Category: Reflections Articles
Articles printed in the weekly bulletin of the West Side church of Christ
The Rejected Savior
Two thousand years ago the Son of God was delivered up to be crucified on a cross. Not long after, some in Jerusalem expressed amazement at Peter and John as they healed a lame man at the gate of the temple. Peter took the opportunity to address the gathering, and said:
“Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses” (Acts 3:12-15).
Peter later acknowledged the necessity of Christ’s sacrifice, saying, “But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled” (vs. 18). He then called on those present to “repent therefore, and be converted” (vs. 19).
Luke 18 Revisited
“Then Peter said, ‘See, we have left all and followed You.’ 29 So He said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life’” (Luke 18:28-30).
A few months ago we examined the position that Luke 18 gives a rationale for a person to divorce their mate, “for the sake of the kingdom of God,” without sin. The article dealt not only with the context of the passage, but also the greater context of scripture, and concluded that the position is without merit. Jesus said in Matthew 5:32, “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except for sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.” The text clearly reveals a single reason for which a man or woman may put away their spouse. To appeal to a passage where divorce is not contextually found in an attempt to explain away the plain import of another passage is, at best, poor hermeneutics, and is a common tactic of those who twist the scriptures to fit their pet theories.
In the World, Not OF the World
“I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner — not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
1 Corinthians 5:9-13
In this context, the apostle Paul explains the difference between living in the world, and living “of” the world. It is obviously necessary for the Christian to interact with worldly people. Ungodliness is everywhere. When you go to the grocery store, the clerk might be an adulteress. Your child’s teacher might be guilty of covetousness, your banker might just be an extortioner, and the plumber may be a drunkard!
The Danger of Drifting
Billy Norris writes of a tragic event that resulted from “drifting”:
“Two young men were fishing above a low dam on a river near their hometown. As they were concentrating on catching fish, they were unaware that they had drifted until they were not far from the water flowing over the dam. When they realized their situation, the current near the dam had become too powerful for them to keep their boat from going over. Below the dam the water was dashing with strong force over great boulders and through crevices in the rocks. Caught by the swirling waters under the rocks, they never came to the surface. After days of relentless searching, the divers finally found one body, and then, two or three days later, the other.”
(Gospel Guide)
The illustration above is a sad one, but serves to establish our premise that it is dangerous to drift along in life, unaware or uncaring of the consequences.
Alpha & Omega
We commonly use the phrase “A to Z” to identify the sum total of any particular thing. If a person is knowledgeable on a subject, we say he knows it from “A to Z.” If a person is accomplished in a particular area, we say that he has done it all, from “A to Z.”
In the Bible, similar phrases are used.
God Is Fair!
I recently read the comments of a referee who said that if at the end of the game both sides were angry with him it was probably an indication that he had done a good job. As my kids are athletes, I can attest to the fact that we parents often have a difficult time being unbiased in our assessment of such efforts.
Perception often colors reality. What we believe to be true may not be. The only way to be sure of a matter is by removing the “filters” or biases that may color our perception. This is especially true and important in spiritual matters. For example, some see the inequity and unfairness that exists in the world, and claim that it is as a result of God. “God is unfair!” is the claim, and, (repeated time and again), becomes the common perception of our day.
Abnegation
In my personal study, I recently came across a word with which I was not familiar. The term is “abnegation.” It is interesting that in consulting dictionaries about the word, one didn’t have it, several defined it simply as “self-denial”, and only two (both online dictionaries) gave the meaning that coincided with its usage in the example I had encountered. WordNet gives as the primary meaning of the term, “the denial and rejection of a doctrine or belief.”
Though the term might be a bit rare, the concept or phenomenon of denying and rejecting a doctrine or belief is commonly found in scripture.
Pharisaism
During Jesus’ ministry, there were three main sects of the Jews that influenced Jewish politics and culture. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.
Interestingly, the Essenes are not mentioned in the New Testament writings. Perhaps their tendencies toward asceticism and monasticism separated them from the common Jew, and limited their influence upon Jewish culture. (Note: It is believed that it was an Essene community, Qumran, that was responsible for the penning of the Dead Sea Scrolls).
The Sadducees were characteristically liberal and secular in their outlook. They were political animals, often affluent, and held the highest political offices among the Jews. “They were a political party, of priestly and aristocratic tendency, as against the more religious and democratic Pharisees” (ISBE, Vol. IV, pg. 2659).
The Pharisees were, as noted above, more religious. In fact, at least in outward form, the Pharisee seemed to mirror most closely the teaching and philosophy of our Lord. For example: 1) The Pharisee contended for the importance of separating himself from ungodly and worldly influences; 2) The Pharisee was very attentive to the Law of God, and careful in his exposition of its teaching; 3) The Pharisee emphasized the importance of diligent obedience to the Law of God; 4) The Pharisee was eager to convert others to his beliefs, and was active in proselytizing; 5) The Pharisee was very active religiously, and many saw the expressions of his faith.
Pretending to be Righteous
In Luke 20, the historian records an attempt of the Pharisees to incite Jesus to say things which would get him in trouble with the Roman government. It may be that they felt Jesus would not answer them forthrightly if He knew who they were, so they sent men to Him who were to play the part of innocent, truth fearing men, to question Jesus with apparent sincerity. Luke put it this way, “So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor” (vs. 20).
Martyrdom
Martyrdom is defined as “the suffering of death on account of adherence to a cause and especially to one’s religious faith” (Webster’s). In respect to the Christian faith, martyrdom is dying because of the profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Perhaps the best known example of such a death is also the first example, that of Stephen, whose stoning is recorded in Acts 7:57-59, “Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
The Deceitfulness of Riches
Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 “and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mark 4:18-19).
Jesus revealed in his explanation of the Parable of the Sower that one of the real dangers threatening the faith of children of God is the inordinate desire for material things.
We certainly live in a rich society. Even families of the most modest means normally have such things as automobiles, homes, food, televisions, and now the ubiquitous cell phones.
Of course, none of these things, or the many toys, possessions and luxuries that many Christians enjoy are inherently sinful. They do, however, have a tendency to divert our attentions and priorities from that which is truly important.
Songleading Suggestions
This past Wednesday evening we had our monthly singing, and I believe everyone was uplifted by the time we spent together in song. It is always a favorite night of the month for me personally, as I truly love to sing spiritual songs!
The men of the congregation are to be commended for their ability and efforts in leading the singing. We are truly blessed with talented and able men, who have the ability to lead the congregation in singing. In addition to the 9 men who led on Wednesday, I can think of at least 5 others who did not lead that night, but have done a fine job in the past.
There is, of course, room for improvement. All of us can get better in our song leading, and it should be our desire to improve. With that thought in mind, I want to make note of some things I observed at Wednesday night’s singing, and ask that the song leaders take note of them in good humor.
The Start of Summer
(Click here to view the Baldo cartoon to which this post refers)
(To those who are unable to view the cartoon, or if the link ceases working, the cartoon consists of four frames. The first three frames show Baldo’s little sister talking about how she had been looking at bugs and insects, and saying that you can learn a lot by staring at nature’s beautiful creatures. She then asks Baldo, who is dressed in his swim trunks with a towel over his shoulder, where he is going. In the last frame, Baldo puts on his cool sunglasses, and says, “I’m heading to the public swimming pool, to work on my doctorate!”)
On June 21st, summer officially began. Of course, the hot weather has been around for some time now, and as is the case every year, is the reason why many drop any pretensions of modesty in the name of comfort and fashion.
The world embraces immodest dress, and as seen in the cartoon above, does not hesitate to glory in lasciviousness. In this, the world seems more able to see the nature of immodest dress: “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8).
Young ladies, please understand that young Baldo in the cartoon above is not the only young man who seeks a doctorate from staring at the female form. The cartoon was written because of its obvious truth. No Christian lady should ever be guilty of parading herself in front of the leering men. “In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.” (1 Timothy 2:9-10).
“Get Behind Me, Satan!”
In the fourth chapter of Luke’s gospel we have recorded the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. None other than the devil himself (vs. 2) took the opportunity of Jesus’ fast in the wilderness to put stumbling blocks before the Son of God.
The second temptation placed before the Lord, to reject the work of redemption for the glory of the world’s kingdoms, brought this response from Jesus, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve” (vs. 8).
Worship to Baal
Baal, or Ba’al was the principal male god of the Canaanites. Actually, the term Baal means “Lord” in the Hebrew language, and was used in the Old Testament in reference to many different gods, including Jehovah.
In fact, in the days of Hosea the worship of idols had become so prolific that God equated the unfaithfulness of Israel with whoredom.
