Navigating through the next 4 years

One of the first Scripture verse that I memorized as a young aspiring teenage preacher was:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

It makes sense, doesn’t it? that if Jesus is God, then as God He does not change. It certainly does not take any stretch of logic to arrive at that conclusion. That’s for sure.

Yet, like the fellow who insist that each succeeding generation must reinvent the wheel, this generation of “progressives” feel the old rules don’t apply. God develops right alongside society, warts and all, according to them. The nice thing, they say, about these new rules, is that you can be what you want to be. If you were born male, never mind that’s easy, with just the right amount of money and a good surgeon’s knife “bingo” you are now female. And, if you don’t want to go through all that trouble, then you can just as easily change things with a little makeup and a dress with a new swagger to your walk. That’ll work just fine. The good news—according to them, of course, is that you now have your choice of bathrooms, and if that doesn’t fit your fancy, the government will see to it that you get a new unisex one built just for you.

Hopefully, this will change with the new administration, but I am not holding my breath, simply because this foolishness is too ingrained in our snobbish culture to reverse the trend. Yes, we have a new administration in the White House, but the majority are hitting the streets coalescing around a common agenda of licentiousness and change—not for the better, but for the worst.

Now, I am all for personal choice as long as it doesn’t force itself on me or my pocket book. The point is, to legislate morality is a nebulous thing, and is best left alone unless it adversely affects me or someone else that thinks differently then they do. So, needless to say I find it personally unsettling for the thought control Nazis to do my thinking for me, and in the process, invade my God given rights, as well as others.

Now, if by chance, there is someone out there that does not understand this cultural war—really, a spiritual war; then brace yourself because the worst is yet to come. Just wait until the new millenniums take over. I will be thankful if we can reverse the trend but I am not holding my breath on that.

Our only hope is an old fashioned God ordained revival, but I am not holding my breath on that one, either. It’s not that God can’t change things; it is simply that man won’t, and I simply do not see Him violating the free will of man to bring it about. The Bible talks about Noah’s generation revisiting us, and there is very little to convince me that these unwelcomed guests are not already knocking at our doors—kicking them down in some instances, I must say.

Now, I realize that the temptation for some is to write this all off as the ramblings of an old worn out preacher—but with age, I must tell you, comes wisdom that only experience can bring. So, my strong advice is for us to brace ourselves for the onslaught that I sense looming over the not so distant horizon.

For as Peter reminds us, we must:

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)

An angel of light? Yes, that, too. But most often he is found hiding under the guise of sheep’s clothing waving a banner of freedom, liberty and justice for all. Problem is, they have written the dictionary instead of God.

Once again, be blessed—better yet bless others.



Jim/ 

The Praxis of Scripture

Truth is not a work in progress; theology is however. We proud Protestants who insist on sola Scriptura—opposed to prima Scriptura—have painted ourselves into an unnecessary corner with very little wiggle room to escape.   The problem is that tradition is important, and in many respects absolutely necessary. Take for instance the doctrine of the Trinity, where would we be without the Council of Nicea (325 AD) followed by the Councils of Chalcedon (451 AD) and Ephesus (431 AD) which hammer out the finer details of the functions of the Godhead? In this regard, it can be shown that opinions based solely on Scripture were all over the map, depending on which cleric interpreted those verses. The Orthodox—which I consider myself to be—insisted, however, that private interpretation was a sure road to ruin and the junk heap of heresy.

Fortunately for us, tradition (just another term for the history of Orthodoxy) stepped in and insisted that “No, Jesus was not only just like God; but God Himself, or otherwise we end up with two Gods or simply a created son with a beginning prior to our creation.” And, believe it or not each position can be supported by cherry picking the Bible.

The wiser heads when presented with such contradictions, however, insisted that both Old and New Covenants taught that God is One. For sure it is a mystery, but one worth delving into without sacrificing this core principle. Thank God, they did so, because during the process these holy men of God established the canon and a whole lot of necessary doctrine along the way. 

For the truth of the matter is that we had neither a defined canon of Scripture or Trinitarian creed prior to this—as a matter of fact, history tells us that the word “Trinity” was not even in the vocabulary of the Primitive Church or at the very best after the first two centuries. So, we are, indeed, obligated to tradition for that. We should not be afraid of the word “tradition,” either—it’s in the Bible; whereas, the word “Trinity” is not. We’re not talking about the tradition of men (Colossians 2:8; Titus 1:14)—Scripture and common sense condemns that—we’re talking about Godly tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:15), the kind that young Timothy learned at the feet of Paul (2 Timothy 1:5) or that which he tucked away in his heart as heard from his grandmother.

The Assemblies of God’s official position on Scripture is as follows:

The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.

• 2 Timothy 3:15-17 [KJV/NIV]
• 1 Thessalonians 2:13 [KJV/NIV]
• 2 Peter 1:21 [KJV/NIV]

With all of this in mind, I think it can be safely said that it was God through the working and discernment of the Church that gave us the Scriptures and not the other way around. It may also be stated without fear of contradiction that the New Testament Church existed before the New Testament books. Therefore, we are once again reminded that, indeed, the church of the living God, is the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).

All That Theological Gobbledygook-

Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these things so that, if I am delayed, you will know how each one must conduct himself in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 1 Timothy 3:14-15 (St. Paul to Timothy, his disciple)

Elton Trueblood once wrote:

Very early in my academic life I realized that shallow waters are often muddied to make them look deep, and I vowed to avoid this affectation if I could. (Philosophy of Religion)

Nothing in my opinion could be closer to the truth or of a more sound judgement. After just wading through a volume on Thomas Aquinas by a so-called expert, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that I would have been much better off reading St. Thomas' Summa Theologia itself without trying to filter out all the muddy water this author had stirred up. Why is it, may I ask, that some "Biblical scholars" feel it is necessary to go around old Dobbin's barn when they could just as easily go through the door?

Paul, who we all agree, was one of the greatest theologians of all time was able to succinctly summarize the essence of the Gospel with these words:

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1–4)

Nothing muddy about those waters. Why then do some find it necessary to filter this truth through a maze of convoluted theological puzzles and word games? What is wrong with simply saying, "I don't know. It's a mystery, but I know it is true because God says so?" What is wrong with the simple faith of a little child, especially when Christ declared that we must become like one to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

The Catholic monk Thomas a' Kempis put it this way,

What doth it profit thee to dispute deeply about the Trinity, if thou be wanting in humility, and so be displeasing to the Trinity? In truth, sublime words make not a Saint and a just man; but it is a virtuous life that maketh one dear to God. I would rather feel compunction [that is a sense of guilt], than know how to define it.

Who can argue with that approach? Certainly not I.


Through it all, however, be blessed–and as usual, bless others.

Jim R/