Friday, February 20, 2015

What’s So Funny About Believing? (Redux)

What’s So Funny About Believing? (Redux)

Posted on February 20, 2015 by
I originally sent this out last December, but because of recent international events, I felt inspired to send it again. Give it a read, and feel free to respond to me.
If you are a disciple of Jesus, I am sure you have noticed how much Christians are made fun of and ridiculed and even hated. I guess there is something about us and what we believe that just tickles people — or flat out makes them angry. You can talk about aliens invading our nation, and people will make a hero out of you. But if you dare to stand on the Truth of the Word of God and proclaim that Salvation is through Jesus alone, people will fall off their chairs laughing at you — or they will physically attack you.
Why is that? What is it about simply sharing Good News to everyone who is willing listen that seems so humorous? I was listening to one brother and in his opinion it is because of their guilt and pride. Just your mere presence is enough to trigger the guilt. But Paul attempted to help us understand the world’s animosity against us. And his words say more about them than it does us. If you turn to Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, you will learn why they not only do not understand what you believe, but also, why your mere presence makes them angry.
Paul wrote, “The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed . . .” (I Corinthians 1:18) So just the idea of the message makes no sense to them. It is foolishness. That’s right; those in the world are perishing, and their sins are destroying their lives, but they are not interested in hearing how their condition can be corrected, but they put credence into thinking that rattlesnakes will cure rheumatism! Or that corpses can cure boils! Or even that earwax will heal cold sores!
Okay, so the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to those of us who have experienced the wonders of Grace, it is the power of God! Go ahead and try to explain that to someone who does know or understand the message of Christ. Paul quotes Isaiah 29:14 which says that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and He will frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent. Look at that verse:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise.
    I will reject the intelligence of intelligent people.” (Isaiah 28:14)
“So,” asks Paul, “Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the persuasive speaker of our time? Hasn’t God turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense?” (I Corinthians 1:19) The world with all of its wisdom was unable to recognize Yahweh in terms of His wisdom. So, He decided to use the nonsense of the message of Christ to save those who believe. As Kemper Crabb has said, “Anything that takes issue with Scripture is a lie!”
Even some “believers” are only looking for miraculous signs, but friends, our message is real simple: Christ was crucified because of our sins! As a result, he died and was raised up to enforce the Liberty He purchased for us! The reason the message offends people is because it makes no sense to them. But to those of us who respond to His call, He is Christ, God’s power, and God’s wisdom. Our God’s nonsense is wiser than any human wisdom, and His weakness is stronger than human strength.
What you have to know is that in Corinth’s carnal culture, they saw the scholars and the philosophers of their day as the “Top Dogs,” the way we view rock stars in our day. Because they were so “special,” they could solve all of their problems.
Their arrogance and pride are what caused Paul to confront this faulty and foolish mindset and hit it head-on in his attempt to dismantle and destroy it. By the way, this also explains why he  addressed their carnality of esteeming one rock star teacher over the other back in verses 12-17.
That’s where he complained how some of them were proclaiming that they followed him; others followed Apollos; others followed Peter, and still others said (rather self-righteously) only followed Christ. They were all screwed up and had acquiesced to the carnality of Corinth’s culture — which is what our modern day churches are doing. Oh, they receive kudos from the non-believers, but the spirits of Disciples cry in dismay.
The problem is that our modern churches (and the church in Corinth ) advocate[d] a cultural worldview contrary to the Biblical worldview, which is foolish in the eyes of the world. But again, why does God make foolish and destroy the wisdom of the world, and frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent?
The answer isn’t hard to miss; it is, “pride!” Our pride is the common denominator with both the scholars and the philosophers of any age. And the Scriptures are replete with declarations of how Yahweh resists the proud.
When Charles Spurgeon said, “Fine preaching feeds man’s pride; plain [humble] preaching brings glory to God and benefit to men,” he hit it on the head, didn’t he?
Please understand that I am not saying there is anything wrong with a Christian who possesses the intellect of a scholar. Our churches are filled with them! But their degrees are not what provides their wisdom, nor do any of their accomplishments make them more intellectually advanced. Only the Wisdom the comes from our God is their Glory! What they need to continually ask themselves whether their worldly honors possess them spiritually.
Oh, I better explain that one . . . it doesn’t matter what we have; it is what has us. Has your degrees and wealth and all of the accolades you receive, become your obsession? Have they become the focal point of your life?
What I am asking is, do all of the things you have accomplished and all of the things you currently possess, identify who you are? Do they define who you are? When people hear about them, are you filled with pride, or does your heart offer the gratitude to your father?
I saw this exemplified in the life of my father-in-law. He was a P38 pilot who was shot down, and became a POW. He later became a successful businessman and built a sizable net worth; yet, through it all, has remained unassuming and humble,  I have never seen an ounce of guile or pride in him.
The important issue we need to be mindful of is that as Disciples of Christ, we should never be defined by who we are, or what we do. Our only value and honor belong to Who Jesus Christ is as the I AM and all of the sacrificial things He performed.
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    What Pattern Bought Salvation?

    What Pattern Bought Salvation?

    Posted on February 19, 2015 by
    A few days ago I brought up Isaac’s son Esau, and how he was different from his twin, Jacob. Somehow, the Lord either saw something different between the two before they were even born, or He simply knew they would travel different paths. Either way, He followed a pattern He created many years before of selecting, electing and dividing.
    But all that got me thinking about how all of this resulted in our Salvation. I know, that may seem to be an odd way around, but actually it isn’t. Let me explain. It will take me a little of explanation, but we are going to discover some important patterns that the Lord created, to finally bring us into a relationship with the God of Creation.
    Okay, I am going to put on the robes of a teacher and take you back to a man called Abraham. If you remember, Yahweh has approached this man Abraham and made a deal which began with him separating himself from his family. Now this is important because we need to understand that the moment Yahweh called Abraham to leave his country and his immediate family, the process of divine dividing the world into two groups of people began: His people and everybody else. Yeah, yeah. I realize that sine teach that all of humanity are God’s children, but will not support for that anywhere in Scripture. Yes, in a very general sense that is true, but He clearly began creating two sets of people.
    But once Abraham obeyed and moved to the land of Canaan, Yahweh was essentially dividing the Hebrews on the one hand, and every one else on the other. It was solely the decision by Abraham, and a declaration by his God that made Abraham different from all other human beings.
    Then Abraham’s son Isaac, represents the next step in the evolution of these “called out,” Hebrew, people. Isaac was in fact, the firstborn Hebrew! Let me explain that. In the case of Abraham, he was declared a Hebrew, but Isaac was a Hebrew by birth. But even then, there was still a declaration of God involved. I say that because Abraham had two sons, Ishma’el, who Abraham believed was going to carry on the covenants Yahweh had made with Abraham because he was the firstborn.
    What I am saying is that as far as Abraham was concerned, Ishma’el was a Hebrew. I know this will mess with your head a little bit, but hang in with me and you will understand. You see, a time came when Yahweh told Abraham, “Not so fast Abe; the same way that I divided you away from your father and brother, I am going to divide Ishma’el away from his father and brother.” What that means is that Ishma’el was no longer a Hebrew — but Isaac was.
    Okay, so here is the $64,000 question: if Ishma’el and Isaac both had a Hebrew father — Abraham — how come only the one, Isaac, is considered a Hebrew? Why isn’t Ishma’el just another branch of Hebrews? How come we don‘t think of Ishma’el and all of his descendants — the ones we refer to as Arabs — Hebrews, as well? Well, this is where an important principle gets established. This is a principle that every Jew and every gentile needs to pay close attention to.
    Okay, so put down your pen and quit staring out the window . . . while birthright (that is, genealogy, your physical bloodlines) establishes your physical identity, it is the election and declaration of The Lord that establishes your spiritual identity! Ooh, I just saw your eyes glass over . . . hmm.
    Let me explain it this way: even though Isaac was physically from the right stock to be a Hebrew, it still took an act of Yahweh, an election of Yahweh, for Isaac to be declared a Hebrew. Think about it: Ishma’el was also physically of the right stock to be a Hebrew, but Yahweh did not grant Ishma’el the necessary spiritual status to be a Hebrew. So, we have with the election of Isaac, and the rejection of Ishmael, an enormous fork in the road. One direction led to the Hebrews, the other away from the Hebrews.
    Now, Isaac had been separated out from the rest of the world, and he had to sons: Jacob and Esau, who were twins. Once again, you see this process and principle repeated. The issue of who will be chosen to inherit the covenant given to Abraham is settled. Put another way, between Jacob and Esau, God declared His choice to be Hebrew. Both Jacob and Esau were, by all physical evidence (they were born from their Hebrew father, Isaac) born into the same family. By birth, if one went purely by physical definition, then it would seem that they were both Hebrews. But, no: Yahweh again, by declaration, divided them. Now you can think that was quite unfair, but as I pointed out of the beginning, He knew something about both boys, and He chose one over the other.
    Now when it came to a choice between Isaac and Ishma’el, that is easy to see. Ishma’el came through the efforts of man (Abraham had sex with his wife’s hand-maiden), where as Isaac came as a miraculous work of God. He promised Abraham a son, but Abraham couldn’t understand how this God of his could do such a thing (because both he and his wife were too old to have children), so he took things into his own hands and started to rationalize his actions because “obviously God didn’t actually mean what He said. What He actually meant was for me to do this . . .” Does that sound familiar?
    Look, you continually see this same process of Yahweh making a promise and men trying to presume that He didn’t mean that, He meant this . . . we humans can be fickle little fools, can’t we? But contrary to what you hear from many preachers, the Lord is not seeking unity. He is continually separating light from dark; truth from lies; clean from unclean; His people and the world. The exact opposite of unity!
    Just because we can see some physical and genealogical differences between Isaac and Ishma’el (I mean, they had different mothers from two different nationalities, so they were technically half-brothers) it was entirely different for Jacob and Esau. They had the same mother and father! Jacob and Esau were twins! But by declaration alone, Jacob was chosen to be a Hebrew and Esau was not. It was Yahweh‘s sovereign decision, alone. The only difference between Jacob and Esau was the spiritual difference, and that was brought about purely by the declaration of Yahweh because long before they were born, He knew what they would become.
    Based solely on Yahweh‘s covenants with Abraham, He has divided the world into two groups: Hebrews and all other human beings. Abraham established the line of covenant promise and his father and brother were excluded. Abraham‘s son Isaac continued the line of covenant promise, and Ishma’el was excluded. All by a declaration of Yahweh. Isaac‘s son Jacob continued the line of covenant promise and Isaac‘s other son, Esau was excluded. Once again, by Yahweh’s sole declaration.
    What is interesting, though. Beginning with Jacob‘s offspring, they were a Hebrew by law. If someone was physically born to a Hebrew, that person was a Hebrew. Period. If someone was not born a Hebrew, they were a gentile. However, now get this, they could become a Hebrew! Huh? That’s right! If they would follow some rules, some laws, that had been set down by Yahweh, they could become Hebrew. Not, like a Hebrew, but fully Hebrew!
    Ooh boy, this is getting good so I hope  you understand what I just said. Yes, it has taken a little to describe some of the details, and I admit I left some of it out, but all of it sets up the pattern for how you can become part of Yahweh‘s people.
    How someone becomes part of Yahweh‘s set-apart people, the Hebrews, who eventually came to be called the Israelites, occurred through a number of sequential forks-in-the road. It started with the Abraham fork, then the Isaac fork, and then the Jacob fork. And, it stayed that way for about 1800 years.
    That’s right! 18-centuries after Jacob, we find another fork in the road. It is called the new covenant. And, the new covenant is an Old Testament prophecy about a time when all of the physical covenants and laws of the Hebrews, called the Torah, would be written, spiritually, on the hearts of certain men.
    I highlighted that because this doesn’t happen on the the hearts of all men, just those who are elected and declared by God to be His. And, how do they become elected and declared to belong to Yahweh? Is it because they were born in a particular city? Nope. Is it because of the color of their skin? Nope. Is it because of their education level or how much they can contribute to His work? Nope. It is soley through the work of a Messiah.
    This new fork-in-the-road brings us full circle. This fork brings to fruition a promise of the Abrahamic Covenant that “all the families of the Earth will blessed” in  Abraham.
    All does not mean gentiles and not Jews. All also does not mean Jews and not gentiles. All means all. Further, just who is included under the covenants of the Hebrews once again involves God‘s election and declaration — and, the key to all this, is the Messiah.
    I told you at the beginning that because Abraham chose to believe and obey Yahweh, Yahweh declared him to be accepted. That same applies to your Salvation today. If you are willing to accept the offer of Salvation and Redemption, it is available to you. And Yahweh will declared you as part of His Kingdom! But if you choose not to accept this invitation, which is completely in your hands — you will not be considered a member of Yahweh’s family and, in fact, an enemy to His family. See, it is still your choice. But He told the Israelites: I place before you, life and death; blessing and cursing. (But just in case you are still struggling with it, choose life, so that you, and your children can live).
    Nickolas
    (I send out messages like this each morning in emails, and if you are interested in receiving them, send me your email address and I will add you to the list: Mail List)
    With these Morning Messages, I take you on guided tours to, as Bunyan described, the Celestial City. At times we linger at corners familiar and unseen. And explore the depths of our faith along the way.
    The trail is long, but there’s no hurry. Though we do need to stock up on supplies for the way, and that’s where I need your help. If you enjoy these messages, please consider becoming a contributing member of this tour group. It will be very much appreciated.
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