Category: The Doctrine of God

The following is an email I received and my response.

Dr. Back,

I’ve been noodling the synchronizing of experiencing, that is, personally realizing the status of the gift of eternal life and the believers’ resurrection of the body in the future eternal state.  Do you have a Bible reference or an article to recommend that might act as grist for the mental mill? The gears between my ears have jammed here:

I’ve been given a gift. eternal life. I know in a limited sense what it is by biblical description and by reason. It is now mine and I won’t / can’t lose it because God won’t rescind it. I haven’t yet fully realized my experience of receiving this gift, however, because I’m still in a mortal body, a sinful body. I’m anticipating that when I receive a resurrection body, I will be in a condition to better understand and exploit this gift I’ve received. I’m curious about why I feel this way and if I’m on or off track in some way. I’m curious whether progressive sanctification would lead me nearer to experiencing eternal life. I’m curious whether ultimate sanctification removes all limits to experiencing eternal life or whether the resurrection body is needed to remove all limits to this experience.

Thanks,

* * * * *

Dear ___________,

Your question is truly food for thought, particularly for those of us who find our bodies deteriorating and/or not doing what we want them to do. This, coupled with nearly overwhelming turmoil and change in the world around us, makes it more difficult to trust our feelings.

I cannot fully comprehend what you are going through with regard to your Parkinson’s Disease. I have sought to discipline myself to never say, “I understand,” when speaking to anyone who expresses concerns, doubts, frustration, depression, etc. I learned long ago that this is not helpful and does not meet the criteria of “bearing one another’s burdens.” I do not mean to imply that what you are asking stems from any of the above. Perhaps quandary may be a better term or maybe just you are curious.

What I can say is, I can appreciate what you are experiencing because of what I have experienced in my past and am experiencing now. I will not enumerate my experiences here. You are familiar with some of them.

One of the effects of my experiences is an inability to sense the presence of God in my life. Perhaps this is near the heart of your question. I have suffered bouts of depression most of my life. A few of these brought me close to suicide. A few occurred before the Interferon treatments for cancer that damaged the lower cortex of my brain. For this reason, I have been on medication for this. I think the street names might be uppers and downers taken at the same time. These have done a job on my ability to feel emotions, especially those I long for from the past when I sensed the presence of God in my life.

My Ph.D. dissertation was going to be on the doctrine of the soul. For years I sought a clearer definition of the soul believing that the soul of man is what we do based on the decisions we make under the sun. These decisions come from what we think and feel, the attitudes we derived from the information we glean from what we allow into our minds. A major health event prevented me from completing my dissertation, but I have continued to research this vast subject.

The soul is not something we can measure. Like the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can only detect the soul in retrospect when we look back and see whether or not what we thought and felt, and our attitude and actions, were correct. This leads me to Hebrews 4:12. I have a PowerPoint slide show taken from my Basic Seminars in Conflict Manage illustrating what I see in this verse.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The following diagrams are taken from that seminar. The first slide notes the impossibility of knowing experientially the distinction between soul and spirit. The second slide illustrates that God’s Word enables us to make this distinction.

                               Slide 1

                              Slide 2

The only way we can discern the difference between soul and spirit is by God’s Word. It is not empirical.

God created man to feel and experience His creation. The soul of man is how we experience His creation. While this experience is felt in a moment of time, it will last for eternity. God is a Spirit and, as believers, we can experience God while under the sun with our spirit. Since it is a function of the spirit within us, it is not a physical experience but primarily mental.

Unfortunately, communion with God was interrupted in the fall. It is restored when we are born of God. At the point in time when this takes place, we have eternal life. This is not simply unending existence. The unbeliever will live forever as well. However, that existence is apart from a relationship with God. It is imperative that we recognize that eternal life is first and foremost a relationship with God.

This you know as expressed in your email. This is where understanding biblical love is vitally important. See Part III of my book on my website. (see)  Agapao is an act of the will. We demonstrate our love for God by choosing to do His will. Phileo is the love of attraction. It is a response to something or someone in our apperceptive mass, hence it is relational. It involves self-disclosure and may extend to secondary objects (Jn 5:20; cf. w. Jn 16:27). This is why the church, in its biblical form, is so important. The Church is one of the ways we experience God. It is through our relationships with one another. Phileo is a factor in burden bearing and all of the rest of the One Anothers.

While eternal life is a relationship, it also involves corporality because we are sentient beings. As such, we are able to feel. Since our relationship with God is spiritual, we should not expect to feel God. But we can have feelings about God, sometimes ecstatic. It is important to accept that we have control over our emotions, especially as mature believers. In doing so, we also must accept our responsibility, to the extent possible given limitations due to our physical state, to control our emotions with our minds.

In my situation, I recognize that I must constantly bathe my mind with God’s Word so that my attenuated emotional responses do not overtake my knowledge of my God and Savior Jesus Christ. This has saved me from despair on many occasions. This must have been what Paul was referring to when he wrote: “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NASB).

Granted, Paul was facing far more pressure in his life than we face today. But he repeatedly demonstrated his humanity in his writings. I have found this comforting in my struggles in my life. Would that God had taken me home when He saved me so I did not have time to stumble and fall as often as I have in my life. Yet, how could He gain any glory through me, His creation damaged by sin, if I had not struggled, and am still struggling, within my body and soul under the sun? Only when I am able to overcome my struggles with my mind, the mind of Christ, am I able to bring glory to my God.

Eternal life is both relational and experiential. However, the experiential must always be governed by the Holy Spirit through the knowledge of God’s Word. Our spiritual relationship with God which we have come to know through God’s Word must always be primary and must govern and supersede our experiential aspect of eternal life.

Setting aside my attempt at defining eternal life for a moment, I want to address your reference to progressive sanctification. My understanding of sanctification, perhaps too simplified, is it means set apart for holy service. When we were born from above, we were set apart for holy service. As we grow in knowledge and experience of the truth of the gospel, we are being set apart for holy service. When we die or are raptured and are with our Lord, we are once and for all set apart for holy service. “Progressive sanctification” is therefore the transformation that takes place as we learn to love God as we should, i.e., are more obedient. Since we have experienced son-placing (adoption), we are old enough to understand and obey our Father’s will. This is agape. Progressive sanctification is learning to choose and do God’s will which glorifies God as we serve our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul refers to this ongoing transformation in his life in Roman 7 where he confesses his struggle with the flesh. In Philippians, he describes this as a race that he is running for a prize. He hasn’t won the prize yet, but he presses on. He is not yet perfect (teleios.).[i] He then challenges those, including himself, who are perfect (teleios) to maintain the correct attitude of those who are perfect (teleios).[ii]

One final thought regarding eternal life. Toward the end of the first century, the apostle John, in his first epistle wrote:

And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.[iii]

This couplet of verses was part of the Navigator Topical Memory System I learn soon after receiving Christ as my Savior. Comforting as it was in my early spiritual life, it became even more comforting years later as I studied the text in its context. The preceding verse reads:

The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son.[iv]

The grammar of this verse requires attention. Both the one who believes and the one who does not believe are Present Active Participles, placing emphasis upon the nature of the subjects. A paraphrase would be, the believer, and the unbeliever, respectively. This is followed by the causal clause, because he has not believed. The verb is a Perfect Active Participle. This refers to action completed in the past with continuing results.

This takes the reader back to the beginning of the epistle:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life — and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us — what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.[v]

When faced with difficult circumstances in life, we have the privilege and joy of looking back over our past and recalling that we received the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, the Word of God. If circumstances drive us away from believing this, we make God out to be a liar and declare that we really never believed in the first place. On the other hand, if we remember what we believed and Who it was in Whom we believed, we are able to hold on to our confession in spite of the circumstances.

Many years ago, I was called alongside a friend who was considering suicide. To my question “what’s going on?” his response was, “Jerry, I have lost my faith.”

Here was a man who was a seminary graduate, one who served successfully as a pastor and a comforter to others. My answer to him was, “Here, use my faith.” After further words of comfort and encouragement, he put aside thoughts of suicide and went on to minister to others both as a pastor and as a comforter to other pastors.

I did not quote to him this passage from John’s first epistle. Nor did I even think about it. It must have been the Holy Spirit that brought my response. However, reflecting on the event and now on this passage, this is what John was telling his readers during their difficult circumstances in the early church. And we must not stop there. He went on to write:

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.[vi]

If someone has eternal life, why would John need to tell them that they have eternal life? Clearly, eternal life is not an experience without a relationship. And this relationship is not dependent on how we feel. It is dependent upon God. It is first and foremost a relationship guaranteed by God and not by how we feel.

Your email touches on so many aspects of our salvation, it is exciting for me to attempt to give feedback. I feel as if I could write a whole book trying to respond to all the points you touched on.

I know that you are strong in your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Your ability to “experience” eternal life may be waning, but your ability to know the love of God for you is strong. Let this be your guide. Don’t attempt to restore past experiences. Instead, recall them. Cherish them. Remember Paul’s response to his difficult circumstances:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?[vii]

And again:

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”[viii]

May this be an encouragement to you. Please let me know if this is beneficial.

In Christ,

_______________________________

[i] Phil 3:12.

[ii] Phil 2:15.

[iii] 1 Jn 5:11-12.

[iv] 1 Jn 5:10.

[v] 1 Jn 1:1-4.

[vi] 1 Jn 5:13.

[vii] Rom 8:31-35.

[viii] 2 Cor 4:16.

I put my educator’s hat on as we began our regular Friday Zoom discussion this morning by giving a pop quiz. Please understand. When I was teaching at Moody in Spokane, my students had to get used to pop quizzes at the start of every class. I never did it to embarrass or shame anyone. Instead, it was an effective teaching tool to wake up the gray matter, assist in note-taking, and provide insight into what would be on future tests. They knew I would never ask a question on a test, be it a section or final test, that they had not seen before.

My purpose this morning was to assist my brothers and sister in Christ to see how what we are discussing in the book of Ephesians regarding the church, especially in chapters 4, 5, and 6, applies to what the church is facing today. I used a simple PowerPoint slide. Since transforming the slide into HTML is not easy, I will give it to you here without animation.

The lead-in was an interview with Dr. Bill Bennett this morning that I watch as I ate breakfast. This, together with a blog I read on the internet this morning, led me to the questions, what do these terms and the phrase mean and how do they relate to our discussion? How would you answer these questions? Then follow this with the question, how does the meaning of each relate to Ephesians 4-6?

Dr. Bennett was being interviewed regarding the uproar over what is being taught in the classroom today and how it has affected student learning, and the ripple effect this will have on their education going forward.

The first term, tangential, comes from the term tangent. Usually, it is described as “a completely different line of thought or action.” However, it is also “a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point, but if extended does not cross it at that point.” I believe the latter meaning is closer to the context of Dr. Bennett’s meaning than the former. Public Education today appears to be relevant on its surface but is often not relevant to what the youth in America needs at each grade level. Hence, it is missing the mark.

The root meaning of sin in the New Testament, hamartia, is often defined as, “to miss the mark.” This is true. However, taking all of the cognates of the term in all of their contexts in the New Testament, one would have to conclude that sin is not just missing the mark. It is not even shooting at the target. It is a deliberate act of the will to shoot at the wrong target. It would not be incorrect to say that many in the progressive movement with regard to the subject of education are not just missing the mark, the first definition of tangential, but are not even shooting at the target, the second definition of tangential.

How often are preachers and teachers speaking tangentially today rather than hitting the mark by not teaching the Word of God directly, clearly, in a way that edifies the Body of Christ, and not just tickling ears?

The second part of my pop quiz was, what does balkanization mean?

The article on Wikipedia notes:

The term (coined in the early 19th century) refers to the division of the Balkan peninsula, which was ruled almost entirely by the Ottoman Empire, into a number of smaller states between 1817 and 1912. It came into common use in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, with reference to the many new states that arose from the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

The article gives the following background and origin of the term:

Balkanization is the fragmentation of a larger region or state into smaller regions or states, which may be hostile or uncooperative with one another. It is usually caused by differences of ethnicity, culture, and religion and some other factors such as past grievances. The term is pejorative; when sponsored or encouraged by a sovereign third party, it has been used as an accusation against such third party nations. Controversially, the term is often used by voices for the status quo to underscore the dangers of acrimonious or runaway secessionism. [sic]

Dr. Bennett was using the term in the context of describing what is happening to the learning process in America today. Liberal states, teachers’ unions, and many school districts, are pushing their liberal agenda. Meanwhile, conservative parents are pulling their children out of public schools in record numbers now that, as a result of the pandemic and the closing of schools, they have seen what is being taught in classrooms. This is what Dr. Bennett meant when he referred to the balkanization of education.

We are going to see the term used a lot in the coming months as we await the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding Roe vs Wade. Should the leaked memo prove to be the way the vote is cast, it will definitely apply with this connotation.

While the conservatives will see overturning this as a great victory, it will eventually lead to the balkanization of the United States with regard to the issue of abortion. The lines are already drawn. Groups, large and small, are building their arsenals to attack the opposing side. This is true regardless of the side one takes. Because of the fifty-year history of the controversy, little has been settled. Any bridge between the two camps has been bombed to smithereens so that there is no ground for coming together for a meaningful solution. The church, because of the stands the Catholic church has taken in the past and the Moral Majority in more recent times, has allowed itself to be sucked right into the vortex of the debate.

Is this where the church ought to be? I will not attempt to answer that question either for your church or for you as an individual. I simply raise the question because it is something we all, as individuals and as churches, are going to have to answer in the coming months and years.

This is true in many aspects of life today. It seems even when discussing whether or not the United States should be involved in selling arms to the Ukrainians, whether or not the masses of immigrants is a good thing or a bad, or even whether Donald Trump was good or evil, many are not capable of a meaningful conversation. We have become so balkanized we can hardly carry on a civil conversation with some of our neighbors, family members, and perhaps even fellow believers in the congregation to which we belong.

This leads to the third question, what does the phrase, The Great Replacement Theory, mean? Space does not allow for a full explanation of this phrase, its meaning, and how it is being used today. I have included a reprint of an article from the internet (see). I have repaginated and highlighted it to assist in understanding it. I have hyperlinked it to the original article. Please read this carefully. Like me, you might need to read this over several times before you gain the full import of what is being said. It reflects darkly on conservatives in America and particularly conservative Christians, especially with reference to issues such as immigration, the progressive agenda in the public schools, and the Supreme Court decision about to be announced regarding Roe vs Wade.

During World War II, the War Advertising Council in the United States coined the phrase: Loose lips sink ships. Pastors, church leaders, and all believers need to adopt this idiom today. We need to beware of careless talk on our part because the enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ will take what we say and use it against us, as in the case of the phrase, The Great Replacement Theory. We might agree with much of what was said by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his views regarding Hungarian Nationalism and European Christianity. But we must take care of the context in which we speak and to whom we are speaking. It can and will be used against us and our Lord.

This is why the Holy Spirit guided the New Testament writers to carefully thread the needle as to what was a divine revelation and what was their own personal reaction to current events taking place around them. As my previous article mentioned (see), we must not mix the gospel with politics. As believers, we need to rise above such talk. On the other hand, we cannot allow the Woke Generation to cancel us from speaking the truth when doing so will build up and not tear down. No generation has been more in need of watching our lips. As David prayed, “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”[i]

Paul exhorted the churches from his confinement under house arrest in Rome:

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.[ii]

…Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.[iii]

________________

[i] Ps 141:3 KJV.

[ii] Eph 5:6-10.

[iii] Eph 5:6-10.

In my first year of pastoral ministry in a small church in eastern Oregon, I saw a bumper sticker I thought described the Body of Christ perfectly. Recently, I found the same slogan on the internet: WE’RE NOT A MINORITY JUST A CHOSE FEW.

With all that is going on in the world and here at home, it is easy to have an Elijah complex:

“I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, torn down Thine altars and killed Thy prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” [i]

Spiritual exhaustion brings spiritual depression. It is the deepest form of depression I know. The cure is very simple. Read on.

A man by the name of Asaph wrote about his spiritual exhaustion and depression in Psalm 73. It begins with a bold statement of faith:

“Surely God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart!” [ii]

But these are only words on a page. What Asaph felt was the opposite of this statement because the world around him contradicted this statement. In the following eleven verses, Asaph delineated the prosperity and apparent blessings the wicked were experiencing. His thought was:

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure,
And washed my hands in innocence;
For I have been stricken all day long,
And chastened every morning. [iii]

Spiritual depression distorts our view of what God is doing. It relegates us to the pit of victimhood. God is not with us in that pit. The walls are too steep and high for us to escape. Our memories of the blessings of our relationship with God fade and our burdens are too heavy to bear. Every negative thought leads deeper into self-pity.

Asaph was brought to his senses when he thought of those around him. We may put it this way:

“But wait! What am I saying as I wallow in this pit?

He expressed it this way:

If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I should have betrayed the generation of Thy children.
When I pondered to understand this,
It was troublesome in my sight [iv]

We live in a culture of me-ism. We measure everything by what we feel and fail to observe what others are feeling or misread the circumstances. Social media was supposed to bring everyone together. Instead, it has led to isolation. An entire generation of children has been raised to measure self-esteem by likes on a website. The world around them consists of bits of irrelevant or false information.

Notice where Asaph found the cure for his spiritual depression. First, he realized that wallowing in self-pity and talking about it betrayed those around him who looked up to him for assurance that the statement in verse 1 was true.

If I was writing a Psalm, I would say that one of the best cures for spiritual depression is not seeing a newborn baby, but seeing the godly stability of older believers who have weathered the storms of life and continue to strengthen those around them. They endure setbacks, aches, and pains, and leave this life with praises to God on their lips. We need to remember that we are all in some way teachers and have others who watch us to see if we really live what we believe. Wallowing in self-pity spoils our testimony and discourages those around us.

The second part of the cure for Asaph’s spiritual depression was entering the sanctuary of God.[v] In his day, it was a physical place, Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem. In fact, Asaph was probably the choir director as he was a descendant of musicians.

The temple of God today is the church, Christ’s body.[vi] This is why it is important to join together in corporate worship as much as possible. Those who claim that sitting in front of a television on Sunday morning meets the requirement for Christian living are wrong. God never intended for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to be an individual matter. If we don’t gather together for our own benefit, at least we should for the benefit of other believers of like faith and practice.[vii]

Failure to join together with others throughout the week and on Sunday leaves us exposed to spiritual depression. We need each other to keep us focused, not on ourselves, but on what God is doing in and through the body fellowship. This is the sure cure for spiritual depression.

Asaph concludes his Psalm:

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, That I may tell of all Thy works.[viii]

Here we might conclude that Asaph was internalizing. However, look closely. He is restating what he said in verse 17 regarding the sanctuary of God. No one went to the temple alone. It was a public place for the public profession of faith. For singing and preaching. For finding and giving encouragement from and to others. It was where Asaph could sense the nearness of God.

I have been privileged to participate in large and small Christian gatherings. I prefer the smaller assemblies because it is there that I can get to know and be known by individuals. Together we learn to depend on each other. To support one another with prayer and using our spiritual gifts. To encourage and comfort one another. It is in the smaller group that we can express genuine Christian love. It is there that we experience God through others and remind each other of His goodness. It is where we can truly sense the nearness of God and see how good He is.

____________

[i] 1 Kgs 19:10.
[ii] Ps 73:1.
[iii] Ps 73:13-14.
[iv] Ps 73:15-16.
[v] Ps 73:17.
[vi] 1 Cor 3:16.
[vii] Heb 10:23-25.
[viii] Ps 73:28.

I’m not Benjamin Franklin. I do not claim to have lived such an important life as Benjamin Franklin. Yet I have lived an interesting life.

I’m not just saying that. Others whom the Lord has led into my path and know me have told me I should write a book about my life. But at least three obstacles have kept me from doing so. The first was how to write it all down so the reader does not conclude I am writing fiction. The second was how to get anyone to read it. Third, and most importantly, I don’t want the focus to be on me but on God and what He was and is doing with my life. I want the last chapter of my life to read:

“For David [insert here Jerry], after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers, and underwent decay.”[i]

The Lord has gathered six individuals around me through the instrumentation of the personal computer. We connect each Friday morning by Zoom and study the Bible for two hours. It is one of the greatest blessings of my life. As we study together, we each use our experiences anecdotally to help us explain what we are learning from God’s Word. I usually do most of the talking, not purposely, because I want it to be a Bible study and discussion. My brothers and sister in Christ find my life experiences captivating. They frequently remind me that I should write a book.

As I pondered this, it dawned on me. I am writing an autobiography with this blog. As you read the articles I post, you will notice that I use my personal experiences to explain how God’s plan has led and molded me for nearly eighty years. The one book God allowed me to publish, Can We Talk: About Matters of This Life, is on this website. (see) Research papers from my undergraduate and graduate studies are also on my website.

Jotting down my thoughts in a web blog is a way for me to write my autobiography. It is what God is teaching me from His autobiography. As this website has developed, I found it difficult to categorize my blogs. Eventually, I settled on posting them by date under the category, Let’s Talk About… This came from the title of my book. The book title ends with …Matters of This Life.

This last part of the title of the book is derived from the Greek term, biotikos, found in 1 Corinthians 6:3-4:

Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this life? If then you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?[ii]

Isn’t this what an autobiography of a Christian is? With God’s wisdom and the mind of Christ, we learn what God has and is doing in our lives under the sun. As I reflect on this, I realize that this web blog is my autobiography.

The Apostle Paul wrote about what God was doing in his life:

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.[iii]

As I consider my autobiography, I heartily agree with Paul, especially in counting all my experiences as rubbish compared to the great privilege and blessing of knowing Christ through His Word. The opportunities to study and teach His Word has led me to better understand what He was and is doing in my life. I also realize that I cannot write the last chapter. Someone else will need to do that.

I want to give a shout-out to ourchurch.com for providing me with the technology that goes into producing this website. Every time I sit down to write, I learn new things about how to use it. I learn best by doing. In the early days of constructing my website, their customer service provided me with the information I needed to get started. They have taken what many pay thousands of dollars for, simplified it, and coached me on how to use this wonderful tool. I still consider myself a novice in website management.

After posting several articles to my site it became apparent that visitors would be hard-pressed, as I was, to find specific information on the website because of the amount of information. I was told this problem was already addressed in the sidebar of every article I post.

You will notice at the top of the sidebar on the left of the page is a brown search field. One can enter any term or phrase and it will find every article in which that term or phrase occurs. Then using the search feature (ctr + F), every occurrence of the term can be located in that article. Wow! What a powerful tool.

In 2010, I was working at Premera Blue Cross as a product configuration analyst. The job required a lot of memory. The damage done to my brain by the Interferon treatments for cancer four years earlier caught up with me. That, together with other health issues, led my doctors to recommend I retire. Since I needed their permission to return to work, I took this to be God’s will.

I have experienced a number of setbacks in my life. My goal of becoming an architect, and my desire to earn a Ph.D. so I could teach are two examples. Both of these were thwarted because of health issues. There have been many other setbacks in my personal life and ministry. James cautioned:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.”[iv]

I firmly believe Paul’s statement:

“…the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”[v]

It is important to note that good in this context is the Greek term agathos not kalos. The difference is that kalos is intrinsically good, pleasant, and/or beautiful. Agathos, on the other hand, is beneficial, but not necessarily pleasant and beautiful. It accomplishes God’s eternal purpose. This distinction is especially true in Romans 8:28, a text often misunderstood:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.[vi]

My autobiography, if written in a book, would have many chapters explaining the twists and turns my path has taken me beginning when I was only two years old. Yes, I remember events that took place then. My path continued into dark places like being sexually molested in foster homes and physical and mental abuse throughout my childhood. I won’t join the Me Too crowd because those dark experiences are part of the path that I now see as God’s will, that which was agathos instead of kalos. Isn’t that what Romans 8:28 means?

As you follow my blogs you will learn more about the path God has chosen for me. If you find these beneficial, please share them with others who might also find insight into their lives. Send me the email address of anyone who might want to be notified when new blogs are added. Then give me feedback. This helps me know if I am hitting the target. I want my life to be a blessing to others.

Out on the highways and byways of life,
many are weary and sad;
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife
making the sorrowing glad.

Make me a blessing,
Out of my life
May Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

adapted from Hymnslyrics.org

______________

[i] Acts 13:36.

[ii] 1 Cor 6:3-4.

[iii] Phil 3:7-14.

[iv] Jas 4:13-15.

[v] Rom 12:2b.

[vi] Rom 8:28.

As I sit down to compose this article, the leak from the Supreme Court regarding its deliberations has just occurred. Those in government and in the media are scrambling to make sense of both the apparent decision being considered and the leak. No one can deny, the leak is a catastrophic event in the history of the republic. We have crossed the Rubicon and there is no turning back. History is repeating itself.

This is as significant as when Julius Caesar marched his army across that shallow river into Italy, an action considered treasonous and a declaration of war. It became a metaphor for insurrection from that point on in Western Civilization. The history of the United States has been marked by many rubicons, some positive and some negative depending on which side of the river one stands. The church is at the edge of its Rubicon. When it comes to the church and politics, Christians have a decision to make. Are we going to live according to God’s rules or man’s?

The subject of the church and politics is not an easy subject to address. Growing up in a political family, my father was a politician, a Democrat who served as a county commissioner of Lewis County, Washington, Dairy Products Commissioner for the State of Washington, chairman of the school board, and several other political positions.

I saw both the good and seamy sides of politics. During my last year of college, my father asked me to allow him to appoint me as deputy assessor for the county. He was the chairman of the board of county commissioners at the time and had that authority. He told me he could guarantee I would be elected to the position of county assessor in a short time. I had the credentials. I worked my way through college working for two title insurance companies, one on the west side of the state and one on the east. I was familiar with Lewis County, having researched and mapped every major city in the county.

This was my rubicon moment. I was already accepted to Western Seminary believing God was calling me into full-time Christian service. As my father pleaded with me, I had to decide to do what I believed God was calling me to do or please my father and enter his world of politics. Once I crossed that point, there would be no turning back.

Today, every church and every pastor has come to a similar crossing point. To become enmeshed in politics or to follow the guidelines God has given in His Word. What has God called the church and each pastor to do? Timothy was faced with this decision. Paul, shortly before his martyrdom, wrote:

…I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 

Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.[i]

Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel,[ii]

I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.[iii] [emphasis mine]

Paul could have written about his own circumstances and the specific hardships he was enduring. Facing imminent death, he could have pleaded for prayers for his deliverance. He could have sought to rally his followers to his cause. He could have lashed out at his unjust captors and the government that empowered them. But he didn’t.

Years before, Paul had crossed his Rubicon and entered the cause of Jesus Christ as an apostle to the Gentiles and to the role God gave him as one who laid the foundation of the church. He kept his eyes on the ball to the very end. World events did not cause him to alter his message. Circumstances did not cause him to slacken his pace or choose a different path.

In his first Roman imprisonment, writing to the church at Philippi, he affirmed his purpose in life:

…I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.[iv]

Every time a pastor-teacher steps to the pulpit, he has a rubicon decision to make. Is he going to preach the Word of God, or is he going to preach his own thoughts or someone else’s? Actually, his decision at that moment will depend upon a myriad of decisions he has already made days, weeks, and even years before. Caesar didn’t just all of a sudden decide to dip his foot in the water. His ego, pride, and thirst for power and the decisions stemming from them through his short life prepared him for that moment. In like manner, those who step to the pulpit to deliver a sermon made many decisions beforehand that determine what they will say. Did they take notes in class, study and apply what they were taught, and strengthen those precepts by diligent research and discipline in the years since?

As pastors go, so goes their church. There are many types of churches with different types of pastors. Does the church gather to hear from and be edified by the Word of God, or to listen to a political speech or some motivational talk that inspires for a moment but leaves the hearer unchanged? Or is the purpose to entertain, stir emotions, or tickle ears?

In his first letter to the believers of Galatia, Paul wrote, “…let the one who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches. [v] Churches have a responsibility to uphold this principle by choosing men who preach the Word and then by supporting them materially, not to enrich them, but to free them to do their ministry free from the financial pressures to the extent the church is able. Pastors who are called to smaller churches and are willing to serve as tentmakers to assist in the support of the ministry of the church need to keep their eyes on the ball and not become entangled in the affairs of everyday life.[vi]

There is no institution under the sun with a clearer message, authoritative guidelines, and greater promise of success than the Body of Christ when it makes the right choice in its rubicon moments. The church is not a paradigm determined by the latest fad, nor a community that is, by definition, a social construct defined by majority rule. It is definitely not a political entity.

The term, politics, comes from the Greek term, polis, which occurs one hundred sixty-two times in the New Testament and is translated every time as city in the KJV. City officials, politarches, are mentioned twice. Politeia refers to citizenship and occurs twice. Politeuomai, the activity of a citizen occurs once.

Christians hold dual citizenship, as members of a political entity whether a neighborhood, a city, a state, or a country under the sun, and as members of the family of God in heaven. As individuals, we must carry out our responsibilities with regard to each of our citizenships (see my book: Part I). However, our heavenly citizenship always, always, determines how we behave in our earthly citizenship. Never the other way around.

Some Christians are led by God to be more active in political entities. In this case, they will have greater responsibility for the choices they make, the things they say, and the action they take. However, each believer needs to always remember that as citizens of heaven, our words and actions in the political arena must reflect our citizenship in heaven. In a similar manner, whatever an individual says or does reflects on the church he/she attends. What a pastor says and does reflects on the church he serves.

Years ago, in the community in which I served as pastor of a local church, it was advertised that members of the Unification Church founded by the late Sun Myung Moon, were coming to town to establish a church. A leader among Christians challenged all of the Christian leaders of the area to sign a petition which was to be printed in the local paper opposing the group.

When the leader came to me, I refused to sign the petition. I told him that I would sign if the notice was properly written and if I could sign as an individual, not as the pastor of the church I served. He refused to accept my proposal. The petition with its signatures was printed. Many took note that I was the only pastor in the county who did not sign that petition.

I refused on the principle that I was not authorized by the church to sign a petition on their behalf nor would I request such authorization. It was a political stunt that did not in any way promoted the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Another instance was a petition having to do with the separation of church and state in the State of Washington. The leaders of the association of churches to which I belonged advocated that every pastor should preach in favor of this petition. After researching the backers of the petition and their intent, I explained to the church that it was a statement against the Catholic church which ultimately would impact all churches. I did not tell them whether or not they should sign it. I only used it to illustrate the danger of churches being used as political pawns. Again, I was the only pastor in the association who did not promote the petition in the church I served.

Throughout my articles on this website, I have emphasized that I believe in verbal, plenary, God-breathed Scripture. By verbal I mean the terms are God-breathed drawing their meaning from the context including word order and grammar. By plenary, I mean that the cannon of the sixty-six books has been established and all are profitable. By God-breathed I mean that it is God’s revelation of Himself to man.

I also believe that every sermon needs to be exegetical with the meaning drawn from the text, not added to it. Every sermon needs to be expository. It needs to explain the meaning of Scripture. All of this needs to apply whether the message is topical or textual. There is no wiggle room here. This is the true definition of preaching.

The church crossed a rubicon early in its history. Paul Tan, in his book, The Interpretation of Prophecy,[vii] describes two schools of interpretation. One was the Alexandrian school which chose to allegorize part or all of Scripture. The other was the Antioch school which chose the literal interpretation of Scripture. Here, literal must be seen in its original meaning, the meaning the author intended recognizing that there is only one meaning and there is both plain language and figurative language.

In-depth research of the terms in the New Testament translated preach, preaching, and preacher, all refer to the content of what is preached. Even though Homiletics, the term used to define the science and art of sermon preparation, is borrowed from the Greek term, homilia, in the New Testament refers to a conversation. Preaching is not a homily. That is historically from the western church of the Alexandrian school which quickly put limits on who could preach and what and how they could preach. It is that branch of Christendom that persecuted and burned at the stake those who sought to preach the sound truths of Scripture.

In the political arena today, many are eager to tear up the foundations of our democratic republic. So too in the church. The church has no business being in the political arena. Individual believers have every right to be there, even to serve there, but as individuals, not as representatives of the gospel of Jesus Christ nor His Body, the church. To be sure, God is protecting His church. But anyone who seeks to undermine and destroy the church, God will destroy.[viii]

This is our rubicon moment. Whether or not you choose to mingle politics and religion, is your choice. But be honest with what you are doing. If you choose to mingle politics and religion, you are choosing a path that Paul, Peter, John, the rest of the apostles, and even Jesus Himself refused to take. Such a decision reflects on the message of the gospel, on God’s family, and on our Lord Jesus Christ. Following such a path provides our Lord’s enemies opportunities to blaspheme His dear name.

_____________________

[i] 2 Tim 1:6-14.

[ii] 2 Tim 2:3-8.

[iii] 2 Tim 4:1-5.

[iv] Phil 3:12-14.

[v] Gal 6:6.

[vi] Tim 2:4.

[vii] Paul Tan, The Interpretation of Prophecy, (BMH Books, Winona Lake, Indiana, 1974).

[viii] 1 Cor 3:11-17.

I put my educator’s hat on as we began our regular Friday Zoom discussion this morning by giving a pop quiz. Please understand. When I was teaching at Moody in Spokane, my students had to get used to pop quizzes at the start of every class. I never did it to embarrass or shame anyone. Instead, it was an effective teaching tool to wake up the gray matter, assist in note-taking, and provide insight into what would be on future tests. They knew I would never ask a question on a test, be it a section or final test, that they had not seen before.

My purpose this morning was to assist my brothers and sister in Christ to see how what we are discussing in the book of Ephesians regarding the church, especially in chapters 4, 5, and 6, applies to what the church is facing today. I used a simple PowerPoint slide. Since transforming the slide into HTML is not easy, I will give it to you here without animation.

Tangential

Balkanization

The Great Replacement Theory

The lead-in was an interview with Dr. Bill Bennett this morning that I watch as I ate breakfast. This, together with a blog I read on the internet this morning, led me to the questions, what do these terms and the phrase mean and how do they relate to our discussion? How would you answer these questions? Then follow this with the question, how does the meaning of each relate to Ephesians 4-6?

Dr. Bennett was being interviewed regarding the uproar over what is being taught in the classroom today and how it has affected student learning, and the ripple effect this will have on their education going forward.

The first term, tangential, comes from the term tangent. Usually, it is described as “a completely different line of thought or action.” However, it is also “a straight line or plane that touches a curve or curved surface at a point, but if extended does not cross it at that point.” I believe the latter meaning is closer to the context of Dr. Bennett’s meaning than the former. Public Education today appears to be relevant on its surface but is often not relevant to what the youth in America needs at each grade level. Hence, it is missing the mark.

The root meaning of sin in the New Testament, hamartia, is often defined as, “to miss the mark.” This is true. However, taking all of the cognates of the term in all of their contexts in the New Testament, one would have to conclude that sin is not just missing the mark. It is not even shooting at the target. It is a deliberate act of the will to shoot at the wrong target. It would not be incorrect to say that many in the progressive movement with regard to the subject of education are not just missing the mark, the first definition of tangential, but are not even shooting at the target, the second definition of tangential.

How often are preachers and teachers speaking tangentially today rather than hitting the mark by not teaching the Word of God directly, clearly, in a way that edifies the Body of Christ, and not just tickling ears?

The second part of my pop quiz was, what does balkanization mean?

The article on Wikipedia notes:

The term (coined in the early 19th century) refers to the division of the Balkan peninsula, which was ruled almost entirely by the Ottoman Empire, into a number of smaller states between 1817 and 1912. It came into common use in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, with reference to the many new states that arose from the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

The article gives the following background and origin of the term:

Balkanization is the fragmentation of a larger region or state into smaller regions or states, which may be hostile or uncooperative with one another. It is usually caused by differences of ethnicity, culture, and religion and some other factors such as past grievances. The term is pejorative; when sponsored or encouraged by a sovereign third party, it has been used as an accusation against such third party nations. Controversially, the term is often used by voices for the status quo to underscore the dangers of acrimonious or runaway secessionism. [sic]

Dr. Bennett was using the term in the context of describing what is happening to the learning process in America today. Liberal states, teachers’ unions, and many school districts, are pushing their liberal agenda. Meanwhile, conservative parents are pulling their children out of public schools in record numbers now that, as a result of the pandemic and the closing of schools, they have seen what is being taught in classrooms. This is what Dr. Bennett meant when he referred to the balkanization of education.

We are going to see the term used a lot in the coming months as we await the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding Roe vs Wade. Should the leaked memo prove to be the way the vote is cast, it will definitely apply with this connotation.

While the conservatives will see overturning this as a great victory, it will eventually lead to the balkanization of the United States with regard to the issue of abortion. The lines are already drawn. Groups, large and small, are building their arsenals to attack the opposing side. This is true regardless of the side one takes. Because of the fifty-year history of the controversy, little has been settled. Any bridge between the two camps has been bombed to smithereens so that there is no ground for coming together for a meaningful solution. The church, because of the stands the Catholic church has taken in the past and the Moral Majority in more recent times, has allowed itself to be sucked right into the vortex of the debate.

Is this where the church ought to be? I will not attempt to answer that question either for your church or for you as an individual. I simply raise the question because it is something we all, as individuals and as churches, are going to have to answer in the coming months and years.

This is true in many aspects of life today. It seems even when discussing whether or not the United States should be involved in selling arms to the Ukrainians, whether or not the masses of immigrants is a good thing or a bad, or even whether Donald Trump was good or evil, many are not capable of a meaningful conversation. We have become so balkanized we can hardly carry on a civil conversation with some of our neighbors, family members, and perhaps even fellow believers in the congregation to which we belong.

This leads to the third question, what does the phrase, The Great Replacement Theory, mean? Space does not allow for a full explanation of this phrase, its meaning, and how it is being used today. I have included a reprint of an article from the internet (see). I have repaginated and highlighted it to assist in understanding it. I have hyperlinked it to the original article. Please read this carefully. Like me, you might need to read this over several times before you gain the full import of what is being said. It reflects darkly on conservatives in America and particularly conservative Christians, especially with reference to issues such as immigration, the progressive agenda in the public schools, and the Supreme Court decision about to be announced regarding Roe vs Wade.

During World War II, the War Advertising Council in the United States coined the phrase: Loose lips sink ships. Pastors, church leaders, and all believers need to adopt this idiom today. We need to beware of careless talk on our part because the enemies of our Lord Jesus Christ will take what we say and use it against us, as in the case of the phrase, The Great Replacement Theory. We might agree with much of what was said by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his views regarding Hungarian Nationalism and European Christianity. But we must take care of the context in which we speak and to whom we are speaking. It can and will be used against us and our Lord.

This is why the Holy Spirit guided the New Testament writers to carefully thread the needle as to what was a divine revelation and what was their own personal reaction to current events taking place around them. As my previous article mentioned (see), we must not mix the gospel with politics. As believers, we need to rise above such talk. On the other hand, we cannot allow the Woke Generation to cancel us from speaking the truth when doing so will build up and not tear down. No generation has been more in need of watching our lips. As David prayed, “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”[i]

Paul exhorted the churches from his confinement under house arrest in Rome:

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.[ii]

…Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.[iii]

________________

[i] Ps 141:3 KJV.

[ii] Eph 5:6-10.

[iii] Eph 5:6-10.

“There is a big difference between demonstrating and protesting.”

My wife and I were discussing the January 6^th committee hearings the other day when she made the statement above. It is one of those moments when I have to stop and say, “That’s it. Wow!”

I have been seeking the Lord’s guidance as to what my next article should be about and this statement nailed it. Later, I mentioned her comment to someone and he told me about a book by John P. Kotter. I bought the book, but have not had the opportunity to read it.

We live in a world of angst and nihilism. These two terms go together. Wikipedia.org defines each this way:

Angst is fear or anxiety (anguish is its Latinate equivalent, and the words anxious and anxiety are of similar origin). The dictionary definition of angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity.[i]

Nihilism is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. Different nihilist positions hold variously that human values are baseless, that life is meaningless, that knowledge is impossible, or that some set of entities do not exist or are meaningless or pointless.

Scholars of nihilism may regard it as merely a label that has been applied to various separate philosophies, or as a distinct historical concept arising out of nominalism, skepticism, and philosophical pessimism, as well as possibly out of Christianity itself. Contemporary understanding of the idea stems largely from the Nietzschean ‘crisis of nihilism’, from which derive the two central concepts: the destruction of higher values and the opposition to the affirmation of life.[ii]

These two terms in the context of American society today accurately depict what is driving the news and social media. We can hardly carry on a conversation without one or both being expressed in one context or another. These two are expressed in mass shootings, public protests, the halls of Congress, and around the kitchen table.

I recall as a child being taught what to do in the event there is a nuclear war. Bomb shelters were being constructed in neighborhoods across the United States. The fear this engendered cannot be compared to what children are being subjected to on a daily basis today.

In 1976, Francis Schaeffer published his book, How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture. Country-music singer, Loretta Lynn, published a song two years later, “We’ve Come A Long Way, Baby.” She was singing about a country girl making it big in Hollywood. We might change the context to how far we have come since the scare of imminent annihilation in the 50s and ’60s. A love-sick Skeeter Davis sang a different tune, “The End of the World.” The lyrics:

Why does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don’t they know it’s the end of the world
Cause you don’t love me anymore?

Regardless of one’s present circumstances, both tunes might be playing on the jukebox at the local tavern today. Except now, with a few beers under the belt, someone might begin to think about taking matters into their own hands. Isn’t that the ultimate action existentialism leads to?

But there is a better way to look at the world. It is through the lens of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, we have the incarnate Son of God who lived in a time of great unrest. He lived a sinless life as the Son of man and died for the sins of the whole world.

Since the fall, God has been revealing Himself in the lives of His people, through the prophets, and in demonstrations of His power and presence in this chaotic world under the sun. He then revealed Himself as the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us to show us the way. In Him there is hope. He is our hope.

Speaking to Gentiles, the apostle Paul wrote:

Therefore remember, that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands — remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.[iii]

All of the strife between races, nations, and peoples could be ended if the Prince of peace reigned in the hearts of mankind. But this requires accepting the truth of what Paul wrote, the good news of Jesus Christ. He wrote in another place:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.[iv]

Both statements above were written when Paul was under house arrest in Rome, falsely accused by his own people. Still, the gospel of Jesus Christ was heard throughout Rome, even by the pretorian guard of the household of Caesar. Paul wrote:

Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.[v]

What we have here is not a protestation, but a demonstration. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not to be a protest but to demonstrate a life of hope and joy and expectation. It is not expressing angst. It is not nihilistic. It is the wisdom of God expressed by those who accept Christ as their Savior and Lord, by their life, and by the testimony of “a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.”[vi]

The Greek term for gentle, often translated as meek, is praus. I love this term and its cognate, prautes. My definition of prautes is:

An outward gentleness
Based upon an inner strength
That comes from having a right relationship with God
And being at peace with what He is doing in my life.

I seek to live by what I preach to others. Anytime I become anxious or start to think that circumstances are hopeless, I recall this definition.

This is what the world needs. As believers we need to learn to have the attitude of Christ:

If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.[vii]

This is the message that needs to be sounded forth from the pulpits in every church every week. In this, we have power in the world. It is not the power of force or protest. It is the power of influence. We must weigh every word we say and every attitude we convey. We must keep ourselves in tune with Christ and not the world. Only in this way will the body of Christ be an instrument in God’s hands to bring light, peace, and joy to a world lost in angst and hopelessness.

___________________

[i] Angst – Wikipedia

[ii] Nihilism – Wikipedia

[iii] Eph 2:11-16.

[iv] Phil 4:6-9.

[v] Phil 1:12-20.

[vi] 1 Pe 3:3.

[vii] Phil 2:1-8.

When I attended Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon for my master’s degree, the professors were divided on the issues of divorce and remarriage. Twelve years after graduation in 1970, during which time I served as a pastor and a church planter, I had not yet had the opportunity to study the topic in depth. I was not able to draw my own conclusions. My primary purpose in returning to Western was to do guided in-depth research on this and other selected topics.

During those years, the subject of divorce and church leadership was hotly debated. While I have the utmost respect for the opinions of those professors who taught me, I wanted my convictions, and hence my ministry, to be based on Scripture, not the opinions of men.

Dr. Stanley A. Ellison was appointed to be my faculty advisor for my independent study which resulted in the final product, “Divorce and Church Leadership,” which is published on my website.[i] He had already written his book, “Divorce and Remarriage in the Church.” So I was concerned about his ability to evaluate my final product objectively.

Dr. Ellison was my favorite professor. He was the humblest of all of my professors throughout my under-graduated and graduate studies. He was not an expert in systematic theology but was an expert in biblical theology. [see my article for the distinction on my website].[ii] Stan assured me that he would strive to be objective, even if my conclusions differed from his.

This is the original document as submitted. The paper was written before the personal computer so there are many errors. The handwritten notes in the margin of this manuscript are his. Dr. Ellison was true to his word. Final products on the doctoral level were graded as either pass or fail. If approved, they were then graded S for satisfactory and S+ if above that. He gave me an S+.

One error I made repeatedly throughout the manuscript was regarding type and antitype. I had them confused. A type precedes and foreshadows an antitype. Please see the attached clarification. (see)

My research took me to the library on the campus of Biola University and Talbot Seminary. I searched all three floors of that excellent resource seeking the opinions of others. However, I wanted my conclusions to be based on God’s Doctrine, His divine revelation, and not the opinions of men. So I dug deeper into the Word of God.

During the months of research, I struggled with what I was seeing and was having difficulty drawing conclusions. At a point in time, after struggling to understand the opinions of men and the Word of God, I realized that my struggle was accepting God-breathed Scripture through the lens of sound hermeneutical principles. I had to let go of my preconceived ideas and many of the opinions of men.

You will see from Dr. Ellison’s notations that he had questions regarding some of my conclusions. Still, he did not dispute them. He knew as I knew, that my study and research would not end with this final product. And it has not. I have continued to revisit the subject time and again in order to apply what God’s Word says about the topic of marriage and divorce. The church in general has moved on with all sides of the debate settling into their respective corners, satisfied with their opinions. By the grace of God, I have been given the time and opportunity to become more settled in my conclusions and especially what is of foremost importance and what will remain as the judgment of men under the sun.

This final product was one giant step in my walk with the Lord. I trust it will raise questions and lead you, the reader, to draw more clearly your conclusions regarding the subject of divorce and church leadership.

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[i] Divorce and Church Leadership

[ii] Let’s Talk About Doctrine – Dr. Jerry Back (drjerryback.com).

[The above quote is from a speech given by Jane Ellen Harrison. See below]

Humanity has arrived at a place in history where everyone has an opinion. The internet, social media, and instant news and commentary have made it possible for almost everyone to think he/she is an expert on any topic under discussion. The cacophony of voices makes it nearly impossible to sort truth from error. Yet we must attempt to know the truth if we are going to make sound judgments about matters of this life.[i]

In this article, I want to briefly explore what the Bible has to say about heresy. I am making available to you, the reader, the resources I used and what my research has led me to believe at this moment in time regarding the biblical view of heresy.

To begin, the term heresy has taken on a life of its own leading to wars, inquisitions, and much human suffering. Through the centuries since our Lord Jesus Christ walked on earth, many wrapped themselves in mantels of authority which Jesus clearly forbids of His followers.[ii] [See my articles on this website].[iii] [iv]

It is clear from the gospel accounts and epistles that the progress of illumination was going to be marked by a tug-of-war as the Body of Christ, the Church, sought to implement the revelation of God to man. Questions regarding which writers and manuscripts were God-breathed and how the canon should be interpreted became grist for conflict. The apostles themselves came under intense scrutiny. Divisions arose.[v] Heresy became the watchword of Christendom as men, one after another, claimed the authority to declare what is truth and to condemn all who did not agree with them.

Jane Ellen Harrison, a British linguist and scholar (1850 – 1928) had much to say about religion and heresy in general. In an address to the “Heretics” Society in Cambridge, she outlined her views of heresy.[vi] My purpose in this article is not to critique her speech. But what she said explains a lot about where society is today and how we got here. I have prepared a document in which I provide my critique of her speech.[vii]

So what does the Bible say about heresy? First, we need to examine the root meaning of the term found in the New Testament.[viii] The term, heresy, is not a translation but a transliteration of the Greek term [hairesis]. It refers to making a choice. To draw a conclusion. To form an opinion. We do this all the time. Sometimes our conclusions are right. Sometimes they are wrong. In our day, the majority of mankind believes there is no objective or absolute truth. Only subjective truth. All truth is relative.

But what we believe to be true determines our ethics. When there is no absolute truth, what remains is situational ethics. How we act, what we do, and the opinions we form, change with circumstances. What has come to be referred to as “the classical meaning of heresy”, i.e., that heresy is a falsehood or a lie, depends on the context. It also depends on what a person does based on that opinion. Another website provides a more balanced view of the term, heresy, as it is used today.[ix] But how does the popular view comport with the biblical meaning of heresy?

Luke, in the book of Acts, sheds light on the biblical view of heresy. Of the nine occurrences of the term in the New Testament, Luke uses it six times. Careful examination shows that he is using the term in its basic meaning. It is a belief or opinion held by an individual or group of individuals. The New American Standard Bible consistently translates the term in the book of Acts as a sect. Whether it is negative or positive must come from the immediate context. Heresy is a neutral term in the book of Acts in every instance. It merely refers to a group of people who hold the same opinions. It has become popular to substitute the term, church, with the term, community. We should avoid this because today, by definition, a community is a social construct. It is a gathering of people who hold the same opinions. This is a far cry short of the biblical concept of church.

It is when we observe the cognates of the term outside the book of Acts that we begin to see the negative side of heresy. Here is a list of the contexts where it is negative:

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.[x]

But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God. But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part, I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.[xi]

This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. But shun foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law; for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.[xii]

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.[xiii]

So how does someone go from simply forming an opinion and making a choice based on that opinion to being a heretic? The classical conclusion is that they are teaching falsehood. But the Bible does not begin there. Here are the steps involved. We need to see them as outstanding and abiding truths not limited to a moment of time.

1. Heresy is holding an opinion, even a contrary opinion to someone else’s opinion under the sun. It is not necessarily negative.

Heresy, making an opinion, becomes negative when it is merely the works of the flesh and not the Holy Spirit working in us through God’s Word. It is “of the flesh.”

2. Heresy is holding an opinion and becomes negative when a person becomes contentious.

In one church where I served as pastor, there was an individual who told me the first time we met there would be no unanimous decisions in business meetings. He didn’t believe there should ever be unanimity in the church. Believe me. He was true to his word. At a Bible conference with a sister church, when the guest speaker saw the body language of this contentious man, even before he knew I was this man’s pastor, he said, “I pity that man’s pastor.”

3. Hersey stems, not from knowing something, but from what we do with what we know.

Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;[xiv]

4. Heresy, holding an opinion, becomes negative when individuals begin to take sides causing dissension among the flock of God.

This does not mean that conflict itself is a sin or even that the conflict is always due to sin. We need to leave room for others to have a different view of matters of this life. That is what Paul meant when he said:

Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.[xv]

5. Heresy, holding an opinion, becomes negative when contentious individuals join together into factions.

They form parties and begin to exert their will upon others. This happens in families, neighborhoods, and political parties. Their language becomes brickbats to win arguments. Relationships are destroyed over disputes. Minor disputes become major. This was the situation on the island of Crete where Paul left Titus to encourage reconciliation. The state of affairs at that time comes down to us in the pejorative reference to Cretans.[xvi] There is confusion between the terms Cretans and Cretins. Both should be used wisely. Cretin refers to a medical condition and has nothing to do with Paul’s message to Titus. I mention Cretans here only to show the nature of heresy that was prevalent in Paul’s day.

This does not mean that we will be successful in avoiding disagreements and conflict in every relationship. Nor that we should alter what we believe to be true in order to get along. There are times when we have to take a stand. But we need to make every effort to use the tools that God gives each of us to be at peace with one another.

Consider the following:

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness[xvii], with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.[xviii]

Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle[xix], showing every consideration[xx] for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.[xxi]

6. Hersey becomes negative when we “become judges with evil motives.”[xxii]

James was referring to the practice of separating from others we consider beneath us. It is when an individual or group takes it upon themselves to judge others. Jesus warned against this.

“Do not judge lest you be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. “And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”[xxiii]

The negative particle in the first verse is not an absolute negation, but conditional. The term is used when the context explains the conditions to which it applies. We all make judgments. But we need to take care that we do not put ourselves in a position of judging others when we do not know what we are talking about or are arrogant because of what we think we know. There is ample teaching in Scripture on how to make sound judgments that do not cause damage to others.

7. Heresy becomes negative when we do and say things to draw a following.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.[xxiv]

8. Heresy becomes negative when we seek to force others to agree with us.

Paul was very careful not to lord it over others. The Church at Corinth was offended when he wrote that he wanted to visit them but he did not. He explained why he did not go as planned.

But I call God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm.[xxv]

Note how careful he was when writing to Philemon.

but without your consent I did not want to do anything, that your goodness should not be as it were by compulsion, but of your own free will.[xxvi]

It seems there is nothing in life that has not become a source of controversy and division. In Paul’s day, one issue was eating meat sacrificed to idols. Concerning this, Paul wrote:

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this —  not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin[xxvii] [emphasis mine]

There is much more that could be said about heresy. We live in a culture of divisions, conflicts, and individuals seeking to dominate and gain power over others. Democracy is devolving into road rage, power groups, and character assassination. The Body of Christ, the Church, needs to avoid this. The freedoms we once enjoyed are under attack. One of the causes—we must acknowledge this truth—individuals who name the name of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ but do not speak and act in ways that glorify Him, not only ruin the reputations of those they oppose but their own reputations as well. In fact, our Lord’s enemies are being given cause to blaspheme His dear name. Brethren, this ought not to be.

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.[xxviii]

…in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, in order that the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,[xxix]

There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.[xxx]

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[i] 1 Cor. 6:3.

[ii] Cf. Matt 20:5; Mk 10:42; Lk 22:25.

[iii] Let’s Talk About Leadership.

[iv] Authority in the Church.

[v] 1 Cor 1:10-12.

[vi] Jane Ellen Harrison – Heresy and Humanity

[vii] see my critique.

[viii] See my word study on Heresy in the NT.

[ix] What is the definition of heresy?

[x] Gal 5:19-26.

[xi] 1 Cor 11:16-19.

[xii] Titus 3:8-11.

[xiii] 2 Peter 2:1-3.

[xiv] 1 Cor 8:1-2.

[xv] Rom 12:16-21.

[xvi] Titus 1:12.

[xvii] Prautes, An outward gentleness based upon an inner strength that comes from having a right relationship with God and being at peace with what He is doing in my life. [my definition]

[xviii] Eph 4:1-3.

[xix] Epieikes, Stop demanding the letter of the Law. [my definition].

[xx] Prautes, Same as above.

[xxi] Titus 3:1-7.

[xxii] Jas 2:1-5.

[xxiii] Matt 7:1-5.

[xxiv] 2 Peter 2:1.

[xxv] 2 Cor 1:23-24.

[xxvi] Philemon 14.

[xxvii] Rom 14:1-23.

[xxviii] Col 4:6.

[xxix] Titus 2:7-11.

[xxx] Prov 6:16-19.

C. S. Lewis

–isms are when men think for themselves, form opinions, and publish their opinions, and then others who don’t think for themselves follow them. Sometimes these “authorities” are called philosophers, theologians, politicians, statesmen, and even pastors. In the initial stages of an –ism, problems are examined, and conclusions are drawn. Sometimes good comes from them. But as they ripen, they mellow, and they rot. –isms are substituted for genuine thinking and, in their decaying, they undermine truth and become a substitute for genuine reality. A whole subculture ceases to learn how to think.

In our busy distraction called life, there is little time for original thinking. The world rushes on. We have our pet ideas. There are people we like to emulate. We form cliques we like to run with. It is easy to get an education, collect information, and climb the ladder of success by riding on others’ shoulders. But thinking for ourselves takes time, energy, and discipline. We don’t need to do all that work. Someone else has done the work for us. Original thinking is too hard and too time-consuming. There are other things more interesting. There is also the disease called FOMO, “fear of missing out.”                              

In his book, The Abolition of Man published in 1943, C. S. Lewis wrote about “men without chests.” He postulated that society in his day was breeding cerebral men and visceral men. But there was a lack of men with chests. Joe Carter writes:

“Men Without Chests” is the curious title of the first chapter of C.S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man. In the book, Lewis explains that “The Chest” is one of the “indispensable liaison officers between cerebral man and visceral man. It may even be said that it is by this middle element that man is man: for by his intellect he is mere spirit and by his appetite mere animal.” Without “Chests” we are unable to have confidence that we can grasp objective reality and objective truth.

The result of such chest-less education, as Lewis warns, is a dystopian future. “We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise,” says Lewis. “We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”[i]

The apostle Paul stated, “knowledge makes arrogant.”[ii] The King James Version is, “knowledge puffs up.” In our day we say, “a little knowledge makes a man dangerous.”

As Christians, we need to resist this tendency to intellectual laziness. In what we know as the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthian church, Paul addressed a congregation that was tearing itself apart. Each chapter deals with a different problem among the brethren. Individuals were taking sides. –isms were already infecting the Body of Christ. He wrote:

For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” [iii]

James wrote:

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.[iv]

When individuals spend too much time doing and not enough time thinking for themselves, factions creep in leading to quarrels and conflicts. Instead of being men with chests, able to think for themselves and create good, they become mobs who tear down and destroy.

This is not just hyperbole. Think of the many lives lost in human history simply because clusters of nonthinkers became groups who opposed, and then armies who marched. –isms have become the greatest pandemic of our day.

Paul began his letter to the Corinthian church by noting their positives:

I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift…[v]

This generation of mankind has everything it needs in order to think for itself, to draw upon a world of information, and to draw its own conclusions. Christians have an additional toolbox, the Word of God and its author, the Holy Spirit. Putting them together with a little elbow grease; time, effort, and discipline, we have, not –isms, but wisdom.

Paul asked the church at Corinth, “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?”[vi]

He answers:

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.[vii]

Paul was not advocating taking a religious pill in the form of The Four Laws of Campus Crusade or Steps to Peace with God, or even the B-Rations of the Navigator’s Topical Memory System. These are the pablum of the faith—just the beginning. We must not graduate from this pablum to easy-read Bible paraphrases and spiritual CliffNotes. This is not being men with chests. Paul wrote:

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.[viii]

We need to learn to study and think for ourselves. Paul instructed his understudy, Timothy:

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.[ix]

Peter put it this way:

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence…[x]

To avoid being caught up in the pandemic of -isms, we need to learn how to think for ourselves. Or as in C.S. Lewis’ admonition, be men with chests. The Bible needs to be the foundation of our thinking, studied through the power of the Holy Spirit. As Paul wrote, “be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”[xi]

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we shall do, if God permits.[xii]

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[i] C.S. Lewis on ‘men without chests’ (and what that means) – Acton Institute PowerBlog

[ii] 1 Cor 8:1.

[iii] 1 Cor 1:11-12.

[iv] Jas 4:1-2.

[v] 1 Cor 1:4-7.

[vi] 1 Cor 1:20a.

[vii] 1 Cor 1:20b-21.

[viii] Col 2:8.

[ix] 2 Tim 2:15 KJV.

[x] 1 Pe 3:15.

[xi] Eph 4:23.

[xii] Heb 6:1-3.