I just finished pulling my old high school year book off the shelf. It is amazing how quickly hair styles change. As I thumbed through the pictures of my old classmates, I thought about their parents. Of all those that I graduated with, as far as I know, none of their parents were divorced. Sure, it was a small public school in a rural area, but that is still amazing. Sadly, as we look at our society, now 20 years later, we realize that hair styles were not the only thing that changed. Today, not only are divorces common, but so are out of wedlock births. The whole family structure has deteriorated to the point that we now have a debate over the very definition of marriage.
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Evil has become acceptable in our society. For example, sex outside of marriage is considered the norm by the world, even though it is clearly a sin. Wickedness is all around us. Even though we are blessed with so much, people are envious of what others have and want it for themselves. Some even kill to get it. People fight and lie. They have a hatred for God and His standards. Their bad character is displayed with pride as they brag about their sin. The children disobey their parents, the grown ups don’t keep their word, godly love is a foreign concept, and so many care about no one but themselves. (see Romans 29-31)
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No doubt, we have always lived in a sin cursed world, but it seems to be getting much worse. So, I must ask, “how did we get here?”
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The answer is clear. We are here because man has rejected God and His standards. Instead of worshipping God, the people of this nation have put their desires on other things. It sounds a lot like what we can read of in Romans 1:21, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” You see, when man rejects God so blatantly, He punishes them by giving them over to their sin. The natural consequences of sin are severe punishment all by themselves. “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1:24-25)
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Not only did God give them up to uncleanness of the heart, but he gave them over to vile affections and reprobate minds. Romans 1:26-31 says, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:”
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The characteristics of our society that were listed in the second paragraph of this column came from these verses. They should be a wake up call that we live in a society that has rejected God. As I said, the consequences of sin are a punishment themselves, but we know as well that the wages of sin is death, and this first chapter in Romans ends by telling us that both those who do those things and those who take pleasure in them are worthy of death. By trusting in Christ’s gift of eternal life, you can escape eternal death, and by following His standards of right and wrong, you can escape the consequences of sin in this life. If you have no desire to follow His standards though, it is obvious that you have rejected Him and thus He will reject you.
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Folks the sins listed in the Romans 1 passage are disgusting, but let us not forget that they are actually only a symptom of an even bigger problem. A rejection of God, because when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God. Let me be clear here, a rejection of God’s standard of right and wrong is a rejection of Him. It is time for us to repent and turn to the true God.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Amish and Early Christians
When I was a kid, I thought it would be neat to live like the Amish. Part of that desire stemmed from my love for horses. I see no sin in all modern conveniences, but I can see a huge advantage to not having a TV. There is so much filth on the screen that we did not even get a converter box and we do not have cable TV.
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I recently discovered that some of the Amish actually use tractors and have indoor plumbing. Most people know little about their religious beliefs beyond the issue of technology. Some of the groups really do put their confidence in Christ, while unfortunately others are simply trusting in their lifestyle. The diversity of their belief is as diverse as their positions on tractors.
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I have no intention of becoming Amish, but I do admire their simple lifestyle and how they pitch in to meet the needs in their communities. By working together they are able to share one another’s burdens. That is similar to what was happening in the early church in Acts chapter 4, where the early believers had all things common in order to benefit the group as a whole so that God might be glorified.
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Now before some of you accuse me of endorsing communism let me explain that there are some clear differences. The early church, like the Amish today, shared resources with those who shared their values. They did not divide it among society as a whole. Acts 4:37 tells us that they laid the money at the apostles’ feet, not at Caesar’s. Further, the next chapter makes it clear that it was voluntary, not compulsory. “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” (Acts 5:4)
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By working within a framework of common belief, they also had the ability to exclude those who did not share the same values. This is shown in I Corinthians 5:11-13, “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”
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Further, the early church had the ability to oversee one another and to make sure that everyone was contributing. “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” (II Thessalonians 3:10)
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The widows are amongst those who have the greatest need for assistance within the church and many had all their needs met by the church. There were guidelines for helping them as well. I Tim 5 lays out the standard. First, her immediate family was expected to help her first, so she would not be dependant on the church. If she did not have children or nephews to help, then she had to show that she trusted in God through her prayers. She couldn’t just be living for pleasure, but for God. Further she had to be at least 60 years old before all her needs would be met. Finally she had to have a good reputation and no other means of support.
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The widow passage also challenges the readers to take care of widows themselves so that the church not be charged. Again, we see the scriptures teaching charity. This should be the case whether we are living in a communal setting or not. Among Christians there should be an attitude that all that we have belongs to God, therefore, we should use it to help fellow believers, thus having all our possessions in common.
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We do not need to form a commune to do that, but many groups have found economic advantage to doing so. Under times of severe persecution it may be a wise step for all Christians to take. At the same time, it is quite a different approach than letting the state function in the place of the church as the distributor of the resources of a society. It would even be a mistake to give that job to a single religious group, rather than letting each individual congregation take care of its own like minded believers and other believers in similar congregations who they may choose to help. Further, this is not a suggestion that charity should not extend to unbelievers as well. May we not just learn from the Amish, but from Scripture itself.
-
I recently discovered that some of the Amish actually use tractors and have indoor plumbing. Most people know little about their religious beliefs beyond the issue of technology. Some of the groups really do put their confidence in Christ, while unfortunately others are simply trusting in their lifestyle. The diversity of their belief is as diverse as their positions on tractors.
-
I have no intention of becoming Amish, but I do admire their simple lifestyle and how they pitch in to meet the needs in their communities. By working together they are able to share one another’s burdens. That is similar to what was happening in the early church in Acts chapter 4, where the early believers had all things common in order to benefit the group as a whole so that God might be glorified.
-
Now before some of you accuse me of endorsing communism let me explain that there are some clear differences. The early church, like the Amish today, shared resources with those who shared their values. They did not divide it among society as a whole. Acts 4:37 tells us that they laid the money at the apostles’ feet, not at Caesar’s. Further, the next chapter makes it clear that it was voluntary, not compulsory. “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” (Acts 5:4)
-
By working within a framework of common belief, they also had the ability to exclude those who did not share the same values. This is shown in I Corinthians 5:11-13, “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”
-
Further, the early church had the ability to oversee one another and to make sure that everyone was contributing. “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” (II Thessalonians 3:10)
-
The widows are amongst those who have the greatest need for assistance within the church and many had all their needs met by the church. There were guidelines for helping them as well. I Tim 5 lays out the standard. First, her immediate family was expected to help her first, so she would not be dependant on the church. If she did not have children or nephews to help, then she had to show that she trusted in God through her prayers. She couldn’t just be living for pleasure, but for God. Further she had to be at least 60 years old before all her needs would be met. Finally she had to have a good reputation and no other means of support.
-
The widow passage also challenges the readers to take care of widows themselves so that the church not be charged. Again, we see the scriptures teaching charity. This should be the case whether we are living in a communal setting or not. Among Christians there should be an attitude that all that we have belongs to God, therefore, we should use it to help fellow believers, thus having all our possessions in common.
-
We do not need to form a commune to do that, but many groups have found economic advantage to doing so. Under times of severe persecution it may be a wise step for all Christians to take. At the same time, it is quite a different approach than letting the state function in the place of the church as the distributor of the resources of a society. It would even be a mistake to give that job to a single religious group, rather than letting each individual congregation take care of its own like minded believers and other believers in similar congregations who they may choose to help. Further, this is not a suggestion that charity should not extend to unbelievers as well. May we not just learn from the Amish, but from Scripture itself.
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