Thursday, April 20, 2006
Be Careful!
(2 Peter 3:16b-17 NIV)
[16b] His (the Apostle Paul's) letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. [17] Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men ....
While spending time in the garage yesterday afternoon (I'm currently on vacation), I was listening to a couple of guys talking "un-biased" politics on WCCO 830 AM. (How can anyone really claim that??---as if any of us are purely objective.)
One of the "un-biased" guys was "challenging" one political party for laying claim to being God's party (though I've voted, in the past, in-line with this party, I was not aware of this claim ... how uninformed I am!). He went on to say how offensive it must be to God, etc., etc. He said that religion shouldn't even be mixed in with politics, but instead of letting it lay, he then continued on ... talking about how he'd studied Theology and, in his younger years he'd considered going into the priesthood, blah, blah, blah. After all that, he claimed authority on the Word of God and would challenge anybody in the political arena regarding the application of religion to their politics. He "waxed poetic" about how Jesus claims that we need to help each other, be kind, and, basically, just play nice in the sandbox together.
Like so many other clowns that boldly make biased statements without an on-hand counterpoint, he errs in his "wisdom." In this case, a liberally-biased person has chosen to forget the difficult things that Jesus preached. All Scripture is "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16-17), not just selective passages ... not counting the Old Testament as "bunk" like the radio-guy said.
When Jesus came a-callin', He "upped the ante" of the Old Testament ... calling people to account for the attitudes of their heart, not just their outward action. By going deeper, He called everyone to a level playing field ... 'cuz some of us are just better at being sneaky, or are more practiced with our "poker faces." He made statements like: if a person has even lusted after someone in their heart, they've committed adultery (Matthew 5:27-28); if anyone has ever hated someone, they've committed murder (Matthew 5:21-22). He also said that unless a man is born again, he can't even see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3).
The point that I'm trying to make is this: Anyone, and I mean ANYONE, speaking into a microphone about the things of God needs to be listened to VERY cautiously. Too many people, when they read the Word of God, are literally reading someone else's mail. They don't "get" most of the context of the book because it's a letter written by God to His children (those who are born again, not just born - John 1:12-13). Without being born again, a person doesn't have a chance of "getting it." One of God's basics is that "fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7). So please, please be careful of human opinion masquerading as "religious wisdom" ... especially now that election stuff is not far 'round the corner (this applies for all sides!).
Footnote: To become a child of God is not an exclusive privilege, but it does have a membership fee. There is a cost. But what you get in return for what you "pony-up" is beyond compare. Membership status is beyond anything we can imagine, though we do get glimpses. To become or not become a member is the single-most important thing one can decide, yet all are (or were) blinded to its importance. The cost is that which anyone can afford, but few are willing to pay. And ironically, hanging on to it is the source of every conflict we have. What is it? Pride. (John 16:9)
[16b] His (the Apostle Paul's) letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. [17] Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men ....
While spending time in the garage yesterday afternoon (I'm currently on vacation), I was listening to a couple of guys talking "un-biased" politics on WCCO 830 AM. (How can anyone really claim that??---as if any of us are purely objective.)
One of the "un-biased" guys was "challenging" one political party for laying claim to being God's party (though I've voted, in the past, in-line with this party, I was not aware of this claim ... how uninformed I am!). He went on to say how offensive it must be to God, etc., etc. He said that religion shouldn't even be mixed in with politics, but instead of letting it lay, he then continued on ... talking about how he'd studied Theology and, in his younger years he'd considered going into the priesthood, blah, blah, blah. After all that, he claimed authority on the Word of God and would challenge anybody in the political arena regarding the application of religion to their politics. He "waxed poetic" about how Jesus claims that we need to help each other, be kind, and, basically, just play nice in the sandbox together.
Like so many other clowns that boldly make biased statements without an on-hand counterpoint, he errs in his "wisdom." In this case, a liberally-biased person has chosen to forget the difficult things that Jesus preached. All Scripture is "God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16-17), not just selective passages ... not counting the Old Testament as "bunk" like the radio-guy said.
When Jesus came a-callin', He "upped the ante" of the Old Testament ... calling people to account for the attitudes of their heart, not just their outward action. By going deeper, He called everyone to a level playing field ... 'cuz some of us are just better at being sneaky, or are more practiced with our "poker faces." He made statements like: if a person has even lusted after someone in their heart, they've committed adultery (Matthew 5:27-28); if anyone has ever hated someone, they've committed murder (Matthew 5:21-22). He also said that unless a man is born again, he can't even see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3).
The point that I'm trying to make is this: Anyone, and I mean ANYONE, speaking into a microphone about the things of God needs to be listened to VERY cautiously. Too many people, when they read the Word of God, are literally reading someone else's mail. They don't "get" most of the context of the book because it's a letter written by God to His children (those who are born again, not just born - John 1:12-13). Without being born again, a person doesn't have a chance of "getting it." One of God's basics is that "fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7). So please, please be careful of human opinion masquerading as "religious wisdom" ... especially now that election stuff is not far 'round the corner (this applies for all sides!).
Footnote: To become a child of God is not an exclusive privilege, but it does have a membership fee. There is a cost. But what you get in return for what you "pony-up" is beyond compare. Membership status is beyond anything we can imagine, though we do get glimpses. To become or not become a member is the single-most important thing one can decide, yet all are (or were) blinded to its importance. The cost is that which anyone can afford, but few are willing to pay. And ironically, hanging on to it is the source of every conflict we have. What is it? Pride. (John 16:9)
# posted by jono : 8:12 PM
