Sunday, April 24, 2011
1 TIMOTHY 4
The Apostasy (4:1-5)
Chapter 3 ended with Paul’s description of the church as the pillar of the truth. In Chapter 4, in contrast, Paul said that, in later times, some will leave the faith because they would devote themselves to false teaching. He was empthatic. He said “the Spirit expressly says” some will leave. Paul warned the church several times of false teachers causing people to fall away.
Later times (or last days) means all the time of the church age, not some time far in the future.
In Acts 20:29, he warned the overseers of this very church that from within the church would come men who twisted the truth and draw away disciples.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, he said Christ would not return until the rebellion occurred and the man of lawlessness is revealed.
Peter wrote that scoffers would come in the last days, following their sinful desires and doubting Christ’s return. Peter 3:3
Our Lord himself taught that weeds would grow up among the wheat. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, sowed by the devil into the world. Matthew 13:38. In Matthew 24:10-11, he said many will fall away and false teachers will come.
So we should not be surprised that people leave the truth. The Lord clearly reveals that it will happen.
Here Paul said they would leave the truth to devote themselves to the false teaching from deceitful spirits. It is demonically driven, just as Jesus said. Paul demonstrated the spiritual nature of the conflict by contrasting “the Spirit expressly says” with “the teachings of demons”. Although the battle is fought through human beings, the underlying battle is still between spiritual forces. Remember that in Ephesians 6:10, Paul said to put on the whole armor of God so that we maybe be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. He has distorted the truth all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Jesus called him the father of lies. John 8:44.
It is important that we stand for the truth. We must preach and teach the gospel. We must be faithful to the Bible. For, even among us, are those who would pervert the truth. Jesus said we must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24.
Paul gave two examples: (1) forbidding marriage and (2) forbidding certain foods. Both of these teachings have surfaced many times in church history.
You cannot despise marriage because God created it and everything he created is good. It is interesting how often Paul goes to the creation story for the foundation of his teaching.
Paul showed that some are called to be single. But they are exceptions. It does not mean that marriage is bad or to be avoided. Baptists have probably gone to the other extreme, often ostracizing single people in their churches.
Paul said no food was forbidden. God made all food, so it was good. He gave it to us. We should receive it with thanksgiving. Our food is made holy by the word of God and prayer. God’s word in Genesis 1 is that all he created is good. All food that is thankfully received is holy for us, not just certain foods. James 1:17 says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is o variation or shadow due to change.”
We are saved by grace through faith. We are preserved in the faith by God’s grace. He transforms us by his Spirit. This transformation is manifested by our works and behavior. For example, humility speaks of conversion, arrogance does not.
But the temptation often is to say I can prove I am holy by what I give up. This is asceticism. Monks gave up bathing. They ate only a little, maybe only bread and water. Paul said this is artificial piety, much like the Pharisee who broadcasted his fasting by painting his face white and looking unkempt as if he were really suffering. It becomes a life of work instead of a life of grace. If I give up enough stuff, God has to see that I am holy.
Paul says we may not condemn what God says is good. The Lord said this very thing to Peter in his vision in Acts 10. The Lord said “what God has made clean do not call common (or unclean)”.
The Apostasy (4:1-5)
Chapter 3 ended with Paul’s description of the church as the pillar of the truth. In Chapter 4, in contrast, Paul said that, in later times, some will leave the faith because they would devote themselves to false teaching. He was empthatic. He said “the Spirit expressly says” some will leave. Paul warned the church several times of false teachers causing people to fall away.
Later times (or last days) means all the time of the church age, not some time far in the future.
In Acts 20:29, he warned the overseers of this very church that from within the church would come men who twisted the truth and draw away disciples.
In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, he said Christ would not return until the rebellion occurred and the man of lawlessness is revealed.
Peter wrote that scoffers would come in the last days, following their sinful desires and doubting Christ’s return. Peter 3:3
Our Lord himself taught that weeds would grow up among the wheat. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, sowed by the devil into the world. Matthew 13:38. In Matthew 24:10-11, he said many will fall away and false teachers will come.
So we should not be surprised that people leave the truth. The Lord clearly reveals that it will happen.
Here Paul said they would leave the truth to devote themselves to the false teaching from deceitful spirits. It is demonically driven, just as Jesus said. Paul demonstrated the spiritual nature of the conflict by contrasting “the Spirit expressly says” with “the teachings of demons”. Although the battle is fought through human beings, the underlying battle is still between spiritual forces. Remember that in Ephesians 6:10, Paul said to put on the whole armor of God so that we maybe be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. He has distorted the truth all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Jesus called him the father of lies. John 8:44.
It is important that we stand for the truth. We must preach and teach the gospel. We must be faithful to the Bible. For, even among us, are those who would pervert the truth. Jesus said we must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24.
Paul gave two examples: (1) forbidding marriage and (2) forbidding certain foods. Both of these teachings have surfaced many times in church history.
You cannot despise marriage because God created it and everything he created is good. It is interesting how often Paul goes to the creation story for the foundation of his teaching.
Paul showed that some are called to be single. But they are exceptions. It does not mean that marriage is bad or to be avoided. Baptists have probably gone to the other extreme, often ostracizing single people in their churches.
Paul said no food was forbidden. God made all food, so it was good. He gave it to us. We should receive it with thanksgiving. Our food is made holy by the word of God and prayer. God’s word in Genesis 1 is that all he created is good. All food that is thankfully received is holy for us, not just certain foods. James 1:17 says “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is o variation or shadow due to change.”
We are saved by grace through faith. We are preserved in the faith by God’s grace. He transforms us by his Spirit. This transformation is manifested by our works and behavior. For example, humility speaks of conversion, arrogance does not.
But the temptation often is to say I can prove I am holy by what I give up. This is asceticism. Monks gave up bathing. They ate only a little, maybe only bread and water. Paul said this is artificial piety, much like the Pharisee who broadcasted his fasting by painting his face white and looking unkempt as if he were really suffering. It becomes a life of work instead of a life of grace. If I give up enough stuff, God has to see that I am holy.
Paul says we may not condemn what God says is good. The Lord said this very thing to Peter in his vision in Acts 10. The Lord said “what God has made clean do not call common (or unclean)”.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Dear A.C. Grayling:
Please get your own title for your book and do not steal ours. If you want to write a book for atheists that makes you feel good about humanity, have at it. But do not call it the Bible or any kind of Bible. It is not the Bible. The Bible contains scriptures for Christians. We believe it. If you do not believe it, or think it is important, do not steal its name and profit from it. Let your book stand on it's own.
Or is it that you cannot just compile a book of great thoughts, you must also jab at Christians? A little insult to stimulate some sales, possibly?
Grayling said "The Bible would have been “a very different book and may have produced a very different history for mankind had it drawn on the work of philosophers and writers as opposed to prophets and apostles." Certainly the Bible would have been a different book. Instead of being words inspired by God, it would be a collection of philosophies from men. I hate to say it to a Ph.D. but the best response to that statement is "duh".
It would not, however, produced a different humanity. All of the writings in your book have been available to millions of men and women through centuries of history and have not changed the fundamental nature of them. Aristotle's Greeks committed all the same atrocious acts as every other culture. The reason is not the book, it is the nature of men and women.
Human reason cannot create a better society, for each human reasons his way to a different vision of society based on his own desires. A philosopher may dream of a world where people spend their time thinking and writing in peace. However, another dreams of conquering the world and finds philosophers to validate his stance.
You go so far as to rip off the structure of the Bible. You begin with your own Genesis, a garden scene about Isaac Newton, the British scientist who "discovered". Ironically, Newton was a Christian who studied the Bible and wrote commentaries about it.
I'm glad you admit that the hunger for a spiritual connection continues. However, you cannot, as you maintain, satisfy for many by taking a walk in the country. Nature's beauty speaks of nature's creator. Involve man in it, and he throws cigarette wrappers and beer cans in it. He does not respond spiritually.
If he has spiritual yearnings, nature will not fulfill them. That is why, as many have turned away from Christianity due to attacks from atheists like you, they have tried to fill the void, not with humanism, but with other modes of spirituality, such as Eastern religion, mysticism, paganism or combinations of all of these.
So, I wish you would call your book what it is: not the Bible or the Good Book, but another futile scream in the dark saying "there is no God and I hate him".
Please get your own title for your book and do not steal ours. If you want to write a book for atheists that makes you feel good about humanity, have at it. But do not call it the Bible or any kind of Bible. It is not the Bible. The Bible contains scriptures for Christians. We believe it. If you do not believe it, or think it is important, do not steal its name and profit from it. Let your book stand on it's own.
Or is it that you cannot just compile a book of great thoughts, you must also jab at Christians? A little insult to stimulate some sales, possibly?
Grayling said "The Bible would have been “a very different book and may have produced a very different history for mankind had it drawn on the work of philosophers and writers as opposed to prophets and apostles." Certainly the Bible would have been a different book. Instead of being words inspired by God, it would be a collection of philosophies from men. I hate to say it to a Ph.D. but the best response to that statement is "duh".
It would not, however, produced a different humanity. All of the writings in your book have been available to millions of men and women through centuries of history and have not changed the fundamental nature of them. Aristotle's Greeks committed all the same atrocious acts as every other culture. The reason is not the book, it is the nature of men and women.
Human reason cannot create a better society, for each human reasons his way to a different vision of society based on his own desires. A philosopher may dream of a world where people spend their time thinking and writing in peace. However, another dreams of conquering the world and finds philosophers to validate his stance.
You go so far as to rip off the structure of the Bible. You begin with your own Genesis, a garden scene about Isaac Newton, the British scientist who "discovered". Ironically, Newton was a Christian who studied the Bible and wrote commentaries about it.
I'm glad you admit that the hunger for a spiritual connection continues. However, you cannot, as you maintain, satisfy for many by taking a walk in the country. Nature's beauty speaks of nature's creator. Involve man in it, and he throws cigarette wrappers and beer cans in it. He does not respond spiritually.
If he has spiritual yearnings, nature will not fulfill them. That is why, as many have turned away from Christianity due to attacks from atheists like you, they have tried to fill the void, not with humanism, but with other modes of spirituality, such as Eastern religion, mysticism, paganism or combinations of all of these.
So, I wish you would call your book what it is: not the Bible or the Good Book, but another futile scream in the dark saying "there is no God and I hate him".
PRESIDENT STARTS ELECTION BID WITH A BANG
Shortly after the President announced he will seek election for a second term, Rasmussen Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday finds only 19% of voters strongly approve of his performance. I guess that cuts down on the number of emails he has to send.
In contrast, 39% of voters strongly disapprove of his performance. The "nays" have it at this point. These are his lowest numbers ever.
Liberals are even unhappy with the President, who came from the left wing of the party. Only 37% of liberals strongly approve of the job he is doing. It could be that they are unhappy he campaigned as Jimmy Carter but has been acting like George Bush lately, invading a non-hostile country (Libya) and helping undermine the government of other countries. They may also be unhappy over his tax and economic moves lately, although you could argue he cannot operate in a truly liberal fashion with a fairly conservative House of Representatives slowing him down.
Still, when push comes to vote, Liberals will vote for Obama over a Republican candidate unless they decide to sit out, as many Repbulicans did to John McCain.
Ramming Obamacare down the throats of an unwilling public will not help his chances of election. The lack of a strong Republican candidate might help him. A truly conservative Republican candidate would galvanize the Left to turn out their vote.
In 2008, Obama won 53%-46% over that guy who ran against him. It is a long way 'til November for all concerned, not to mention voters who will have to suffer through all the posturing while knowing none of it means much.
Shortly after the President announced he will seek election for a second term, Rasmussen Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday finds only 19% of voters strongly approve of his performance. I guess that cuts down on the number of emails he has to send.
In contrast, 39% of voters strongly disapprove of his performance. The "nays" have it at this point. These are his lowest numbers ever.
Liberals are even unhappy with the President, who came from the left wing of the party. Only 37% of liberals strongly approve of the job he is doing. It could be that they are unhappy he campaigned as Jimmy Carter but has been acting like George Bush lately, invading a non-hostile country (Libya) and helping undermine the government of other countries. They may also be unhappy over his tax and economic moves lately, although you could argue he cannot operate in a truly liberal fashion with a fairly conservative House of Representatives slowing him down.
Still, when push comes to vote, Liberals will vote for Obama over a Republican candidate unless they decide to sit out, as many Repbulicans did to John McCain.
Ramming Obamacare down the throats of an unwilling public will not help his chances of election. The lack of a strong Republican candidate might help him. A truly conservative Republican candidate would galvanize the Left to turn out their vote.
In 2008, Obama won 53%-46% over that guy who ran against him. It is a long way 'til November for all concerned, not to mention voters who will have to suffer through all the posturing while knowing none of it means much.
Friday, April 08, 2011
Monday, April 04, 2011
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
After working out like a Trojan on Sunday afternoon, I needed a good night's sleep. However, about 3:30 the spring thunderstorms kicked in with thunder, lightning, wind, rain and hail.
So, it like mission impossible getting out of bed and on to work this morning. In honor of that theme, you should listen to this acapella rendition of the theme song by the Swingle Singers.
After working out like a Trojan on Sunday afternoon, I needed a good night's sleep. However, about 3:30 the spring thunderstorms kicked in with thunder, lightning, wind, rain and hail.
So, it like mission impossible getting out of bed and on to work this morning. In honor of that theme, you should listen to this acapella rendition of the theme song by the Swingle Singers.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
PRESIDENTIAL STRAW POLL
The Arlington (Texas) Republican Club conducted a straw poll. Here are the results for presidential candidates.
Pres.
21.82% Huckabee, Mike - Former Gov. of Ark.
18.18% Romney, Mitt - Former Gov. of Mass.
12.73% Palin, Sarah - Former Gov. of Alaska
11.82% Rubio, Marco - US Senator from Florida
9.09% Pawlenty, Tim - Gov. of Minn.
7.27% Bush, Jeb - Former Gov. Florida
5.54% Paul, Ron - US Rep from Houston
5.45% Trump, Donald - he is listed as a Business Magnate
3.64% Christie, Chris - Gov. of New Jersey
3.64% DeMint, Jim - US Senator from So.Carolina
1.82% Cain, Herman - Businessman, Politician, Media in Ga.
1.82% Thune, John - US Senator from So. Dakota
The Arlington (Texas) Republican Club conducted a straw poll. Here are the results for presidential candidates.
Pres.
21.82% Huckabee, Mike - Former Gov. of Ark.
18.18% Romney, Mitt - Former Gov. of Mass.
12.73% Palin, Sarah - Former Gov. of Alaska
11.82% Rubio, Marco - US Senator from Florida
9.09% Pawlenty, Tim - Gov. of Minn.
7.27% Bush, Jeb - Former Gov. Florida
5.54% Paul, Ron - US Rep from Houston
5.45% Trump, Donald - he is listed as a Business Magnate
3.64% Christie, Chris - Gov. of New Jersey
3.64% DeMint, Jim - US Senator from So.Carolina
1.82% Cain, Herman - Businessman, Politician, Media in Ga.
1.82% Thune, John - US Senator from So. Dakota
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