Which word did Thomas Jefferson write in the Declaration of Independence? Did he write, "All men are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights," or did he write, "All men are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights?" Um . . . good question.
Or is it a good question? You might be thinking, "All this sounds pedantic, like, do we say, "potato," or do we say "po-tah-to?" Who cares? It's still a potato, the delicious vegetable that gives us heart attack-producing french fries.
But on the choice of that one little letter, an "i" or a "u," hangs a world of difference.
How so? If the Declaration is declaring that we are endowed by our Creator with "unalienable rights," then that means those rights are "incapable of being
alienated, that is, sold and transferred." Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Ed. pg. 1,523: "You can not surrender, sell or transfer unalienable rights, they are a gift
from the Creator to the individual and can not, under any circumstances, be
surrendered or taken. All individual's have unalienable rights."
That's quiet a mouthful, but an important mouthful because, if Jefferson had written, "All men are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights," then the Declaration of Independence would be saying that those rights are "not capable of being surrendered or transferred without the consent
of the one possessing such rights. You can surrender, sell or transfer inalienable rights if you consent either
actually or constructively. Inalienable rights are not inherent in man and can
be taken by government.
The Declaration of Independence is saying that human beings have unalienable rights. It's that one little letter that makes all the difference. No one, no government, no circumstance or set of circumstances, not even you yourself can take or surrender unalienable rights.
Paul bases his argument in the book of Galatians on the omission of one letter, the letter "s" in Galatians 3:16: "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ."
According to Paul, the singular of the noun is also a designation of the one Christ in distinction from all other descendants of Abraham together.
Behold the doctrine of inspiration--the Holy Spirit so carried along the authors of Scripture that the words they chose, the very letters of the words they chose, singular or plural, were those God wanted them to choose.
WITHOUT COST
Friday, August 10, 2018
Friday, August 3, 2018
LAZARUS DIDN'T GET THE MEMO
In Luke 16, Jesus relates the account of Lazarus and a very rich man, both Israelites. The two men are a study in contrast. The wealthy man loved to show off in expensive sartorial splendor--purple and fine linen. His very presence was an exercise in what Thorstein Veblen called, "conspicuous consumption."
"Conspicuous consumption is the spending of money on and the acquiring of luxury goods and services to publicly display economic power—of the income or of the accumulated wealth of the buyer. To the conspicuous consumer, such a public display of discretionary economic power is a means either of attaining or of maintaining a given social status." So goes the formal definition.
Contrary to the idea that money can't bring happiness, this wealthy man lived "joyously" and "in splendor everyday."
In contrast, Lazarus lived a crummy life (pun intended); he literally had to live on crumbs. Not only that, but also he was not a person with whom others would want to associate because he had a disease that produced visible sores covering his body. He was so sick, others had to carry him near the mansion of the wealthy man so he could beg for sustenance there.
According to the beliefs of the day, the wealthy man was a favorite of God, a good man, a righteous man and the way the Pharisees said that they knew of his favored status was because of his wealth, a sign of his right standing before God.
The Pharisees regarded Lazarus as the opposite, one of those not in favor with God and they way they knew that was that he was just another sick, pathetic beggar, one with crumbs for food, rags for clothes, and no money. Whatever he was doing, it was wrong in their arrogant opinion.
When Lazarus died, Jesus gave the Pharisees the shocking news that the sick beggar was in the presence of God while Mr. Got Bucks was in a place such torment that he was now begging for water.
What?
WAIT A MINUTE
Hadn't Lazarus read the books or gotten the memo? The prosperity preachers tell us that God "doesn't want us to be average." (If nobody is average, what happens to "average?") Their sermons tell us God wants us to enjoy all the things the wealthy man in the story enjoyed and if we'll just apply the right "biblical" principles, God will become our personal ATM. (These "principles" are waiting for us when we buy their books and tapes and attend their seminars, all for a fee of course, thus making them wealthy.)
In their books and sermons, do these prosperity peddlers ever give their readers a verse-by-verse study of Luke 16:19-31? Do they ever take their listeners/readers to Hebrews 11:36-38? Do they quote Peter's words when he said he had no silver or gold and the Son of Man who said he had no home? Such texts go down the Orwell's Memory Hole in "1984."
Just one story Jesus told destroys the prosperity gospel.
"Conspicuous consumption is the spending of money on and the acquiring of luxury goods and services to publicly display economic power—of the income or of the accumulated wealth of the buyer. To the conspicuous consumer, such a public display of discretionary economic power is a means either of attaining or of maintaining a given social status." So goes the formal definition.
Contrary to the idea that money can't bring happiness, this wealthy man lived "joyously" and "in splendor everyday."
In contrast, Lazarus lived a crummy life (pun intended); he literally had to live on crumbs. Not only that, but also he was not a person with whom others would want to associate because he had a disease that produced visible sores covering his body. He was so sick, others had to carry him near the mansion of the wealthy man so he could beg for sustenance there.
According to the beliefs of the day, the wealthy man was a favorite of God, a good man, a righteous man and the way the Pharisees said that they knew of his favored status was because of his wealth, a sign of his right standing before God.
The Pharisees regarded Lazarus as the opposite, one of those not in favor with God and they way they knew that was that he was just another sick, pathetic beggar, one with crumbs for food, rags for clothes, and no money. Whatever he was doing, it was wrong in their arrogant opinion.
When Lazarus died, Jesus gave the Pharisees the shocking news that the sick beggar was in the presence of God while Mr. Got Bucks was in a place such torment that he was now begging for water.
What?
WAIT A MINUTE
Hadn't Lazarus read the books or gotten the memo? The prosperity preachers tell us that God "doesn't want us to be average." (If nobody is average, what happens to "average?") Their sermons tell us God wants us to enjoy all the things the wealthy man in the story enjoyed and if we'll just apply the right "biblical" principles, God will become our personal ATM. (These "principles" are waiting for us when we buy their books and tapes and attend their seminars, all for a fee of course, thus making them wealthy.)
In their books and sermons, do these prosperity peddlers ever give their readers a verse-by-verse study of Luke 16:19-31? Do they ever take their listeners/readers to Hebrews 11:36-38? Do they quote Peter's words when he said he had no silver or gold and the Son of Man who said he had no home? Such texts go down the Orwell's Memory Hole in "1984."
Just one story Jesus told destroys the prosperity gospel.
Monday, July 30, 2018
SEEPAGE
There are things that seep into our consciousness that do so without examination. It's as if we admit ideas into our minds without the proper papers. We hear something that sounds good, but we don't examine its qualifications for admittance into our lives. For the Christian, there is only one qualification for admittance into the thinking of the church: it must square with the Bible.
There are many things in many areas to which we give no thought. For example, let's look at the English language, a language which is difficult for the foreigner. I wonder if you've ever thought of the fact that we pronounce a vowel in English differently, depending on whether it's "long" or "short." Have you ever thought that it would be a lot simpler if we had a letter for a "short" A and a different letter for a "long" A and all the other vowels, but no, we don't.
Or how about this: when you're writing or talking, do you have to consciously think, "Do I use 'a' or 'an' in front of 'boy?' Do I say, 'an boy' or do I say 'a boy?'" We don't have to give a nanosecond's thought to the question, do we? We don't have to think about the rule of grammar governing the use of "a" or "an," we just write or say the word with the proper article, no thought given. If we had to think of the grammatical rule for the use of "a" or "an," it would make for some mighty boring and lengthy conversations while we each waited for the other to remember and apply the rule in every sentence.
SEEPAGE OF A MYTH: HOW? WHY?
There are ideas that seep into our churches without the proper papers. The seepage may be because 1) it sounds good or 2) it's been repeated so often and so much that we just accept it or 3) my parents believed it, so I do too, i. e. traditionalism, 4) my pastor believed it.
THE MYTH
OK. Our study of English grammar is over. Our look at the "Why" and "How" is over. Let's get to the myth, which is, "You have to earn the right to witness." By that statement, the myth says that we have to earn our right into someone's life before we can tell them the good news of Christ.
Is that concept anywhere in the Bible? If it is, I haven't yet found it. I've found the opposite. The Ethiopian had no relationship with Phillip the hitch hiker he picked up as he read Isaiah 53. Paul had no relationship with Felix or Sergius Paulus. Paul didn't have to earn the right to speak to the academics in Athens. Peter had never met Cornelius, his family, or his slaves, but he wasn't to wait until he earned the right (or as is sometimes said, "Live the life before them") to tell them about Jesus.
Francis of Assisi is attributed with the following quote which promotes the myth: "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words." I Corinthians 15 shows us that to communicate the gospel, we must use words to tell people that Christ, the God/Man, died for their sins and rose from the dead and that those who trust Him alone have everlasting life. We can't give the gospel apart from words. Forget Francis.
In the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, the Sower threw the seed all over the place; there was no discrimination in the casting. Jesus met the woman at the well, the blind man at the Pool of Bethesda, and upon that first contact, He told them the good news. Paul wrote, "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish." To discharge that debt, he went into the synagogues and the forums to throw the seed of the gospel to one and all, whether he had built a relationship with them or not. He hadn't in most cases. On one occasion, he even wanted to enter a mob to give them the gospel. He had built no friendship with the mob.
No, we don't have to earn the right to speak to others about Christ. Christ gave us the right to do so.
In over 2,000 of church history, there's been a lot of seepage. For every concept seeing admittance to the thinking of the church, we need to ask for its papers.
There are many things in many areas to which we give no thought. For example, let's look at the English language, a language which is difficult for the foreigner. I wonder if you've ever thought of the fact that we pronounce a vowel in English differently, depending on whether it's "long" or "short." Have you ever thought that it would be a lot simpler if we had a letter for a "short" A and a different letter for a "long" A and all the other vowels, but no, we don't.
Or how about this: when you're writing or talking, do you have to consciously think, "Do I use 'a' or 'an' in front of 'boy?' Do I say, 'an boy' or do I say 'a boy?'" We don't have to give a nanosecond's thought to the question, do we? We don't have to think about the rule of grammar governing the use of "a" or "an," we just write or say the word with the proper article, no thought given. If we had to think of the grammatical rule for the use of "a" or "an," it would make for some mighty boring and lengthy conversations while we each waited for the other to remember and apply the rule in every sentence.
SEEPAGE OF A MYTH: HOW? WHY?
There are ideas that seep into our churches without the proper papers. The seepage may be because 1) it sounds good or 2) it's been repeated so often and so much that we just accept it or 3) my parents believed it, so I do too, i. e. traditionalism, 4) my pastor believed it.
THE MYTH
OK. Our study of English grammar is over. Our look at the "Why" and "How" is over. Let's get to the myth, which is, "You have to earn the right to witness." By that statement, the myth says that we have to earn our right into someone's life before we can tell them the good news of Christ.
Is that concept anywhere in the Bible? If it is, I haven't yet found it. I've found the opposite. The Ethiopian had no relationship with Phillip the hitch hiker he picked up as he read Isaiah 53. Paul had no relationship with Felix or Sergius Paulus. Paul didn't have to earn the right to speak to the academics in Athens. Peter had never met Cornelius, his family, or his slaves, but he wasn't to wait until he earned the right (or as is sometimes said, "Live the life before them") to tell them about Jesus.
Francis of Assisi is attributed with the following quote which promotes the myth: "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words." I Corinthians 15 shows us that to communicate the gospel, we must use words to tell people that Christ, the God/Man, died for their sins and rose from the dead and that those who trust Him alone have everlasting life. We can't give the gospel apart from words. Forget Francis.
In the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, the Sower threw the seed all over the place; there was no discrimination in the casting. Jesus met the woman at the well, the blind man at the Pool of Bethesda, and upon that first contact, He told them the good news. Paul wrote, "I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish." To discharge that debt, he went into the synagogues and the forums to throw the seed of the gospel to one and all, whether he had built a relationship with them or not. He hadn't in most cases. On one occasion, he even wanted to enter a mob to give them the gospel. He had built no friendship with the mob.
No, we don't have to earn the right to speak to others about Christ. Christ gave us the right to do so.
In over 2,000 of church history, there's been a lot of seepage. For every concept seeing admittance to the thinking of the church, we need to ask for its papers.
Friday, July 13, 2018
COINCIDENCE?
History contains some strange events. Take 1953 for example. In February of that year, the brutal dictator Joseph Stalin had announced a plan of his devilish concoction. The plan concerned the Jews in Soviet Russia. Stalin planned to get rid of them. (Remember, this would be just a few years after the Holocaust in Nazi Germany killed millions of Jews in Europe.)
Stalin called in 25 members of the Soviet Presidium in February 1953, and announced that he planned to send all Russian Jews a designated place more than 3,000 miles Moscow. He told the group that he was doing this because of his "discovery" of a Jewish plot against the Soviet Union and against him personally.
We know that dictators are like some preachers; they stand six feet above contradiction. But one man at the meeting, V. M. Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister–who had a Jewish wife–said in a trembling voice that such deportation would have a deplorable effect on world opinion.
This was a bold move and an even bolder statement against the dictator whose name means "Steel." Tyrants are accustomed to unanimous votes. When Stalin made a pronouncement, the expected response was, "So let it be written. So let it be done."
Marshal Voroshilov threw his Communist Party card on the table and said: “If such a step is taken, I would be ashamed to remain a member of our party, which will be completely dishonored."
Now there were two brazen souls in the room, both opposing Stalin to his face and in front of others. This was intolerable. In the past, anyone who dared to do such a thing went to prison, to a slave labor camp, or disappeared. You can imagine the dictator's reaction: Stalin was in a rage of uncontrollable anger.
Stalin didn't speak; he roared: “It is I who will decide when you no longer have the right to keep your membership card.”
Those who were there revealed later that the meeting fell into an uproar. Then a strange thing happened: Stalin fell to the floor, stricken. Lavrenti Beria, the chief of the secret police, jumped to his feet, danced around Stalin’s prostrate form, and shouted, “We are free. Finally! finally!” The doctors arrived a few minutes later and the dictator was taken to his private rooms.
That was February 1953. In less than 30 days, on March 5, 1953, Stalin died. The deportation of the Jews never happened.
Coincidence? Not according to the Abrahamic, the Palestinian, the Davidic, and the New Covenants. According to those promises and those given in the prophets and the Psalms to Israel, Israel is indestructible.
Again, the question. Coincidence? No way!
Stalin called in 25 members of the Soviet Presidium in February 1953, and announced that he planned to send all Russian Jews a designated place more than 3,000 miles Moscow. He told the group that he was doing this because of his "discovery" of a Jewish plot against the Soviet Union and against him personally.
We know that dictators are like some preachers; they stand six feet above contradiction. But one man at the meeting, V. M. Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister–who had a Jewish wife–said in a trembling voice that such deportation would have a deplorable effect on world opinion.
This was a bold move and an even bolder statement against the dictator whose name means "Steel." Tyrants are accustomed to unanimous votes. When Stalin made a pronouncement, the expected response was, "So let it be written. So let it be done."
Marshal Voroshilov threw his Communist Party card on the table and said: “If such a step is taken, I would be ashamed to remain a member of our party, which will be completely dishonored."
Now there were two brazen souls in the room, both opposing Stalin to his face and in front of others. This was intolerable. In the past, anyone who dared to do such a thing went to prison, to a slave labor camp, or disappeared. You can imagine the dictator's reaction: Stalin was in a rage of uncontrollable anger.
Stalin didn't speak; he roared: “It is I who will decide when you no longer have the right to keep your membership card.”
Those who were there revealed later that the meeting fell into an uproar. Then a strange thing happened: Stalin fell to the floor, stricken. Lavrenti Beria, the chief of the secret police, jumped to his feet, danced around Stalin’s prostrate form, and shouted, “We are free. Finally! finally!” The doctors arrived a few minutes later and the dictator was taken to his private rooms.
That was February 1953. In less than 30 days, on March 5, 1953, Stalin died. The deportation of the Jews never happened.
Coincidence? Not according to the Abrahamic, the Palestinian, the Davidic, and the New Covenants. According to those promises and those given in the prophets and the Psalms to Israel, Israel is indestructible.
Again, the question. Coincidence? No way!
Friday, July 6, 2018
UNADULTERATED EVIL
It is a study in unadulterated evil, pure, without admixture. When people realized the full extent of its horror, it was on a scale unbelievable to many. It started slowly, planned and incremental, year by year, so the population at large wouldn't realize the depth of the deviltry. Such is the way the world works to cloak its intrigues.
1933: the Nazi party got what they wanted: power, and after that, their hatred of the Jews began to show itself. There were the public burning of books by Jewish authors, random violence against Jews and their property. The police and the courts turned a blind eye. For the Jews, there was no legal recourse. Boycotts emerged: people were told not to buy from Jewish merchants. Intimidating, uniformed men were placed outside the stores to prohibit customer entrance.
1934: a decree made it illegal for Jewish students to take their final exams to qualify in pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, and law. The party excluded Jews from the military.
1935: laws enacted against intermarriage with Jews.
1935-36: They banned Jews from parks, restaurants, and swimming pools. Jews lost the vote. Jews couldn't own electrical or optical equipment, bicycles, typewriters, or records. Jewish students began to be removed from the universities.
1938: They excluded Jews from going to the movies, theaters, beaches, concerts, and resorts. All female Jews were to add "Sarah" to their names and all males were to add "Israel" to theirs. It was on November 9, they attacked and murdered German and Austrian Jews, burned their synagogues, and broke the windows of Jewish stores. It was on that night that thousands of Jews were arrested. It was in this year that Jewish children were expelled from the schools. Jewish passports began to be stamped with a scarlet letter, "J." Many passports were revoked.
1939: It becomes illegal for a Jew to own a radio and they are confiscated. All Jews are now under a curfew.
1940: It becomes illegal for a Jew to own a telephone. No Jew can own a ration card for clothing.
1941: All Jews over 6 must wear a yellow Star of David accompanied by the word, "Jew." No Jew can use a public telephone, own a dog, a cat, or a bird. No Jew can leave the country.
1942: Jews must hand over their fur coats and woolen goods. No Jew can receive eggs or milk. Blind and deaf Jews cannot wear armbands which identify them to traffic. All schools now closed to Jewish children.
We can stop there. The list of "Jews Can't" was long and deadly, comprised of 2,000 decrees. Yes, 2,000. Of course, eventually came the Nazi death camps. Once Eisenhower liberated those camps, he had them photographed for the historical record and made the Germans tour their horrors because he understood that someday, there would be those who would declare the horrors a hoax. He was right.
So, today, to carelessly hurl the insult of "Nazi" at just any political opponent is to trivialize the horror and the monsters who passed those 2,000 laws and initiated "The Final Solution." It is to insult the Jewish people.
Today, it shows the depths Satan will go to destroy the Jews, but God has declared His ancient people, "Indestructible." That's a declaration the gentile nations have ignored, an ignoring going way back to ancient Egypt.
1933: the Nazi party got what they wanted: power, and after that, their hatred of the Jews began to show itself. There were the public burning of books by Jewish authors, random violence against Jews and their property. The police and the courts turned a blind eye. For the Jews, there was no legal recourse. Boycotts emerged: people were told not to buy from Jewish merchants. Intimidating, uniformed men were placed outside the stores to prohibit customer entrance.
1934: a decree made it illegal for Jewish students to take their final exams to qualify in pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, and law. The party excluded Jews from the military.
1935: laws enacted against intermarriage with Jews.
1935-36: They banned Jews from parks, restaurants, and swimming pools. Jews lost the vote. Jews couldn't own electrical or optical equipment, bicycles, typewriters, or records. Jewish students began to be removed from the universities.
1938: They excluded Jews from going to the movies, theaters, beaches, concerts, and resorts. All female Jews were to add "Sarah" to their names and all males were to add "Israel" to theirs. It was on November 9, they attacked and murdered German and Austrian Jews, burned their synagogues, and broke the windows of Jewish stores. It was on that night that thousands of Jews were arrested. It was in this year that Jewish children were expelled from the schools. Jewish passports began to be stamped with a scarlet letter, "J." Many passports were revoked.
1939: It becomes illegal for a Jew to own a radio and they are confiscated. All Jews are now under a curfew.
1940: It becomes illegal for a Jew to own a telephone. No Jew can own a ration card for clothing.
1941: All Jews over 6 must wear a yellow Star of David accompanied by the word, "Jew." No Jew can use a public telephone, own a dog, a cat, or a bird. No Jew can leave the country.
1942: Jews must hand over their fur coats and woolen goods. No Jew can receive eggs or milk. Blind and deaf Jews cannot wear armbands which identify them to traffic. All schools now closed to Jewish children.
We can stop there. The list of "Jews Can't" was long and deadly, comprised of 2,000 decrees. Yes, 2,000. Of course, eventually came the Nazi death camps. Once Eisenhower liberated those camps, he had them photographed for the historical record and made the Germans tour their horrors because he understood that someday, there would be those who would declare the horrors a hoax. He was right.
So, today, to carelessly hurl the insult of "Nazi" at just any political opponent is to trivialize the horror and the monsters who passed those 2,000 laws and initiated "The Final Solution." It is to insult the Jewish people.
Today, it shows the depths Satan will go to destroy the Jews, but God has declared His ancient people, "Indestructible." That's a declaration the gentile nations have ignored, an ignoring going way back to ancient Egypt.
Friday, June 29, 2018
A MATH PROBLEM
Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, has been in the news for a while. It's a public institution, founded in 1967 and it's well-known for its entrance requirements: anyone with a pulse can get in. (They have a 97% admittance rate.) This means that even with my high school algebra and geometry grades, I would have been welcomed and deemed a scholar at Evergreen State.
Evergreen State is infamous for being radicalized, but it pretty much started out that way because, at its founding, it attracted a lot of the hippie element, but it has become even more radicalized over the years to the point of campus chaos.
JUST HOW RADICALIZED?
The campus has become so chaotic that there are certain spaces, called "Safe Spaces," in which you aren't allowed to say these nine words: "Donald Trump is the president of the United States." Now, we should note that, whatever your politics, the undeniable and certifiable fact is, Donald Trump is the president of the United States. But at Evergreen State, in those designated areas, students can't state that fact. One congressman said, "That's scary."
It's like creating several areas on campus in which you can't say, "2+2=4."
THOSE HISTORY MAJORS
One of the annoying things about history majors is that they always point to some current event and with a supercilious attitude and in a condescending tone, say, "That's nothing new; back in 1774 . . ."
Then they talk down to us, telling us that the same thing at which you're amazed has happened many times before. History majors love what Harry Truman said, "The only thing new to you is the history you don't know." (Yes, that's true, but irritating.)
The history major will point out that something similar happens under all totalitarian regimes. In North Korea you can't say anything bad about the leader. You can't even say, "North Korea" in North Korea. You can't say anything sarcastic. You can't ask, "When was the leader born?" (There are many other things--you can't own blue jeans or a Bible. 80 people were taken to a stadium and publicly executed for owning Bibles. A journalist was executed for making a typographical error.)
There's something else about our culture: you can't question or criticize or point out any flaws in the theory of evolution. The theory resides like many pastors, six feet above contradiction. The theory, to apply Cassius' remark about Julius Caesar, "Bestrides the narrow world like a Colossus." The reason is obvious--without evolution, fallen man is left with only one option: creation. He does NOT want to go there because creation means a Creator and a Creator means accountability.
Back in the 1st century AD, there was something you couldn't say: "Jesus is Lord." This was because the state religion was all bound up with Emperor worship. Emperor worship was what held the far-flung Empire together, so Christians who wouldn't worship the Emperor's image, but instead would say, "Jesus is Lord," were treasonous. A totalitarian state can't tolerate any authority higher than itself.
WHAT ABOUT IT?
One wonders: in those safety zones at Evergreen State, could you say, "Jesus is Lord"? Could you recite John 3:16? Could you tell the story of Jesus? Could you distribute Bibles? Could you wear a T-shirt that said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved"? Could you wear a shirt with a cross on it? Could you state the name and office of the current vice-president?
George Orwell said that true freedom is the freedom to say, "2+2=4." That is, true freedom is the freedom to state the obvious.
Evergreen State is infamous for being radicalized, but it pretty much started out that way because, at its founding, it attracted a lot of the hippie element, but it has become even more radicalized over the years to the point of campus chaos.
JUST HOW RADICALIZED?
The campus has become so chaotic that there are certain spaces, called "Safe Spaces," in which you aren't allowed to say these nine words: "Donald Trump is the president of the United States." Now, we should note that, whatever your politics, the undeniable and certifiable fact is, Donald Trump is the president of the United States. But at Evergreen State, in those designated areas, students can't state that fact. One congressman said, "That's scary."
It's like creating several areas on campus in which you can't say, "2+2=4."
THOSE HISTORY MAJORS
One of the annoying things about history majors is that they always point to some current event and with a supercilious attitude and in a condescending tone, say, "That's nothing new; back in 1774 . . ."
Then they talk down to us, telling us that the same thing at which you're amazed has happened many times before. History majors love what Harry Truman said, "The only thing new to you is the history you don't know." (Yes, that's true, but irritating.)
The history major will point out that something similar happens under all totalitarian regimes. In North Korea you can't say anything bad about the leader. You can't even say, "North Korea" in North Korea. You can't say anything sarcastic. You can't ask, "When was the leader born?" (There are many other things--you can't own blue jeans or a Bible. 80 people were taken to a stadium and publicly executed for owning Bibles. A journalist was executed for making a typographical error.)
There's something else about our culture: you can't question or criticize or point out any flaws in the theory of evolution. The theory resides like many pastors, six feet above contradiction. The theory, to apply Cassius' remark about Julius Caesar, "Bestrides the narrow world like a Colossus." The reason is obvious--without evolution, fallen man is left with only one option: creation. He does NOT want to go there because creation means a Creator and a Creator means accountability.
Back in the 1st century AD, there was something you couldn't say: "Jesus is Lord." This was because the state religion was all bound up with Emperor worship. Emperor worship was what held the far-flung Empire together, so Christians who wouldn't worship the Emperor's image, but instead would say, "Jesus is Lord," were treasonous. A totalitarian state can't tolerate any authority higher than itself.
WHAT ABOUT IT?
One wonders: in those safety zones at Evergreen State, could you say, "Jesus is Lord"? Could you recite John 3:16? Could you tell the story of Jesus? Could you distribute Bibles? Could you wear a T-shirt that said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved"? Could you wear a shirt with a cross on it? Could you state the name and office of the current vice-president?
George Orwell said that true freedom is the freedom to say, "2+2=4." That is, true freedom is the freedom to state the obvious.
Friday, June 22, 2018
TALK ABOUT SNATCHING AWAY!
A pastor is preaching on man's sin problem and our need to submit to God’s plan for obtaining righteousness. He points out that we can’t save ourselves, that we can’t work our way to heaven, that the righteousness man needs to get to heaven is a gift through faith in Christ.
Then he comes to his invitation to the unbeliever, saying, “There are two things that get you into heaven: The blood of Christ and the instructions of God to guide us and both require trust, surrender, faith, and obedience on our part. We can’t save ourselves, we need the blood of forgiveness and we need God’s instructions for guidance."
At this point, the discerning reader might become a bit concerned over the statement, "We need God's instruction for guidance," so he holds his full approval in abeyance until he, in fairness, hears him out, and when he hears him say, "and both require trust, surrender, faith, and obedience on our part. We can’t save ourselves, we need the blood of forgiveness and we need God’s instructions for guidance," mental red flags are flying all over the place.
THEN COMES THE INVITATION
After a few more comments, he comes to the invitation time and to introduce that time, he brings the listener a list of things he must do:
1. Trust the Lord Jesus.
2. Be baptized. (“Baptism,” he says, “is our appeal to the Lord to cleanse us by His blood.”)
3. Obediently follow God’s instructions.(The only "instructions" are, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.")
4. Turn to the Lord Jesus. (This is vague.)
5. Repent—"Turn away from sin, renounce all vain things you trusted in before, renounce the love and practice of sin in order to turn to the Lord." (His definition of "repent" is faulty and he's imported into the word meanings it does not have. "Repent" means "change your mind." At this point, he's defined what he means by "Turn to the Lord Jesus." There are a multiplicity of problems which surface at this point--no one can turn away from sin, the preacher included. He has sinned and will continue to sin even after salvation. He's imposing the impossible requirement of "renouncing the love and practice of sin.")
6. Confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth. (By this, people usually mean, "Come forward down the aisle." This requirement is coming from his misunderstanding of Rom. 10:9-10 and turning that text into a requirement for salvation not found in the Gospel of John, a book written for the purpose of evangelism.)
PURLOINED!
Talk about "snatching the gospel away!" (Luke 8:12) The speaker himself has snatched the good news away by loading it with works, when he'd just said that salvation was a free gift.
All of the above serves as a cautionary tale for us to be more and more and more discerning. Had the reader stopped reading with we "need to submit to God's plan for obtaining righteousness," and had he stopped with "the blood of Christ gets you into heaven," and had he stopped with "We can't work our way to heaven," he might have thought all was well. But such was not to be.
We always need to require the writer or the speaker to nail things down--to inquire as to the specifics, to keep asking questions to make certain that when he's writing or speaking of trusting Christ, what does he mean by that? Is he speaking of trusting Christ alone by faith alone, or are there additions such as the aforementioned?
RED FLAGS
The additions of works to faith alone in Christ alone are numerous and in error:
If you are attending and thereby supporting a ministry or a church that corrupts the good news in the aforementioned ways, you need to drop everything and leave immediately. "They have a good youth program," "They have an excellent nursery," "They're in a good location," "Their music is excellent," or, "The preacher is nice" are not reasons for staying and supporting their leavening the gospel of grace with works.
Find and associate with those who understand grace; learn from and encourage them.
Then he comes to his invitation to the unbeliever, saying, “There are two things that get you into heaven: The blood of Christ and the instructions of God to guide us and both require trust, surrender, faith, and obedience on our part. We can’t save ourselves, we need the blood of forgiveness and we need God’s instructions for guidance."
At this point, the discerning reader might become a bit concerned over the statement, "We need God's instruction for guidance," so he holds his full approval in abeyance until he, in fairness, hears him out, and when he hears him say, "and both require trust, surrender, faith, and obedience on our part. We can’t save ourselves, we need the blood of forgiveness and we need God’s instructions for guidance," mental red flags are flying all over the place.
THEN COMES THE INVITATION
After a few more comments, he comes to the invitation time and to introduce that time, he brings the listener a list of things he must do:
1. Trust the Lord Jesus.
2. Be baptized. (“Baptism,” he says, “is our appeal to the Lord to cleanse us by His blood.”)
3. Obediently follow God’s instructions.(The only "instructions" are, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.")
4. Turn to the Lord Jesus. (This is vague.)
5. Repent—"Turn away from sin, renounce all vain things you trusted in before, renounce the love and practice of sin in order to turn to the Lord." (His definition of "repent" is faulty and he's imported into the word meanings it does not have. "Repent" means "change your mind." At this point, he's defined what he means by "Turn to the Lord Jesus." There are a multiplicity of problems which surface at this point--no one can turn away from sin, the preacher included. He has sinned and will continue to sin even after salvation. He's imposing the impossible requirement of "renouncing the love and practice of sin.")
6. Confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth. (By this, people usually mean, "Come forward down the aisle." This requirement is coming from his misunderstanding of Rom. 10:9-10 and turning that text into a requirement for salvation not found in the Gospel of John, a book written for the purpose of evangelism.)
PURLOINED!
Talk about "snatching the gospel away!" (Luke 8:12) The speaker himself has snatched the good news away by loading it with works, when he'd just said that salvation was a free gift.
All of the above serves as a cautionary tale for us to be more and more and more discerning. Had the reader stopped reading with we "need to submit to God's plan for obtaining righteousness," and had he stopped with "the blood of Christ gets you into heaven," and had he stopped with "We can't work our way to heaven," he might have thought all was well. But such was not to be.
We always need to require the writer or the speaker to nail things down--to inquire as to the specifics, to keep asking questions to make certain that when he's writing or speaking of trusting Christ, what does he mean by that? Is he speaking of trusting Christ alone by faith alone, or are there additions such as the aforementioned?
RED FLAGS
The additions of works to faith alone in Christ alone are numerous and in error:
“Give your heart to Christ,” “Give your heart to Jesus,” “Surrender all,” “Pray the sinner's prayer,” “Turn the direction of your life over to God,” “Put your all on the altar,” “Make Jesus Lord of your life,” “Confess all your sins,” “Forsake all your sins,” “Take Jesus into your heart,” “Ask Jesus to come into your heart,” “Make the great commitment,” and “Follow Jesus.”
If you are attending and thereby supporting a ministry or a church that corrupts the good news in the aforementioned ways, you need to drop everything and leave immediately. "They have a good youth program," "They have an excellent nursery," "They're in a good location," "Their music is excellent," or, "The preacher is nice" are not reasons for staying and supporting their leavening the gospel of grace with works.
Find and associate with those who understand grace; learn from and encourage them.
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