Prisoner For Christ XXII: What's The Frequency?

I guess I will send a parting shot over the bow before exiting the Prison Epistles and the series “Prisoner For Christ”. It again has to do with Philemon since it is so close to my heart. Maybe this is because I have myself been reconciled to Jesus and to some people in my life that I absolutely swore I would die hating (for no reason). God can do anything and my relationship with my neighbor that I didn’t even speak to for 13 years is now my brother in Christ is the perfect example. We have been reconciled so much so that he and his wife watched my children last night as I gave a sermon to a small Lutheran congregation on the Inerrancy of Scripture. A neighbor who is also a pastor (which I never realized because I was so reprobate and screwed-up) and preaches sermons that I now listen to. A neighbor who helps me study my Greek and makes sure my sermons do not contain hidden errors that the Devil or my sin help blind me to. A neighbor that has been reconciled to me in Christ. Philemon is a letter has taken on a new meaning for me. I will never see it the same on this side of eternity or the other side.

There is no way to type these insights without a little overlap with my previous posts for Philemon. I will attempt to draw out three more poignant original ideas though. First and foremost is the idea of reconciliation which I have already slogged through. It is the idea of reconciliation not only to Jesus but also through Jesus. In being reconciled to Christ it is then easier to reconcile ourselves to others also reconciled to Christ because we have a common denominator or start point. Jesus. All humor intended here, usually if both believe and have accepted Christ, those people have a lot to talk about (an infinite & glorious God) and they’ll have a long time to do it (eternity).

When we have been saved in Christ we owe our lives to Him as well. If we owe our lives to Him we are obliged to do what He has told us to do. We are to live out our faith and keeping a brother in bonds is not the way to do it. If we have Christ in us we should all be operating at the same frequency and the frequency is “Christ”. When we are not modulated and harmonious we will clearly be out-of-sync with our brothers in Christ. The better our relationship with Christ and the better our brother's relationship with Christ the better we as humans have a chance for harmony here and now. A piece of the Kingdom then enters this domain and we have peace and a glimpse of what this world should’ve and could’ve been. Unfortunately, even the most devoted stumble in their walk and this causes interference and distortion rather than harmony. They (or we) begin to tune into the worlds frequency and tune out God’s. Although it is possible to get a signal bleed over often we just get noise. This “white noise” surfaces in the form of sin and drowns out our sanctification, our brother's and in worst case scenarios…Jesus. We cannot allow this. We always need make sure we are tuned into the needs of others and when necessary work as their advocates and make pleas on their behalf when they’re not able, which leads to my next thought…

The second insight is the plea and advocacy of a Christian brother. When I wrote about Philemon in the past I superficially touched on this but it deserved more focus. Paul appeals to Philemon for at least leniency on Onesimus’ behalf if not outright release from his slavery and bonds. Paul asks as if he is asking for himself or as Paul says it in Greek accept “him as me”. We should pray this way also. We need to include intercessory prayer in our prayer life. This also tells me something about how Paul sees others in the Body of Christ and how he sees himself. Paul clearly sees his position as a sacrificing servant. He is imprisoned yet still looks out for the well-being of Onesimus who he now has as a servant of Christ. Paul is the quintessential servant of the servants. Paul knows Onesimus is a slave (runaway) and his social position is clearly low but this holds no bearing on how he treats him. How often do we do that? Looking at others that do not make as much as we do in terms of money? They do not drive the type of car we think they ought to drive. Perhaps it is a person that labors and is a blue collar worker rather than a white. Do we snub people because they do not meet the measure of our critical (often unbiblical) criteria? Paul doesn’t do this and come to think of it, neither did Jesus. There is a lesson to be learned here for those that have not already learned it as Christian. We are all equal under Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

None is greater than any other regardless of how aloof or arrogantly they behave. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and Jesus died for all of us…blue collar or white collar, prisoner or freeman, slave or master, male or female, etc.

The final insight that I drew out of Philemon is this. It is an insight that I have seen throughout Paul’s writing. I know for a fact that I will see it outside of the Prison Epistles in his other letters because it is something that is part of Paul as a Christian. It should be part of us all. He has internalized it to the point of doing if purposefully and consciously in all his writings. He prays and gives thanks and seems to do it in equal measure. In this way he is emulating Jesus. We in turn should be doing the same. If there is a place my spiritual life falls off the cliff it’s here. I must have ADHD or some type of attention deficit disorder because I have serious problems stay focused on the task at hand when it comes to personal prayer. I believe this may be the devil seeping in through unguarded cracks trying to tear down my prayer time. I can do it and do it well for others but what I do behind closed doors in the twilight hours of God’s grace is *ahem* anemic…and I know it. I can and should learn from Paul. I believe praying through some of his prayers would be a good place to start. Perhaps if I have the Spirit upon me it will internalize and become part of who I am so that it more naturally flow out of what I am instead of feeling so forced and at times arduous. It isn’t odd for me to break a sweat before finishing an intense pleading to God because I need to work hard at it. What I can say with a positive tone is that many of my prayers get answered. Not always in the way I expect but I know they are being acknowledged by God. I guess sometimes it is by God's grace that He doesn't answer some of those stinkers I threw up is way in anger or haste much to my *chagrin*

Prisoner For Christ XXI: We're All Onesimus

Philemon is the first book I have worked all the way through its Greek...of course its only 25 verses. The first thing that stands out in the Greek perhaps more so than the English are the words revolving around slavery, imprisonment or the general idea of on being restrained, whether it be to a man or God. It is obvious Paul is being very deliberate in his use of words (as he always does) to maintain a consistency of thought and to bludgeon home a point to his reader. The following verses contain these concepts in some form.

Verse 1: (a) desmios/δέσμιος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ / Prisoner of Christ Jesus; (b) sonergo / συνεργῷ ἡμῶν / fellow-worker of us (Aland et al 560, Rienecker et al 658) or a wordplay on the idea of being a servant or slave in Christ and also a brother.

Verse 6: koinonia/κοινωνία τῆς πίστεώς /fellowship of the faith. Paul is speaking here of a fellowship or a mutually beneficial social intercourse. This is something that will not be possible if Onesimus is to remain in bonds and subjugated. This we will see surface again five verses later in the verse 11 wordplay of useless. A former state in which Onesimus was only a slave but not a brother in contrast to his current state of being useful to both Paul and Philemon in his capacity to provide fellowship or koinonia (Evans 695, Keener 646, Ridderbos 318).

Verse 7: We see two intersecting terms in this verse (a) paraklesin/παράκλησιν para meaning alongside and klesis(in) meaning to call or literally to call alongside. The obvious connection here is the comparison to the Holy Spirit’s other title as the Paraklete one of the cognates of parakleto. We see a manifestation or fruit of the Spirit here in the form of consolation or comfort in the fellowship between these men mentioned in an indirect manner by Paul. As they are all Christian and dwelling in Christ it would not be surprising to see comfort and a refreshing internal feeling of (b) anapepautai/ἀναπέπαυται (Aland et al 561, Rienecker et al 659) or as we would say in English, because of their fellowship in Christ they are comforted by the Spirit and their stomachs are not “tied in knots”, instead they are relaxed and at peace because of Philemon’s love. This is an obvious appeal to the pathos of Paul’s reader(s): Philemon and us.

Verse 9: Again we see desmios/δέσμιος: a prisoner…or idea of being detained by authority.

Verse 10: desmois/δεσμοῖς: bonds…the idea of a restraint on someone.

Verse 12: splagchna/σπλάγχνα or bowels (Aland et al 561, Rienecker et al 660) being the seat of emotion in the Hellenized world Paul is essentially saying that he is sending Onesimus as if he would be sending his own heart (Evans 697). Paul is emphatically trying to convey how important it would be for Philemon to take Onesimus back as a brother for the sake of Paul himself (Wiersbe 271).

Verse 13: (a) diakone/διακονῇ -“you be serving”- the idea of serving something greater than oneself or acting as a servant. (b) Here we now see Paul say something unique and profound contrasting Philemon’s status as a free man and slaveholder, Onesimus’ as a runaway slave and Paul as a prisoner or a person in bonds: En tois desmois tou euaggelion/ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου-“in the bonds or restraint of/for the Gospel”. This one floored me. The one who is detained unjustly in prison (Paul) for preaching the Gospel, which is a righteous thing to do, is saying this at the very core of this letter to Philemon. He is asking Philemon to please release a slave or detainee for being held unjustly…and Paul does it in a way that is morally reasonable. That is profound. He cares more about Onesimus’ freedom and well-being than his own.

Verse 16: (2x) doulon/δοῦλον - slave.

Verse 17: Again we see the idea of fellowship or unity in Christ with koinonon/κοινωνόν. We also see another plea to Philemon about the value of Onesimus being equal to that of Paul with the statement that Philemon needs to accept him back as he would accept Paul or auton os eme/αὐτὸν ὡς ἐμέ- or literally, him as me (Paul) (Aland et al 562, Evans 698, Rienecker et al 661).

Verse 23: If there was any doubt about Paul’s sematic intent concerning slavery or the idea of restraint in the letter, that doubt is soundly thrashed here. In the closing verses we see what appears to be a poignant inclusion by Paul of the names of his fellow prisoners or sunaicmalotos/συναιχμάλωτός μου ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ or “fellow prisoners of me in Christ Jesus” (Aland et al 562, Rienecker et al 661). In my opinion Paul is delivering a slight underhanded poke at Philemon to get him to realize that there are many working for the furtherance of the Gospel that are now being held prisoner or in restraint like Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke (Wiersbe 273). Being Christian, why would Philemon want to appear the same as a non-believer or like the people of the world (or perhaps even worse), by holding his own brother-in-Christ as a slave?

Of special note in this letter is verse 11 and I have singled it out because of Paul’s use of achreston/ ἄχρηστον meaning unprofitable or useless and euchreston/ εὔχρηστον meaning profitable or useful (Aland et al 561, Hendriksen 217, Rienecker et al 660). “Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.” Philemon 11. The wordplay here is not necessarily embedded in Greek so much as it is in the concept of the letter itself and Onesimus’ name which means “useful”. Here, Paul is asking essentially for leniency on behalf of Onesimus if not outright freedom now that the former slave is a believer and part of the body of Christ. He is also asking on account of Onesimus' utility and usefulness for the Lord. Onesimus initially ran away because his "utility" and "usefulness" were being used and taken for granted as a slave. He is now returning for the exact same reasons he left. The difference is Onesimus ran away serving as a slave/δοῦλον to man, he returns serving as a slave/δοῦλον to Christ (Aland et al 561, Rienecker et al 660). In short, Paul is asking that “Useful” (Onesimus) remain free because he will be more useful by being utilized by the Lord as a brother and example of Christian reconciliation, rather than being used as a slave (Hendriksen 217-218). Clever Paul, clever.

Conclusion

In the end, what looked like a misfortunate situation from man's point of view was a great outworking of God's grace and providence. It is also a wonderful example of the Christian's new life and the change it should have on the believer. Philemon is a small but very mighty book. The longer the letter to Philemon is studied the more value it produces. The return is vastly greater than the time that was put into writing it. Paul was right about Onesimus being euchreston or useful. He was indeed more valuable free than enslaved. By keeping him free it would show the true change of a person (Philemon) that becomes a new creation in Christ. Not only was Onesimus and his story useful to Philemon and Paul, it was useful to every person that has read or heard it since it was written. To God, we are all Onesimus. Runaway slaves that have stolen from God in some shape or form. Only in Christ can we be reconciled to one another and to God Himself. Understanding the letter in his manner makes the letter useful to all of us.

Prisoner For Christ XX: Grasping The Paradoxes

The irony or paradox of Paul writing this letter from prison is that he is writing it on behalf of a runaway slave. Two men that are/were being held against their will for what appear to be sinful reasoning by their holders: Slavery and preaching the Gospel. By legalities, Onesimus should still be a slave but in reality he is currently free - illegally of course. Paul on the other hand has unjustly been made a slave to a prison (Evans 693, 694, Wiersbe 270) for preaching the Gospel as is noted in verses 1, 9 & 23. Because of the Gospel, Paul has become a slave to Christ and in so doing has also had his freedoms restricted under house arrest. Had Paul actually not been in prison he could’ve rightfully taken custody of Onesimus and accompanied him back to Philemon in Colossae. Under the circumstances he had to settle for writing a letter that would eventually be read by generations of people. Perhaps we should thank God Paul was in prison, had he not been this letter probably would never have been written (Rupprecht 460).

Philemon being the master and free is being asked to restrict his worldly legal rights by allowing Onesimus more freedom of movement as a fellow worker (Evans 693) and a fellow Christian or brother in Christ (Keener 646, Ridderbos 318). Paul is effectively asking Philemon and Onesimus to become servants/slaves of Christ. Paul who is in chains literally is freed by the thought of ultimate freedom from death the promise of the Gospel and Resurrection…the very thing that he proclaims that has imprisoned him (Evans 693, 694, Wiersbe 270). By Philemon losing his slave, he gained a brother. By Philemon’s temporary loss of Onesimus as a slave, Paul also momentarily gains fellowship and a brother while he is with Paul, hence Paul’s statement in (v.11), “Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me” (Evans 695).

Philemon lost what was commonplace property but gained something much more valuable in return…a new member into the family (Kingdom) (Hendriksen 220). What was lost physically for the moment was regained ten-fold spiritually for eternity. At the time Onesimus ran away, spiritually he as worth little until he reaches Paul. When he returned he was priceless. Philemon’s loss is a gain for all Christians since Onesimus’ story now helps all Christians and has done so for the last 2000 years. Ironically, this is the same as when we lose our old lives of sin in exchange for the much more valuable gift from Jesus Christ, eternal life. To lose the world is to gain God, to gain the world is to lose God. Undergirding this all is the work and sovereignty of God. The real truth is neither Paul nor Onesimus was truly guilty of a crime of immorality or moral violation and are in bonds because of dubious reasons/reasoning. Paul was preaching the word of the Lord and Onesimus was a slave against his will. They are paradoxes that our day and age have a hard time getting their heads around. The more I see paradoxes like these in the Bible, the more it amazes and astounds me. Loss is gain and gain is loss in God’s equations.

Prisoner For Christ XIX: Proud Proclaimer or Brooding Basketcase?

One more overview of Colossians...

The New Exodus

Colossians 1:13-14 is a prelude to the “new” exodus as written by Paul.“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” Paul was framing the conversion experience for a Christian in these verses. They would be expanded upon later but in these two verses we have a plethora of imagery. Paul is tying it back to a familiar experience for the Jews and for anyone that has bothered to familiarize themselves with the overarching story of Scripture that sees God as a deliverer or one that saves. It is the overarching theme of redemption or rescue from subjugation and subjection. The subjugation for either of these analogies is either Egypt and Pharaoh or sin and death followed by condemnation. God is a rescuer from all. I think we as believers often forget this. God can save us from anything since everything is under His dominion. As he shows in our conversion, He can even save us from ourselves.

The other image here is that of light and dark. We are saved and brought from the dark into the light. This image to me is also like birth (rebirth) as we are pulled, forcefully out of a womb of darkness and sin into a new world full of light while we are still “kicking and screaming”. Through the Gospel we the “true Israel” are brought into the Kingdom promised us just as God did for the Hebrew slave/Israelites in Egypt in the first Exodus. I guess the irony here for me is the Israelites (Korah’s rebellion) bickered and squabbled with Moses about what they use to have back in the land of Egypt as if it was better. We do the same today and continue to do it even as devoted Christians sometimes. We go through lean years sometimes and we lament the loss of things we use to have never once seeing that we were selling our souls to remain in slavery to sin that was killing us physically and spiritually. God needed to actively come into our lives and extract us. Thereby through Jesus a gracious God liberates us the “true Israel” from the consequences of our own sinful nature to have a proper relationship with Him.

The New Creation

A second thing immediately follows this new exodus: The New Creation. The hymn of Colossians 1:15-20 comes into view after the lead-in of verse 13-14. Paul wishes to show us something more about this God man Jesus Christ. Paul wants to compete and put the Colossian asceticism to rest. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is over all creation. Material and spiritual realms are within Jesus’ dominion. Paul confessed that Jesus is Lord over both realms or a “cosmic Christ”. Because of this believers need to reject any teaching that that separates the two. I have totally missed this point until now. I just assumed this passage was only praise about Jesus’ character, attributes and authority. It is much more. IF Christ is what Paul says He is in this passage then to divide loyalty between the material and spiritual is to have divided loyalty to Jesus. As new creations in Christ we are reformed/reborn into a new creation we are to embody the reconciliation of all things. If the most important goal for a fallen Creation is the reconciliation of all things to Christ and to each other we see that it is achieved at the Cross. This is for me in that I often see people say that they are “Christian” yet I see absolutely no difference between their actions, motives and behaviors of non-Christians. If we or they are truly reconciled to their Maker Jesus Christ, we should expect them to at least manifest some form of signs of reconciliation or at least a little “fruit” of it. We should see at least glimmers of holiness and the act of sanctification taking place in a life in harmony with, in and through Christ. Instead we see a life of “fits and starts” that looks more like the vomit of sin than the fruit of the Spirit of one reconciled to Christ.

The New Age of Christ

To be fair to Paul and to give an honest shake to him I must complete the trilogy surrounding the glorious hymn of Chapter 1 (1:15-20). The concluding remarks of Paul’s newness and holistic unity of all Creation under Christ is in Colossians 1:21-23. What do we see? We see a new age. We have come out of the old age of sin and rebellion against God. We have come out of the old age of the Old Testament and the Exodus and we come to the new age of the new creation and a new kind of believer that is saved by having heard the Gospel rather than having heard the story of the Exodus of Moses’ time. We see that we were once totally alienated from God and His enemy because of our minds and subsequently our behavior, which is to say, all of what or who we are. But as stated before we are reconciled. To who? God! Jesus! How? Through Jesus we are saved, to have a relationship to/with Jesus, that ultimately brings glory for Jesus. He did it so that we could be with God and God meant it to bring glory and honor to His Son. Having bracketed the Christological confession of v.15-20 we see Paul conclude with an exhortation in (v.23): if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

This is where Paul becomes more intimate with his audience and makes and autobiographical note. He is a servant. As a new creation we are called to serve. God’s salvation is covenantal and in Paul’s mind this is conditioned on a response from a believer for it to become legit. The response is faith or continued faith, without which no man enters into everlasting life. This covenant now requires the believer to have faith in the redemption created in Jesus’ death on the Cross. The very power that raised Jesus from the grave raises us to eternal life. In fact no faith imperils one’s eternal existence and is considered apostasy.

Christ-less Christians Makes "-ians"

From here I move on to Colossians 2:4-15 and Paul’s argument against “Christ-less” Christian Theology. This perhaps could be the biggest oxymoron of all-time. The “fine sounding arguments” of so-called logic, wisdom and philosophy *(gagging reflex)*. Sophistry had taken the driver’s seat and man’s wisdom was being taught in the Body not God’s Word of truth. Paul clearly states they are being "deceived"  παραλογιζηται / paralogizomai and listening to "fine-sounding arguments" πιθανολογια / pithanologia. Today I believe we would call this “bluster” or “pretentiousness”. The church at Colossae had begun to merge flawed human teaching with the divine truth of God. They had made what was a simple and easy to articulate truth into some form of syncretistic gobbledygook. Paul makes it clear in his delivery of this passage and this letter, “...just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Paul doesn’t say, “turn here” and then “turn there”, “add this” and then “add that”. Paul clearly states (I’m paraphrasing for a point), just as you received Jesus, keep Him and build up your lives in Him. He does not say add this or add that. My understanding of apostasy is this…not only can it be taking something away from God’s word or doubting it…it can also clearly be adding to God’s Word. For someone to add to the Gospel trivializes the work Jesus has done on the Cross and assumes, from a human point of view, that what Jesus did…was not enough. That in my eyes is nutty. In God’s eyes is heresy and sin. Being an "ian" as a Christian is not acceptable. That just means you can attach anything you want to that suffix and then become it through human reasoning and logic. That my friends is either damnable merging of false teaching and God or it is an outright idol. Either way, it is not good news.

The bottom-line is the redemptive formula has always been the same. The results of the choice have always been the same. The claim of truth in God’s Word is simple. I personally whittled it down to a 20 second sound byte because I realize it may be the only window of opportunity I have to evangelize a person(s). The first 10 seconds sound like this:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

 The next 10 seconds sound like this:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."  1 Corinthians 15:3-4

I figure it this way, if a person cannot articulate the Gospel in under a minute, they are either saying too much or they are not saying the right thing to get the point across.

Action! Actions Not Just Words!

Finally we begin to approach the landing pattern of Paul’s letter after all this cosmic talk of Christ and His reconciliation to Creation. In Colossians 4:5-6 we have the second imperative to the church in Colossae. This new thought also carries over from my last comments. “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders. What Paul is saying here is the same thing St. Francis of Assisi said over a 1000 years before he said it. “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." Just as we should always be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15), we are called to preach the Gospel. Not only should we be able to articulate what that is in short order, we should also be able to “show it”. Telling people what we believe is good but telling AND showing them is even better. Jesus did this and so should we. Without showing it in our behavior we flirt with hypocrisy and even the Lord did not like hypocrisy and hammered the Pharisees for it. Make the most of every opportunity.

Stop Mumbling To Yourself and Just Say It!

Like I said before, you may only have 30 seconds. Can you articulate the Gospel clearly and succinctly in that time frame?

Lastly, we see a little exhortation to season our speech (and perhaps our actions) with salt. Salt or wit and insight is often the clincher in the deal with people that listen. People like other people that are intelligent enough to see the absurdity on life and laugh about it. Its life for goodness sakes, nothing is perfect. At the same time we must never forget that we communicate through our body language more than we do our words sometimes. If we are constantly moping around with our heads down and hands in our pocket proclaiming the end is nigh we do nothing to attract people to Jesus’ message through our body language. Sure as sin we will drive them away. Don’t we suppose that most people have enough emotional baggage in their lives? Why would they want to take on another neurotic or histrionic friend that appears chronically depressed and constantly sulks around mumbling about the end of the world? Even I have a hard time being around bipolar Christians. Jesus is a God of life and light, not the of God darkness and the end. He is a God of new beginnings and new creations. We are new creations created into light, not depressed basket cases stuffed into darkness. Proclaim the Gospel and smile once in a while :) !!!

Poor In The Eyes of The World

Rarely do I post things that can be construed as political in nature but this one is unavoidable. I was reading the news today and nearly spit my coffee out laughing...in a bad way. The foolhardy stupidity of this data I am about to present is beyond the pale. I imagine this post will go over like a punch in the stomach for many and I will receive some pretty stiff criticism or flack from some quarters. So be it...I'm used to it. Keep in mind that I have been guilty of these things in the past or am still guilty of some of them now. These following reflections are observations about all of us in the States (myself included). Where I believe I am moving away from said situations, I will note it, but in most cases I struggle with some of this stuff also. God is clearly moving me away from a lot of these trappings though. If He wasn't I would not even be commenting on this.

What the US Government Census Bureau defines as poverty is not poverty. The data above and below is a romanticized and ridiculous. I needed to step back and really analyze this and have come to the conclusion that we have a extremely skewed view of what bad means. In the USA our view of bad is, well, really bad. Bad by US standards is actually really good in much of the rest of the world. I will no longer complain about my situation. I have no reason to. I am blessed even in my current trying circumstances. Some of us are having a rough go of it but to say we are being persecuted as Christians...NOT. People in Africa have it bad, people in Orissa (India) have it bad. We in the United States do not. Poverty is: No food on the table like the Great Depression, no electricity, dirt floors, disease, contaminated water. Persecution is being thrown into a fire alive for your belief , amputated forcefully or beaten for hours near death as your wife and children are brutally tortured, raped and then killed. Go read the stories on Voice of the Martyrs web site if you doubt me and see if you can still hold you cookies down.

Data from the US Department of Energy and other agencies show that the average "poor" family in the US, as defined by Census official documentation is...

● Lives in a home that is in good repair, not crowded, and equipped with air conditioning, clothes washer and dryer, and cable or satellite TV service

● Prepares meals in a kitchen with a refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave as well as oven and stove

● Had two color TVs, a DVD player, VCR and — if children are there — an Xbox, PlayStation, or other video game system.

● Had enough money in the past year to meet essential needs, including adequate food and medical care.

*((Ahem))* Two color TV's? Until I was 9 (which was 1978) we had (1) one, uno, black and white TV that actually sat on top of another black and white that was doubling as a TV stand and was the size of a refrigerator.

The Census Bureau’s annual misrepresentation of poverty has spanned decades. Sadly, many claims of poverty in the this privileged nation are a product of sensationalizing not actualizing. We feel we are entitled in this country whether we will admit to it or not. I have heard many claim that "I really don't think I have an entitlement mentality". In reality even those stating this would balk at the idea of living below a given standard like we see in the rest of the world. Everyone has their price and a minimum threshold and when the hammer drops there is a point when most will say "enough, I ain't doin' that, noooo way!" Truth is, that until many are put into the situation and need to "make do" or "scratch by" much of what we hear is arrogant pretense or braggadocio. Many will not "go without" unless forced to. Why? Because they feel they don't have to or because they're "Christian" or "American" or "union" or "talented" or because of an affiliation with a party and so on and so on...blah...blah...blah (thanks for the idea Phil). Sorry folks, it's called "entitlement" or at least an expectation for a minimal living standard.

We are entitled to nothing in this life. Look at the One who was entitled to everything because it was His, and look what they did to Him. As Christians the cost of discipleship is everything. Jesus told us: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Every day we are called to die to self. Every day. Buying 2 big screen TV's is not dying to self, having two DVD players is not dying to self, video games, Xbox, hmmm... nahhh ....unless you use the Census Bureau's standards.

I didn't have video games as a kid (parents told me it would irradiate my brain or some other nonsense), no DVD, no Cable TV, no VCR, no cellphone, no computer, no Mr. Coffee. We did have a dishwasher and dish dryer and its name was Andy Pierson. I also had a few fishing poles (some hand made), friends, a BB Gun (Why da ya want a BB Gun for Andy? You're gonna put your eye out!), a Bible, a Boy Scout manual, board games with the familiar refrains "You sank my battleship!" or "It was Mr Mustard in the Kitchen with a candlestick!", a bike and a brain (I think, depending on who you ask) and an imagination. These were enough to get me through from approximately 8-16 years old until I got my 67 Mustang which I had to work two summers to afford and wrecked within a two months on Markley Rd doing 60 in a rainy night.

Until lately, even I did not know what it was to be stripped down. I use to work for a 1st tier auto manufacturer and with bonuses and benefits I was in six figures. At maximum, I am 1/5 of that former total. The difference? I have no debt and live frugally as the Bible teaches. I also turn to God first for everything before I even take my next breath. Everything.

You can live this way if you walk in faith. Of late my church has begun to read David Platt's book Radical. A book written by a mega church pastor. Perhaps I am more jaded and caustic than I would like to admit but I often wonder if he [Platt] practices what he writes about which is "downsizing" one's life in terms of finances. I wonder how much of an effect this will have on my home congregation? Is it just wishful thinking? Would people (are people going to) willingly give up the financial security, nea, give up just a little of their current life to walk more in sync with the Bible and less with the American culture? I am not even saying give up so much that it made them uncomfortable. I'm just saying an inconsequential piece that will not be noticed when parted with. Please understand I am not hammering my church, just questioning how many will actually be convicted enough to part with some toys. This is a challenge not criticism. I want these people to allow the Spirit free reign in their hearts and minds. If the Spirit of God is not free to move in these people's lives...I have my reservations about successful and consistant results.

My wife and I have parted from it all and have allowed Jesus to rebuild us from the ground up. Its not like we had much choice. This is now our lot in life. I guess we should've been more specific when we prayed that all we wanted to do was His will without asking what was actually entailed first. We forgot that sometimes doing God's will sent people to countries infested with cannibals and Malaria...and many died from dysentery and...eh...nevermind.

For anyone that hasn't gone through this "dismantling" and "reassembly"...its painful and revelatory (no Prosperity or Health and Wealth Gospel going on here, more like the Unhealthy and Destitute Gospel). What you thought you needed you don't and you find out quickly what truly matters(ed). You find out quickly that not only was the Bible right. It was incredibly accurate. Not just about things that happened in the past but things that will happen in your future if you do not obey and adhere to its statutes. You find out why God's Word tells you to store up treasures in Heaven. You find out why the Word tells you to live frugally and without debt. You find out a lot of things that you would've otherwise never known. The perspective from the servant's eyes is a unique angle. It is humbling, self sacrificing and life changing. I know now more than ever that I do indeed need to be like Christ. I know now more than ever that I need Christ. No substitute will do.

For my wife and I it hasn't been a matter of chiseling way the stone to reveal the new Christian, it has been about forming us new out of the dust we were ground down into. We are now totally dependant on His next move...and I know this is where he wants us. Dependant. According to the Census data, we are living below poverty for a two adult, two child home. I find this funny...as in har-har giggle-giggle funny. So be it...been here before. Did it before and I can do it again.

I have never been and never will be this blessed again until I am dead and face-to-face with Christ. Another truth is that I cannot really consider myself poor. The government might, and the culture might, you might, but I do not see it. What I see as being poor is those that are burdened with debt they can barely pay off. Those that never find happiness but are convinced it is at the bottom of a bottle, bottom of an empty wallet or the end of a broken marriage/destroyed family. In these situations people suffer an enormous toll spiritually as do many around them. You cannot serve (2) two masters. If you are a slave to debt or things of the world you are waging a war against something spiritual that is bigger than yourself. I pray that it does not overtake those that cling precariously to the faith. These situations are often just enough to sink people. They walk away from the church, they divorce, etc.

So here's to being real and realistic. Here's to being what we are called to be.

Servants to our fellow man and slaves to Christ. Amen. Thank you Lord for opening my eyes and making me a slave to you.

Luke 1:52-53 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.”

Luke 6:20-21 “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”

James 2:5 “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”

**chuckle chuckle*** I'm poor....lol

So I guess the real question is: "Who is really poor?"

What are God's commands concerning the poor? Please note I said commands not hopes.

Deuteronomy 15:7 “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.”

Proverbs 31:8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

Isaiah 1:16-17 “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”

Jeremiah 22:3 “This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”

Jeremiah 22:13-17 "Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?’ declares the LORD. But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion."

Luke 3:11 “John answered, ‘the man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.’"

Luke 12:33 "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."

2 Corinthians 9:6-9 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: ‘He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’

Blessings for Generosity and Helping the Poor

Psalm 41:1 “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble."

Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

Proverbs 22:9 “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.”

Matthew 19:20 “‘All these I have kept,’ the young man said. ‘What do I still lack?’ Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’"

Do Not Neglect the Poor

Proverbs 14:31 “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

Ezekiel 16:49 "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”

Amos 5:12 “For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.”

Luke 6:24 " But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort."

1 John 3:17 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”

If none of these things stirred you from Scripture you may be absent a pulse or brainwaves. Here are a few more to remind you that God identifies with the poor and downtrodden just in case you're missing the mark.

Proverbs 14:31 “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

Prisoner For Christ XVIII: Reconciled To and In Christ

My intent in this short junket of three posts is to create a comprehensive overview of Paul’s letter of Philemon addressing specific nuances I will elaborate on a little in my "Reasons: Interest in Topic". In preparation for this series I read and researched in excess of 70 pages of resource material as list in the bibliography. Clearly more than the letter itelf. Some of the sources (and I highly recommend them) are The Expositor's Commentary: Ephesians-Philemon, Herman Ridderbo's  Paul: An Outline of His Theology, William Hendriksen's New Testament Commentary: Exposition of Philippians, Colossians and Philemon and Robert W. Wall's IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Colossians & Philemon. For Greek students or those interested in the original languages I will also recommend The Nestle-Aland Greek-English Bible and Rienecker & Rogers' A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament.

Reasons: Interest in Topic

Since Philemon is one of the shortest of the letters of Paul it is often overlooked and I would like to remedy that. (No. 1) It is clear Paul writes of relationships “in Christ” in this letter. As Christians we exist in triangular relationships or triads that consist of others, ourselves and Christ. In other words: Being in Christ is foundational principle to our relationship to others as Christians. Nowhere is this more evident than in Philemon. Additionally, having come to a deeper understanding of Philemon through the course work it is hard not to see features such as (No. 2) paradoxes in the letter or fail to notice some of (No. 3) wordplay in the Paul’s Greek syntax. As such I would like to examine and investigate these and a few other nuances a little more closely.

No. 1: Reconciled to Christ

Three things stand out with remarkable clarity about Philemon: Its succinctness, its pathos (Rupprecht 454) and its dominant theme of reconciliation in or through Christ. If a person is truly “in Christ” as Paul often writes of their relationship with other believers and even non-believers is marked by love and compassion. Although there are no (major) theological treatise and nothing significantly new in its writing (Evans 689) it is an excellent exposition on what it is to be reconciled to other believers in Christ. It is about a slave named Onesimus who has run away from his master Philemon of Laodicea (Rupprecht 454) and is now in serious trouble with him (Evans 689). Runaway slaves could be put to death at the time of this writing. Onesimus is currently with and has been converted to Christianity by Paul. Paul now a pleading letter back to Philemon to urge him to reconcile himself to Onesimus as a fellow Christian and a brother instead of the former relationship of master and slave (Evans 698, Ridderbos 318, Wiersbe 271).

Paul does not aid in Onesimus’ escape but instead is sending him back to his master with a letter of recommendation to receive Onesimus. Not only receive Onesimus back but to do so as an equal. The fact that there was slavery at this time is not surprising. If Philemon was to accept Onesimus back and not punish him that would’ve at least been uncommon but for Philemon to do but accept him back as a brother “in Christ” would've been unheard of (Evans 698, Ridderbos 318, Wiersbe 271). Paul at a minimum is asking that Onesimus be reconciled to the household without severe punishment (Rupprecht 454, 462). We do not know for sure how this turned out but it is believed that it may have had a positive outcome since we have as evidence Paul’s letter to Philemon as part of the canon. We (I) need to assume things turned out in a positive manner and these men, these brothers were reconciled to one another.

Prisoner For Christ XVII: The Christian Road

As stated in Colossians 3:2-4 I have set my heart and mind on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. I myself realize I am transient on this plane of existence. Having lost my father 9 months ago and being 42 years old I am quite aware of my mortality having nearly lost it twice due to immoral and sinful behavior. I realize I am but a vesper or a puff of steam. Here one minute and then gone. But Jesus has allowed the righteous things that are not burned up in the fires of judgment to live on forever or the treasures that I will store up in Heaven. Through Him and only through Him is this possible. This fact is never far from my center of thinking. It is a motivator or inhibitor of action depending on whether or not said actions serve a Kingdom cause. When I am in doubt I will hesitate and pray unless left no other recourse. As I have died in Him I will also rise in Him. What a glorious promise this is. My 7 year old son said this to my mother today and there was not a dry eye in the car. “Mom-mom, when Jesus comes back, Pop-pop will come back too…and so will Teoni [our dog], and we can all be together again” Grown men that have been through the mill can cry as I was a testament to that today. “Yes Seth, someday we will all be back together again…someday.” The truth exuded from the innocence of youth. I have applied this in my life to the extent that it is now starting to manifest in my children also which is not surprising since what a person believes they pass on to their children. Even my 7 and 4 year old son know that there is nothing more important in Daddy’s life than Jesus and praying to Him either alone or with them.

I do not want suffer the wrath of God since I believe I understand how severe this might be. I chose a while ago to walk the path of the righteous since it is the only path I am comfortable walking at this point in my life. Because of passages like Colossians 3:5-11 and others like it I kill Andy every day. I have to, otherwise he gets the upper hand and the sinful nature overtakes the new man I am trying to become. Each and every one of us has problems with our sins. Plural people, sin-sssss but there is always the one sin, the entrenched one we try to deny or downplay that always causes us to stumble. For some it is sexual immorality, others impure thoughts or lust and still others putting yourself or others before God. Whatever the weakness we are called to walk in a new way not held under the sway of the sin as we have a power above it…Christ Jesus.

I find that as long as I keep Christ as the forefront of my thoughts or the things that He did in similar situations I am better off. Perfect? No. But I try…and that is the bugger of it. Sanctification is a process. Sometimes slow and sometimes erratic but it is a process. We're called not only to put off the sin and ill-motivated behaviors but we are actually called to step up to the challenge of being even better than “okay”. Just reaching the level of “not being a jerk” does not make a good Christian. We must leave the “not being a jerk” so far behind us in the rear view mirror that it is no longer visible from our new vantage point. The problem I see with many including myself (especially the first years or so after my conversion) is that I was stuck in spiritual neutral racing my engine in the parking lot of “strictly average Christian”.

The reality is (and we read it in the next verses Colossians 3:12-17) I should’ve been out on the Christian road singing Amazing Grace encouraging people to follow along as I was following the road signs to holiness or “Heaven-Next Exit”. Showing them through my righteous behaviors such as kindness, gentleness and patience that this road I am traveling is indeed “as cool as it looks”. Instead I found myself (and sometimes still do) judging others because they did not do the things the Bible said but not for lack of trying. They were not trying as hard as I was to be “good” and “doing the right thing” the way I thought they should. I became legalistic and impatient with people. “What is it with you people?!?! Why are you moving so slow, can’t you see Heaven its straight up ahead? Why wouldn’t you want to be speeding towards Jesus?” I began to realize that people move at different spiritual speeds and frankly, sometimes people miss or grind a gear accidentally. I also realized that for me sitting idle doesn’t cut it and does nothing to further the Kingdom. It just continues to allow the advance of the thugs from the dark in my rear view. It was at this point I realized I need to go at my speed but be patient with others and not force them to ramp up to speed with me. I needed to bear with them. I would’ve been like asking a turtle to sprint with the hare. I realized I need to patient before there could be any forward progress at all...for them or me.

Since I have begun to let the peace of Christ rule in me I know when to move and when to be idle. I recognize when it is time to “tromp on it” with people and when I need to "stomp on the brake" or back off so I don’t get them angry for tail-gating them constantly trying to get them to speed up. “Jesus! Jesus!!! JESUS!!!!...oh, sorry, didn’t realize I was riding your bumper....my bad.” It was about and still is about unity. Working together to find a middle ground so we can all get along. Its about Christ. If I was truly progressing in my sanctification and was as Christian as I said I was I should’ve been Christian enough to realize by behavior at the time was causing disunity. I seek first unity in my relationships and have now learned to back off. I now know that not everyone wants to read Charles Hodge's or Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology and nor do they have to. To expect others to do this is the equivalent of running people over with a steamroller.

Prisoner For Christ XVI: Spiritual Oak

I have completed the reading of Colossians chapter 1 and 2 and the supremacy of Christ is the divine hammer blow to start things off in Colossians 1:15-20. Hymn or not this is easily the most powerful statement about Jesus Christ other than those of the Kenosis, Hebrews 1 and John 1. I often get sidetracked in this life and lose focus on things that are important. I need only come back to this verse to regroup and reorient my head. If I become to heady or high-minded I can read that Jesus is over all Creation. If I am in Him and He is over all than the things I encountered more than likely have occurred for my eternal well-being and other believers also because He is sovereign…over all.

If I struggle with the physical things of this world I know that God trumps this and does so for my well-being (visible). I know that if I struggle with the things of the spirit (invisible), here too I am defended with an impenetrable grace of Christ Jesus. And God knows, I have my doubts and times of “down-and-out”. Life can and often has dragged me like a dog on a leash tied to the bumper of a car. These hardships often lead on to wonder, “Where is He?” I pray in these moments and read Colossians and Philippians. This is reassurance I can get nowhere else and from no One else. I know that He will work things to the good of my salvation and others because this brings glory to God. Our salvation is ultimately to His glory. I know that to reach mountain peaks a person must often walk through low spots in a valley to gather strengths and endurance. In a strange way we are often reconciled to Jesus in our suffering. It is also through His suffering that we are reconciled to God and granted eternal life. In this commonality that we share with Jesus that we are afforded the very means to be the most like Him. By sharing in his suffering and death we share His eternal life because we know that He is over all…even death itself.

This in turn leads us to the idea of Paul’s or our suffering for the Church in Colossian 1:24-29. Paul speaks in these verses to what I have already alluded to, we suffer as Christ suffered. His suffering produced the Crucifixion and the glorious Resurrection. Our sufferings bring glory to God. How? Because we remain the Church if we remain as believers. In our steadfastness of faith under adversity and suffering we project the fruit of a true Christian. This is what I take from the enigmatic portion of Scripture. All the work and suffering necessary to appease God’s wrath and justice was put up for us by Jesus and nothing more needs to be done. But in our suffering to maintain our faith we thereby are being stalwart adherents of the faith and unshakable stones in the “walls” of the Church. By enduring for the sake of Christ we build an unshakable Church. I will walk the extra mile or take the extra lash for the sake of the Church. I will expend the effort and the sweat of my brow to show that, yes indeed, the Church is worth working on and suffering for. We have a price to pay and a cross to bear in this life if we are Christian. A person does not take up his or her Cross unless they are willing to die to self to give for others. When we do this side by side with other Christians and with the mind of Jesus Christ, which I try to do as often as I can, we mature not only individually but communally. That my friend is a true Church.

This then leads to the last of my personal applications and that is our spiritual fullness in Christ of Colossians 2:6-15. Instead of being filled with the spiritual junk food of the world we need to be filled with Christ. The text is clear here we obviously received Christ Jesus as Lord is we are Christian we must continue to live our lives in him. It is here that we push down deep sturdy roots in the faith so that we can send up strong branches for others to seek shelter under or to use to hold others up. If we do not send down deep roots we are in jeopardy of being blown over by every stiff wind (false teaching/philosophy) that blows our way. We need to be spiritual oaks in a windstorm. I personally have set out to make this one of my characteristics. My male role models including my father were spiritual oaks with thick course outer bark but soft core wood. Spiritual oaks with trunks as thick as trucks but arms/branches that reached the ground low enough for children to climb into for shelter during a storm. Ironically, I imagine this is how it was when my father died. When he went home he went to be in Jesus arms, the fatherly oak with the Creator of the oak tree, God Himself. I am thankful I had a role model like pop who was not ashamed to show his love first for Jesus and then for others. I do the same. Strangely, I believe this is the case as my pastor told me a “hard nut to crack” that was at a recent inner-city Bible sports camp showed up at Church this past Sunday. Many attributed his presence to a friends interaction and my interaction with him. They believe it was because we pulled no punches with him. It was also because something had reached through to his daughter and she too wanted to attend too. He told me about how “this” and “that” had happened in his life and his life was now a wreck. In simpler words I told him that he needed to live in Jesus and be built up in him. I told him it would strengthen him in the faith. I explained to him that his moments that were the bleakest he had probably been his farthest from God. I told him I had gone through the same type of things and learned to abide and seek fullness in the Lord. I told him I didn’t bend every which way the wind blew but stood straight. I also said to him that the world makes us think we want things that we really don’t. That he needed to stop aspiring to the things the world wanted of him to do and aspire to the things God wanted of him. This is a direct tie in to, “see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” I believe this man may have thought he was truly Christian but what I saw was a mish-mash of worldly mores and partial Christian philosophy. What I believe I saw was Christianity crossed with secularism…in other words…a contemporary form of syncretism. The very same syncretism I was once lost in but left to pursue Jesus full-on.

Poignantly, many of the folks that saw my conversation with him could see that when I began to speak of Jesus and His love for mankind and His story of redemption…they said my “eyes lit up like a fire”. They said this guy lit up too and came alive (v.13: God made you alive with Christ). I saw it in him too. I literally saw the Spirit come on this guy. Like the snap of a finger, it happened that quickly *SNAP* …just as it had happened to me. The Spirit bled over. On Sunday July 10th the dude showed up in the back of church with his tattoos and facial piercings on display but also wearing a golf shirt, khaki shorts and pair of penny loafers. Thanks to Jesus Christ the One that is over all. Perhaps we have another that will join us in the Kingdom? 

"Isms" That Aren't...

I've compiled a list of "Isms" that aren't Christian. These are the most prevelant and the most virulent "Isms". They are poison to a Christian and a Christian congregation. They need to be rooted out and stomped on until they stop moving or until they're dead. Kill Isms dead  before they kill you.

Secularism:

This is when the Christians or those that call themselves Christian do not behave any different than the people around them in the world. They are indistinguishable from one another. It is when we adapt or incorporate the worlds methodologies for “doing church”. Personally I see this as the churches that latch on to the next big fad like: The Purpose Driven Church, The Prayer of Jabez and of late it has been Rob Bells book Love Wins. It will also be the "next big thing" and the "next big thing after that" or some other nonsense that does more to detract from Christianity and polarize those within it than it does to attract people to Christianity and bring people together. The powers and principalities of this world are good at fomenting division and allowing strife to fester by drawing off our resources to address secular distractions and heal wounds. Personally, I hate the distractions. Life is short enough, I do not want to waste it chasing chimera. Christianity differs and needs to differ in that it is not driven by the culture. If anything, for Christian culture, it should be driven by the Christian Bible. Instead we teach gimmicky trendy books more latched into the world than they are to God. We teach the latest religous craze rather than the Bible. We are to engage the culture, not embrace it.

Legalism:

The Proverbial Pharisaic attitude and the fencing off of the law with additional rules that need not be there to “protect” the Law (lol). Any additions to God’s mandates, statutes or commandments do not a good Christian make. Stripping down the heart’s desires so that only the things of God surround it...does. This is why Jesus made statements like, “You have heard it said…but I say to you…”. You don’t need rules piggybacked to the Law you just need to obey the Laws that are “already on or in the Book. “I did not come to abolish the Law, I came to fulfill it” Jesus said. Christianity is what Jesus was describing, obey the Law at its true intent and you would not need the superfluous rules of men. Of course we understand that no man has this righteousness nor is it produced by human effort. It is only through the Spirit of God out of the work of Christ. Otherwise works become a focus on self-effort supplants divine grace and encourages pride rather than humble dependence.

Externalism:

Ugh…outward piety…*(vomit reflex)*…another staple of Pharisaic behavior. God doesn’t want arrogant aloof holier-than-thou’s. How do you suppose dopes like this win people into the Kingdom? Truth is, they usually don’t. I see this often in Christian circles. After years of being told they are to be different from the world, kids grow into young adults and become haughty, arrogant and unapproachable. They went from different to indifference in a conscious choice to avoid the lowly “sinners”. This isn’t the “different” Jesus was talking about. It was and is to be a humble difference. We are not to conform to the sin or reprobate nature of the world, but neither are we to ignore our own sin and pretend we do not have any. This is hypocrisy and quite frankly, nauseating to see in other “Christians”. We are to be humble and different because we realize just how sinful we are and seek to avoid being called out knowing out depravity. We are called to serve not be served. To be helpers of the church not an emotional and fiscal drain on it because of a lousy attitude. The best line I read about this attitude is this, “no man can effectively play two audiences.” Those audiences are God and men. As Christians we are here on this earth to do what God wants us to do, not what the culture pressures us into with its shallow and deceptive philosophies.

Emotionalism

You know you know them. They are the ones in the fellowship that know they are right because God sent them a sign that also manifested itself in a "feeling" they had. This is like the reverse of gnosticism or a secret knowledge of God. This is thinking you are getting a revelation or message on the Batphone from Commisioner Gordon but instead of the Commisioner it is God and the Batphone. Its a tingling sensation that runs up your spine and makes your hair stand up on end and gives you goosepimples. Now far be it for me to say that all emotion in worship, prayer and praise is errant. I would never be so presumptuous as to do that. But every Sunday worship service? Please. I know for a fact that many services purposely do certain things to solicit these types of sympathetic response(s) from worshippers, clever lighting, sensuous music, and uplifting liturgy and even occasionally incense and other sensory stimulus (fake cry...how do they do that?). For a person to rely solely on ones feelings is manipulation by emotion an quite frankly dangerous. What does the Bible say? We are to discern...with our minds too! What did the Bereans do in Acts? Emotions? Fine, have at'em but please please please...THINK TOO! Its why God gave you a brain and commonsense...or maybe He didn't give it to everybody?

Materialism (The Ism of All Isms):

Materialism attaches more value to material goods than they rightly deserve. At materialism’s root is anxiety bred by a preoccupation with money and instilled or perceived value of an item. Strangely, some of these values we can instill in these objects can even be spiritual. The worldly attitude is “he that dies with the most toys wins”. This couldn’t be any farther from the truth. As the old saying goes, “once your dead you can’t take it with you” and we are told that you never see a U-Haul hitched to the back of a Hearse. It is about having messed up priorities and worrying about things of the world that just don’t matter.

We are told straight away that we are not to lay up treasures that are of this world and can perish. We are to store up things for heaven or the Kingdom as that is all that will be left after judgment anyway. We are to value the things the Bible tells us are worth valuing, not what the world tells us to value. Most often these two types of things are literally opposite anyway. They are traveling at high speed in opposite or 180 degree directions. A Christian should pursue knowledge of God, love, and things becoming of the Kingdom.

Another way of seeing this is:  Spending money you don't have on junk you don't need at the cost of your soul.

Misdirected Effort-ism

Misdirected effort is the error of passing hasty and critical judgment on others before having all the facts or in an act of unwarranted piety. We in and of ourselves and our own criteria are not qualified to pass judgment of other’s deeds without discerning first what their motives are. Often acts themselves do not betray what is in the heart. Sometimes people do things by mistake with the best intentions and look like a jerk anyway as was the case in the example of the Thanksgiving turkey.

A man worked in an office where every year the boss gave each employee a turkey as a bonus for the holiday season. Of course, the bachelor could never figure out what to do with his ‘turkey.’ One year the other fellows in the office decided to play a little practical joke on their friend. They exchanged the genuine item for one made of plaster. They could hardly wait to hear his report after the holidays.

On the way home on the bus that evening the young man was contemplating how he could dispose of his turkey. About this time a man in tattered clothing, obviously "down in his luck" sat in the seat beside him. In the course of their conversation, the young man began to perceive the solution to his problem—he would give this poor fellow his turkey. It would meet a real need for this fellow and his family, and it would solve his problem, too.

In order to avoid humiliating the man he decided that rather than give the turkey to him as charity, he would sell it to him for whatever he could pay. The man gladly produced the last of his money and the exchange was made. Both men parted rejoicing. But when the bachelor returned to the office, he was horrified to learn of the trick which had been played on him, and the terrible deed unknowingly done to the poor man on the bus. For days, the young attorney and his friends rode that same bus to rectify their error, but no one ever saw the man again.

This story illustrates the principle laid down by our Lord that we are not qualified to pass judgment on the deeds of others. If we were to judge this young man by the act itself, we would conclude that he was a absolute scumbag. If we were to judge him by his motives, we would have to regard him as a wise and benevolent individual.

Discerning though is acceptable and often required, especially when the person is clearly in error and in need of correction. Unfortunately in our age any judgment for any reason is considered unacceptable. This is just foolishness. Nor is it wrong to think critically, otherwise how would we know when we are just being flat out stupid and gullible to the next gimmick or trick to steal our money, identity or worst of all…our soul. The Devil will not be telling us the truth while he is lying to steal our souls. Being critical on the other hand as a Christian is a no-no though. More often than not the criticism arises out of an impure heart or impure motives. It is the passing of judgment itself that God frowns upon, not the discernment. God frowns upon that exact moment that we make ourselves the higher authority over another and deem ourselves better than or good enough to decide when we focused only on the outward rather than the inward or made a judgment call based on limited or distorted information. “He or she did this they are evil and a jerk”. Someone can know that for sure and not be God? Even when we do it with a pleasantry attached, “I love you and think you are the greatest…BUT…..” Sorry folks, there aren't any "buts" in love.

We are still on shaky ground. It is only when we are firmly planted in God and the Word that we are anywhere near where we need to be to make a legitimate call. We walk a tightrope between opposites and can quickly find ourselves on the outside looking in if we are not firmly root in God and His Word (more on this in my post: "We're Not Suppose To Judge Others, Right?"). Instead of laying into others about their failings most often we are better served going to prayer.

Much of that which is done in the name of Christianity is unprofitable and detrimental because it is mis­directed and misguided. Matthew 7:1‑5 warn us of one type of misguided effort, criticism with no foundation in fact or the Bible. Hypocritical judgment. Matthew 7:6 on the other hand cautions us not to carry this to the opposite extreme by insisting that we discriminate between receptive listeners and hardened rejecters. Matthew 7:7‑11 instructs us to redirect our efforts in the practice of persistent prayer. Finally Matthew 7:12 concludes with a principle which ties together the entire section and guides us in our relationships with our fellow man.

Mistaken Identity-ism

The mistaken identity or mistaken idea is that all religious roads lead to heaven. Wrong. Regardless of what Rob Bell says about Hell, it is real, and it is permanent. Just because some people don’t want to believe in a place of eternal separation from God doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, it just means there are a load of duped people walking around in the world. Atheists, agnostics, evil or bad people do not have the market cornered on Hell. There are plenty of religious people in hell too. If you do not believe in the work that Jesus Christ did on the cross and you are still a religious person, you are a good candidate for the “religious dude in Hell” label.

Believe it or not salvation is not for everybody. Jesus said, ““Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.”

Only a few find it. I believe we will be surprised by who makes it to heaven. I think we will be even more surprised to see who doesn’t. As humans we make too many assumptions about our “goodness” or “righteousness” never once comparing them to what the Bible has to say about it. Therein lies the fatal mistake. We judge and assume by our standards…and we are mistaken.

Religion: Man’s effort on behalf of himself to reach God.—False Christianity

True Christianity: God’s effort on behalf of man to help them reach Him.

Christians need to stay ever vigilant to the swarm of "isms" that surround us every day. They hover most times just out of reach. Occasionally when they think we're not looking they come buzzing in to sting and torment us. It is at these times that we need to take out the spray or the swatter and kill them so they do no damage. Those nasty "isms" spread a venom called sin. We need to make sure we do not purposely allow that to happen. We need to protect ourselves and those we love from those stingers.

Jesus! Kills Sin Dead!

τοῦ σταυρός

τοῦ σταυρός [tou stauros]: The Cross

I have been hammering away through the Chirstology class and the Prison Epistles over the summer like a carpenter hammering nails into wood and sweating over his work. In my single-minded focus I have tried to assure continuity and flow of the interpretations until I've reached John and Philemon respectively. Many of the Gospel and Epistle examinations have been from odd angles or not so run-of-the-mill thought processes but this is intentional. Mostly this has been done to get people to see Christ in some of it when I write about it in this blog. I want people to see the New Testament anew.

Occasionally in the intense focus, figuratively sweat gets in my eyes and I am forced to stop the task at hand to wipe the blur and when I do I see some of what I have already observed in depth from a new "angle". Such is the case of the Cross. I cannot ignore or neglected Jesus as I push, pull and wrestle with the Gospels or Paul's letters. I uncover Jesus everywhere. I needed to break up the tedium of Israel's failure, repentance, failure, repentance so I chose to do a list of paradoxes of the cross of Jesus Christ. It is where the entire Bible converges anyway...on Jesus.

First, when I say the cross I mean Jesus Christ because it is the work that Christ did on the cross that saves all of humanity not the wood of the cross or the iron nails themselves. For the purpose of this examination I will treat them synonymously. Secondly, when I say antithetical parallels I mean that some things are or appear to be made out of opposing forces/opposing sides or what appear as apparent contradictions when in reality they are not contradictory at all, they actually compliment one another. The idea and fulfillment of the cross may defy human intuition but the idea of a cross as salvation is perfect in its irony and isn't of human origin, is it? Some of the following statements by their nature are paradoxical and can often times appear at odds but if they are anything they end up being ironic in their profound truth. They make us sit back as believers and say, "YEEEEAAHHHH, that was awesome!" or "Ida never imagined that in a million years, whodda guessed?". God would have and did. As God has clearly stated in the Bible:

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." ~Isaiah 55:8-9

The Cross...A place where the differences between the holiness and divinity of God comes together with the sinfulness and fallen nature of man.

The Cross...Where the most infamous instrument of torture, defeat and death is transformed through a Divine act of metamorphosis into the ultimate symbol of victory & life

The Cross...It is simultaneously a symbol of God's holiness and love while also being the outpouring of His justice and His wrath towards the sin of humanity.

The Cross...In the end it will be seen as the ultimate symbol of peace for man's eternal soul while at the same time it is the ultimate symbol of violence and hostility towards the evil of sin.

The Cross...physically absorbed the blood of the beaten and crucified Savior just as the Savior absorbed the sins of men beaten and defeated by sin with His blood.

The Cross...Where one payment of blood propitiation sacrificed by one God-man in one day balances the debt on an entire history of sin for all of eternity.

The Cross...It is the location of the death of Christ in human form and is the birth of eternal life for humans in The Kingdom form.

The Cross...It is where man goes to drop off his sin in exchange for the righteousness Jesus left there for us to pick up in return.

The Cross...All of the Old Testament theology and converges at the cross. All of the theology of the New Testament diverges after the cross.

The Cross...Is where all of the shadows and typologies of the suffering servant of the Old Testament become flesh and all of the sins of the flesh can become shadow.

The Cross...It was where justice was metered out to a just God-man unjustly so that the measure of an unjust man would be viewed justly and righteously by God.

The Cross...Where the Jewish patriarch's become more than just Jewish examples of faith, they become Christian examples of faith too.

The Cross...Where the Eternal Lamb of the Gospels (entire Bible) visually and historically becomes the Eternal Lion of Judah in Revelation so that, in the end, the lion can lay down with the lamb.

The Cross...Where the pain of the suffering servant is exchanged for the exaltation of the Father.

The Cross...Where humanity has the choice to stop being slaves to sin and become free In Christ and to serve Him for His glory and our reward.

The Cross...It contained three nails that restricted the movement of Jesus while He was still alive, just as the sin of men, who put Christ on the cross, restricted them from truly being free in the Lord. Jesus overcame it all, sin, nails and even death. The three nails that temporarily imprisoned Jesus' body to the cross gives us freedom and liberty eternally.

Okay, lets stop here, take a breather and ponder the nails for a second before I wrap this up...

From a purely geometric point of view a cross is literally where two paths or lines meet at perpendicular angles completely opposed to one another to form a single object. Let me restate that: "It is a union of two entities converging on single point physically and chronologically". An image of reconciliation of two objects at variance with one another. A union where a flawed creation is allowed to come in relationship with a perfect Creator God. That meeting point or union where these two things cross over is firmly planted in righteousness and holiness through justification. A righteousness that is imputed through the work of the cross and the flawed creation accepting that fact.

It is more than ironic that all of these antithetical examples are mostly examples of things that overlap nearly at odds with one another but yet they meet at a crossroads of sorts. Through God's infinite mercy and grace even the most divergent people can meet and find unity in the cross. This isn't the product of man's plans or mans imagination. How could it be? It is so profound that it could only be something that was revealed to man not created or imagined by him. The cross is also a crossroad in that: when a person reaches the cross they have to make a decision "left" or "right" at the cross it is "righteous" or "unrighteous", "Heaven" or "Hell", "saved" or "unsaved". What a person cannot do is not make a decision. After the cross we will continue to make these types of decisions also as we navigate a world that is always tempting us to make decisions that are the unrighteous ones in our wandering path of sanctification and pursuit of holiness.