Rightly Dividing God's Word: “Proxy” Membership?

Rightly Dividing God's Word: “Proxy” Membership?: What is involved in membership?   How important is it?   Many people claim membership or affiliation to a church.   The ‘criteria’ varies...

Rightly Dividing = Un-suppressing the truth!

The Bible declares that only God’s words are truth (John 17:17); yet truth from God is NOT to be found in the partial, but the entirety of His revelation (Psalm 119:160). God purposed eternal life for man; that purpose being termed His “eternal” purpose, in His revelation.  It was a gradual unfolding plan that began as a promise in the mind of God prior to the Creation and consummated with the establishment of Christ’s body, the church (cf. Titus 1:2; Eph. 1:9-10, 22-23; 2:16; 3:9-11). 

In this great purpose, we see God’s love for man; specifically, in the offer of eternal life (John 3:16); as it was purposed for man ALONE; nothing else or no one else in all of the created universe.  Notice, from Matt. 25:34 – “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’.”  Yet the Bible reveals that God not only prepared a kingdom from the foundation of the world, but also an eternal fire prepared at the same time.  This eternal fire was not purposed for man, but the devil and his angels (cf. Matt. 25:41, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels).  But the Bible reveals that most of humanity will suffer this eternal fire, (cf. Matt. 7:13-14 – “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”) 

There are two questions relative to this eternal life that need to be answered from the Bible. 

     1) WHY will only a few inherit this eternal life? 

     2) How will this inheritance come? 

The key in understanding why only a few will inherit that which was purposed for all, can only indicate that man has some sort of a response to God’s offer of eternal life.  Therefore, the response to God’s offer is the key to the inheritance.  This is where preaching factors in, for the role of preaching to those in the kingdom of Satan is to explain their response to God’s grace, that they might be ‘translated into the kingdom of “His dear Son” where there is “redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14).  As it relates to this most important subject, preaching can be in truth or in error.  This is why doctrine matters.  What is the response to God’s grace for the alien sinner?  While many passages could be set forth on the sinner’s response, three texts will suffice to show the nature of the response:

Eccl. 12:13 — “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man”

Rom. 6:17-18 — “...you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed...having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”

Heb. 5:9 — “he (Jesus) is the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him”.

God gave commands to man for this very reason. God’s love for man was seen in this act of grace.  Man, in return, responds to that love/grace by obedience.  No act of man, apart from humble submission and obedience to God’s word, will be in faith, for faith only comes from one source...‘what God has spoken’ (Rom. 10:17).

The Bible declares that this eternal life is in God’s Son (1^st John 5:11).  Eternal life is synonymous with salvation in Christ, (Acts 4:12; 16:17), so therefore the matter of learning how to get into Christ is one and the same as learning how to inherit this eternal life that was purposed to him.  It is within this revelation that man will find ‘truth’.  Truth came by Jesus (John 1:17), through the words of His teaching (John 17:17).  This truth is also called the “words of life” (John 6:63, 68; 12:50; 17:8; Acts 5:20).

In order to learn the truth surrounding this great eternal purpose, God’s word must be ‘rightly divided’.  In 2^nd Timothy 2:15, we find Paul’s statement to Timothy in regard to this.  While the responsibility of “rightly dividing” falls upon every person who makes an appeal to the Bible; the disciple of Christ has multiple responsibilities in his ‘handling’ of that ‘word of truth’.  For a disciple, “rightly dividing”, involves more than just a determination of context.  It also involves:

1)   the responsibility to rightly “deliver” that word.  This is to be done with ‘graceful’ speech (Col. 4:6); and

2)   the responsibility to rightly “apply” that word to himself prior to passing judgment on another (Matt. 7:5; John 7:24) 

There are two very good reasons for these responsibilities.  They are to ensure that the truth will not be ‘suppressed in unrighteousness’ on his part (Rom. 1:18); and secondly, so that truth will have the ultimate effect upon the human mind (Isa. 55:10-11; Heb. 4:12-13).

There is great benefit/growth for the disciple to re-study definitions and concepts of words/phrases/texts in these two areas of his responsibility.  Herein is seen the benefit of trials in the life of a child of God.  James dealt with this in his epistle.  We see from chapter 1:22-25, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” 

Problems, both individually and collectively, arise when contexts are ‘handled’ aright, yet irresponsibly in the delivery and/or the application of those contexts.   If they are not, the gospel, (i.e., God’s power to save – Romans 1:17), which God entrusted as a talent to His stewards for the purpose of accomplishing unity/salvation; will instead, incur the very opposite results (division/damnation).  Yet, even for the sinner; there are consequences in this realm of responsibility.  To fail to apply the relevant passages of the Bible to himself will result in only a reforming of his life, not repentance from his sins, motivated by godly sorrow (2 Cor. 7:9-10).

Let all who preach, heed the inspired apostle’s warning of “following”; “continuing in”; and “holding to” the pattern of sound words” (2^nd Tim. 1:13; 3:14; Titus 1:9).  Every preacher must take heed in regard to his preaching. Two reasons relative to God’s eternal purpose bear this out:

·          The foundation [of teaching] has been laid by the Lord; (1 Cor. 3:10-11)

·          His own salvation and of those to whom he preaches (1^st Tim. 4:16)

Likewise, let all take heed “how” and “what” they hear [taught] (Luke 8:18; Mark 4:24)

rdb
copyright 2013

“TRADITIONAL” vs “CONTEMPORARY”

Have you noticed that churches have been offering different service times for their audiences on Sunday and they list them as "traditional" or "contemporary"?

Some places even advertise "come as you are" and a "casual" environment in which to worship God. You can wear anything from cowboy boots to t-shirts and drink anything from espresso to Red Bull while you watch other people offer a surrogate form of worship to God.

Why do churches feature different styles of worship? One website suggests: "offer worship services of varying styles so that everyone can attend a service that meets their personal preferences."

I've got a simple (and perhaps, a seemingly uneducated) question here - since when do my preferences determine my worship to God?

Churches are scrambling to offer services that "keep up with the times" and make people feel "comfortable" when approaching God in worship - which is actually not even what is being accomplished. How can you even attempt to unify a congregation around a common cause when you are catering to so many different tastes, preferences, and styles?

In Acts 2:42, we read that the disciples from the early church in Jerusalem "continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." They were unified by a clear purpose, a clear doctrine, and clear practices. This group, though several thousand strong, did not have to be placated with entertainment, food, and their own styles of worship. Their common bond and strength was through Christ!

When I approach God in worship, I have to be humble enough to realize it is not about me! How haughty and proud it must be to God to tell Him that you can't trust in what He has prescribed for worship - that it is "outdated" - and that it needs to be personalized to our desires in order for us to want to be there.

How ridiculous is it for people to think in their minds (and with their actions) that coffee and doughnuts (or food in general) has to be provided in order to get someone to come to worship? Have they considered the way that Jesus said God wants to be worshipped, and who He is? "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)

While we're catering to different tastes, backgrounds, music styles, fashion preferences, and building designs, we are forgetting that God is Spirit and doesn't care about all of that. He wants our hearts dedicated to Him with our lives and a reflection of that through our worship!

When we worship God, we must come before Him desiring truth and recognizing that He is holy. Let's not worry about "traditional" or "contemporary"...and focus on "TRUE"!

---Author Unknown

Doctrine & Trust

– Psalm 118:8 – 

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”

The passage above is one of many in the scriptures, on the subject of ‘TRUST’.   This verse speaks of the wisdom in placing our trust in the LORD, rather than man.  Two key words in this passage are ‘better’ and ‘than’ as they relate to trust.  The verse does not explain some things about trust, such as HOW or WHY trust should be “in the LORD”, but, as with any subject, they can be determined through a study of both the immediate context, as well as other relevant passages in the Bible.  From the immediate context, we see that this chapter is a psalm about the nature of the steadfast love of the Lord…it endures ‘forever’.  This ‘endurance’ of God’s steadfast love is why it is ‘better’ (i.e. wise) to look to the Lord for deliverance in times of distress.  Let those who “fear the Lord”, trust in Him for reasons consistent with His steadfast love and unique to their relationship with God; namely, for their deliverance from Satan’s efforts to sever that relationship.  From the other relevant passages on this matter of ‘trust’, we learn the ‘constant’ truths set forth about how/why it is wise to “trust in the LORD”.  The admonitions from a negative standpoint are:

- Psalm 40:4 – How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

- Psalm 146:3 - Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

- Psalms 60:11 and 108:12 - “...vain is the salvation of man.”

- Isaiah 2:22, “Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?”

- Isaiah 31:1, 3 – Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord…Now the Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses are flesh and not spirit; so the Lord will stretch out His hand, and he who helps will stumble and he who is helped will fall, and all of them will come to an end together.

- Isaiah 57:13 – “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you.  But the wind will carry all of them up, and a breath will take them away.  But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land and will possess My holy mountain.”

- Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”  

When Hezekiah was attacked by Sennacherib king of Assyria, he spoke to the people of Israel about trust.  He said, “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him.  With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.  And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.” (2 Chronicles 32:7-8)

ALL of God’s truth is not confined to, or condensed in one passage; nor can truth be ascertained by isolating one passage from other passages without regard to what is taught on the same topic.  This is why we need to consult ALL that is revealed in the scriptures on a given topic rather than draw our conclusions from a single passage.  “Rightly dividing” God’s word requires that we search out ALL of God’s wisdom (2^nd Timothy 2:15; Acts 17:11; Psalm 119:160). As stated elsewhere in the psalms, we will find that God’s words were spoken TO and FOR man, reflecting His steadfast love. (cf. Psalms 40:5; 92:5; 139:17; and 144:3; Hebrews 2:6).

Two other eternal truths, consistently taught in the scriptures on ‘trust’ is that:

1) all must exercise a choice as to whom or what we put our confidence/trust in.   That choice defines whether or not we fear God more than man.  The second is:

2) doctrine directly affects where we place our trust.  Again, Satan’s attack upon the hearer of the message is to pervert the message.  He will therefore employ false messengers.  This is why there is an abundance of warnings in regard to “hearing”; and it is from these passages, we see the correlation between trust and doctrine.  Notice:

- Matthew 6:1 - “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

- Matthew 16:6 - “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

- 1 Corinthians 10:12 – “…let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

This is why trust and doctrine are inseparable.  The Bible states that doctrine is to be ‘sound’ (1^st Timothy 1:10; 2^nd Timothy 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1).  Sound doctrine is characterized by “uncorruptness”, “gravity”, and “sincerity” (Titus 2:7, “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity...”).  It is for these reasons that doctrine and trust are inseparable.  Proper trust is dependent upon accuracy of doctrine.  Your trust will be as you were directed in the message (Isa. 24:2; Hosea 4:9). 

Notice the correlation of ‘trust’ and ‘doctrine’ to ‘salvation’ and ‘worship’.  Do you ‘trust’ in the Lord?  Many sermons close with the exhortation to “trust” in the Lord.  What is meant by this exhortation and exactly HOW does man ‘trust’ in the Lord?  The Bible is replete with the phrase “trust in the Lord”.  The life of those “in Christ” is to reflect their continual trust in Him, and the sinner is exhorted to ‘trust in the Lord” upon entering into fellowship with God through Christ.  The manner in which both ‘trust’ is similar and can easily be seen from the passages that mention ‘trusting in the Lord’.  Both are dependent upon doctrine that is ‘sound’.   To those who loved “vain words” and who” sought after lies”, David admonished in Psa. 4:2, 5 to cease and, “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.”  We learn from this passage that, when trusting in the Lord, there has to be a “putting off” and a “putting on”.  The same is true of those who have answered the call of the gospel (Col. 3:8-10),

The object of man’s trust is bewrayed through speech and behavior (Matt. 26:73).  Sacrifices ‘of righteousness’ reflect that your trust is in Jehovah, for His righteousness has always been declared thru His words to man (Deut. 6:24-25; Prov. 30:5-6).  Today, His righteousness is declared in the gospel (Romans 1:17).  The object of your ‘trust’ is also reflected thru your worship.  ‘Acceptable’ worship must be “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) in order for your trust to be ‘in the Lord’.  Any worship that is NOT “in spirit and in truth” reflects that your confidence is in man.  From Joshua’s words to the people of God in his day, we see a two-fold necessity in regard to ‘trusting’ in the LORD”.  He said, “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.” (Josh 24:14)  Notice that there must not only be “serving”; but also a “putting away”.  This necessitates making a choice (see v. 15, “choose ye this day, whom ye will serve...”).  This accords with Jesus’ words in Matt. 6:24, “no man can serve two...”.  Both are necessary to trusting ‘in the Lord’, or the ‘trusting’ is only lip-service; which is condemned in the Bible (cf. Matt. 15:8-9).

As mentioned above, doctrine directly affects trust.  Doctrine must be uncorrupt, grave, and sincere in order for the trust to be placed “in the Lord”. 

As pointed out earlier, to ‘trust in the LORD’ is set forth from a positive and a negative aspect in the scriptures. 

Our desire to have our worship acceptable to God depends upon our attitude toward ‘true’ worship.  This will reveal the object of our trust.  We see this from what is stated in the psalms.  David said, in Psa. 31:6, “I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.”  How are we to understand this ‘hate’?  The Bible is its own best dictionary.  Elsewhere, we find of ‘hate’ that it means to have no fellowship with those who worship in idolatry. 

Psa. 26:5 – I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.

They are to be regarded as enemies.

Psa. 139:21-22 – Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?  I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

How are we to understand David’s hatred?  As ill-will and malice; purposing to take vengeance on them?  Again, note from these other passages in the Psalms for clarification:

Psa. 119:158 – I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands.

Psa. 119:136 – My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

Did not Jesus mention blessings upon those who ‘mourn’ about over the prevalence of sin (Matt. 5:4)?

Those who trust in idols were truly assessed by the prophet Jonah.  He stated in Jonah 2:8, “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”

Psa. 37:3 – Trust in the LORD, and do good; 

[The absence of doing ‘good’, reflects a lack of trust in God; ‘good’ is defined by God for us.  For example, Psa. 37:27 teaches that to ‘do good’ is impossible without departing from evil; departing from evil constitutes doing ‘good’.  Rom. 1 and Matt. 19:16ff teach that doing ‘good’ was always defined as obedience to what God commanded.  Jesus taught that to be ‘perfect’, we must take up our cross; “come and follow” Him.  Accordingly, the N. T. epistles define ‘good’ as being “rich in good works”, “ready to distribute”, and “willing to communicate” (1 Tim. 6:18; Heb. 13:16).  To fail to do this ‘good’, is to sin (James 4:17).

Prov. 3:5 – Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

[to trust in your own wisdom is to fail to ‘trust in the Lord’]  Prov. 28:26 calls such a person a ‘fool’.

Prov. 28:25 – He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.

[Greediness, a hot-temper, and slothfulness are all behavioral characteristics of a person who does not have his ‘trust’ in the Lord, but in himself] (cf. Prov.15:18; 13:4)

Prov. 29:25 – The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

[Fearing man more than the Lord is to fail to ‘trust in the Lord’] (See Matt. 10:28)

Psa. 37:5 – Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass.

[There can be no ‘trust in the Lord’, unless you commit your way unto HIM.  Notice in the next passage how this commitment is thru obedience to God’s word] 

Psa. 18:30 – As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

[God is synonymous with His word; to trust in God is to trust in His word]

Psa. 20:7 – Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

[Remembering the name of the Lord is one and the same to ‘trust in His word’.  Notice the next passage...]

Isa. 50:10 – Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh [in] darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.

[To fear is to trust; to trust is to obey...is teaching/doctrine a factor?]

Jer. 7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, [are] these.

[Reading the entire chapter of Jeremiah 7, we find that to offer sacrifice, while disobedient in daily living is to only lip-service and condemned]

Jer.28:15 – Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.

[Read the context here to see how/why Hananiah caused the people to trust in a lie; doing the opposite of this will cause people to trust in the Lord; WAS HIS TEACHING (DOCTRINE) A FACTOR?]  

Jer. 29:31 – Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie:

[Read the text here to see how/why Shemaiah caused the people to trust in a lie; the opposite of this will cause people to trust in the Lord; was his teaching (doctrine) a factor?]

Jer. 39:18 – For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

[Read the context to see what/how ‘trust’ was put in the LORD; was teaching (doctrine) a factor?]

Jer. 46:25 – The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and [all] them that trust in him

[How was ‘trust’ in these false gods put? Was teaching/doctrine a factor?]

Phil. 2:19 – But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.

[What did Paul ‘trust in the Lord’ for in this passage?  How would this be accomplished?] 

Phil. 2:24 – But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.

[What did Paul ‘trust in the Lord’ for in this passage?  How would this be accomplished?]

2/12/2013

rdb

A huckster or a merchant?

From a word study of "CORRUPT" in 2nd Cor. 2:17 (KJV) here is the definition and some (not meant to be an exhaustive list) passages which should suffice is showing that if the purpose for preaching is for personal gain, you are, by God's definition, a false teacher........a 'peddler' of the gospel, treating it as a mere commodity for self-gain. If however, you are a 'merchant' of the gospel, you value your product, and promote it for the great good/benefit it can do for others. 

‘Corrupt’ - definitions as follows:

"to be a retailer, to peddle"; to make money by selling anything;

 to get sordid gain by dealing in anything, to do a thing for base gain;

to trade in the word of God;

to try to get base gain by teaching divine truth;

to corrupt, to adulterate;

"Peddlers" were in the habit of adulterating their commodities for the sake of gain...

2 Cor. 2:17 – "For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ."

Motivations for preaching CAN be EVIL and cover a wide range as seen from Phil. 1:15-18, "Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice." This is why all of us need to compare the preaching we hear to see if any contexts were perverted, which will result in believing a lie.

Other relevant passages on 'corrupting.......i.e. "peddling" the gospel:

Titus 1:11 – They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.

Titus 2:7 – In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine [shewing] uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

2 Peter 2:3 – And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

2 Peter 2:14-15 – They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

Jude 1:11 - Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

Ezek. 13:19 – You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.

rdb 
copyright 2013

De-sensitized to Purity

We become de-sensitized a little bit at a time.  Some years ago, I walked into my office after a Sunday morning service to find a sandwich bag on my desk containing three chocolate brownies.  Some thoughtful and anonymous person who knew my love for chocolate had placed them there, along with a piece of paper that had a short story written on it.  I immediately sat down and began eating the first brownie as I read the following story.

Two teenagers asked their father if they could go to the theater to watch a movie that all their friends had seen.  After reading some reviews about the movie on the Internet, he denied their request.

"Ah Dad, why not?" they complained.  "It's rated PG-13, and we're both older than thirteen!"

Dad replied: "Because that movie contains nudity and portrays immorality as being normal and acceptable behavior." "But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie!  That's what our friends who've seen it have told us.  The movie is two hours long and those scenes are just a few minutes of the total film!  It's based on a true story and good triumphs over evil, and there are other redeeming themes like courage and self-sacrifice.  Even the movie review websites say that!"

"My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer.  You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over, and  watch one of the good videos we have in our home collection.  But you will not go and watch that film.  End of discussion."

The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch.  As they sulked, they were surprised to hear the sounds of their father preparing something in the kitchen.  They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, "Dad must be feeling guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to us with some fresh brownies.  Maybe we can soften him with lots of praise when he brings them out to us and persuade him to let us go to that movie after all."

About that time I began eating the second brownie from the sandwich bag and
wondered if there was some connection to the brownies I was eating and the brownies in the story.  I kept reading.

The teens were not disappointed.  Soon their father appeared with a plate of warm brownies, which he offered to his kids.  They each took one. Then their father said, "Before you eat, I want to tell you something:  "I love you both so much."  The teenagers smiled at each other with knowing glances.  Dad was softening.  "That is why I've made these brownies with the very best ingredients.  I've made them from scratch.  Most of the ingredients are even organic; the best organic flour, the best free-range eggs, the best organic sugar, premium vanilla and chocolate."  

The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teens began to become a little  impatient with their Dad's long speech.  "But I want to be perfectly honest with you.  There is one ingredient I added that is not usually found in brownies.  I got that ingredient from our own back yard.  But you needn't worry, because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your brownies.  The amount of the portion is practically insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you think. 

"Dad, would you mind telling us what that mystery ingredient is before we eat?" "Why?  The portion I added was so small.  Just a teaspoonful.  You won't even taste it." "Come on, Dad; just tell us what that ingredient is."  "Don't worry!  It is organic, just like the other ingredients."  "Dad!!!"  "Well, OK, if you insist.  That secret ingredient is carrion.” 

I immediately stopped chewing that second brownie and I spit it out into the waste basket by my desk.  I continued reading, now fearful of the paragraphs that still remained.  Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and began inspecting their fingers with horror.

"DAD!  Why did you do that?  You've tortured us by making us smell those brownies cooking for the last half hour, and now you tell us that you added carrion!  We can't eat these brownies!"

"Why not?  The amount of carrion is very small compared to the rest of the ingredients.  It won't hurt you.  It's been cooked right along with the other ingredients.  You  won't even taste it.  It has the same consistency as the brownies.  Go ahead and eat!" "No, Dad...NEVER!"

"And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go watch that movie. You  won't tolerate a little carrion in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little immorality in your movies?  We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation, so how can we in good conscience entertain ourselves with something that will imprint a sinful image in our minds that will lead us into temptation long after we first see it?"

I discarded what remained of the second brownie, as well as the entire untouched third brownie.  What had been irresistible a minute ago had become detestable.  And only because of the very slim chance that what I was eating was slightly polluted.  (Surely it wasn't... but I couldn't convince myself.)

What a good lesson about purity!  Why do we tolerate any sin?  On the day of the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to remove every bit of leaven from their homes. 

Sin is like leaven - a little bit leavens the whole lump.  (1 Corinthians 5:6)

rdb
copyright 2013

Understanding God’s longsuffering

God’s Eternal Purpose

[Doctrine & Longsuffering]

Understanding God’s longsuffering

 - "Is there a God?" 

 - "Where is God in the midst of all the evil, the pain & suffering?"

 - "Why doesn't He intervene and stop the injustice?"

All these questions reflect a concern over God coming to see to the affairs here on earth.

The Bible declares that there is nothing “new” in our present day & time (Eccl. 1:9).  What issues we face today, were faced by those in the past; we may not be aware of the scriptures that reveal this, but I am yet to find that a present-day problem is one in which we can find no scripture to apply.  It happened in the Bible w/past generations.

Consider this relevant to the questions asked above.  Have you ever heard them, or perhaps even asked them yourself?  

First, consider the question, “Why does God tarry??  This very question existed in the days of the apostles.  There was division among Christians in the first century on this matter, and THERE IS STILL DIVISION TODAY ON THE SAME SUBJECT!  The apostle Peter dealt with this in 2nd Peter 3.

Beginning with verse 15, Peter here explains why God does not ‘intervene’ and attributes the division among Christians about God’s patience with man to ignorance of God’s eternal purpose.

Long ago, king David acknowledged of God in Psalm 74:12 – “My God is of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” 

Here in 2nd Peter 3:15-18 we read these words:

“And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters.  There are some things, in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

God purposed to save man; this was according to a great eternal plan and purpose that began in eternity in God’s mind (cf. Titus 1:2; Eph. 1:3-11).

Still today, confusion and division in the religious realm exist because of ignorance of God’s eternal purpose for man.

The Bible reveals that God had a plan as to how our salvation would be accomplished.  It was purposed to be thru His only begotten Son.

Therefore, one of the most important doctrines in the Bible is HOW we get into Christ; at what point are we forgiven of our sins…i.e., how do we ‘call upon’ the name of the Lord?

Christ’s people, the church are identified by their teaching on this matter. 

rdb