What does it mean to be unchristian? It could mean being uncharitable, thus acting contrary to Christian teaching. It can also mean being non-Christian, in other words not being a Christian. The prefix ‘un’ often has the idea of undoing. Has there ever been a time when Christianity has been undone- undone to the point that it becomes unchristian? Sadly this has and is happening.
-
There was a time when the Bible was believed by all who called themselves Christians. That is no longer the case. Much has changed over the last couple of hundred years with the advent of modernism/liberalism within the churches. A major characteristic of this movement was a denial of the supernatural. Biblical narratives such as Jonah and the whale and the parting of the Red Sea were said to be just stories and not real events. The argument was that they either did not happen or had just been exaggerated. It was essentially a denial of the Word of God.
-
These so called scholars often suggest that key doctrines of the Bible are accurate, but science and history are not. Some would even lie and state that the Bible teaches a flat earth, when in fact the Bible actually teaches that the earth is round. The first part of Isaiah 40:22 says, “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth.” I am simply giving this example to show how the Bible is slandered. Further, archeological discoveries continue to affirm the accuracy of the Bible and its history. The same could be said about science (actual provable experiments, not theories).
-
So what happens when only part of the Bible is accepted as inerrant? People are not dumb. If we cannot trust all of the Bible, why should we trust any of it? Had the scholars simply come out and said that we can’t trust any of the Bible, they would have immediately been run out of the church as heretics. Yet once you give room for error in the Scriptures, you are essentially saying that the Bible cannot be trusted. Once that happens, precious fundamentals of the faith are soon denied. Soon evolution is being taught. The resurrection of Christ is denied along with His deity (fact that He is God). Soon it is taught that your eternal destiny is not even affected by whether or not you are a Christian. In fact, the existence of heaven and hell are even denied. At this point, Christianity ceases to be Christian.
-
Seminaries like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton once stood for the truth of God’s word. They were established to train pastors. Today they are totally secular and often in opposition to Scripture. Many of the less known seminaries are not any better. The denial of the Bible as accurate has taken over and that teaching has been passed on to the pastors that fill the pulpits.
-
Can you imagine that churches would send their pastors to be trained in places that deny that you should trust your Bible? As crazy as it sounds, that is exactly what has been happening in many denominations. No wonder so few pastors are able to clearly teach the Bible. Why teach it if you don’t even believe it?
-
About a hundred years ago, many men across a broad denomination spectrum began to sound the alarm about the denial of basic fundamentals of the faith. They became known as the fundamentalists. They were not a new movement. They were the ones who stood where Christians have stood throughout the ages. I am among the remnants of traditional Christianity throughout the ages. I still believe the Bible. I still preach and declare every word of it as from God. This is not some new novel idea, rather it is basic to what it really means to be a Christian. That is why we are often called “fundamentalists”.
-
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Timothy 3:16
-
“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” Romans 3:4
-
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” Romans 16:17
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
FEAR GOD
The thunder rolled the lightning struck
Thick the cloud, loud the trump
The Lord came down with fire and smoke
He showed His power before He spoke
The ground did quake as did man
Then spake God, the Great I Am
He gave commands, ten spoke out
And wrote in stone so no doubt
They moved back with fearful zeal
Their fear of God, it was real
Oh that there were such a heart in man
That he would fear & obey command
Observe ye now to do therefore
Fear the Lord as those before
From Exodus 19-20 and Deut. 5
Thick the cloud, loud the trump
The Lord came down with fire and smoke
He showed His power before He spoke
The ground did quake as did man
Then spake God, the Great I Am
He gave commands, ten spoke out
And wrote in stone so no doubt
They moved back with fearful zeal
Their fear of God, it was real
Oh that there were such a heart in man
That he would fear & obey command
Observe ye now to do therefore
Fear the Lord as those before
From Exodus 19-20 and Deut. 5
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
I've Got Culture: Agri-Culture
When I was still on the farm, I saw a shirt that got my attention. The slogan on the shirt read, “I’ve Got Culture: Agriculture.” I considered getting that shirt but instead opted for one that had a farmer standing in a field with the words, “Out standing in his field.”
-
As I reflected on the farm humor of days gone by, I was reminded of the whole concept of culture in general. Often right and wrong is assessed based on cultural relativism, or cultural ethics. The problem with such an approach is that it allows culture to determine right and wrong rather than God. We must not forget that good and evil, right and wrong are determined by God, not us. We are not allowed to redefine it. Abraham Lincoln once asked, “If I call my dogs tail a leg, how many legs does my dog have?” His answer, four! My dog only has four legs no matter what I call his tail. Calling a tail a leg does not make it a leg. Calling something acceptable does not make it unsinful.
-
As we consider the subject of cultural relativism, is it acceptable to suggest that some cultures are morally inferior to others? In our multicultural society, such a suggestion is prone to bring about accusations of bigotry and even racism. We must understand that in some cases it is only right to point out the shortcomings of a culture. For example, the Children of Israel were warned about a cultural practice of their neighbors the Ammonites who sacrificed their children to the false god Molech by burning them in fire. “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 18:21. Few would disagree that the culture of child sacrifice is evil.
-
The example of the Ammonites is relatively benign for us today, for I do not know of many people who still worship Molech. Therefore I can use that example and not ruffle too many feathers. What about a culture that encourages its children to strap bombs to their bodies and blow themselves up in crowded public areas with the purpose of killing as many people as possible? What about a culture that prides itself in honor killings of relatives who they feel have disgraced their families and culture? From a Biblical perspective, not only must I condemn the religious beliefs of Islam, but also the culture of violence. Some would call me intolerant for such a statement. That’s okay with me, let me go on record that I am intolerant of murder. What is more intolerant, writing about those we disagree with or killing them? A culture of intolerance that leads to murder is something we all must be concerned about.
-
I am saddened that the debate over culture often leads instead to a debate over race. Many Muslims are Arabs, but we must not come to the conclusion that all Arabs are more evil than anyone else. The issue is not their race, but what values they embrace.
-
Many of those same issues come up when we examine the values of some of our inner city cultures in this county. For example, a culture that encourages drug use, out of wedlock births, and violence should be spoken against. Sadly, instead of speaking against such a culture, many speak against a race. These behaviors are wrong no matter what races are involved in them. Further, not every person of a particular race does those things, and it is wrong to imply they do.
-
At the same time, it would be just as wrong to ignore the sinful characteristics of a culture just because of a fear of offending a certain demographic within our society. What I am suggesting is judging a culture by the content of its character, not by the color of its skin. -
What about the culture of our own small town agricultural area. It is easy to pride ourselves in our small town values, yet culture relativism has crept in here as well. For example, we live in a culture where premarital sex (fornication) is accepted. We live in a culture where our possessions have become our gods. We live in a culture were divorce and adultery are all too frequent. We live in a culture where we covet and want whatever someone else has. We live in a culture where it is not uncommon for our citizens to get drunk.
-
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
-
It is time for people to reject their cultures and embrace God.
-
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3.
-
As I reflected on the farm humor of days gone by, I was reminded of the whole concept of culture in general. Often right and wrong is assessed based on cultural relativism, or cultural ethics. The problem with such an approach is that it allows culture to determine right and wrong rather than God. We must not forget that good and evil, right and wrong are determined by God, not us. We are not allowed to redefine it. Abraham Lincoln once asked, “If I call my dogs tail a leg, how many legs does my dog have?” His answer, four! My dog only has four legs no matter what I call his tail. Calling a tail a leg does not make it a leg. Calling something acceptable does not make it unsinful.
-
As we consider the subject of cultural relativism, is it acceptable to suggest that some cultures are morally inferior to others? In our multicultural society, such a suggestion is prone to bring about accusations of bigotry and even racism. We must understand that in some cases it is only right to point out the shortcomings of a culture. For example, the Children of Israel were warned about a cultural practice of their neighbors the Ammonites who sacrificed their children to the false god Molech by burning them in fire. “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 18:21. Few would disagree that the culture of child sacrifice is evil.
-
The example of the Ammonites is relatively benign for us today, for I do not know of many people who still worship Molech. Therefore I can use that example and not ruffle too many feathers. What about a culture that encourages its children to strap bombs to their bodies and blow themselves up in crowded public areas with the purpose of killing as many people as possible? What about a culture that prides itself in honor killings of relatives who they feel have disgraced their families and culture? From a Biblical perspective, not only must I condemn the religious beliefs of Islam, but also the culture of violence. Some would call me intolerant for such a statement. That’s okay with me, let me go on record that I am intolerant of murder. What is more intolerant, writing about those we disagree with or killing them? A culture of intolerance that leads to murder is something we all must be concerned about.
-
I am saddened that the debate over culture often leads instead to a debate over race. Many Muslims are Arabs, but we must not come to the conclusion that all Arabs are more evil than anyone else. The issue is not their race, but what values they embrace.
-
Many of those same issues come up when we examine the values of some of our inner city cultures in this county. For example, a culture that encourages drug use, out of wedlock births, and violence should be spoken against. Sadly, instead of speaking against such a culture, many speak against a race. These behaviors are wrong no matter what races are involved in them. Further, not every person of a particular race does those things, and it is wrong to imply they do.
-
At the same time, it would be just as wrong to ignore the sinful characteristics of a culture just because of a fear of offending a certain demographic within our society. What I am suggesting is judging a culture by the content of its character, not by the color of its skin. -
What about the culture of our own small town agricultural area. It is easy to pride ourselves in our small town values, yet culture relativism has crept in here as well. For example, we live in a culture where premarital sex (fornication) is accepted. We live in a culture where our possessions have become our gods. We live in a culture were divorce and adultery are all too frequent. We live in a culture where we covet and want whatever someone else has. We live in a culture where it is not uncommon for our citizens to get drunk.
-
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
-
It is time for people to reject their cultures and embrace God.
-
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
