Is our doctrine consistent?

Tags

bible, christianity, faith, god, jesus

I’ve been reading a little about the doctrine of election recently, and it’s stirred up some thoughts I’ve been wanting to put together. Mainly that this doctrine, eschatology, and the idea of revival aren’t always consistent. That is; those who say they believe in a certain view of the end times don’t seem to think through the other two.

It would stand to reason that if you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, this would line up with election, but not revival. While those who say there is no rapture would fall into the idea of revival, but probably not election.

I’ve heard those who believe in a rapture are in an escapist mentality, and that this effects how they live their lives and their views on society and politics. This is not my experience. What I see is that most people just don’t think these ideas through to their end. I’ll take them one at a time, but keep in mind I’m not looking in depth here.

First, election. This is the idea of God knowing and having a set number of those who will be saved. This would line up with a rapture, in that once the elect have been born and been saved the next stage may begin. This doesn’t necessarily line up the idea of a large revival of a nation or the world.

Second, one’s eschatology. The study of end times.This is where I see people the most inconsistent in how they live their lives and how they line up other doctrines within their view of end times. All the views say Jesus is coming back, but disagree on when and how, and on what’s allegorical and what’s real. What no one asks is why and what is it that will cause God to say now is the time?

Lastly revival. The idea that someone in a given country can pray 2 Chronicle 7:14 and God will do something miraculous in that country. I believe concept is taken way out of context and rarely lines up with how people view the previous two doctrines we’ve discussed. Let me also add that we don’t see this idea promoted anywhere in the new testament by the disciples or even Jesus himself.

The bottom line is this. None of these changes how one becomes saved. They also don’t change the fact that in our daily lives we need to be filled with the Spirit and need to manifest the fruits of the Spirit. It also doesn’t change the need for evangelism and the presence of the church. If your lamp is full of oil you need not worry about these doctrines, but we should at least think them through instead of just going along with what our particular denomination may say.

We tend to think our particular church has all of the correct views of doctrines,but the more you look into some of these lesser doctrines you will find even those with doctorate degrees in theology disagree. Study for yourselves and let the Word of God and His Holy Spirit reveal the truth. This is why meditating on his word is a good practice to have.

A Gay Christian? Does Jesus Get It?

I’ve seen this question come up often recently; “Can I be Gay and a Christian?”
So let’s look at the question. You might also ask if you can be a bank robber and a Christian, or a liar and a Christian, or a murderer and a Christian. Basically the question asks “Can I be a Sinner and a Christian?”
2 Corinthians 5:17 says If anyone is in Christ,he is a new creation. While Christians are capable of sinning that is no longer to be how we identify. All of mankind is created in the image of God. Sin comes in and we decide to be god and make our own choices.
Romans 6:1-2 NIV
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Romans 6:11-12 NIV
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
Sin separates us from the Father, and requires a blood sacrifice. This is where Jesus comes in. He doesn’t just get us but He gets the punishment for us. His sacrifice on the cross satisfies the justice required by God. So now our identity is in Christ and we are seen by God as justified,as righteous. We are now children of God.
This freedom from sin is so much more than our pursuit of any earthly desire we may chase after. God loves you and that’s why He pursues you and wants to show you real freedom. Being a Christian is a life of surrender.
Matthew 16:25
For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

One God over every nation — zechariah74

The pledge of allegiance has the phrase ‘one nation under God.’ That’s fine, but shouldn’t be unique to America. At the end of Jesus’ Revelation it says a new Jerusale… Source: One God over every nation

via One God over every nation — zechariah74

Consumerism is Good.

It’s Christmas time again and that means people saying there is too much consumerism. You’ll hear “It’s better to give than receive.” We get inundated with charities asking us to choose them as a recipient of this giving. Nothing wrong with any of that, what bothers me is what seems like whining about it all. The Christmas season is commercialized by the religious and the irreligious to tell us to do something extraordinary this time of year when in fact we should be doing all year long.

Consumerism is what actually pays our salaries. Our entire economy is built on it. The alternative would be more like a third world country or more of a barter type economy. We would have to become proficient at making something for our selves. Growing our own food, raising livestock, making clothes. It’s through consumerism that I have a paycheck in which to give to my fellow consumers, who in turn will give to other consumers. It is from this that we have money in which to give out of to those who are truly in need.

It really comes down to this; Jesus told us to take up our cross DAILY! If we walk in the Spirit throughout the entire year the Christmas season could actually be enjoyed more. The needy would have been taken care of before it got to this point and they to can take part in the consumerism. What is Christmas all about? It should be one more opportunity to tell others about a Savior who came and died for our sin and three days later came back from the dead to defeat death and the grave.

It seem as though this time of year we beat people over the head with it and in churches beat the sheep with it. It’s supposed to be a time of celebration, so let’s get into it. Joy to the world, glad tidings, rejoice, Hallelujah! He’s alive!

To fight or not to fight

We find ourselves trying to decide when to fight, and if to fight. Do I fight the political wars? Do I fight the culture wars? Which side do I take? When we do this do we even ask ourselves what the goal is? What end result are we seeking? Is there a side we should be coming down on? Is there a middle we should be trying to balance on?

Jesus said that His Kingdom is not of this world(John 18:36) while also saying give to Caesar what is Caesar’s(Matthew 22:21). This I see as none of the above, but an opportunity to be Christ like. Realizing why Jesus came and why He left and what is our role now?

Let’s begin with the end. Jesus will return and establish His Kingdom here on Earth. The gospel is the good news about how we become part of that kingdom and avoid condemnation or eternal punishment. It’s so much more than choosing between Heaven and Hell. Our lives now are to reflect that coming kingdom, Peter tells us to do it with gentleness and respect(1 Peter 3:15).

Paul talks of warring not against flesh(2 Corinthians 10, Ephesians 6). He also points out in 1 Corinthians 13 that if what we do is without love it is pointless. Jesus said to love God and to love your neighbor for God so loved the world this is our commission to take into all of the world so that others can be a part of the coming kingdom as well.

Wherever you find yourself do that to the best of your ability, with love as your motivation. Don’t chase windmills, and be careful when others try to get you involved in their cause. Maybe God has called them to that, and maybe they are extremely passion about it, but we all aren’t hands or feet we each have different roles to play and we should focus on our role and stop trying to get others to be just like us.

If we all leave our spheres of influence to go fight a physical war, who is left to fight the spiritual war? We are placed in areas to be an influence of salt and light, and we are filled with the Holy Spirit who strengthens and encourages us in our endeavors. There will be times when we don’t know what to do, but let’s err on the side of love and of the gospel.

Can the Church dole out Justice?

In its basic definition, justice means to do the right thing. This we can all partake of, but when justice is found to be absent or redefined what are we to do? Can we raise up an army, should we rely on corporate prayer, or maybe move to another part of the world? All of these things have been done in the past, and yet thousands of years of history behind us and we still have injustice, hate, wars, crime and the like.

Simply put God has chosen to give justice by punishing his son on the cross. Jesus will make it all right and we the church are to be that foreshadowing of his coming kingdom. If you look at the letters from Jesus to the seven churches in Revelation add to that the sermon on the mount we find Jesus giving a clue how we are to live.

The new testament is the story of the kingdom of God. It speaks of God restoring man and creation to its original glory. It ends with the new Jerusalem coming down and Jesus establishing his throne. We find ourselves living in the meantime, the in between knowing what’s coming and what has happened. This is where the great commission comes in, the good news, discipleship. Telling the world about this kingdom, what Jesus has done and about what he will do.

So each of us has a sphere of influence and we must be careful not to think the church or that every Christian should be working in your sphere. Each of us has been placed in an area, a country, a job to be an influence there. What God has called his church to do is universal regardless of what system of government we may find ourselves living under. If someone finds themselves burdened or heartbroken over something specific then find out how God wants you to influence that situation.

These days it seems everyone’s response to things is to start a nonprofit then try to get everyone else on board. Whether it be a disease that affected a loved one to a social cause that appears in their neighborhood. But I think sometimes we miss the simple things of just loving someone. This is discipleship. Changing the world through changing hearts. Once again we each have a sphere of influence and some of us may be able to affect more change because our sphere touches more people perhaps those with the power to make bigger changes.

What should a Christian do? Do what God has called you to do, what he has gifted you to do. If chairs need stacking than stack chairs, if a world leader needs a consultation then consult. Allow God to use you where you are, and if he has given you a vision of your future or told you of something to come then be faithful now as you work towards that goal.

We are still living in a world under the influence of Satan, but we are ambassadors of the coming King. Jesus has given us his light that we might shine for the world to see, so let’s show them Jesus by our love for him and our love for our neighbor.

Seek the miracle worker not the miracle of the worker

G K Chesterton is quoted to have said; “Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain. Meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure.” We are constantly seeking something that will fulfill us, that will keep our spirits high. The moment comes and then it goes, and we are left wanting more. Like an addiction we are constantly seeking the next high, looking for meaning in that which makes us feel good. Perhaps suicidal thoughts come when we can’t find or no longer feel that high the way we once did.

The question I wish to raise in this writing is this; Has this invaded the church? Not the church universal, but local churches here and there or certain denominations or non-denominations as it were. Sometimes it appears as though are drive is the next revival, or the next big event, or a term I hear often, an encounter with God. And so even in the church I see people become disheartened and walk away, or they become impatient with God(like King Saul) and try to take things into their own hands. This could be where many cults are created.

I think that when we are constantly hearing about trying to make the world a better place and it seems things just get worse that we are misleading ourselves and others. Yes the scriptures tell us of a better world, but it comes with the return of the King which is actually the only time we see an army of God. The church is to proclaim the good news to all the world and make disciples of all nations. Disciple making includes having relationships with those who do not believe as well as with those who do. We were all discipled before we believed this is what the Holy Spirit used to draw us to Jesus.

I don’t want to turn this into a doctoral thesis so let me try and get to the point. Our pursuit should not be a miracle service or a tenet revival, our pursuit should be Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul puts it this way; ⁷ But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:7-8 ESV.

Paul even listed the good things of his life and then called them trash in comparison to knowing Christ.

Jesus says to abide in him; I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 ESV. We don’t need a revival if were already in Christ. We won’t always have emotional highs, but that’s not what we are to be seeking, Jesus said we WILL have trouble, but be of good cheer He has overcome this world. Is is in Jesus that we live and breathe and and have our being.

In Proverbs 19:23 NIV it reads The fear of the Lord leads to life, then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Now stop and meditate on that for a while. Let’s return to Chesterton’s statement about meaninglessness, or perhaps we could substitute discontentment. We become discontent because we’ve lost our fear, our love, our pursuit of Christ. And so we pursue things, people, activities, seeking wonder and awe while all the time wonder and awe are right there when I close my eyes and I seek his face.

Lamentations 3:22 ESV The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end. This was written during a time of mourning, a deep, dark, troubled moment in time. Maybe in our life times we’ll see the world become a wonderful place, but after some time has passed human beings will once again do what it is they do and the whole thing starts again. Hopefully I have shown we can’t live our lives on these emotional roller coasters, seeking the next thrill ride, and the next and the next. Jesus showed us that doing the will of the Father is that which sustains us.

In conclusion I want to encourage even beg that we spend each and every day with Jesus. Get in the word, pray without ceasing, meditate, worship, but most of all, seek him and all these things will be added.

This may offend you

Making a generalized statement seems to offend people within that generalized category even if the accusation doesn’t refer to them. If a statement refers to my age group, or my skin color, or my religion, or whatever you pick, I should know right away if I am guilty of or am an example of the statement.

My response should be to examine myself in order to determine if a change needs to be made. Growth(maturity) occurs when I recognize that within me, that which needs to be dealt with. Matthew 7:5 speaks of the splinter vs the plank. If I am the subject of the generalized statement I must look for the splinter in my eye. If I am the speaker of the generalized statement I should have removed the plank first.

That brings us to being offended. As a Christian I can’t find any scripture that allows me to be offended by any statement or any action that someone may take against me. Jesus, as our example, was never offended by a question nor an accusation. He either responded with the indisputable truth, or with silence.

So now here comes my generalized statement; Christians, particularly those who who are big into politics, seem to be offended by everything. My question is this; If I am filled with the Holy Spirit and I know that when I die that I will be in the presence of Jesus Christ, how can anything offend me?

You might ask if I have a plank in my eye, and yes there are times I find myself asking why this offends me. So I remind myself that nothing, absolutely nothing can separate me from the love of God! I can not allow myself to be offended by sinners acting like sinners. I can not allow politics, a country, a flag, a way of living to become an idol. This world is not our home, things will not get better, the Church is called to make disciples for the world to come. A world which will be set up when Jesus returns at the end of a 7 year tribulation. Listen to the words of C. S. Lewis;

Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither. It seems a strange rule, but something like it can be seen at work in other matters. Health is a great blessing, but the moment you make health one of your main, direct objects you start becoming a crank and imagining there is something wrong with you. You are only likely to get health provided you want other things more—food, games, work, fun, open air. In the same way, we shall never save civilisation along as civilisation is our main object. We must learn to want something else even more. ”

I fear we long for something from the past, but scripture tells us of a hope for the future. a new Heaven and a new Earth, and even more than that a coming King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we lift Him up, He will draw all men unto himself.

I’m what’s wrong with the World

A letter to the editor went as follows; “Dear sir, in response to your article ‘What’s wrong with the world’ – I am. Yours truly, G K Chesterton.” I am the one who doesn’t always say the right thing, who goes the wrong direction, who makes the wrong choice. I am the one who takes of the fruit in order to become my own god, that I might decide what’s good and what’s evil.

“Meaninglessness does not come from being weary of pain, but from being weary of pleasure.” Ravi Zacharias. We spend our lives seeking the next high, the next thrill, the next sexual encounter, the next big event, the next revival, the next… It all comes to an end, and we start the search all over again. The search for that which makes us feel good, that which gives us some sense of a reason for living.

What we are seeking comes down to three things; money, power, and prestige(recognition). We seek money in order to fund that next ‘thing.’ We work hard and save up for an expensive toy, only to find it doesn’t satisfy. Over time it becomes another deteriorating item in our inventory.

We seek power, or maybe better said, freedom. Power over our lives to do whatever we want whenever we want. This pursuit has led to divorces, joblessness, and what I see now in our culture, a group that seems to be living in a fantasy world.
Thirdly, we seek recognition. Even the introvert wants to be noticed by those closest to them. What we seek is approval. Approval that we are somebody, that we have some meaning to our lives.

So in these three areas we seek the pleasures of life, and we choose our own right and wrong in it all without seeking truth. To quote Ravi again, ‘Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good, but to make dead people live.” Once again, it is I who is making the wrong choices, deciding my own truth.

Money? Jesus wants all of it. Power? Jesus wants all of it. Recognition? Jesus wants all of it. He who the Son sets free is free indeed. When I give all to him, I find true freedom, true peace. Jesus also said in this world that we would have trouble, so I believe when we seek pleasure we are trying to avoid that fact in order to find some semblance of peace, but it is only in Christ that we find peace. He has overcome the world, not me.

Jesus taught us to live by dying. Here is another quote;

“Well, then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I myself have founded great empires; but on what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions would die for Him.

‘. . .I think I understand something of human nature, and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than man. I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would die for me . . . but to do this it was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, of my words, of my voice.

‘When I saw men and spoke to them, I lighted up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts . . . Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man towards the Unseen that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space.

‘Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy. He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother.

‘He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself; He demands it unconditionally ; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the Empire of Christ.

“All who sincerely believe in Him experience that remarkable supernatural love towards Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man’s creative powers.

‘Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This it is which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the divinity of Jesus Christ.’”

This is from Napoleon. We have to come to a place where we recognize like Paul that it is Christ in me, that is the hope of glory. In his strength I can do all things and I will discover an abundance of life not things, not pleasure, But Christ.

We Already Are Socialists.

I found a definition of socialism in an old dictionary it reads as follows; any of various theories of the ownership and operation of the means of production and distribution by society rather than private individuals, with all members of society sharing in the work and products. It also takes from Marx himself; coming between the capitalist stage and communist stage in which private ownership of the means of production and distribution has been eliminated.
So if we look at our country so many parts of our lives already fit this definition. Basically anything that receives federal dollars makes that thing socialist. This excludes those things of which the constitution requires of the federal government. There in lies the dilemma. We tend to disagree with what that is.
The United “States” was created with the idea of the States having most of the control, but over time this has changed. Which by the way was feared by Patrick Henry in his anti-federalist speech.
So when we look at our education system, health care, retirement, the handing out of federal dollars to law enforcement, universities, foundations and the like. The federal carrots used to pass state legislation’s we’ve gotten it all backwards.
I contend that if we didn’t have federal taxes we would have multiple times more money available locally to focus on what our communities need the most. I doubt we’ll ever see the freedom that our founders had, so vote any way you like, but keep in mind there are very few politicians if any who are even the least bit concerned about individual ownership of production and its distribution.