below:
I ran into a stranger as he passed by, 'Oh excuse me please' was my reply. He said, 'Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you.' We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye. But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old. Later that day, cooking the evening meal, My son stood beside me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. 'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken. While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said, 'While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse. Go and look on the kitchen floor, You'll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.' By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed ; 'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said. 'Are these the flowers you picked for me?' He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree. I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.' I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.' He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway.' I said, 'Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.' FAMILY Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? So what is behind the story? Do you know what the word FAMILY means? FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU Pass this on to family and Friends You will receive a miracle tomorrow. God will bless you |
Sad to say; all this busyness often makes for rather difficult, if not strained, family relations!
Jesus said, in a passage that we often quote to each other, 'Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.' I dare say that we all understand what Jesus was saying there; but do we really act like we believe it? I think that we often fail to realize the full import of what Jesus said. What does it really mean to seek His Kingdom first, or above all? In the immediate context of His words; Jesus was telling us not to worry about what we need to eat, or about what we need to wear, for He is the one who provides all these things for us; but I think that it's even more than that! Everything in this earthly existence that we have need of; He has provided, and does provide, so why are we so 'caught up' in this busyness, in which we worry unnecessarily for the temporal things of this life?
What DOES it mean to seek first His Kingdom? I think that most of my readers will agree with me, that according to what Jesus said in Luke 17:21, God's kingdom is within us, that He rules in and over the hearts of men. What does Jesus command us to do then, in this Kingdom? He told the lawyer, and tells His disciples, in Matthew 22:34-40, that the most important things in God's Law are to love God first of all, but also to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In John 13; Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment, which really wasn't so new, after all; 'Love one another; as I have loved you.....'. I think that from these passages, that to seek God's Kingdom first means, most importantly, humanly speaking anyway, to love our neighbor, not only as ourselves ( for we often don't love ourselves much ), but as Christ loved us! When Christ encountered the rich young ruler, in Mark 10:17-22; although this young man boasted that he had been faithful to God's Law, He, knowing his heart, told the young man that he lacked one thing; he was not willing to love the brethren: he had missed that one importance principle of God's Law, to love his neighbor as himself!
Having said all this; I am not accusing all those out there who do not have all the time in the world to do everything that they would like, or even ought to do, of not seeking first God's Kingdom; but I think that we all need to begin to take more seriously Jesus' command to seek His Kingdom first, and above all else, and focus more on what He has put right in front of our face, rather than seeking elsewhere for things to do that 'need' to be done; whether or not we think that we are serving Him better in doing so.
As we celebrate His birth this year, in this season; let us purpose, then, in our hearts, to love each other more as we ought, and celebrate that Love all year round, by forsaking our busyness and focusing more on what He has given us.............EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!
In the love of Christ in which we share,
Charles Shank
I
Saturday, December 06, 2008
'He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let him Hear' ( Luke 8:4-15 )
This parable, spoken by Jesus to a diverse multitude of people, has been found a subject of difficulty, in particular, to those of the Arminian, or man-centered persuasion, and those who hold to a Calvinistic, or God-centered doctrine.
'Right off the bat'; some may read this statement and immediately see my bias, and assume that this is a Calvinist work, i.e., that I myself am a Calvinist: I do admit, that since my conversion, and even somewhat before, maybe, I have been brought up with the Calvinist doctrine, and have been persuaded most of my Christian life of the veracity of the so-called 'TULIP doctrine'. The Total depravity of man, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and the Perseverance of the saints, are points with which I can agree almost whole-heartedly; but in several instances, I would probably have to disagree with Calvin's intent in his phraseology. For this reason, among others, would rather say that I believe in 'Sovereign Grace', i.e., that it's all of God, and none of us. I believe that man, from the beginning, is given the responsibility to choose the good over the evil, but that, when left to himself, will always choose selfishly,in other words, wrongly. As I have often quoted though, from Ezekiel 36:25-27; when God graciously provides man with a new heart, and puts a new spirit within him, His own Holy Spirit, in fact: He causes us to walk according to His statutes!
I think that most of the first group of believers, and possibly even some of the second, would look at the 'parable of the sower', and say that this is indicative of the free will of man as opposed to the sovereign ( but gentlemanly ) will of God. They might say something like, 'God sows His seed of the Gospel everywhere, and to all men; but He leaves it up to them, whether or not to accept this Seed'. A Calvinist, on the other hand, might agree that God propagates His Gospel to all men everywhere; but that only those that brought forth fruit, i.e., those of whom it was spoken, 'but others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold', were chosen by God, and elect before the foundation of the world'.
First off; we'll look at Jesus' explanation of the seeds that 'fell by the wayside'. He explained to His disciples that this referred to those that 'hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved'. Prior to this explanation; Jesus quoted from Isaiah 6, telling His disciples why He spoke in parables.
9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘ Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 “ Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.”
God seems here, to be telling Isaiah to intentionally deceive His people! Who then is this 'devil' that would come, in verse 11 of Luke chapter 8, and take away the word of God? Assuming that this 'devil' is the same 'Satan' that we know from the Old Covenant Scriptures; we can easily see that Isaiah was acting the part of a 'Satan' to his people. In Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33; it it recorded that Jesus once called Peter Satan! Whether Jesus meant to rebuke Peter by comparing him with the fallen spiritual being known as Satan, or whether He was saying that Peter was being adversarial; this was a pretty harsh statement!
We know, from the Hebrew Scriptures, that God has, in time past, used the selfish actions of evil men, or even spirits, to accomplish His will; so, do you think that He employs the same means still?
James, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said that a man 'is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed'. In context; James is speaking of the various temptations that we often go through, especially as Christians, saying that we cannot and must not attribute them to God, but rather to ourselves! Too often; I think that even we, as Christians, and for the most part, those of the Arminian persuasion, have attributed these temptations to a fallen spiritual being named Satan. When Jesus said, in Luke 8:11 above, that 'then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts'; He was speaking, and still speaks, not of this supposed fallen spiritual being named Satan: but rather, of ourselves, who are ' drawn away by our own desires and enticed'.
The next group of people that Jesus talks about in verse 13, 'the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.', I think, are pretty much the same as those first mentioned, but described in a slightly different manner. I think that Jesus perfectly describes what I call a 'Sunday Christian' in describing this group. Many people will show much emotion when they are first 'saved' ( I hate to make this distinction: but more often than not, these are Arminians ); but when they leave 'church' on Sunday afternoon or evening, they revert to their old ways, run with the same crowd, and soon find more and 'better' excuses to stay away from 'church'!
For the 'ones that fell among thorns' in verse 14; Jesus uses much the same imagery as in the previous verse. These hear the Word, and maybe even receive it for a time; but when they re-enter the mission-field, or the world at large, they are consumed by worries about their families, their jobs, and with other matters which Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25-34 that we should not be worried about.
Jesus now describes those who 'fell on the good ground' as those who, having received the Word, are willing and able to apply it to their lives outside of the 'church' setting, who obey Jesus command in Matthew 6:33 to 'seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you'.
I don't mean to imply that God does not bless those who are self-centered, or worry unduly about family, friends, or their jobs ( not necessarily in that order ), because all of us, even the most spiritual of Christians, worries or stresses unduly about certain things, most of which we have no control over. As to being outside of the 'church' setting; I simply meant outside ( maybe away from would be a better word ) the gathering of the local body of believers in a specialized building, sanctified for that purpose. We, as Christians, of course, are never outside the 'Church'; and so, should always strive to act within the 'Church' setting, and never as if we are outside it!
I must admit that I, at times, am ' less than the least of all the saints', for I don't seek His Kingdom as I should, or always act as a member of His Church, or even that I belong to Him, and am part of His 'new creation' ( see also Isaiah 65:17-25, Galatians 6:15 ); but I must always and forever remind myself that it is what Christ has done, and not what I do!
I pray this little study edifies those that read it and, as always; that you will be a 'Berean' and 'search the Scripture daily to see if these things are so'!
In God's service, for His glory,
In His Kingdom, and by His grace,
Charles Shank
'Right off the bat'; some may read this statement and immediately see my bias, and assume that this is a Calvinist work, i.e., that I myself am a Calvinist: I do admit, that since my conversion, and even somewhat before, maybe, I have been brought up with the Calvinist doctrine, and have been persuaded most of my Christian life of the veracity of the so-called 'TULIP doctrine'. The Total depravity of man, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and the Perseverance of the saints, are points with which I can agree almost whole-heartedly; but in several instances, I would probably have to disagree with Calvin's intent in his phraseology. For this reason, among others, would rather say that I believe in 'Sovereign Grace', i.e., that it's all of God, and none of us. I believe that man, from the beginning, is given the responsibility to choose the good over the evil, but that, when left to himself, will always choose selfishly,in other words, wrongly. As I have often quoted though, from Ezekiel 36:25-27; when God graciously provides man with a new heart, and puts a new spirit within him, His own Holy Spirit, in fact: He causes us to walk according to His statutes!
I think that most of the first group of believers, and possibly even some of the second, would look at the 'parable of the sower', and say that this is indicative of the free will of man as opposed to the sovereign ( but gentlemanly ) will of God. They might say something like, 'God sows His seed of the Gospel everywhere, and to all men; but He leaves it up to them, whether or not to accept this Seed'. A Calvinist, on the other hand, might agree that God propagates His Gospel to all men everywhere; but that only those that brought forth fruit, i.e., those of whom it was spoken, 'but others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold', were chosen by God, and elect before the foundation of the world'.
First off; we'll look at Jesus' explanation of the seeds that 'fell by the wayside'. He explained to His disciples that this referred to those that 'hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved'. Prior to this explanation; Jesus quoted from Isaiah 6, telling His disciples why He spoke in parables.
9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘ Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 “ Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.”
God seems here, to be telling Isaiah to intentionally deceive His people! Who then is this 'devil' that would come, in verse 11 of Luke chapter 8, and take away the word of God? Assuming that this 'devil' is the same 'Satan' that we know from the Old Covenant Scriptures; we can easily see that Isaiah was acting the part of a 'Satan' to his people. In Matthew 16:23 and Mark 8:33; it it recorded that Jesus once called Peter Satan! Whether Jesus meant to rebuke Peter by comparing him with the fallen spiritual being known as Satan, or whether He was saying that Peter was being adversarial; this was a pretty harsh statement!
We know, from the Hebrew Scriptures, that God has, in time past, used the selfish actions of evil men, or even spirits, to accomplish His will; so, do you think that He employs the same means still?
James, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said that a man 'is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed'. In context; James is speaking of the various temptations that we often go through, especially as Christians, saying that we cannot and must not attribute them to God, but rather to ourselves! Too often; I think that even we, as Christians, and for the most part, those of the Arminian persuasion, have attributed these temptations to a fallen spiritual being named Satan. When Jesus said, in Luke 8:11 above, that 'then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts'; He was speaking, and still speaks, not of this supposed fallen spiritual being named Satan: but rather, of ourselves, who are ' drawn away by our own desires and enticed'.
The next group of people that Jesus talks about in verse 13, 'the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.', I think, are pretty much the same as those first mentioned, but described in a slightly different manner. I think that Jesus perfectly describes what I call a 'Sunday Christian' in describing this group. Many people will show much emotion when they are first 'saved' ( I hate to make this distinction: but more often than not, these are Arminians ); but when they leave 'church' on Sunday afternoon or evening, they revert to their old ways, run with the same crowd, and soon find more and 'better' excuses to stay away from 'church'!
For the 'ones that fell among thorns' in verse 14; Jesus uses much the same imagery as in the previous verse. These hear the Word, and maybe even receive it for a time; but when they re-enter the mission-field, or the world at large, they are consumed by worries about their families, their jobs, and with other matters which Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25-34 that we should not be worried about.
Jesus now describes those who 'fell on the good ground' as those who, having received the Word, are willing and able to apply it to their lives outside of the 'church' setting, who obey Jesus command in Matthew 6:33 to 'seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you'.
I don't mean to imply that God does not bless those who are self-centered, or worry unduly about family, friends, or their jobs ( not necessarily in that order ), because all of us, even the most spiritual of Christians, worries or stresses unduly about certain things, most of which we have no control over. As to being outside of the 'church' setting; I simply meant outside ( maybe away from would be a better word ) the gathering of the local body of believers in a specialized building, sanctified for that purpose. We, as Christians, of course, are never outside the 'Church'; and so, should always strive to act within the 'Church' setting, and never as if we are outside it!
I must admit that I, at times, am ' less than the least of all the saints', for I don't seek His Kingdom as I should, or always act as a member of His Church, or even that I belong to Him, and am part of His 'new creation' ( see also Isaiah 65:17-25, Galatians 6:15 ); but I must always and forever remind myself that it is what Christ has done, and not what I do!
I pray this little study edifies those that read it and, as always; that you will be a 'Berean' and 'search the Scripture daily to see if these things are so'!
In God's service, for His glory,
In His Kingdom, and by His grace,
Charles Shank
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Discerning the Body
What does Paul mean in I Corinthians 11 when he says, in verse 29, 'For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner[e] eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s[f] body.'?
When most people have translated, and still translate, this verse; traditionally it has been thought to contain an almost mystical instruction. When most people read this verse, they read Paul's instruction as saying something like 'we need to understand or realize the seriousness of what Christ has done for us, in the extent that He went to, in order to save our souls', even to the extent of almost mournfully contemplating this, and whether or not we are worthy to partake of the 'Lord's Supper'! In a sense I agree with reasoning like this: it is a very serious matter, what Christ did for us, and we should not treat this matter with any measure of frivolity or levity; but neither should we be mournfully serious, doubting our worthiness to partake of 'the Lord's Body' if we have recently had an impure thought or have a standing 'tiff' with a brother ( or sister ) in Christ. Some will even say that, based on Matthew 5:22-24, and possibly other like passages, we should not partake of the 'Lord's Supper' if we have aught against our brother. I can agree in principle with this reasoning, and I'll reveal my thinking on this a little later; but I do not think that we should abstain from 'the Supper' just because a brother ( or sister ) has a problem with something that we've said or done. One problem that I've always had, though, with this sort of doctrine, is; if our brother ( or sister ) won't forgive our transgression, or accept our forgiveness, then does this 'disagreement' mean that this person has the 'power' over us to keep us from the 'Table'? I agree,as I said, in principle, with this doctrine because Paul said , earlier, in verse 20, 'Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper'. I think that the traditional 'stance' here, would be that Paul was reprimanding the Corinthians for gathering, not to partake of, or commune with Lord's Body, but to take their meals, in an almost bragging manner, before those who were 'less fortunate'. When, in the next several verses, we read, '21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.'; I think we have a clue as to what Paul was referring to in verse 29. By accusing them in this manner; Paul was telling them, in other words, that the Lord's Supper', or 'Communion', as it is most often referred to, in catholicity, was NOT the eating of bread ( or meat ), nor the drinking of wine, or other beverages! Paul had said earlier, in the context of Christian love, in Romans 14: 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit'. Jesus Himself said, in Matthew 6: 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.' While Jesus indeed said, in John 6: 48 'I am the bread of life'.; it is evident, though maybe not to everyone that first heard these words, that Jesus was speaking metaphorically of our becoming one with Him, in partaking of, or communing with His Body, in a spiritual way. I think that when Paul wrote those words of warning to the Corinthian church; I believe that he was reminding them that they were all one, in Christ, and that they were not acting in the spirit of love when they flaunted their wealth of food before those who had not so much to eat: that their gathering to eat together, to commune together, was not merely a 'supper', but a supper in communion with one another. They were not being reprimanded for eating, in other words; but for not eating in love. Remember Paul's discourse, in what is known as 'The Love Chapter'? He wrote, 'Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.' I think that Paul employed this same principle in chapter 11. If the 'Lords Supper' was not being observed with love, or in Christian charity, then the Corinthian church was not meeting to observe the 'Lord's Supper'; but in order to serve their own selfish lusts!
The point that I'm making here, and what Paul was saying, I believe, was that we often tend to focus so much on the 'elements' of the Lord's Supper, that we almost seem to forget what it's all about! Remember; Paul said, in Romans 14: 19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. ( Compare what Paul says in verses 22 & 23 with what he says in I Corinthians 11:28 & 29 ).
He says, in Colossians 1:24, that we are the Body of Christ, in I Corinthians 6:15, that we are 'members' of His Body, in I Corinthians 12:27, he reminds us that we are His body and also 'members' of each other ( see Ephesians 2:19, 4:25 ), and again, in Ephesians 5:30, that we are members of His Body.
I believe that fellow Christians, weak and strong, are the Body that Paul warned the Corinthian church, and warns us, to 'discern'!
Paul uses the Greek diakrino in verse 29 above to show that we should distinguish between, even to the extent of preferring those other members of Christs Body, the Church, over those who are not, and even to ourselves.
In Christ's service,
and in His Kingdom,
Charles Shank
When most people have translated, and still translate, this verse; traditionally it has been thought to contain an almost mystical instruction. When most people read this verse, they read Paul's instruction as saying something like 'we need to understand or realize the seriousness of what Christ has done for us, in the extent that He went to, in order to save our souls', even to the extent of almost mournfully contemplating this, and whether or not we are worthy to partake of the 'Lord's Supper'! In a sense I agree with reasoning like this: it is a very serious matter, what Christ did for us, and we should not treat this matter with any measure of frivolity or levity; but neither should we be mournfully serious, doubting our worthiness to partake of 'the Lord's Body' if we have recently had an impure thought or have a standing 'tiff' with a brother ( or sister ) in Christ. Some will even say that, based on Matthew 5:22-24, and possibly other like passages, we should not partake of the 'Lord's Supper' if we have aught against our brother. I can agree in principle with this reasoning, and I'll reveal my thinking on this a little later; but I do not think that we should abstain from 'the Supper' just because a brother ( or sister ) has a problem with something that we've said or done. One problem that I've always had, though, with this sort of doctrine, is; if our brother ( or sister ) won't forgive our transgression, or accept our forgiveness, then does this 'disagreement' mean that this person has the 'power' over us to keep us from the 'Table'? I agree,as I said, in principle, with this doctrine because Paul said , earlier, in verse 20, 'Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper'. I think that the traditional 'stance' here, would be that Paul was reprimanding the Corinthians for gathering, not to partake of, or commune with Lord's Body, but to take their meals, in an almost bragging manner, before those who were 'less fortunate'. When, in the next several verses, we read, '21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.'; I think we have a clue as to what Paul was referring to in verse 29. By accusing them in this manner; Paul was telling them, in other words, that the Lord's Supper', or 'Communion', as it is most often referred to, in catholicity, was NOT the eating of bread ( or meat ), nor the drinking of wine, or other beverages! Paul had said earlier, in the context of Christian love, in Romans 14: 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit'. Jesus Himself said, in Matthew 6: 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.' While Jesus indeed said, in John 6: 48 'I am the bread of life'.; it is evident, though maybe not to everyone that first heard these words, that Jesus was speaking metaphorically of our becoming one with Him, in partaking of, or communing with His Body, in a spiritual way. I think that when Paul wrote those words of warning to the Corinthian church; I believe that he was reminding them that they were all one, in Christ, and that they were not acting in the spirit of love when they flaunted their wealth of food before those who had not so much to eat: that their gathering to eat together, to commune together, was not merely a 'supper', but a supper in communion with one another. They were not being reprimanded for eating, in other words; but for not eating in love. Remember Paul's discourse, in what is known as 'The Love Chapter'? He wrote, 'Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.' I think that Paul employed this same principle in chapter 11. If the 'Lords Supper' was not being observed with love, or in Christian charity, then the Corinthian church was not meeting to observe the 'Lord's Supper'; but in order to serve their own selfish lusts!
The point that I'm making here, and what Paul was saying, I believe, was that we often tend to focus so much on the 'elements' of the Lord's Supper, that we almost seem to forget what it's all about! Remember; Paul said, in Romans 14: 19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. ( Compare what Paul says in verses 22 & 23 with what he says in I Corinthians 11:28 & 29 ).
He says, in Colossians 1:24, that we are the Body of Christ, in I Corinthians 6:15, that we are 'members' of His Body, in I Corinthians 12:27, he reminds us that we are His body and also 'members' of each other ( see Ephesians 2:19, 4:25 ), and again, in Ephesians 5:30, that we are members of His Body.
I believe that fellow Christians, weak and strong, are the Body that Paul warned the Corinthian church, and warns us, to 'discern'!
Paul uses the Greek diakrino in verse 29 above to show that we should distinguish between, even to the extent of preferring those other members of Christs Body, the Church, over those who are not, and even to ourselves.
In Christ's service,
and in His Kingdom,
Charles Shank
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A Haughty Spirit ( Proverbs 16:18 )
About six years ago, I knew a man in Christ, who, having been fairly well convinced in his own mind of the verity of the principles of 'preterism', married a woman of a slightly different religious persuasion. After several years of rather stubborn and almost vehement 'persuasion'; he realized that he was not doing the Kingdom of Christ any good, and, in fact, was seemingly harming his ministry!
I have written in previous articles, of building up, or edifying, in the the new heavens and new earth. As my reader may have guessed; a better way to say this would be, 'building ( up ) the new heavens and new earth', for, as I pointed out in that previous article, WE ARE THAT NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH! We are the Kingdom that Scripture speaks of.
When Jesus, in Luke 17:21, told the Pharisees that the kingdom of heaven was 'within' them, I believe that He was saying, not that they themselves were a part of God's kingdom; but that the kingdom of God, or heaven, was not something that could be seen, or even touched, but was rather a 'change' that God worked and works within the human spirit. As I've quoted many times; Ezekiel 36 :27 tells us that God gives us 'a new heart' and puts a 'new spirit' within us. Paul, in I Corinthians 15:50-54, revealed to the 1st century church, reiterating Jesus' words above, that 'flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God' and that we must first receive this change that Ezekiel, among others, talked about.
I am reminded, thinking of this man's situation; of the parable that Jesus gave in Luke 18: 9-14, in which the Pharisee thought himself better than a tax-collector, just because he thought he had the Truth, whereas the tax-collector did not, or so he thought! I think that many people, not just preterists or Reformed people, have made the same mistake, thinking that since we have discovered, or realized, the further truth of God's revealed Word; we somehow are in a better situation before God and are of better service in His Kingdom. I think, as Ezekiel points out above, that we as humans, tend to take for granted too often what Christ has done for us, and that God must do the work of 'change' in our hearts before we can discover any Truth that we may have! We must also realize; and I have often forgotten this in my dealings with those of differing beliefs, but like 'faith', that we, like they, are a 'work in progress' and that, as long as they still draw breath; God will, if they are one of His, work a 'change' in their heart, and even for those who have become in Christ, though they differ slightly in belief from us in the area of eschatology or even 'means' of salvation, that this 'change' is progressive, ever 'onward and upward'!
This man, I believe, is slowly coming to the realization that he must spend less time on trying to convince his family, and others, of the truths of the preterist principles, and more on convincing those around him that he is the Christian servant that he claims to be. I think that many of us can empathize with this man, and with the situation in which God has placed him! I think that many of us are familiar with the 'walls' that are immediately, if unconsciously, thrown up by family and friends alike, when we mention that we believe that Christ has returned, that we now inhabit the new heavens and new earth, or even that the physical earth is quite a bit older than six thousand years, and that the flood in Noah's day did not cover the entire globe, or kill every human being on planet earth except for Noah and his family. Try telling a fellow Christian, even some preterists, that Adam and Eve were not the first humans ever, and that they were not created with the appearance of age, and 'watch the fur fly'!
I guess that the point I am trying to make here is that we, as Christians, who think we have 'furthered' ourselves, or been furthered, in our Christological ( concerning Christ ) doctrine or in our eschatology and other assorted doctrines or beliefs, have only reached this current 'plateau' or step, as the case may be, through the continuous grace of God, and cannot, or should not, look at anyone, be he 'sinner or saint', and say, like the Pharisee above, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men'! When we become haughty and think of ourselves as better equipped for God's service because we have a better, or more perfect knowledge of that Kingdom; we have become dangerously close to saying just that, and are become almost Gnostic.
My final point, and one that my friend has painful realized; is that a life lived is a far better testimony, and more convincing than a discourse, no matter how eloquently given or vehemently argued! As Paul said, concerning the use of 'tongues', in I Corinthian 14:18 & 19; 'in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.' Prior to this statement; Paul reveals to us his reasoning: 'For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.' I know that this may seem to be taking Paul's statements out of context; but I believe that the same principle applies here. Most, if not all, Christians will agree that this 'furtherance' or 'more perfect knowledge', and 'understanding' comes from God above, through His holy Spirit; and that this 'knowledge' is a good thing, in it's proper place and time ( as Solomon says, ' To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven' ); but the main thing is 'edification', and if our hearers aren't edified ( for whatever reason ), then maybe we need to realize that it's not the right time for it.
Before I reach that point; I'm going to end here, for now, and hope, along with my friend, that I can 'take a lesson' from this and begin to live that 'fulfilled life' before others, rather than preaching one way and acting another.
In the faith of Christ,
and in His service,
Charles Shank
ps. I must say, in passing, that although most of the Christians that I have reprimanded above ( including myself ) do not purposely become haughty in their Christian 'walk', but we so often appear that way, that I think that we inadvertently do 'more harm than good'!
I have written in previous articles, of building up, or edifying, in the the new heavens and new earth. As my reader may have guessed; a better way to say this would be, 'building ( up ) the new heavens and new earth', for, as I pointed out in that previous article, WE ARE THAT NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH! We are the Kingdom that Scripture speaks of.
When Jesus, in Luke 17:21, told the Pharisees that the kingdom of heaven was 'within' them, I believe that He was saying, not that they themselves were a part of God's kingdom; but that the kingdom of God, or heaven, was not something that could be seen, or even touched, but was rather a 'change' that God worked and works within the human spirit. As I've quoted many times; Ezekiel 36 :27 tells us that God gives us 'a new heart' and puts a 'new spirit' within us. Paul, in I Corinthians 15:50-54, revealed to the 1st century church, reiterating Jesus' words above, that 'flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God' and that we must first receive this change that Ezekiel, among others, talked about.
I am reminded, thinking of this man's situation; of the parable that Jesus gave in Luke 18: 9-14, in which the Pharisee thought himself better than a tax-collector, just because he thought he had the Truth, whereas the tax-collector did not, or so he thought! I think that many people, not just preterists or Reformed people, have made the same mistake, thinking that since we have discovered, or realized, the further truth of God's revealed Word; we somehow are in a better situation before God and are of better service in His Kingdom. I think, as Ezekiel points out above, that we as humans, tend to take for granted too often what Christ has done for us, and that God must do the work of 'change' in our hearts before we can discover any Truth that we may have! We must also realize; and I have often forgotten this in my dealings with those of differing beliefs, but like 'faith', that we, like they, are a 'work in progress' and that, as long as they still draw breath; God will, if they are one of His, work a 'change' in their heart, and even for those who have become in Christ, though they differ slightly in belief from us in the area of eschatology or even 'means' of salvation, that this 'change' is progressive, ever 'onward and upward'!
This man, I believe, is slowly coming to the realization that he must spend less time on trying to convince his family, and others, of the truths of the preterist principles, and more on convincing those around him that he is the Christian servant that he claims to be. I think that many of us can empathize with this man, and with the situation in which God has placed him! I think that many of us are familiar with the 'walls' that are immediately, if unconsciously, thrown up by family and friends alike, when we mention that we believe that Christ has returned, that we now inhabit the new heavens and new earth, or even that the physical earth is quite a bit older than six thousand years, and that the flood in Noah's day did not cover the entire globe, or kill every human being on planet earth except for Noah and his family. Try telling a fellow Christian, even some preterists, that Adam and Eve were not the first humans ever, and that they were not created with the appearance of age, and 'watch the fur fly'!
I guess that the point I am trying to make here is that we, as Christians, who think we have 'furthered' ourselves, or been furthered, in our Christological ( concerning Christ ) doctrine or in our eschatology and other assorted doctrines or beliefs, have only reached this current 'plateau' or step, as the case may be, through the continuous grace of God, and cannot, or should not, look at anyone, be he 'sinner or saint', and say, like the Pharisee above, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men'! When we become haughty and think of ourselves as better equipped for God's service because we have a better, or more perfect knowledge of that Kingdom; we have become dangerously close to saying just that, and are become almost Gnostic.
My final point, and one that my friend has painful realized; is that a life lived is a far better testimony, and more convincing than a discourse, no matter how eloquently given or vehemently argued! As Paul said, concerning the use of 'tongues', in I Corinthian 14:18 & 19; 'in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.' Prior to this statement; Paul reveals to us his reasoning: 'For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.' I know that this may seem to be taking Paul's statements out of context; but I believe that the same principle applies here. Most, if not all, Christians will agree that this 'furtherance' or 'more perfect knowledge', and 'understanding' comes from God above, through His holy Spirit; and that this 'knowledge' is a good thing, in it's proper place and time ( as Solomon says, ' To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven' ); but the main thing is 'edification', and if our hearers aren't edified ( for whatever reason ), then maybe we need to realize that it's not the right time for it.
Before I reach that point; I'm going to end here, for now, and hope, along with my friend, that I can 'take a lesson' from this and begin to live that 'fulfilled life' before others, rather than preaching one way and acting another.
In the faith of Christ,
and in His service,
Charles Shank
ps. I must say, in passing, that although most of the Christians that I have reprimanded above ( including myself ) do not purposely become haughty in their Christian 'walk', but we so often appear that way, that I think that we inadvertently do 'more harm than good'!
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