When the Facade Crumbles

Prelude: I never thought I would use my blog to post something like this. However, I still hold out the hope that I will keep the “social” in social media. Just so you know, I am not aligned with a political party. I believe in God, that the Bible is His written word to us, that Jesus is the Living Word, and that we are created to bring Him glory.

I have been watching, off and on, different reports of the “protests” taking place in our nation’s capital today (January 6, 2021). This time it is not those we would label as flaming liberals, anarchists, communists, socialists, terrorists, etc. This time it is in the guise of those who would otherwise call themselves conservatives, patriots, law abiding, and, in many cases, Christians. It raises many questions such as: Why do I see more Trump flags than American flags?; Why are a law-and-order president’s supporters showing or, at the very least, allowing such disregard for law and order?; How long will it be before I hear this despicable behavior being blamed on the other side?; and, honestly now, why are people behaving in such a way that we can’t even watch “The Price Is Right” because all the major networks are focused on this embarrassment?

The gospels of Matthew and Luke record Jesus saying that a tree is known by its fruit. (Matthew 12:33 and Luke 6:44) In other words, you can hang a sign on an apple tree that says “Orange Tree” but it will still produce apples. Whatever label they may give themselves (and it does vary depending on the individual event and participants), thugs are thugs. The end does not justify the means. It never has and it never will. The facade will eventually crumble.

I also watched president elect, Joe Biden, speak during this crisis. In all honesty, I believe he was not only saying what needed to be said but he has begun to lead the nation, two weeks before his inauguration, while the current president addressed the lawlessness via a weak tweet. I am looking forward to seeing our future president’s actions match his remarks about protecting democracy.

A word of moderation: Representative MarkWayne Mullin, of Oklahoma, has shared that those committing violence do not represent the majority of the people who are pretesting and that those committing violence should be prosecuted. Agreed. Along the same lines, in the ekklesia, the body of Christ, we are charged to “purge the evil from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:13) Even though we do not ask for them to cause problems, we are responsible for policing our membership and ridding ourselves of the frauds. The same should hold for groups who raise a voice and present themselves in force. You need to be accountable for those in your midst. From the protestors in Seattle to those in Washington DC, call the evil ones out. Make sure everyone knows they are not a part of you. Distance yourselves from them.

A sentence about my observation of the network news media: During the past four years, especially the past few months, news “reporting” has unashamedly surrendered its facade to personal commentary, opinion, and negative name calling and labeling.

Finally, true followers of Christ reflect the life of Christ in their own spirits, attitudes, communications, and actions. Jesus lived in a time when His people were oppressed by Rome and their own leaders, both civil and religious. Jesus never took part in, condoned, or encouraged rebellion against authorities. He addressed the wrongs but never lost His focus on pointing people to His Father and glorifying Him. 

“One nation, under God”? Not today. Not in our capitol. Not in their hearts.

2020: Can We See Clearly?

(Written after reading Amos 4.)

Is a wildfire sent by God as punishment for sin? How about hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, famines, plagues, pandemics, and the like? Are they divine occurrences, “natural” circumstances, or permanent consequences of the fall of man (Genesis 3:17) but unrelated to mankind’s current refusal to submit to God as kurios? Is it as “cut and dried” as many think?

Where, in the Bible, did the people of God remain faithful as a whole and suffer disaster? Yes, there were individuals who remained faithful and suffered. They are heroes of the faith: Joshua and Caleb, Daniel and his three friends, Jeremiah, the disciples, etc. But their faithfulness stood out against a backdrop of unfaithfulness on the part of the people as a whole. On the other hand, the Israelites where all made slaves in Egypt and this is not specifically identified as being caused by their sinfulness but, rather, by the Egyptians wickedness (Exodus 1:8ff). Does the fact that God saved them from the plagues that fell upon the Egyptians and delivered them from that slavery negate the fact that they suffered as slaves?

From an argumentative standpoint, all have sinned and the wages of sin is death. So, we are all guilty. That argument, however, must include that many have repented and are secure in the hands of God. Sin continues but so does repentance and forgiveness. There is a distinct, important, and eternal difference between sin as a permanent foundation upon which a life is built and sin that is confessed and forgiven. King David was an adulterer, a murderer, and a man after God’s own heart. Such is possible only through God’s mercy and grace when a sinner repents.

When God forgives sin, He removes its guilt from us. The guilt penalty/price was repeatedly paid by sacrificed animals and has been eternally paid by Jesus on the cross. That is what atonement is. That is what atonement does. (Leviticus 10:17; 16:30; Psalm 103:12; Romans 4:7; Ephesians 2:5; etc.)

But people as a whole, particularly nations and specific people groups, remain unrepentant and continue to bear the penalty. When they continue in sin—denying, deflecting, and/or defending it—are they subject to God’s wrath? Would God—does God—bring punishment on them? What form does that punishment take? Did God only use plagues and disasters in nature as a punishment in Bible times? If so, what does He use now? If not, how do we distinguish between God’s wrath and, say, the natural shifting of tectonic plates or development of weather patterns?

The truth will set us free. But do we declare our own version of truth or do we seek God’s Truth?

Such thoughts and discussions can be interesting, even fascinating, and can certainly be time consuming. But we should desire that they be productive. It is vital that we focus our examination to inside the circumference of our own arms' reach. A good starting point can be Amos 5:12-15.

Decisive or Divisive… or Both?

While preparing to preach a sermon from 1 Corinthians 4:20, I read the following commentary on vv.14-21. It is copied with the citation at the bottom. I think it is safe to say that the second paragraph — "Before we trace…" — would make an "interesting" discussion starter in a group representing various denominations.
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7. Fathers and children (4:14–21)

In verse 14 Paul seems to recognize that he has been verging on sarcasm in the previous paragraph, and he pulls himself up by assuring the Corinthians that he is not trying to make you ashamed, not in any wrong way. He is not averse to arousing in them a proper sense of shame,21 but here he emphasizes that he is speaking as a father to his beloved children (14).

  Before we trace the way in which Paul sees himself as a father to the Christians at Corinth, it is necessary to stress that he does not see it as an authority-position, let alone as one invested with status. He would have known the words of Jesus himself: ‘Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven … He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.’22 The way the title ‘Father’ is given to, and accepted by, the ordained ministers of certain denominations flies in the face of this teaching. Indeed, many other sections of the church often manifest a paternalistic, over-dominant style of leadership, even if they do not use the title ‘Father’. The folk-religion which lies behind this is not nearly so serious as the unbiblical theology which gave rise to and still endorses such an understanding of status and authority in the church. This false teaching is arguably the strongest barrier to the growth and health of the church in our day. It affects church unity, evangelism, worship, lay ministry, the ministry of women, theological training. Indeed, virtually every aspect of the mission of God’s church is hampered, so long as this anti-Christian view of leadership in the church is perpetuated.

Positively, Paul sees himself as father to the Christians at Corinth (and particularly to Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, verse 17) in the sense that he proclaimed the gospel to them and was, therefore, responsible on a human level for their faith in Christ. Like any father, and because children always copy their father, he has striven to set them an example in daily life of the behaviour expected of Christians; I urge you, then, be imitators of me (16). Timothy’s task was to remind them of Paul’s ways in Christ (17). This consistent example was number one priority for Paul wherever he went (as I teach them everywhere in every church, 17). It underlines the vital importance of exemplary behaviour in the daily lives of all called to leadership in the church. The Corinthians had not seen Jesus in the flesh: they had no Bible; but they had seen Paul (cf. 11:1). Many others had pointed the way to Christ,23 but he was the first to come all the way to them with the gospel: I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel (15).

It is, then, as their father that Paul now promises to come to them. When the father has been absent from his family for some time, he wants to come home with love in a spirit of gentleness (21), not with a rod. Many of those in Corinth whom he had brought to faith in Christ were now behaving in an arrogant and boastful way, writing off him and his ministry and causing great trouble and division in the church. Paul’s fatherly heart was deeply hurt by this behaviour and something of that pain can be gauged by his comments elsewhere: ‘My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!’24

Children often make loud claims in a boastful way: it is a reflection of their immaturity. There is a lot of talk, and not very much power to put the big words into action. So Paul ends these two chapters in the same mood as he began—with a strong (and strongly-felt) plea to the Corinthians to stop boasting and to grow up: the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power (20). He does not often use this phrase the kingdom of God, so common in the Synoptic Gospels; but, when he does, it always refers to fundamentals. He does not ever explain its meaning; he accepted it as the heart of the gospel—and proclaimed it day by day.25

David Prior, The Message of 1 Corinthians, The Bible Speaks Today; ed. John R. W. Stott; Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove.: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 67-69.