Today I was reading an article on the Fox News website by journalist Lauren Green. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290776,00.html She is obviously somewhat versed in the Bible and seems interested in how it plays itself out in "real life". After reading her post, I felt compelled to respond. The following email was sent to her at Fox News at 9 AM on Sunday, July 29th:
Dear Lauren,
I appreciate your thoughtful article. Respectfully, I submit that the question that you ask is really only ancillary to the main question. Is the Bible really the Word of God? There is simply no question that the Bible deems homosexual behavior to be sinful. You’ve read it twice, so you know of what I speak. The schism in the Episcopal Church isn’t over any “interpretation” of Scripture; it’s over the infallibility of Scripture. If it is truly God’s Word, then homosexuality SHOULD be roundly condemned.
In your article, you mentioned “scientific evidence and anecdotal testimonies” from those who say that some people have not CHOSEN to be gay or lesbian. Refer back to Genesis. After the sin of Adam and Eve, creation itself, (including man himself), was cursed. Every human being has sin PROGRAMMED in his or her DNA. Romans 3:10-12 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. (By the way, King David is not speaking of some sin in his MOTHER, rather he is referring to his own sin.) ALL human beings are born with the propensity to sin, and all human beings are still responsible for those sins. EVERYONE has their own areas of struggle. For some, that sin happens to be homosexuality. For you and me, it is some other pet sin, no less offensive to God. If perchance they should happen upon some genetic link to homosexuality, that should be no surprise to a true Bible scholar. I wonder how much money the government would fork out to research if there are any genetic links to materialism, greed, or gossip.
Lastly, you posed the “greatest philosophical” question, “What is truth and whose truth should we live by?” John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (Italics mine) There is no truth other than Jesus, who is synonymous with the Word of God. John 1:1-2, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. . . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
I could not impose my view on anyone else even if I wanted to, (Romans 8:7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so), but regardless, the Bible is clear as to my mission. Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Respectfully yours,
D. L. Culiver
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
What Does it Take to be a Disciple?
I would like to start by asking for the indulgence of my readers. I have been spending the last few days studying for a test related to my day job. I have missed my writing. It is amazing how much more difficult it is to learn than to teach! I would also like to thank those folks that have been so loyal to my Monday morning Bible study. I appreciate their dedication. Perhaps some day in the near future, we can start another one that doesn't conflict with work.
______________________________
Are you really His disciple? I have been thinking about that a lot lately. A common answer given by most long-time Christians is, as the old song says, "I surrender all". Do you? I have come to the conclusion that there is no way to know if indeed we have surrendered all until God asks for it.
Jesus is pretty straight forward when he makes these statements in Luke 14: verse 26 says , “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." Verse 27 states, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." Lastly verse 33 says, “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." I know that in an age of easy-believism, that these verses can be pretty disturbing. They are to me.
First, I need to make clear that the term "disciple" is not a synonym for "Apostle". Some might allege that Jesus is talking about a second level of commitment that is only reserved for those chosen few that were to walk with Him on this earth. This is certainly not the case. We can be certain of this, because of the antecedent verse, verse 25, "Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them. . ." It is obvious here that he is speaking to a large nondescript group that includes you and me!
So what is Jesus REALLY asking from us? Does He really want us to hate our relatives? YES, if we compare our COMMITMENT to our loved ones to our COMMITMENT to the Lord Jesus the contrast should be strong enough that it LOOKS LIKE we hate our family vis-à-vis our love for Jesus. In other words, if we are ever put in a position that we have to make a choice between Jesus and our families, we must choose Him. If we don't, we are in danger of being those "Lord, Lord" people described in Matthew 7, to whom God declares, "I never knew you. Depart from me you who practice lawlessness."
What does it mean when Jesus declares that we must carry our "own cross" in order to be His disciple? This is a little more cryptic. The best way to interpret the Bible is to let the Bible interpret itself. Earlier, Dr. Luke recorded another statement from Jesus regarding the cross: Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Obviously, taking up one's cross is associated with denial of one's desires. I would go as far as to say that if one truly wishes to be a disciple of Christ, he must use the instrument of death, the cross, to supplant all of his hopes, dreams, ambitions and desires. The question cannot be, "God, would you please endorse the plans I have for my life?" The attitude of a true disciple must be, 2 Corinthians 5:9 "Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him."
The last declaration of Jesus may be the hardest, especially in America in the 21st Century. If you don't give up all of your possessions, you aren't His. I have known many Christians that will say, "It all belongs to the Lord." There have been many business deals made in the name of making more money so that more can be given to ministry. It is a fine line between working "as unto the Lord" and tossing God a bit of the excess profit.
I have come to this conclusion. I do not believe that anyone really knows how they will react when God actually asks them to make a choice between something that they dearly love and Him. Sometimes it will be a choice between a human relationship that is emotionally satisfying and Jesus. Other times it may be a choice between a big salary and Jesus. He doesn't always ask us to make these choices in every situation, but invariably a Christian will end up facing a crossroads.
For me, the biggest decision that I've had to make was whether I should take up my cross and do what HE wanted me to do regarding my career, or to continue to try to do it my way. As I said in my last article, I had to come to the end of myself and make the decision to unseat myself as KING of my life, and understand that the Lord has a different plan for me. I have gone for over ten years working on replacing the seven figure income that I had in my old career. God has gradually and if I may say so, lovingly worn me out. I have finally said, "Jesus, WHATEVER you want me to do, I will do it." I think that for the first time, I actually mean it.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
______________________________
Are you really His disciple? I have been thinking about that a lot lately. A common answer given by most long-time Christians is, as the old song says, "I surrender all". Do you? I have come to the conclusion that there is no way to know if indeed we have surrendered all until God asks for it.
Jesus is pretty straight forward when he makes these statements in Luke 14: verse 26 says , “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." Verse 27 states, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." Lastly verse 33 says, “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." I know that in an age of easy-believism, that these verses can be pretty disturbing. They are to me.
First, I need to make clear that the term "disciple" is not a synonym for "Apostle". Some might allege that Jesus is talking about a second level of commitment that is only reserved for those chosen few that were to walk with Him on this earth. This is certainly not the case. We can be certain of this, because of the antecedent verse, verse 25, "Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them. . ." It is obvious here that he is speaking to a large nondescript group that includes you and me!
So what is Jesus REALLY asking from us? Does He really want us to hate our relatives? YES, if we compare our COMMITMENT to our loved ones to our COMMITMENT to the Lord Jesus the contrast should be strong enough that it LOOKS LIKE we hate our family vis-à-vis our love for Jesus. In other words, if we are ever put in a position that we have to make a choice between Jesus and our families, we must choose Him. If we don't, we are in danger of being those "Lord, Lord" people described in Matthew 7, to whom God declares, "I never knew you. Depart from me you who practice lawlessness."
What does it mean when Jesus declares that we must carry our "own cross" in order to be His disciple? This is a little more cryptic. The best way to interpret the Bible is to let the Bible interpret itself. Earlier, Dr. Luke recorded another statement from Jesus regarding the cross: Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Obviously, taking up one's cross is associated with denial of one's desires. I would go as far as to say that if one truly wishes to be a disciple of Christ, he must use the instrument of death, the cross, to supplant all of his hopes, dreams, ambitions and desires. The question cannot be, "God, would you please endorse the plans I have for my life?" The attitude of a true disciple must be, 2 Corinthians 5:9 "Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him."
The last declaration of Jesus may be the hardest, especially in America in the 21st Century. If you don't give up all of your possessions, you aren't His. I have known many Christians that will say, "It all belongs to the Lord." There have been many business deals made in the name of making more money so that more can be given to ministry. It is a fine line between working "as unto the Lord" and tossing God a bit of the excess profit.
I have come to this conclusion. I do not believe that anyone really knows how they will react when God actually asks them to make a choice between something that they dearly love and Him. Sometimes it will be a choice between a human relationship that is emotionally satisfying and Jesus. Other times it may be a choice between a big salary and Jesus. He doesn't always ask us to make these choices in every situation, but invariably a Christian will end up facing a crossroads.
For me, the biggest decision that I've had to make was whether I should take up my cross and do what HE wanted me to do regarding my career, or to continue to try to do it my way. As I said in my last article, I had to come to the end of myself and make the decision to unseat myself as KING of my life, and understand that the Lord has a different plan for me. I have gone for over ten years working on replacing the seven figure income that I had in my old career. God has gradually and if I may say so, lovingly worn me out. I have finally said, "Jesus, WHATEVER you want me to do, I will do it." I think that for the first time, I actually mean it.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Thursday, July 19, 2007
How Does God Speak?
How does God speak to people today? Does He speak? It has been a burning question in my mind. The goal of the Christian life is to become more Christ-like. Remember what Jesus said in John 5:30 30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. " If I desire to do what Jesus did, then necessarily I should do nothing on my own initiative, but listen for the voice of God. Wow! That seems like a pretty tall order.
Since those are my marching orders, I should find out how God has chosen to speak to me. The first hint comes from Hebrews 1:1-2 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." That is some comfort. At least I know that I am not waiting for God to speak through the Urim and Thummim, ("lights and perfections", Exodus 28:30, Leviticus 8:8, Numbers 27:21, Deuteronomy 33:8, 1 Samuel 28:6, Nehemiah 7:65), or from a burning bush. It is small comfort however, because now I need to figure out how to hear the voice of God's son. I have another hint in John 1:1-5, 14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." Who or what is the Word? It is obvious from the context of the passage that Jesus Himself is the Word, or the λόγος (logos). It is an interesting and difficult thing to contemplate. Jesus is the savior, the Son of God, the Lord and the WORD. The word λόγος is also used to designate the Scriptures themselves. 2 Timothy 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."
There is an intimate connection between Jesus and the Word of God, the Bible. I submit that in order to hear God's voice, we must not only hear, but obey the Word. John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” 1 John 2:5 5 "but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him."
I made the connection between faith and obedience in an earlier post. That is not my intention today. This topic is heavy on my mind because of recent circumstances in my personal life. I have been working with my company for almost three years and have made very little income for my efforts. In another post I explained that the chief partner in my company wanted to renegotiate my pay plan on the exact day that I was due my first substantial paycheck. I balked and he countered with "my proposal is off the table" and "our business relationship is over". I haven't seen a cent. This has put my family and me in a pretty precarious position. I have to say that God has orchestrated the circumstances in my life in such a way as to drive me to my knees and to force me to ask the question: What do I do now? The corollary question MUST be asked: How can I hear your voice?
I am sure that almost every Bible loving Christian will agree with me, when I say that following the PRINCIPLES of Scripture could certainly be construed as hearing God's voice. Practically speaking, loving your neighbor, living with your wife in an understanding way and turning the other cheek are principles from the Bible that could be considered as "God's voice". Since we are to do NOTHING, except that which God tells us to do, however, there MUST be something more in the Bible than just principles.
God must speak from His Word in more than just principles, parables and proverbs. I believe that when we are walking with Him and living in the center of His will, He really does speak in more than just an academic way. Remember in the Old Testament, that King David was asking God for SPECIFIC answers to SPECIFIC questions, and God answered him SPECIFICALLY. Jesus asked God the Father for specific answers and He answered in a specific way. I was reading 1 Thessalonians 4:11 "and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you", and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I believe that I have sinfully attempted to push God into a corner as far as my career choice is concerned. I have told Him that He needs to afford me a career that "fits into my lifestyle" and then I will be happy to follow His commands. Hogwash! Here was this verse, His λόγος slapping me in my face. On Monday, I will start my new job with an excavation company.
God is speaking. I am listening. I feel better already!
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Since those are my marching orders, I should find out how God has chosen to speak to me. The first hint comes from Hebrews 1:1-2 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world." That is some comfort. At least I know that I am not waiting for God to speak through the Urim and Thummim, ("lights and perfections", Exodus 28:30, Leviticus 8:8, Numbers 27:21, Deuteronomy 33:8, 1 Samuel 28:6, Nehemiah 7:65), or from a burning bush. It is small comfort however, because now I need to figure out how to hear the voice of God's son. I have another hint in John 1:1-5, 14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." Who or what is the Word? It is obvious from the context of the passage that Jesus Himself is the Word, or the λόγος (logos). It is an interesting and difficult thing to contemplate. Jesus is the savior, the Son of God, the Lord and the WORD. The word λόγος is also used to designate the Scriptures themselves. 2 Timothy 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."
There is an intimate connection between Jesus and the Word of God, the Bible. I submit that in order to hear God's voice, we must not only hear, but obey the Word. John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” 1 John 2:5 5 "but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him."
I made the connection between faith and obedience in an earlier post. That is not my intention today. This topic is heavy on my mind because of recent circumstances in my personal life. I have been working with my company for almost three years and have made very little income for my efforts. In another post I explained that the chief partner in my company wanted to renegotiate my pay plan on the exact day that I was due my first substantial paycheck. I balked and he countered with "my proposal is off the table" and "our business relationship is over". I haven't seen a cent. This has put my family and me in a pretty precarious position. I have to say that God has orchestrated the circumstances in my life in such a way as to drive me to my knees and to force me to ask the question: What do I do now? The corollary question MUST be asked: How can I hear your voice?
I am sure that almost every Bible loving Christian will agree with me, when I say that following the PRINCIPLES of Scripture could certainly be construed as hearing God's voice. Practically speaking, loving your neighbor, living with your wife in an understanding way and turning the other cheek are principles from the Bible that could be considered as "God's voice". Since we are to do NOTHING, except that which God tells us to do, however, there MUST be something more in the Bible than just principles.
God must speak from His Word in more than just principles, parables and proverbs. I believe that when we are walking with Him and living in the center of His will, He really does speak in more than just an academic way. Remember in the Old Testament, that King David was asking God for SPECIFIC answers to SPECIFIC questions, and God answered him SPECIFICALLY. Jesus asked God the Father for specific answers and He answered in a specific way. I was reading 1 Thessalonians 4:11 "and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you", and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I believe that I have sinfully attempted to push God into a corner as far as my career choice is concerned. I have told Him that He needs to afford me a career that "fits into my lifestyle" and then I will be happy to follow His commands. Hogwash! Here was this verse, His λόγος slapping me in my face. On Monday, I will start my new job with an excavation company.
God is speaking. I am listening. I feel better already!
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Selfish Religion vs. Christianity
My weekly Bible study is a constant source of great questions. The folks that attend are a unique blend of inquiring minds. I am constantly astounded how deeply one can delve into the truths of the Bible and still not plumb its depths. The big question: What are the true differences between Christians and devotees of other religions?
We discussed many possibilities. One idea was that a relationship to Jesus was a sincere faith. Indeed, it can be alleged that Christian faith is the only true faith and therefore, since other faiths are based on faulty premises, perhaps the other faiths could not be truly sincere. I don't believe that to be the case. Their faith is misdirected, but I cannot agree with the view that believers of different faiths are any less sincere than a true disciple of Christ. There are thousands of young men and women wearing white dress shirts and ties, (young men!), that are spending a good chunk of their family's fortune riding their bicycles door to door spreading their version of the truth. I am sure that they are sincere. There are many men, women and children that are required to spend at least four hours per week passing out literature from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society to any and all who do not slam the door in their faces. The level of sincerity of these folks would have to be sky-high to trudge through that misery. In my opinion, the most obvious example of sincerity that we see in our world today are the suicide bombers that are dying for Allah. Surely sincerity is not where the difference lies.
Another thought was the so-called "changed life". In Christian-speak, the changed life means the noticeable difference that a true believer must experience in their life that demonstrates that conversion really happened. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." While this is absolutely true, one could easily argue that other faiths experience a "changed life". Believers in Christ know that the the changed life of which they speak is a supernatural event that involves the invasion of God's Holy Spirit into one's life, but to a non-believer that explanation may be clear as mud. He might argue that other faiths certainly exhibit some form of changed life. The followers of Jim Jones certainly experienced a HUGE change in their lives when they chose to follow him to Guyana. The Muslims that blow themselves up are changing their lives in a profound way! Even though true Christian believers can make a case here, I don't believe that the "changed life" is really the hallmark that sets us apart, unless we can better explain what that changed life looks like, and how UTTERLY UNIQUE it is.
I believe that the outward demonstration of the difference between true Christian faith and other faiths is the sacrificial life that is NOT a QUID PRO QUO. What do I mean by that? ALL other faiths involve sacrifice, but their sacrifice is a BUSINESS PROPOSITION. If I do this, then I get that. If I perform these sacraments then I can enter Heaven. If I live a good life then I will earn eternal life. If I blow myself up, I am rewarded with seventy virgins. All other religions are a quid pro quo, or an exchange of one thing for another.
OK, now here's where my argument gets a bit sticky. Some people will allege that the Christian life is the same kind of DEAL. If I "ask Jesus into my heart", then I get to go to Heaven. This for that. I disagree completely.
First, I would take issue with the phrase "ask Jesus into my heart", since the Bible nowhere speaks of such a concept, but I'll save that argument for another day. Second, I would allege that the faith that one exercises is a GIFT of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (For those of you that might insist that the "it" in the italicized phrase is referring to "grace" rather than "faith", I would refer you to James White's article on the technical proof of the meaning of this verse in Greek - http://aomin.org/index.php?itemid=630 ) Philippians 1:29 "For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." (italics mine) Third, I would assert that from a HUMAN standpoint, Heaven is NOT the TV portrayal that most people believe in. It is not that great golf course in the sky. It is not the great entertainment center. It is NOT ABOUT US! It is about God, HIS glory and how WE give it to Him. If we look at the eternity that Christians will spend in Heaven, it would repulse the unregenerate mind. From a selfish HUMAN standpoint, who would WANT to worship God and give Him glory for eternity? Wouldn't that be like going to a boring church service 24/7/365? The Christian "quid pro quo" is dying to ourselves daily in gratitude for the opportunity to worship God forever. In Luke 14 we find three warnings. Jesus said that we cannot be His disciples unless we sacrifice of our earthly relationships. (verse 26) He said that we cannot be His disciples unless we sacrifice our hopes, dreams and all of our earthly desires. (verse 27) Lastly, He said that we cannot be His disciples unless we sacrifice all of our earthly possessions. (verse 33)
If we examine the Christian life in comparison to the life of other faiths, the difference is obvious. The Christian is supernaturally driven to sacrifice all that he has, and all that he is for God and others, and he does so out of pure gratitude for a the gift of an eternal relationship with God, that he already received in full, in the past. In other words the believer in Christ will sacrifice all today with nothing to "gain"in the future. God will not love the believer one bit more if he gives $1 million to the church, or goes on a 3 year mission to Irian Jaya, or if he sacrifices his life for a stranger. (God will not love the true believer one bit LESS if he treats his wife poorly, or blows off Sunday services to play golf, or if he swears loudly at his TV when his favorite team loses!) God's love is INFINITE for His children. Those acts all affect the believer's RELATIONSHIP to God at that moment, but not God's LOVE for him.
As a final "proof", look at the "Hall of Fame of Faith" in Hebrews chapter 11. Here we see the DEMONSTRATION, or the PROOF of the faith of true believers. Notice that these acts all have one thing in common. They are all humanly COUNTER-INTUITIVE. They are certainly NOT an exchange of one thing for another. All of these people are walking with God and are guaranteed to have eternal fellowship with Him in His Heaven. In spite of this guarantee, these people do things like building a boat in the middle of nowhere, miles from any water because God told them to. They sacrifice the son that they waited 100 years to have, just because God asked them to. They were sawn in two, just to follow their savior.
The changed life that makes NO SENSE in human terms is the real demonstration of the difference between Christians and followers of man-made, man-centered religions.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
We discussed many possibilities. One idea was that a relationship to Jesus was a sincere faith. Indeed, it can be alleged that Christian faith is the only true faith and therefore, since other faiths are based on faulty premises, perhaps the other faiths could not be truly sincere. I don't believe that to be the case. Their faith is misdirected, but I cannot agree with the view that believers of different faiths are any less sincere than a true disciple of Christ. There are thousands of young men and women wearing white dress shirts and ties, (young men!), that are spending a good chunk of their family's fortune riding their bicycles door to door spreading their version of the truth. I am sure that they are sincere. There are many men, women and children that are required to spend at least four hours per week passing out literature from the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society to any and all who do not slam the door in their faces. The level of sincerity of these folks would have to be sky-high to trudge through that misery. In my opinion, the most obvious example of sincerity that we see in our world today are the suicide bombers that are dying for Allah. Surely sincerity is not where the difference lies.
Another thought was the so-called "changed life". In Christian-speak, the changed life means the noticeable difference that a true believer must experience in their life that demonstrates that conversion really happened. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." While this is absolutely true, one could easily argue that other faiths experience a "changed life". Believers in Christ know that the the changed life of which they speak is a supernatural event that involves the invasion of God's Holy Spirit into one's life, but to a non-believer that explanation may be clear as mud. He might argue that other faiths certainly exhibit some form of changed life. The followers of Jim Jones certainly experienced a HUGE change in their lives when they chose to follow him to Guyana. The Muslims that blow themselves up are changing their lives in a profound way! Even though true Christian believers can make a case here, I don't believe that the "changed life" is really the hallmark that sets us apart, unless we can better explain what that changed life looks like, and how UTTERLY UNIQUE it is.
I believe that the outward demonstration of the difference between true Christian faith and other faiths is the sacrificial life that is NOT a QUID PRO QUO. What do I mean by that? ALL other faiths involve sacrifice, but their sacrifice is a BUSINESS PROPOSITION. If I do this, then I get that. If I perform these sacraments then I can enter Heaven. If I live a good life then I will earn eternal life. If I blow myself up, I am rewarded with seventy virgins. All other religions are a quid pro quo, or an exchange of one thing for another.
OK, now here's where my argument gets a bit sticky. Some people will allege that the Christian life is the same kind of DEAL. If I "ask Jesus into my heart", then I get to go to Heaven. This for that. I disagree completely.
First, I would take issue with the phrase "ask Jesus into my heart", since the Bible nowhere speaks of such a concept, but I'll save that argument for another day. Second, I would allege that the faith that one exercises is a GIFT of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (For those of you that might insist that the "it" in the italicized phrase is referring to "grace" rather than "faith", I would refer you to James White's article on the technical proof of the meaning of this verse in Greek - http://aomin.org/index.php?itemid=630 ) Philippians 1:29 "For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake." (italics mine) Third, I would assert that from a HUMAN standpoint, Heaven is NOT the TV portrayal that most people believe in. It is not that great golf course in the sky. It is not the great entertainment center. It is NOT ABOUT US! It is about God, HIS glory and how WE give it to Him. If we look at the eternity that Christians will spend in Heaven, it would repulse the unregenerate mind. From a selfish HUMAN standpoint, who would WANT to worship God and give Him glory for eternity? Wouldn't that be like going to a boring church service 24/7/365? The Christian "quid pro quo" is dying to ourselves daily in gratitude for the opportunity to worship God forever. In Luke 14 we find three warnings. Jesus said that we cannot be His disciples unless we sacrifice of our earthly relationships. (verse 26) He said that we cannot be His disciples unless we sacrifice our hopes, dreams and all of our earthly desires. (verse 27) Lastly, He said that we cannot be His disciples unless we sacrifice all of our earthly possessions. (verse 33)
If we examine the Christian life in comparison to the life of other faiths, the difference is obvious. The Christian is supernaturally driven to sacrifice all that he has, and all that he is for God and others, and he does so out of pure gratitude for a the gift of an eternal relationship with God, that he already received in full, in the past. In other words the believer in Christ will sacrifice all today with nothing to "gain"in the future. God will not love the believer one bit more if he gives $1 million to the church, or goes on a 3 year mission to Irian Jaya, or if he sacrifices his life for a stranger. (God will not love the true believer one bit LESS if he treats his wife poorly, or blows off Sunday services to play golf, or if he swears loudly at his TV when his favorite team loses!) God's love is INFINITE for His children. Those acts all affect the believer's RELATIONSHIP to God at that moment, but not God's LOVE for him.
As a final "proof", look at the "Hall of Fame of Faith" in Hebrews chapter 11. Here we see the DEMONSTRATION, or the PROOF of the faith of true believers. Notice that these acts all have one thing in common. They are all humanly COUNTER-INTUITIVE. They are certainly NOT an exchange of one thing for another. All of these people are walking with God and are guaranteed to have eternal fellowship with Him in His Heaven. In spite of this guarantee, these people do things like building a boat in the middle of nowhere, miles from any water because God told them to. They sacrifice the son that they waited 100 years to have, just because God asked them to. They were sawn in two, just to follow their savior.
The changed life that makes NO SENSE in human terms is the real demonstration of the difference between Christians and followers of man-made, man-centered religions.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Would a Loving God Put Anyone in Hell? Part 2
Why would a loving God send people to Hell? This is one of most difficult questions in the Bible. Yesterday, I hopefully established that for Bible believers, there is no doubt about it. Yes, there is a Hell and the reprobate will eventually spend eternity there. Today, I would like to explore several theories as to why God created creatures that will live in eternal separation from Him and how this is consistent with His other attributes, including His love.
First, as in yesterday's article, the fastest way to eliminate the seeming contradiction is to deny that Hell exists at all. The pastor from the 20/20 broadcast retreated to this position as his only way of handling the paradox. The horrible problem that he created for himself was to diminish the Scriptures, and relegate them to a collection of men's thoughts about God. Unwittingly, he took the very foundation of the Christianity that he supposedly espouses and shattered it. On what basis can he be certain that Jesus even existed? Which passages does he believe are true and which are merely ruminations of mortal men? Frankly, like many liberal theologians before him, he has set himself up as the final arbiter of truth. He and he alone has the wisdom to decide what is truth, based his current fancy at the biblical smorgasbord.
Another strategy to handle the seeming contradiction between God's love and his wrath is universalism. This is a common view among not only liberals, but with the general public. God will only send people like Adolph Hitler and Charles Manson to Hell. "Good" people like me, will obviously go to Heaven! Look at the popular song by the Verve Pipe entitled "The Freshman". "For the life of me I cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins. We were merely freshmen." If you were to ask most folks where they thought that they would spend eternity, they would seldom say Hell. If asked why, they would justify their entry into Heaven based on personal righteousness. "I live a pretty good life", or "I'm a good person." (For you movie goers, in the most recent Harry Potter movie, Sirius Black told Harry, "You’re not a bad person. You’re a very good person, who bad things have happened to.") This view, though sentimental and widely accepted is completely false. Romans 3:10-12 ". . .There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
Many who don't want to believe in the Biblical Hell embrace another final strategy, annihilationism. For those few people that actually deserve Hell, God simply wipes them out of existence. For the average schmo, there is little incentive to seek God or fear Him, because if I happen to really mess up in this life, I will simply stop being. This is another soothing and convenient idea. Unfortunately, there is no biblical rationale for annihilationism. Hebrews 9:27 "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." Also, as I mentioned yesterday, there are many passages that talk about ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, not eternal SLEEP!
Does all of this mean that God never loved the people that He is going to throw into Hell? Maybe. There are several very well respected theologians, like Arthur Pink, that believe that God's hatred of the reprobate is consistent with His character. They believe that God's hatred for them and His love are mutually exclusive concepts. There are others, like John F. MacArthur Jr. that believe that God has a love-hate relationship with His reprobate creatures. Men like R. C. Sproul believe that God possesses different WILLS. He has a will of disposition that is analogous to human emotion. He has a preceptive will that consists of his law, and he has a declarative will that is irresistible, mainly in regard to His choice of His children and the thoughts and affairs of humanity.
I would like to visit these possibilities more fully in a future blog.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
First, as in yesterday's article, the fastest way to eliminate the seeming contradiction is to deny that Hell exists at all. The pastor from the 20/20 broadcast retreated to this position as his only way of handling the paradox. The horrible problem that he created for himself was to diminish the Scriptures, and relegate them to a collection of men's thoughts about God. Unwittingly, he took the very foundation of the Christianity that he supposedly espouses and shattered it. On what basis can he be certain that Jesus even existed? Which passages does he believe are true and which are merely ruminations of mortal men? Frankly, like many liberal theologians before him, he has set himself up as the final arbiter of truth. He and he alone has the wisdom to decide what is truth, based his current fancy at the biblical smorgasbord.
Another strategy to handle the seeming contradiction between God's love and his wrath is universalism. This is a common view among not only liberals, but with the general public. God will only send people like Adolph Hitler and Charles Manson to Hell. "Good" people like me, will obviously go to Heaven! Look at the popular song by the Verve Pipe entitled "The Freshman". "For the life of me I cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins. We were merely freshmen." If you were to ask most folks where they thought that they would spend eternity, they would seldom say Hell. If asked why, they would justify their entry into Heaven based on personal righteousness. "I live a pretty good life", or "I'm a good person." (For you movie goers, in the most recent Harry Potter movie, Sirius Black told Harry, "You’re not a bad person. You’re a very good person, who bad things have happened to.") This view, though sentimental and widely accepted is completely false. Romans 3:10-12 ". . .There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
Many who don't want to believe in the Biblical Hell embrace another final strategy, annihilationism. For those few people that actually deserve Hell, God simply wipes them out of existence. For the average schmo, there is little incentive to seek God or fear Him, because if I happen to really mess up in this life, I will simply stop being. This is another soothing and convenient idea. Unfortunately, there is no biblical rationale for annihilationism. Hebrews 9:27 "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment." Also, as I mentioned yesterday, there are many passages that talk about ETERNAL PUNISHMENT, not eternal SLEEP!
Does all of this mean that God never loved the people that He is going to throw into Hell? Maybe. There are several very well respected theologians, like Arthur Pink, that believe that God's hatred of the reprobate is consistent with His character. They believe that God's hatred for them and His love are mutually exclusive concepts. There are others, like John F. MacArthur Jr. that believe that God has a love-hate relationship with His reprobate creatures. Men like R. C. Sproul believe that God possesses different WILLS. He has a will of disposition that is analogous to human emotion. He has a preceptive will that consists of his law, and he has a declarative will that is irresistible, mainly in regard to His choice of His children and the thoughts and affairs of humanity.
I would like to visit these possibilities more fully in a future blog.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Friday, July 13, 2007
Would a Loving God Put Anyone in Hell?
I could barely contain myself. Instead of watching the Science Channel, or the History Channel, or watching the local news, I found myself watching the ABC news magazine 20/20. After only about three minutes I could tell that I was going to be upset. On their website they were advertising a story subtitled "One Minister Challenges the Idea of Hell and Loses His Congregation". The headline was 'Nobody Goes to Hell': Minister Labeled a Heretic'.
I know what happens every time I allow myself to watch network TV. I get overwhelmed with the THEOLOGY that is preached by almost every program. When I say "theology", normally I am referring to the underlying worldview that drives almost every program. "Reality TV" is another word for voyeurism. Network TV "worships" a different god than the God of the Bible. Sitcoms are based on anti-Biblical ideas. TV husbands are rarely respectable and seldom accorded the respect that the Bible demands for husbands and fathers. Sex is cheap and tawdry. Even on so-called "family" entertainment, sex is depicted in anti-Biblical ways. (As an example, our family was watching a movie that was touted as one of the most family oriented of family shows that has recently been produced by Hollywood, "Cheaper by the Dozen". How could this show, about a family with 12 children, manage to contaminate such a wholesome theme? They made sure that the parents reacted in an entirely ungodly way toward their oldest daughter that was shacking up with her boyfriend.) In the case of the 20/20 broadcast, the worldview proffered wasn't even "underlying". They presented the modern, open-minded, "loving", liberated and enlightened view that a well-trained, scholarly, courageous pastor should be teaching. The "truth" about Hell is that there isn't one!
Holy cow! I listened to this fellow tout his credentials. He attended Oral Roberts University. He had studied Greek and Hebrew. From his own lips, I heard him say that he was familiar with every verse in the Bible, and he couldn't believe that a loving God would ever send anyone to Hell. He told the reporter that after extensive study of the Scriptures, he had come down with the conclusion that the Bible was a collection of writings that man had made about God, but that the Bible couldn't be the actual, literal Word of God.
The program went on to describe how his friends had abandoned him and kicked him out of the church and how most of his congregation of 6,000 and left him. It was so sad, I almost cried! But not quite. According to 20/20 he is now building a NEW congregation of more enlightened people, people that are willing to submit to the more hopeful and loving teaching that there are no consequences for sin. Can you imagine how intellectually astute one must be to embrace such a "high" view of God? The implication in the article is that the church can't keep the collection plate full unless they are preaching Hell.
Before I go berserk, I had better state my thesis for this article. Yes, God is love, but God does not love everyone in the same way. Yep. There I said it. If I make such a bold statement then I had better be able to back it up! Since we live in the United States of America in the 21st century, there are certain things that one cannot say unless he wants to be labeled unloving, unenlightened or just plain stupid. For instance, if one were to challenge the American maxim that the ultimate virtues are individualism and tolerance, that person would barely be given a chance to say another word.
I know I sound like a broken record, but if we don't allow the Bible to speak for itself and if we continue to use eisegesis, (forcing our preconceived ideas into the interpretation of Scripture), instead of exegesis, (allowing the Scriptures to speak for themselves), to determine truth, then we will continue to have a crisis in Christianity. In a recent Bible study, one of the attendees stated plainly, "My pastor says one thing, my Bible study teacher says another. Who am I to believe?"
Last year I asked my then 11 year old son if he thought that God loved everyone. He shocked me when he responded, "Well . . . not salvifically!" I almost fell out of my chair. He was right. I have always been astounded by the fact that certain passages in the Bible have become so popular that even unchurched, non-Christian people become familiar with them, while other passages seem to shock even old-time believers. For instance, what passage is by far the most well known, and most oft quoted amongst non-Christian people? Matthew 7:1 of course! "Judge not, lest ye be judged." While passages like Matthew 15:24-26 "But He, (Jesus), answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she, (the Canaanite woman), came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ", are strangely unfamiliar. When was the last time you heard that passage quoted in a sermon? It is pretty easy to see why people can get a distorted view of the Scriptures, because most people are only exposed to select passages and most do not study the Bible for themselves.
Probably one of the most distorted and complex concepts in Scripture is that of God's love. First, the Scripture clearly teaches that God is love. 1 John 4:8 "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." There are 711 mentions of the word "love" or "lovingkindness" in the Bible. Obviously love is an important concept. There are some who impose their favorite preconceptions on the Scripture in order to solve difficult problems that arise from God's love and how it works itself out vis-à-vis other concepts such as eternal punishment in Hell. One of the most common of these devices is to deny the existence of Hell itself. This strategy does great damage to the integrity of Scripture and logically results, as was asserted by the 20/20 pastor, in the necessity of relegating the Bible to a collection of man-authored books about God and not God's literal word.
Other strategies that some have used to reconcile God's wrath with His love is to adopt a form of hyper-dispensationalism. This view holds that God revealed Himself progressively from the incomplete Old Testament view of God as wrathful, to the more complete New Testament view of God, manifested in the person of Jesus, as loving. This is a fantasy. First, in the Old Testament, we see 183 mentions of God's lovingkindness. He has ALWAYS demonstrated His love for His children. Second, the New Testament is full of wrathful decrees from the mouth of Jesus Himself! John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
There is another popular view that God hates the sin, but loves the sinner. Again, we must allow the Bible to speak for itself. Romans 9:13 "Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” " Psalm 5:5 "The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. " Psalm 11:5 "The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates." Malachi 1:2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” God clearly hates people. How does this square with God's love?
Hopefully, I can demonstrate a view of God's love that takes the entirety of Scripture into account. Does God love everyone? Yes, but not in the way that most people think. God demonstrates His love for everyone, even those that hate Him. Matthew 5:45b ". . . for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’" God's love for the reprobate does not, however, negate His justice. Those who reject Christ will be relegated to an eternity in Hell. Mark 9:47-48 “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched."
To try to put this concept into human terms, think about your neighbor in relationship to your your family. As a Christian, I am commanded to love my neighbor. I do. I also love my family, but the quality of the love that I have for my family is clearly different from the love that I have for my neighbor. God has a special and unique love for the people that are part of His family, people that He chose from before the beginning of time. Ephesians 1:3-6 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved." He demonstrates that love to us for His purposes.
Today, I hope that I was able to demonstrate the FACTS that God does love everyone, but He loves His children in a different way than He loves others. I also hope that my readers come away with the understanding that God's justice still demands that those without a relationship to Jesus will still suffer for eternity in Hell, despite God's love for them.
Tomorrow, I hope to address the "whys" that inevitably MUST be asked, regarding this seeming incompatibility in God's character.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
I know what happens every time I allow myself to watch network TV. I get overwhelmed with the THEOLOGY that is preached by almost every program. When I say "theology", normally I am referring to the underlying worldview that drives almost every program. "Reality TV" is another word for voyeurism. Network TV "worships" a different god than the God of the Bible. Sitcoms are based on anti-Biblical ideas. TV husbands are rarely respectable and seldom accorded the respect that the Bible demands for husbands and fathers. Sex is cheap and tawdry. Even on so-called "family" entertainment, sex is depicted in anti-Biblical ways. (As an example, our family was watching a movie that was touted as one of the most family oriented of family shows that has recently been produced by Hollywood, "Cheaper by the Dozen". How could this show, about a family with 12 children, manage to contaminate such a wholesome theme? They made sure that the parents reacted in an entirely ungodly way toward their oldest daughter that was shacking up with her boyfriend.) In the case of the 20/20 broadcast, the worldview proffered wasn't even "underlying". They presented the modern, open-minded, "loving", liberated and enlightened view that a well-trained, scholarly, courageous pastor should be teaching. The "truth" about Hell is that there isn't one!
Holy cow! I listened to this fellow tout his credentials. He attended Oral Roberts University. He had studied Greek and Hebrew. From his own lips, I heard him say that he was familiar with every verse in the Bible, and he couldn't believe that a loving God would ever send anyone to Hell. He told the reporter that after extensive study of the Scriptures, he had come down with the conclusion that the Bible was a collection of writings that man had made about God, but that the Bible couldn't be the actual, literal Word of God.
The program went on to describe how his friends had abandoned him and kicked him out of the church and how most of his congregation of 6,000 and left him. It was so sad, I almost cried! But not quite. According to 20/20 he is now building a NEW congregation of more enlightened people, people that are willing to submit to the more hopeful and loving teaching that there are no consequences for sin. Can you imagine how intellectually astute one must be to embrace such a "high" view of God? The implication in the article is that the church can't keep the collection plate full unless they are preaching Hell.
Before I go berserk, I had better state my thesis for this article. Yes, God is love, but God does not love everyone in the same way. Yep. There I said it. If I make such a bold statement then I had better be able to back it up! Since we live in the United States of America in the 21st century, there are certain things that one cannot say unless he wants to be labeled unloving, unenlightened or just plain stupid. For instance, if one were to challenge the American maxim that the ultimate virtues are individualism and tolerance, that person would barely be given a chance to say another word.
I know I sound like a broken record, but if we don't allow the Bible to speak for itself and if we continue to use eisegesis, (forcing our preconceived ideas into the interpretation of Scripture), instead of exegesis, (allowing the Scriptures to speak for themselves), to determine truth, then we will continue to have a crisis in Christianity. In a recent Bible study, one of the attendees stated plainly, "My pastor says one thing, my Bible study teacher says another. Who am I to believe?"
Last year I asked my then 11 year old son if he thought that God loved everyone. He shocked me when he responded, "Well . . . not salvifically!" I almost fell out of my chair. He was right. I have always been astounded by the fact that certain passages in the Bible have become so popular that even unchurched, non-Christian people become familiar with them, while other passages seem to shock even old-time believers. For instance, what passage is by far the most well known, and most oft quoted amongst non-Christian people? Matthew 7:1 of course! "Judge not, lest ye be judged." While passages like Matthew 15:24-26 "But He, (Jesus), answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she, (the Canaanite woman), came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ", are strangely unfamiliar. When was the last time you heard that passage quoted in a sermon? It is pretty easy to see why people can get a distorted view of the Scriptures, because most people are only exposed to select passages and most do not study the Bible for themselves.
Probably one of the most distorted and complex concepts in Scripture is that of God's love. First, the Scripture clearly teaches that God is love. 1 John 4:8 "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." There are 711 mentions of the word "love" or "lovingkindness" in the Bible. Obviously love is an important concept. There are some who impose their favorite preconceptions on the Scripture in order to solve difficult problems that arise from God's love and how it works itself out vis-à-vis other concepts such as eternal punishment in Hell. One of the most common of these devices is to deny the existence of Hell itself. This strategy does great damage to the integrity of Scripture and logically results, as was asserted by the 20/20 pastor, in the necessity of relegating the Bible to a collection of man-authored books about God and not God's literal word.
Other strategies that some have used to reconcile God's wrath with His love is to adopt a form of hyper-dispensationalism. This view holds that God revealed Himself progressively from the incomplete Old Testament view of God as wrathful, to the more complete New Testament view of God, manifested in the person of Jesus, as loving. This is a fantasy. First, in the Old Testament, we see 183 mentions of God's lovingkindness. He has ALWAYS demonstrated His love for His children. Second, the New Testament is full of wrathful decrees from the mouth of Jesus Himself! John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
There is another popular view that God hates the sin, but loves the sinner. Again, we must allow the Bible to speak for itself. Romans 9:13 "Just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” " Psalm 5:5 "The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. " Psalm 11:5 "The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates." Malachi 1:2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” God clearly hates people. How does this square with God's love?
Hopefully, I can demonstrate a view of God's love that takes the entirety of Scripture into account. Does God love everyone? Yes, but not in the way that most people think. God demonstrates His love for everyone, even those that hate Him. Matthew 5:45b ". . . for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’" God's love for the reprobate does not, however, negate His justice. Those who reject Christ will be relegated to an eternity in Hell. Mark 9:47-48 “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched."
To try to put this concept into human terms, think about your neighbor in relationship to your your family. As a Christian, I am commanded to love my neighbor. I do. I also love my family, but the quality of the love that I have for my family is clearly different from the love that I have for my neighbor. God has a special and unique love for the people that are part of His family, people that He chose from before the beginning of time. Ephesians 1:3-6 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved." He demonstrates that love to us for His purposes.
Today, I hope that I was able to demonstrate the FACTS that God does love everyone, but He loves His children in a different way than He loves others. I also hope that my readers come away with the understanding that God's justice still demands that those without a relationship to Jesus will still suffer for eternity in Hell, despite God's love for them.
Tomorrow, I hope to address the "whys" that inevitably MUST be asked, regarding this seeming incompatibility in God's character.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Security vs. Assurance
When I was a young person I encountered some Bible teachers that insisted that I remember my "spiritual birthday". They insisted that someday I would feel unsure about my salvation and I would need to recall that day in order to "tell the truth and shame the Devil". That sounded like a pretty good piece of advice. I used that strategy a few times when I was in college. Occasionally, while in mid-debauch and my conscience began to ache a bit, I would shut it down by recalling "April 1970". I was taught that once you "prayed the prayer" you were safe from Hell and it was only the work of Satan if anyone challenged your salvation experience.
It's really amazing how much garbage I have been taught about the Bible that just flat didn't turn out to be true. I once met an elderly Jewish business man who said, "Trust everybody, but cut the cards!" That certainly applies to Biblical truth. I would love to spend all of my time teaching people the things that God has revealed to me in the Bible, but unfortunately I spend most of my teaching time helping people unlearn myths and faulty preconceptions that they have picked up over the years. Most of these distorted ideas either arise because these folks only want to believe what makes them comfortable or because they have been exposed to careless teaching. The Bible speaks to this in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."
When it comes to security and assurance there are many divergent views, but most of these can be cleared up with a simple definition. It is very important to distinguish the difference. Security is the work of God. The doctrine of security holds that once you are saved you can never lose your salvation. Assurance is human confidence in one's salvation. There is an enormous difference!
The juxtaposition of these concepts automatically creates four groups of people. There are those that are saved by the regenerating work of God and are also certain of that salvation. There are people that are saved, but they are not really sure if they will be in Heaven when they die. There are some people that know they aren't saved and indeed they aren't. Unfortunately, one of the largest, if not THE largest group is that mass of people that are convinced that they are saved, but they aren't.
First, we need to talk about God's role in the security of the believer. If my salvation was dependent on my behavior from moment to moment, or on whether or not I could access a priest or a prophet to grant me some form of absolution from time to time, I am in big trouble. Only a very small view of God would allow me to be audacious enough to believe that I only sin "little sins", so that very few of them would cause me to lose my salvation. God's standard is PERFECTION. Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." God makes it very clear that ONE sin is too much and that it only takes that ONE sin to doom me to an eternity in Hell. Romans 3:23, 6:23a "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . . For the wages of sin is death."
Let's be straight forward about this, a human can barely make it five minutes without sin. I fall short of His standard every day in almost every way. In Matthew 5, Jesus made it clear to "good" people that they didn't really understand how impossibly high the standard actually was. He told them that if they had ever been angry, they were murderers. If they had ever looked at anyone with lust, then they were guilty of adultery. He told them that they really didn't love unless they loved their enemies. Have you refused to love your enemies today? Did you get angry or feel that someone insulted you or violated your "rights"? Have you thought any nasty or covetous thoughts about anyone? Me too. If you have lived a perfect life up until this point and have just slipped up ONE time, you are done. You are condemned to an eternity in Hell. (My wife just walked in and interrupted my writing and I was short with her. I didn't even make it through this paragraph without sinning!)
All this being said, if it were up to my good behavior to maintain my salvation, I have no hope. It is all God and His work. John 6:37-39 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day." The moment that God declares the unrighteous sinner "not guilty", it is done. Nothing can separate us from God. Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
OK, that is all well and good, but all of us know people that have made professions of faith in Christ and later they have walked away. What about them? These are people that have the appearance of being believers but they NEVER WERE. Does this group actually exist? 1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us."
Next is assurance. How do you KNOW that you are saved? I touched on this in an article last month, but in a nutshell, the tests of salvation are nicely summarized in the little epistle of 1 John. There are 13 tests that help us to discern whether or not we are really in the faith. These tests can be boiled down to two basic things, a theological test and a practical test. The theological test is simple. Do you have a relationship with the Jesus of the Bible? If someone dedicates their life to helping orphans and widows, reforming the government, giving to the Cancer Society and Jerry's Kids, and they don't know the God of the Bible, they are not saved. On the other hand, the practical test is love. Do you love God and love others sacrificially? If you have intellectually apprehended all of the facts of the Bible and know everything that there is to know about Jesus and you don't love other people, you aren't saved. It is amazing to me how at every non-Christian funeral that I've attended, there are always mourners that are quick to create their own theology and give the poor deceased person a pass. "I am sure that so-and-so is looking down on us from Heaven." Oh, yeah?
That brings me to the difficult topic of that group of people that believe that they are saved but in reality they are not. First, I need to answer those teachers that insist on using a "spiritual birthday" to avoid confronting this topic: 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?" Paul himself directed us to check ourselves against the standard. It is implicit in the directive that some people that examine themselves will FAIL the test. The worst situation, and the one that plagues the church and society at large, is that MOST people don't take the test and if they did, MOST people would fail it. Simply put, most people believe that they are saved, but they really aren't. How can I make that over-the-top kind of statement?
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (italics mine) There are many teachers that would have you believe that this is a reference to Christians entering through the narrow gate and pagan folks entering through the wide gate. That is simply not true. The group entering through the wide gate are people that THINK that they are Christians and that the wide gate is leading to Heaven. It is unfortunate that many English translations set verses 13 and 14 apart from the rest of the text, but that is poor editing. The discussion following verse 14 is about false "prophets". This is not people that are prophets in the Old Testament sense, but simply people that profess faith in Christ. In verses 21 and 22 they call God "Lord, Lord". That is certainly not the cry of the pagans! The same MANY mentioned in verses 13 and 14 are again mentioned in verse 22. Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ " To me, these are the scariest verses in the Bible. This passage is speaking of people that are standing before God on Judgement Day and pleading their case. Lord! I did all kinds of wonderful works in your name, (obviously NOT pagans!), and I DESERVE to get in to your Heaven! God answers, "You have no relationship with Me. Go away!"
For those of you who love Jesus and belong to him, do not fret. Nothing you can do can separate you from God. For those of you who made a commitment to Christ and really are not sure whether or not you are a true believer, please test yourself. Read 1 John and examine your life! For those of you that know you aren't a Christian. Fall on you face and beg Jesus for forgiveness, and ask Him to take over the lordship of your life. For those of you that have made a commitment to Christ in the past, and have never thought about it since, I would beg you to read the Bible for yourself and don't let some human opinion that you have adopted as "truth" endanger your soul.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
It's really amazing how much garbage I have been taught about the Bible that just flat didn't turn out to be true. I once met an elderly Jewish business man who said, "Trust everybody, but cut the cards!" That certainly applies to Biblical truth. I would love to spend all of my time teaching people the things that God has revealed to me in the Bible, but unfortunately I spend most of my teaching time helping people unlearn myths and faulty preconceptions that they have picked up over the years. Most of these distorted ideas either arise because these folks only want to believe what makes them comfortable or because they have been exposed to careless teaching. The Bible speaks to this in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."
When it comes to security and assurance there are many divergent views, but most of these can be cleared up with a simple definition. It is very important to distinguish the difference. Security is the work of God. The doctrine of security holds that once you are saved you can never lose your salvation. Assurance is human confidence in one's salvation. There is an enormous difference!
The juxtaposition of these concepts automatically creates four groups of people. There are those that are saved by the regenerating work of God and are also certain of that salvation. There are people that are saved, but they are not really sure if they will be in Heaven when they die. There are some people that know they aren't saved and indeed they aren't. Unfortunately, one of the largest, if not THE largest group is that mass of people that are convinced that they are saved, but they aren't.
First, we need to talk about God's role in the security of the believer. If my salvation was dependent on my behavior from moment to moment, or on whether or not I could access a priest or a prophet to grant me some form of absolution from time to time, I am in big trouble. Only a very small view of God would allow me to be audacious enough to believe that I only sin "little sins", so that very few of them would cause me to lose my salvation. God's standard is PERFECTION. Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." God makes it very clear that ONE sin is too much and that it only takes that ONE sin to doom me to an eternity in Hell. Romans 3:23, 6:23a "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . . For the wages of sin is death."
Let's be straight forward about this, a human can barely make it five minutes without sin. I fall short of His standard every day in almost every way. In Matthew 5, Jesus made it clear to "good" people that they didn't really understand how impossibly high the standard actually was. He told them that if they had ever been angry, they were murderers. If they had ever looked at anyone with lust, then they were guilty of adultery. He told them that they really didn't love unless they loved their enemies. Have you refused to love your enemies today? Did you get angry or feel that someone insulted you or violated your "rights"? Have you thought any nasty or covetous thoughts about anyone? Me too. If you have lived a perfect life up until this point and have just slipped up ONE time, you are done. You are condemned to an eternity in Hell. (My wife just walked in and interrupted my writing and I was short with her. I didn't even make it through this paragraph without sinning!)
All this being said, if it were up to my good behavior to maintain my salvation, I have no hope. It is all God and His work. John 6:37-39 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day." The moment that God declares the unrighteous sinner "not guilty", it is done. Nothing can separate us from God. Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
OK, that is all well and good, but all of us know people that have made professions of faith in Christ and later they have walked away. What about them? These are people that have the appearance of being believers but they NEVER WERE. Does this group actually exist? 1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us."
Next is assurance. How do you KNOW that you are saved? I touched on this in an article last month, but in a nutshell, the tests of salvation are nicely summarized in the little epistle of 1 John. There are 13 tests that help us to discern whether or not we are really in the faith. These tests can be boiled down to two basic things, a theological test and a practical test. The theological test is simple. Do you have a relationship with the Jesus of the Bible? If someone dedicates their life to helping orphans and widows, reforming the government, giving to the Cancer Society and Jerry's Kids, and they don't know the God of the Bible, they are not saved. On the other hand, the practical test is love. Do you love God and love others sacrificially? If you have intellectually apprehended all of the facts of the Bible and know everything that there is to know about Jesus and you don't love other people, you aren't saved. It is amazing to me how at every non-Christian funeral that I've attended, there are always mourners that are quick to create their own theology and give the poor deceased person a pass. "I am sure that so-and-so is looking down on us from Heaven." Oh, yeah?
That brings me to the difficult topic of that group of people that believe that they are saved but in reality they are not. First, I need to answer those teachers that insist on using a "spiritual birthday" to avoid confronting this topic: 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?" Paul himself directed us to check ourselves against the standard. It is implicit in the directive that some people that examine themselves will FAIL the test. The worst situation, and the one that plagues the church and society at large, is that MOST people don't take the test and if they did, MOST people would fail it. Simply put, most people believe that they are saved, but they really aren't. How can I make that over-the-top kind of statement?
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (italics mine) There are many teachers that would have you believe that this is a reference to Christians entering through the narrow gate and pagan folks entering through the wide gate. That is simply not true. The group entering through the wide gate are people that THINK that they are Christians and that the wide gate is leading to Heaven. It is unfortunate that many English translations set verses 13 and 14 apart from the rest of the text, but that is poor editing. The discussion following verse 14 is about false "prophets". This is not people that are prophets in the Old Testament sense, but simply people that profess faith in Christ. In verses 21 and 22 they call God "Lord, Lord". That is certainly not the cry of the pagans! The same MANY mentioned in verses 13 and 14 are again mentioned in verse 22. Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ " To me, these are the scariest verses in the Bible. This passage is speaking of people that are standing before God on Judgement Day and pleading their case. Lord! I did all kinds of wonderful works in your name, (obviously NOT pagans!), and I DESERVE to get in to your Heaven! God answers, "You have no relationship with Me. Go away!"
For those of you who love Jesus and belong to him, do not fret. Nothing you can do can separate you from God. For those of you who made a commitment to Christ and really are not sure whether or not you are a true believer, please test yourself. Read 1 John and examine your life! For those of you that know you aren't a Christian. Fall on you face and beg Jesus for forgiveness, and ask Him to take over the lordship of your life. For those of you that have made a commitment to Christ in the past, and have never thought about it since, I would beg you to read the Bible for yourself and don't let some human opinion that you have adopted as "truth" endanger your soul.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Don't Waste Your Life! Part 2
Yes, 28 years wasted and now it would be perfect bliss, right? I was a Christian, I was earning a big income, I had an incredible, healthy family and I was living on top of a hill overlooking the city in my new house! What a deal! God was prospering me. That's what many of those TV preachers said was going to happen. Story over.
Well, not quite. As I mentioned yesterday, I was 28, a baby Christian and still full of ME. Yes, when you become a Christian, your life as you knew it is over, and now you are a new creation. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me." Obviously, since Christians still sin and struggle with sin, there must be something about me that wasn't crucified with Christ. Paul recognized it in Romans 7:15-24 "For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?"
Paul recognized the problem, and it wasn't long after I came into a relationship with Jesus that I did too. I spent the next few weeks telling people about my experience and inevitably my business partner, the majority stock holder, called me in to talk to me about my "strange" behavior. "What is this I'm hearing about you?" I wasn't really sure what he was talking about, but he went on. "We are all Christians here, but you need to 'separate church and state'. Don't talk to people about Jesus. That's what Sunday is for." I didn't know it then, but that chat was the beginning of the end. I remained in the company for another ten years, but the seeds of destruction were sown that day.
During that ten years, I prospered financially, fathered another four children, (six altogether), joined a church and even started teaching a little Sunday School. I memorized scripture, went on short term missions trips and even taught a parenting class. I was sure that God was pleased with my work. In 1990 my business partner almost bankrupted the company by taking cash to pay off one of his wives in a divorce settlement. God responded by MIRACULOUSLY granting the company a huge chunk of debt forgiveness. Again, I was sure that this was what the Christian life was all about. God wanted me to be happy, prosperous and comfortable.
In 1997, it all came crashing down. The tension had been building for over ten years. My business partners, (now there were two of them), had some very different ideas about what were right and wrong business practices than I did. I would not be truthful if I said that I resigned for purely Godly reasons, but that was surely one of my motivations. I tendered my resignation in October of 1996 and the next day my partners sold the company. I instantly went from a seven figure income to zero.
What happened to God? Where was He now? I had some money socked away so I built a house in a nice part of town and decided at 37 years of age that I would live the "good life" and retire. Let's face it. God had given me everything I had ever wanted and more. I was sure that He would buy in to my new plan. I made up my mind that I would play golf and race my bicycle until the end of my days. This "Christian thing" really was a good deal!
I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was half way through a 110 mile training ride on my bicycle, out in the middle of nowhere. It was two weeks into my "retirement" and I was instantly struck with a terrible feeling. I had achieved the "American Dream" at the young age of 37 and I was out doing EXACTLY what I wanted to do, but I was miserable.
I couldn't explain the feeling, but I thought that the best way to salve the pain was to get busy with some other pursuit. I took a hammer to the "humble meter" in my life and decided to run for State Treasurer. I could see myself skipping past this relatively minor office and moving on to Governor and then, I was sure that the Presidency HAD to be next. My greatest confidant and counselor was the fellow I met with in the bathroom mirror every day and he told me that this was a great plan.
My ego was in charge and I thought that there was no pleasure or whim that I should deny myself. I was surrounded by sycophants that I hired for my campaign and they told me how great I really was. It was a time of self-deceit and self-indulgence. I had forgotten about my family, my friends, and worst of all, I had forgotten about God. God, however, had not forgotten about me. I lost the election in a landslide. I spent a giant chunk of my retirement money on the election, and soon afterward, the stock market "dip" robbed me of an even larger chunk of the rest.
OK, I experienced a minor setback and I was humbled a little, but God had always come through for me, hadn't He? I got back to church and tried to make up for lost time. I figured that I would start another business or two and then God would surely prosper them and ME. Isn't that the deal? I tip my hat to God and he sends me comfort and prosperity, doesn't He?
In the ensuing nine years, I started two businesses that when combined with my superior business acumen and the sure-fire formulas that I applied, were certain to signal the prosperity train back to the station. The first business exploded when I discovered that my business partner was using fake graduate degrees to market our product. It was another five years and another huge chunk of money swept down the drain. Where was God? I was reading my Bible every day and praying fairly often, so why wasn't He holding up His end of the log? Maybe He wanted me to go on another missions trip or two. Maybe not.
The next business debacle is chronicled to some degree in previous articles on Bible Truth Today. Suffice it to say, I worked for two and a half years with a company that is looking for a reason to avoid paying me. In retrospect, I would have made more money harvesting broccoli with the illegal immigrants in our area than I am likely to collect from this deal.
Have I wasted ANOTHER 20 years of my life? I would hope not. If I have LEARNED anything from the last 48, and I apply what I have learned, then it won't be. Statistically, I am almost 2/3 of the way through my time on this earth. God is clear in his word, that regardless of how significant I am to ME, I barely make a hole in the atmosphere. Psalm 103:14-16 "For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer."
Here are some lessons that I've learned:
1) Fall on your face before God in repentance today. Beg Jesus to come take control of your life now and don't waste ONE MORE SECOND. Anything that you "accomplish" prior to this first step is a complete and total waste. Isaiah 64:6 "For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."
2) STOP listening to the man in the mirror. He will talk you into attempting to control your own world. That is an illusion that can only be maintained for a short while. He is a deceiver and can never be trusted, regardless of what the TV tells you about "trusting in your heart". Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is DESPERATELY wicked. . ." Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding."
3) Understand that it's NOT ABOUT YOU. That being said, let me rephrase it. It's NOT ABOUT YOU. One more time, it's NOT ABOUT YOU! Philippians 2:3-4 "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."
4) Avoid foolish ambitions. They are a trap and a snare. Fame, power, wealth, sex, control and pleasure are fleeting and worse, they leave you bitter and empty. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 ". . . make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you."
5) Know the MISSION and do whatever it takes to accomplish it. It does NOT matter what vocations or avocations that you pursue. They are absolutely incidental to the REAL reason you are here on this earth. God can use them as a platform to accomplish the mission, but make no mistake, the one and ONLY priority is the MISSION. Matthew 28:19-20a "As you go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you."
6) Avail yourself to honest accountability. If you think that you have the ability to monitor your own affairs or you have the audacity to believe that you are the final arbiter of truth in your life, you are lying to yourself. Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death." James 5:16a "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed."
7) Love others sacrificially. Modern day love means, "I will maintain my emotional attachment to you as long as you make me feel good about myself." God's love means, "I will sacrifice myself for your benefit no matter what you do to me, or what you do for me." John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another."
King Solomon walked a similar road to mine. He experienced many of the pleasures that this world has to offer and found all of them wanting. In the end, he said in Ecclesiastes 12:13 "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person." He commanded us to acknowledge Him as Lord and savior, to avoid trusting in our own wisdom, to regard others as more important than ourselves, to avoid selfish ambition, to make disciples and to love others sacrificially.
As I said in my last post. I have wasted a good portion of my life up to this point. PLEASE don't waste yours. Please pray for me. I will pray for you.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Well, not quite. As I mentioned yesterday, I was 28, a baby Christian and still full of ME. Yes, when you become a Christian, your life as you knew it is over, and now you are a new creation. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me." Obviously, since Christians still sin and struggle with sin, there must be something about me that wasn't crucified with Christ. Paul recognized it in Romans 7:15-24 "For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?"
Paul recognized the problem, and it wasn't long after I came into a relationship with Jesus that I did too. I spent the next few weeks telling people about my experience and inevitably my business partner, the majority stock holder, called me in to talk to me about my "strange" behavior. "What is this I'm hearing about you?" I wasn't really sure what he was talking about, but he went on. "We are all Christians here, but you need to 'separate church and state'. Don't talk to people about Jesus. That's what Sunday is for." I didn't know it then, but that chat was the beginning of the end. I remained in the company for another ten years, but the seeds of destruction were sown that day.
During that ten years, I prospered financially, fathered another four children, (six altogether), joined a church and even started teaching a little Sunday School. I memorized scripture, went on short term missions trips and even taught a parenting class. I was sure that God was pleased with my work. In 1990 my business partner almost bankrupted the company by taking cash to pay off one of his wives in a divorce settlement. God responded by MIRACULOUSLY granting the company a huge chunk of debt forgiveness. Again, I was sure that this was what the Christian life was all about. God wanted me to be happy, prosperous and comfortable.
In 1997, it all came crashing down. The tension had been building for over ten years. My business partners, (now there were two of them), had some very different ideas about what were right and wrong business practices than I did. I would not be truthful if I said that I resigned for purely Godly reasons, but that was surely one of my motivations. I tendered my resignation in October of 1996 and the next day my partners sold the company. I instantly went from a seven figure income to zero.
What happened to God? Where was He now? I had some money socked away so I built a house in a nice part of town and decided at 37 years of age that I would live the "good life" and retire. Let's face it. God had given me everything I had ever wanted and more. I was sure that He would buy in to my new plan. I made up my mind that I would play golf and race my bicycle until the end of my days. This "Christian thing" really was a good deal!
I remember the day like it was yesterday. I was half way through a 110 mile training ride on my bicycle, out in the middle of nowhere. It was two weeks into my "retirement" and I was instantly struck with a terrible feeling. I had achieved the "American Dream" at the young age of 37 and I was out doing EXACTLY what I wanted to do, but I was miserable.
I couldn't explain the feeling, but I thought that the best way to salve the pain was to get busy with some other pursuit. I took a hammer to the "humble meter" in my life and decided to run for State Treasurer. I could see myself skipping past this relatively minor office and moving on to Governor and then, I was sure that the Presidency HAD to be next. My greatest confidant and counselor was the fellow I met with in the bathroom mirror every day and he told me that this was a great plan.
My ego was in charge and I thought that there was no pleasure or whim that I should deny myself. I was surrounded by sycophants that I hired for my campaign and they told me how great I really was. It was a time of self-deceit and self-indulgence. I had forgotten about my family, my friends, and worst of all, I had forgotten about God. God, however, had not forgotten about me. I lost the election in a landslide. I spent a giant chunk of my retirement money on the election, and soon afterward, the stock market "dip" robbed me of an even larger chunk of the rest.
OK, I experienced a minor setback and I was humbled a little, but God had always come through for me, hadn't He? I got back to church and tried to make up for lost time. I figured that I would start another business or two and then God would surely prosper them and ME. Isn't that the deal? I tip my hat to God and he sends me comfort and prosperity, doesn't He?
In the ensuing nine years, I started two businesses that when combined with my superior business acumen and the sure-fire formulas that I applied, were certain to signal the prosperity train back to the station. The first business exploded when I discovered that my business partner was using fake graduate degrees to market our product. It was another five years and another huge chunk of money swept down the drain. Where was God? I was reading my Bible every day and praying fairly often, so why wasn't He holding up His end of the log? Maybe He wanted me to go on another missions trip or two. Maybe not.
The next business debacle is chronicled to some degree in previous articles on Bible Truth Today. Suffice it to say, I worked for two and a half years with a company that is looking for a reason to avoid paying me. In retrospect, I would have made more money harvesting broccoli with the illegal immigrants in our area than I am likely to collect from this deal.
Have I wasted ANOTHER 20 years of my life? I would hope not. If I have LEARNED anything from the last 48, and I apply what I have learned, then it won't be. Statistically, I am almost 2/3 of the way through my time on this earth. God is clear in his word, that regardless of how significant I am to ME, I barely make a hole in the atmosphere. Psalm 103:14-16 "For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, And its place acknowledges it no longer."
Here are some lessons that I've learned:
1) Fall on your face before God in repentance today. Beg Jesus to come take control of your life now and don't waste ONE MORE SECOND. Anything that you "accomplish" prior to this first step is a complete and total waste. Isaiah 64:6 "For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."
2) STOP listening to the man in the mirror. He will talk you into attempting to control your own world. That is an illusion that can only be maintained for a short while. He is a deceiver and can never be trusted, regardless of what the TV tells you about "trusting in your heart". Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is DESPERATELY wicked. . ." Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding."
3) Understand that it's NOT ABOUT YOU. That being said, let me rephrase it. It's NOT ABOUT YOU. One more time, it's NOT ABOUT YOU! Philippians 2:3-4 "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."
4) Avoid foolish ambitions. They are a trap and a snare. Fame, power, wealth, sex, control and pleasure are fleeting and worse, they leave you bitter and empty. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 ". . . make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you."
5) Know the MISSION and do whatever it takes to accomplish it. It does NOT matter what vocations or avocations that you pursue. They are absolutely incidental to the REAL reason you are here on this earth. God can use them as a platform to accomplish the mission, but make no mistake, the one and ONLY priority is the MISSION. Matthew 28:19-20a "As you go, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you."
6) Avail yourself to honest accountability. If you think that you have the ability to monitor your own affairs or you have the audacity to believe that you are the final arbiter of truth in your life, you are lying to yourself. Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death." James 5:16a "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed."
7) Love others sacrificially. Modern day love means, "I will maintain my emotional attachment to you as long as you make me feel good about myself." God's love means, "I will sacrifice myself for your benefit no matter what you do to me, or what you do for me." John 13:34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another."
King Solomon walked a similar road to mine. He experienced many of the pleasures that this world has to offer and found all of them wanting. In the end, he said in Ecclesiastes 12:13 "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person." He commanded us to acknowledge Him as Lord and savior, to avoid trusting in our own wisdom, to regard others as more important than ourselves, to avoid selfish ambition, to make disciples and to love others sacrificially.
As I said in my last post. I have wasted a good portion of my life up to this point. PLEASE don't waste yours. Please pray for me. I will pray for you.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Don't Waste Your Life! Part 1
Don't waste your life. I am ashamed to admit that I have wasted a good portion of my life up to this point. I don't mean that it was wasted from God's perspective. In His economy, I have walked a path that He foreordained. I have experienced the trials and the successes that He has used to "sandpaper" me, in order to bring me to this moment. From a human standpoint, however, I have wasted a lot of time. I am writing this article to help others avoid the same traps.
_____________________________
When I was in the eighth grade, I "walked an aisle", prayed a special prayer and "asked Jesus into my heart". In the twenty or so times that I've read the New Testament, I have yet to find any mention of walking an aisle or asking Jesus into my heart, but more on that later. In retrospect, I was upset about the demise of my parents' marriage and I was looking for something to give me a feeling of security. I thought that it was a great side benefit that this prayer would buy some "fire insurance" for me. I really didn't savor the thought of going to hell, and this seemed like a great solution. With the quick recitation of the prayer and all the sincerity that an eighth grader can muster, I took care of eternity. At least that's what I thought.
Life continued as usual. I did well in school and attended a little Baptist church in my hometown. I went to Sunday School, learned some facts about God, and made sure to participate in all of the social events that the church offered. When I went to college the bloom fell off of the Christianity flower and I dabbled in other religions and some less than savory activities. After messing around for awhile in school, I made up my mind that I was going to go into business with the goal of becoming a billionaire before I turned 30. I met my future wife while in college and three weeks after I graduated, we were married. I spent the first two and half years of our married life, pouring myself into my work and spending every evening lifting weights. I was making money, I was physically fit, I saw a bright future and life was good. What more could I ask for?
In 1984 my oldest daughter came into the world and she stunned me. Before she was born, I regarded kids as a little project that would keep my wife busy. She was going to breast feed the baby and wash the CLOTH DIAPERS that I so generously purchased for her. That should have taken care of that problem, don't you think? When our oldest girl came into the world, my wife needed general anesthesia because of an emergency cesarean section, so it was just my daughter and me. I wept. For the first time in my life, I realized that if life begins, then life also ends. I experienced waves of emotion that day. Elation, relief, exhaustion, joy and fear all served to knock me out of my comfort zone. Was it possible that there was more to life than pleasing myself?
Within weeks I was able to squeeze those thoughts out of my mind. I had more important fish to fry. I was moving up in my company and started making a lot more money. In fact, I was given part ownership in the business and promoted to general manager. I found myself working many seven day weeks, but I found time to take my little family to a local church because I knew that my daughter would need to be exposed to some "Christian stuff", so she could grow up with a proper worldview.
The church thing blew up. This particular church practiced "outreach night" and the gentleman that visited my house turned out to be a disgruntled customer of mine. After I threw him out of the house, I swore that we would never go back. I kept my promise.
In 1986 I sold my business and used to proceeds to buy minority shares in a much larger business in another city. I packed up my family and moved away from my childhood home. The money was big, the new house was bigger, my biceps were enormous and my head was far and away the biggest thing of all. I had another daughter on the way and things couldn't have been better.
In 1987 I had a visitor from out of town. I had met him the year before at a business conference, and he had mentioned that he might stop by when he was in town. This was a perfect opportunity for me to brag about all of my accomplishments and to show off the new house that I was building. While he was in my office, he asked me a strange question. "Are you a Christian?" Of course I was a Christian. Isn't everyone? He made me a little uncomfortable when he asked me to recount my "conversion experience". I told him about eighth grade and the special prayer. I was sure that answer would satisfy him, but undaunted he insisted on inviting me to a Navigator's conference that evening. I thought that I would turn this situation to my advantage. I would attend this little meeting and then I would drive him over to my new home and bask in the glory! Perfect.
That night it was a typical Navigator's meeting. The speaker was probably interesting to someone in the room, but not to me. My recollection was that he talked about personal discipleship and memorizing scripture, but honestly he could have been talking about NASCAR and I don't think that I would have noticed. Finally, the meeting broke up and I was ready to execute my plan. Unfortunately, my friend was swept away by several conference attendees who suggested that we take a few minutes to attend an impromptu prayer meeting. This was really cramping my style, but I agreed to take a few minutes to "pray".
The hotel suite was full of men sitting along the walls and on anything with a flat surface. There were about 20 people crammed in the small room and I didn't know anyone other than my friend. Since this was obviously going to be a sell-out I had to sit in the midst of several strangers. As the room quieted, the leader suggested that we ask the fellow sitting next to us for any "prayer requests". Frankly, my only request was to get out of there!
The guy sitting to my left was from New York. He told me about his sick mother and some other stuff that I needed to memorize for the prayer. Blah, blah, blah! Someone across the room began to pray out loud. I really don't remember being in a less comfortable situation than this, with the sole exception being the time I wet my pants during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in first grade. I had been asked to do public speaking many times in my life, but this was a new and strange feeling. They actually wanted me to "talk to God" out loud, and not only that, they wanted me to speak about someone I didn't know and about something I didn't CARE about!
The prayer was moving around the room and I was madly rehearsing my speech. Let's see. . . New York, mom, sick. . . I didn't want to look like an idiot, so I put together a nice, tight little sermonette. I wanted to use a few thous and thees with a generous helping of "Oh, Lord!" When it came to my turn I began to speak. "Dear God, I don't remember the last time I prayed to you. In fact, I don't think that I've EVER prayed to you." WHAT?? This was NOT the speech that I had rehearsed. I was going on about asking Jesus to take away my sin and about begging Him to redirect my life. All of this was spilling out of my mouth and NO ONE in the room was more surprised than me.
After the meeting I raced home to tell my wife about what had happened. As you might have guessed, she looked at me with that incredulous look that only a wife can have. "D. L., is this another one of your "things"?" Track records are difficult things to overcome! Only time would tell if this was a D. L. thing or a real epiphany that would change my life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (One thing must be clear from this story. If nothing changes in your life after your commitment to Christ, you AREN'T a Christian.)
I was 28, a baby Christian and still full of ME. I was convinced that the best approach to my new Christian life was to use the same techniques that I had used in business and weight lifting. I would work hard, memorize scripture and jam the Bible down anyone's throat that would give me the time. 28 years down and how many more would I waste?
Tomorrow Part 2.
His Servant,
D. L. Culiver
_____________________________
When I was in the eighth grade, I "walked an aisle", prayed a special prayer and "asked Jesus into my heart". In the twenty or so times that I've read the New Testament, I have yet to find any mention of walking an aisle or asking Jesus into my heart, but more on that later. In retrospect, I was upset about the demise of my parents' marriage and I was looking for something to give me a feeling of security. I thought that it was a great side benefit that this prayer would buy some "fire insurance" for me. I really didn't savor the thought of going to hell, and this seemed like a great solution. With the quick recitation of the prayer and all the sincerity that an eighth grader can muster, I took care of eternity. At least that's what I thought.
Life continued as usual. I did well in school and attended a little Baptist church in my hometown. I went to Sunday School, learned some facts about God, and made sure to participate in all of the social events that the church offered. When I went to college the bloom fell off of the Christianity flower and I dabbled in other religions and some less than savory activities. After messing around for awhile in school, I made up my mind that I was going to go into business with the goal of becoming a billionaire before I turned 30. I met my future wife while in college and three weeks after I graduated, we were married. I spent the first two and half years of our married life, pouring myself into my work and spending every evening lifting weights. I was making money, I was physically fit, I saw a bright future and life was good. What more could I ask for?
In 1984 my oldest daughter came into the world and she stunned me. Before she was born, I regarded kids as a little project that would keep my wife busy. She was going to breast feed the baby and wash the CLOTH DIAPERS that I so generously purchased for her. That should have taken care of that problem, don't you think? When our oldest girl came into the world, my wife needed general anesthesia because of an emergency cesarean section, so it was just my daughter and me. I wept. For the first time in my life, I realized that if life begins, then life also ends. I experienced waves of emotion that day. Elation, relief, exhaustion, joy and fear all served to knock me out of my comfort zone. Was it possible that there was more to life than pleasing myself?
Within weeks I was able to squeeze those thoughts out of my mind. I had more important fish to fry. I was moving up in my company and started making a lot more money. In fact, I was given part ownership in the business and promoted to general manager. I found myself working many seven day weeks, but I found time to take my little family to a local church because I knew that my daughter would need to be exposed to some "Christian stuff", so she could grow up with a proper worldview.
The church thing blew up. This particular church practiced "outreach night" and the gentleman that visited my house turned out to be a disgruntled customer of mine. After I threw him out of the house, I swore that we would never go back. I kept my promise.
In 1986 I sold my business and used to proceeds to buy minority shares in a much larger business in another city. I packed up my family and moved away from my childhood home. The money was big, the new house was bigger, my biceps were enormous and my head was far and away the biggest thing of all. I had another daughter on the way and things couldn't have been better.
In 1987 I had a visitor from out of town. I had met him the year before at a business conference, and he had mentioned that he might stop by when he was in town. This was a perfect opportunity for me to brag about all of my accomplishments and to show off the new house that I was building. While he was in my office, he asked me a strange question. "Are you a Christian?" Of course I was a Christian. Isn't everyone? He made me a little uncomfortable when he asked me to recount my "conversion experience". I told him about eighth grade and the special prayer. I was sure that answer would satisfy him, but undaunted he insisted on inviting me to a Navigator's conference that evening. I thought that I would turn this situation to my advantage. I would attend this little meeting and then I would drive him over to my new home and bask in the glory! Perfect.
That night it was a typical Navigator's meeting. The speaker was probably interesting to someone in the room, but not to me. My recollection was that he talked about personal discipleship and memorizing scripture, but honestly he could have been talking about NASCAR and I don't think that I would have noticed. Finally, the meeting broke up and I was ready to execute my plan. Unfortunately, my friend was swept away by several conference attendees who suggested that we take a few minutes to attend an impromptu prayer meeting. This was really cramping my style, but I agreed to take a few minutes to "pray".
The hotel suite was full of men sitting along the walls and on anything with a flat surface. There were about 20 people crammed in the small room and I didn't know anyone other than my friend. Since this was obviously going to be a sell-out I had to sit in the midst of several strangers. As the room quieted, the leader suggested that we ask the fellow sitting next to us for any "prayer requests". Frankly, my only request was to get out of there!
The guy sitting to my left was from New York. He told me about his sick mother and some other stuff that I needed to memorize for the prayer. Blah, blah, blah! Someone across the room began to pray out loud. I really don't remember being in a less comfortable situation than this, with the sole exception being the time I wet my pants during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in first grade. I had been asked to do public speaking many times in my life, but this was a new and strange feeling. They actually wanted me to "talk to God" out loud, and not only that, they wanted me to speak about someone I didn't know and about something I didn't CARE about!
The prayer was moving around the room and I was madly rehearsing my speech. Let's see. . . New York, mom, sick. . . I didn't want to look like an idiot, so I put together a nice, tight little sermonette. I wanted to use a few thous and thees with a generous helping of "Oh, Lord!" When it came to my turn I began to speak. "Dear God, I don't remember the last time I prayed to you. In fact, I don't think that I've EVER prayed to you." WHAT?? This was NOT the speech that I had rehearsed. I was going on about asking Jesus to take away my sin and about begging Him to redirect my life. All of this was spilling out of my mouth and NO ONE in the room was more surprised than me.
After the meeting I raced home to tell my wife about what had happened. As you might have guessed, she looked at me with that incredulous look that only a wife can have. "D. L., is this another one of your "things"?" Track records are difficult things to overcome! Only time would tell if this was a D. L. thing or a real epiphany that would change my life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (One thing must be clear from this story. If nothing changes in your life after your commitment to Christ, you AREN'T a Christian.)
I was 28, a baby Christian and still full of ME. I was convinced that the best approach to my new Christian life was to use the same techniques that I had used in business and weight lifting. I would work hard, memorize scripture and jam the Bible down anyone's throat that would give me the time. 28 years down and how many more would I waste?
Tomorrow Part 2.
His Servant,
D. L. Culiver
Monday, July 9, 2007
How Do You KNOW that the Bible is True?
I am blessed with the incredible opportunity to be able to teach a Bible study that my youngest sons attend on a weekly basis. This morning, my youngest asked me to talk about why we should believe in the Bible. Let's face it. Every blog article that I've written so far has cited the Bible as truth. If you don't believe in the veracity of scripture, then nothing that I've written makes any sense. In fact, everything that I write about could be just another Internet opinion!
So what evidence do we have that the Bible is truly the word of God? Is it just another religious book, like the the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas, the writings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, the Word of Wisdom, the Apocrypha, the New World Translation, the Tanach, the Zend Avesta, Jain Texts, the Kohiki & Nihongi, the Tripitaka, the Tao Te Ching, the Analects, the Adi Granth, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, or the UUA Principles? The short answer is NO.
First, the Bible is completely different from these other texts in that it is not a book that explains how man can work his way to God, or to reach enlightenment, or to accomplish some other selfish pursuit. In fact it clearly explains that there is NO WAY for man to do ANYTHING that would merit God's favor! This fact in and of itself is not "proof" that the Bible is true, but it definitely sets it apart from the other "scriptures".
The Bible is unique in other ways. It is a compilation of 66 books written by 40 different authors that was penned over the span of 1,500 years, and in all of those books there are no errors and no inconsistencies. (I know that this statement will generate a ton of emails from folks that will beg to differ, but though many have tried, none have been able to demonstrate that the Bible has any errors. There are no errors of fact, or history, or science, or language. There are no inconsistencies of theology and in spite of an ENORMOUS effort to discredit the miracles that are spoken of in its pages, there have been no successful assaults on the veracity of the word.) There are certainly paradoxes in the Bible that need to be studied to be resolved, but that is not the same thing as error. Major paradoxes exist such as God's sovereignty in salvation with respect to man's responsibility, or the relationship between work and faith, or the origin of evil. However, these seeming "contradictions" serve to glorify God, because they change our contact with God from a formula, which is the basis for all other world religions, into a RELATIONSHIP. Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out."
There are many external proofs that the Bible is true. First the Bible is and has been the dead center of geopolitics on earth. Israel, (Jacob), the central character in the Old Testament, was born in approximately 2026 B.C. In the ensuing 4,033 years, his genetic progeny have managed, (in spite of MANY attempts to wipe them of the face of the earth), to maintain their position as CENTRAL to every conflict and major event in history. Think about today. Every player in the Iraq conflict, whether or not they are actually engaged in the battle or not, has taken a side. Those "sides" are always in some way related to Israel. You can name the nations and without thinking too hard about it, and you KNOW which side they are on. The United States, Great Britain, Australia and Poland are on one side. China, Russia, Iran, Korea, and the host of Islamic nations are on the other. Look at wars of the past, ancient and otherwise. Israel and his children are always somehow involved! It strains credibility to think that this tiny family, that didn't even reclaim its "homeland" until 1948, is so very important in the grand scheme of things that they would under "natural" circumstances, merit this kind of attention! (Remember that the Jews were being persecuted BEFORE they "occupied Palestine".)
Another external proof is the martyrdom of the men that walked with Jesus. Unlike the martyrs of today, the so-called suicide bombers, men like John, Matthew and Peter actually WALKED with Jesus. Many folks will die for their faith, but these men died for Jesus because they actually SAW him die on the cross and rise from the dead. The natural response of the disciples of any religious leader is to scatter when he dies, especially when there is a personal risk of persecution. In fact, that is EXACTLY what Jesus' disciples did. They took off and hid! Peter actually denied Christ three times and cursed his name. That is what men will naturally do when they face their own death for a "cause". In the case of Jesus' disciples, however, we see an entirely different response. All of his disciples came back AFTER his death and risked EVERYTHING for Him. Why? There would be absolutely NO rational explanation for their "eyes wide open" response unless Jesus ACTUALLY was raised from the dead. If Jesus never came back to life after the crucifixion, then everything He promised them was a lie. Who is going to risk life and limb for a liar? You might be able to make that case that these guys might want to profit from some sort of deceit that they perpetrated on the rest of Jesus' followers, but all the way to their deaths? Again, it strains credibility to believe that ALL of these men marched in lockstep toward terrible persecution and violent deaths, unless the Biblical account of Jesus' resurrection was true.
In addition to the external proofs of the Bible, there are internal proofs. People of many faiths and many belief systems are stumbling through life, hoping against hope that the worldview that they hold is true. All of the other systems are flattering and appeal to the "boastful pride of life". These systems make man the linchpin in his own destiny. Man is ALWAYS the center of the action. (You might object and point to Islam as the exception, but you would be wrong. Islam may teach that Allah is high and exalted, but man can still perform certain acts, like martyrdom, that will EARN his selfish desires.) The Bible clearly teaches that God is the center and that man is almost incidental in the grand scheme of things. Unlike other faith systems, the Bible declares man to be totally depraved. In fact, only the restraining hand of God keeps man from being as evil as he could be. Genesis 8:21b ". . . for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. . ." There is NOTHING in the Bible that appeals to man's selfishness. Even the goal of eternity in Heaven is for one purpose, for the glory of God through fellowship with Him. There is only "dying to one's self and selfish desires" and "humbling" one's self before the Lord. It is all about giving up what you love for the love of God. It is about God's discipline on those He loves. In spite of the painful and humbling nature of the Bible, men KNOW that it is true. Romans 1:21-23 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." People that vehemently or even violently deny the truth of the Bible know in their hearts that it's true. Make no mistake about it. Non-Christian folks don't object to the Bible and its tenets because they believe that Christians are always trying to jam it down their throats, though in some cases that might be true. They object to the AUTHORITY that they KNOW God has over them and they hate it. If it were just a religion that wants to "jam it down their throat" the media would be screaming bloody murder about Islam. Muslims want to take over the world and yet we see a "why can't we all just get along" attitude from the intellectual elite. (These are the same "elite" that would happily throw the Bible and all things Christian out with the trash!) In their deep consciences they KNOW that Islam is a fraud and the Bible is true.
Another internal proof is the changed lives of true believers. True Christians aren't reckless madmen looking to blow up buses and bridges in order to appease their god. They are people that are willing to endure insults and persecutions and return love to their persecutors. They are people that are willing to give their time and treasure to people that will seldom if ever show appreciation. True Christians would agree that the greatest victory in life is to see a sinner come into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. From a worldly perspective, they get NOTHING out of it. What power could effect such a change in the lives of people? The truth of the Bible is the ONLY truth. John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." "
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
So what evidence do we have that the Bible is truly the word of God? Is it just another religious book, like the the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas, the writings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, the Word of Wisdom, the Apocrypha, the New World Translation, the Tanach, the Zend Avesta, Jain Texts, the Kohiki & Nihongi, the Tripitaka, the Tao Te Ching, the Analects, the Adi Granth, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, or the UUA Principles? The short answer is NO.
First, the Bible is completely different from these other texts in that it is not a book that explains how man can work his way to God, or to reach enlightenment, or to accomplish some other selfish pursuit. In fact it clearly explains that there is NO WAY for man to do ANYTHING that would merit God's favor! This fact in and of itself is not "proof" that the Bible is true, but it definitely sets it apart from the other "scriptures".
The Bible is unique in other ways. It is a compilation of 66 books written by 40 different authors that was penned over the span of 1,500 years, and in all of those books there are no errors and no inconsistencies. (I know that this statement will generate a ton of emails from folks that will beg to differ, but though many have tried, none have been able to demonstrate that the Bible has any errors. There are no errors of fact, or history, or science, or language. There are no inconsistencies of theology and in spite of an ENORMOUS effort to discredit the miracles that are spoken of in its pages, there have been no successful assaults on the veracity of the word.) There are certainly paradoxes in the Bible that need to be studied to be resolved, but that is not the same thing as error. Major paradoxes exist such as God's sovereignty in salvation with respect to man's responsibility, or the relationship between work and faith, or the origin of evil. However, these seeming "contradictions" serve to glorify God, because they change our contact with God from a formula, which is the basis for all other world religions, into a RELATIONSHIP. Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out."
There are many external proofs that the Bible is true. First the Bible is and has been the dead center of geopolitics on earth. Israel, (Jacob), the central character in the Old Testament, was born in approximately 2026 B.C. In the ensuing 4,033 years, his genetic progeny have managed, (in spite of MANY attempts to wipe them of the face of the earth), to maintain their position as CENTRAL to every conflict and major event in history. Think about today. Every player in the Iraq conflict, whether or not they are actually engaged in the battle or not, has taken a side. Those "sides" are always in some way related to Israel. You can name the nations and without thinking too hard about it, and you KNOW which side they are on. The United States, Great Britain, Australia and Poland are on one side. China, Russia, Iran, Korea, and the host of Islamic nations are on the other. Look at wars of the past, ancient and otherwise. Israel and his children are always somehow involved! It strains credibility to think that this tiny family, that didn't even reclaim its "homeland" until 1948, is so very important in the grand scheme of things that they would under "natural" circumstances, merit this kind of attention! (Remember that the Jews were being persecuted BEFORE they "occupied Palestine".)
Another external proof is the martyrdom of the men that walked with Jesus. Unlike the martyrs of today, the so-called suicide bombers, men like John, Matthew and Peter actually WALKED with Jesus. Many folks will die for their faith, but these men died for Jesus because they actually SAW him die on the cross and rise from the dead. The natural response of the disciples of any religious leader is to scatter when he dies, especially when there is a personal risk of persecution. In fact, that is EXACTLY what Jesus' disciples did. They took off and hid! Peter actually denied Christ three times and cursed his name. That is what men will naturally do when they face their own death for a "cause". In the case of Jesus' disciples, however, we see an entirely different response. All of his disciples came back AFTER his death and risked EVERYTHING for Him. Why? There would be absolutely NO rational explanation for their "eyes wide open" response unless Jesus ACTUALLY was raised from the dead. If Jesus never came back to life after the crucifixion, then everything He promised them was a lie. Who is going to risk life and limb for a liar? You might be able to make that case that these guys might want to profit from some sort of deceit that they perpetrated on the rest of Jesus' followers, but all the way to their deaths? Again, it strains credibility to believe that ALL of these men marched in lockstep toward terrible persecution and violent deaths, unless the Biblical account of Jesus' resurrection was true.
In addition to the external proofs of the Bible, there are internal proofs. People of many faiths and many belief systems are stumbling through life, hoping against hope that the worldview that they hold is true. All of the other systems are flattering and appeal to the "boastful pride of life". These systems make man the linchpin in his own destiny. Man is ALWAYS the center of the action. (You might object and point to Islam as the exception, but you would be wrong. Islam may teach that Allah is high and exalted, but man can still perform certain acts, like martyrdom, that will EARN his selfish desires.) The Bible clearly teaches that God is the center and that man is almost incidental in the grand scheme of things. Unlike other faith systems, the Bible declares man to be totally depraved. In fact, only the restraining hand of God keeps man from being as evil as he could be. Genesis 8:21b ". . . for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. . ." There is NOTHING in the Bible that appeals to man's selfishness. Even the goal of eternity in Heaven is for one purpose, for the glory of God through fellowship with Him. There is only "dying to one's self and selfish desires" and "humbling" one's self before the Lord. It is all about giving up what you love for the love of God. It is about God's discipline on those He loves. In spite of the painful and humbling nature of the Bible, men KNOW that it is true. Romans 1:21-23 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles." People that vehemently or even violently deny the truth of the Bible know in their hearts that it's true. Make no mistake about it. Non-Christian folks don't object to the Bible and its tenets because they believe that Christians are always trying to jam it down their throats, though in some cases that might be true. They object to the AUTHORITY that they KNOW God has over them and they hate it. If it were just a religion that wants to "jam it down their throat" the media would be screaming bloody murder about Islam. Muslims want to take over the world and yet we see a "why can't we all just get along" attitude from the intellectual elite. (These are the same "elite" that would happily throw the Bible and all things Christian out with the trash!) In their deep consciences they KNOW that Islam is a fraud and the Bible is true.
Another internal proof is the changed lives of true believers. True Christians aren't reckless madmen looking to blow up buses and bridges in order to appease their god. They are people that are willing to endure insults and persecutions and return love to their persecutors. They are people that are willing to give their time and treasure to people that will seldom if ever show appreciation. True Christians would agree that the greatest victory in life is to see a sinner come into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. From a worldly perspective, they get NOTHING out of it. What power could effect such a change in the lives of people? The truth of the Bible is the ONLY truth. John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." "
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Evolution and the Bible
When I was a young teen, I got into a discussion with my uncle about evolution. I had always respected my uncle as the only real Christian influence in my life. He was a great man, but he insisted on believing in a six day creation. I was convinced that he was just another narrow-minded, slightly deluded Christian fanatic. Imagine believing in creationism in spite of all of the scientific evidence that evolution is true!
I have always been a bit of a science geek. I was the little weird kid that in kindergarten, instead of learning to count to 100 by fives and tens, I memorized the distance from the sun to Neptune and Pluto. I also spend an extra $5 per month on my satellite TV bill, for 10 extra channels. I block 9 of them and watch the Science Channel! All of that to say, I love science.
It wasn't until my adult years that I began to question my belief in evolution. I am truly a product of the educational system in the United States, so I realize that by even THINKING this, I've committed heresy. Look at the facts! How could anyone question those scholarly men and women in their clean, white lab coats? And look at their degrees, by golly! These folks have studied their subjects so thoroughly that anything that they say should be taken at face value, especially by a lay-scientist slob like me. Don't you think?
If studying a subject thoroughly makes it truth, then we all need to bow the knee to Allah, because the Muslim fundamentalists really know the Koran! When we examine evolution for what it REALLY is, we find it lacking, ESPECIALLY in the light of science. First, we learned in all of our high school science classes, that for a theory to be regarded as fact, it had to pass the experimentation test. That means that we do experiments repeatedly, and over time, if we get the same result, we can call it fact. Does evolution pass this test? It really depends on what you mean by evolution. There are very few scientists that believe in the same things that Charles Darwin believed in. As the years have gone by, Darwinism has morphed into Neo-Darwinian Micro-Mutational Evolutionary Theory, (NDMMET). These theories are only similar in that they believe that life came from non-life, natural selection and that God, if He exists, was only the great "clock maker" who wound the whole thing up and let it go.
If we are to believe in NDMMET, we need to do so without the benefit of the experimental method of scientific reasoning. The "god" that we need to tip our hat to is uniformitarianism. Uniformitarianism is the belief that as things are today, they always were in the past and always will be in the future. Modern scientists would have you believe that all there is to know is right in front of you and all you have to do is to wind the clock back to find the truth. Since life exists, wind the clock back and life MUST have come from non-life. Since there is diversity of species, they MUST have come from a single source. This belief system stands in stark contrast to "catastrophism", which is the belief that non-linear events interrupt history on occasion. (The Christian would put "miracles" in this category.) God warned believers against falling into this trap. 2 Peter 3:3-7 "Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming, (Jesus)? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly." (italics mine) Does this scenario sound familiar?
Evolution cannot be proved experimentally. It is a "faith" system. I would go as far as to call it a religion. I heard a scientist speaking on television this week. He said, "I fully expect to find earth-like planets in circular orbits to be as common as grains of sand in the next ten years. If we don't, it may mean that the Earth is unique. That would be very disturbing to me." Though he wasn't speaking about evolution per se, he was referring to earth-like planets where life could arise spontaneously. He was fearful of finding out that the only place in the universe that has life is our Earth. Why would he be disturbed by that? If the Earth is a unique place and if life only exists here, then his FAITH system would be sorely challenged. It is a grave and life-changing thing, when all that we have come to believe by faith, is thrown into chaos.
I really want to challenge evolution on a technical basis, but I am sure that the majority of my readers would find that discussion boring. For the purpose of this article, I simply want to posit these ideas:
1) Evolution is a faith system and not science. The proponents of evolution, have either been educated in our school system and believe it because they had to pass a test on the subject, (so it MUST be true), or they use the theory in order to have a rationale to dismiss the biblical account of creation. If the biblical account is true, then the Bible is true. If the Bible is true, then the God of the Bible is in charge. If the God of the Bible is in charge, then I must OBEY Him. Since I don't WANT to obey anyone, then evolution must be true! Romans 1:21-25 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."
2) Evolutionary theory is a moving target. As the years have passed, evolutionary theory has had to change in order to remain valid. The fossil record does not support evolution, so scientists have borrowed from catastrophism and come up with "punctuated equilibrium". Punctuated equilibrium means that fossil forming events were so sudden that they only took a snapshot of life at a given moment, like a great flood. (Hmmmmm!) Only under the most unusual circumstances can fossils be formed, ergo we have many missing links. Also, evolution has had to blithely skip over one small point. Biogenesis. Evolutionary scientists have quietly and unsuccessfully tried to create life from non-life for many years. The closest that they ever came was the celebrated experiment from the 1950's that was able to form amino acids from hydrocarbon gas. The experiment had to assume that there was NO oxygen present at the time that "life" was formed, and it had to make the quantum leap of faith that somehow, since amino acids could be formed, it was only a matter of time before the goo in the flask would rise up and start talking. (Amino acids are to life, as a nut is to a Rolls Royce.) In spite of all of the time and effort dedicated to figuring out how life "happens", no one has come close to figuring out STEP ONE in evolutionary theory. (But you had better believe it anyway!)
3) Christians do not have to capitulate to "science" in order to make valid arguments in defense of the biblical account of creation. There has been a wave of defections from the creationist camp to some form of "evolutionary creationism" or "progressive creationism". This has happened because for the most part, Christians are ignorant. First, most Christians were educated in the modern school system. They weren't necessarily taught by a card carrying atheist, but they were educated by teachers that were educated by teachers that were educated by teachers that bought into and embraced a naturalistic, atheistic world view. The government school system taught them, tested them and rewarded them for their knowledge of evolutionary theory. The TV and all other popular media propagandized them and reinforced the belief that evolution was "smart" and creationism was backward, red-necked and unsophisticated. Also, Christians are, for the most part, ignorant about the Bible. I recently had an email debate with a fellow that defended his belief in evolution along with his belief in the Bible. I asked him if he had actually read the Bible. His answer was NO, but he had read a ton of books written by guys that validated what he already believed ABOUT the Bible. That should be enough, right?
I plan to revisit this discussion in later posts. I believe that evolution and the underlying worldview that flows from evolutionary theory are extremely destructive to not only society in general, but to the Christian church as well.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
I have always been a bit of a science geek. I was the little weird kid that in kindergarten, instead of learning to count to 100 by fives and tens, I memorized the distance from the sun to Neptune and Pluto. I also spend an extra $5 per month on my satellite TV bill, for 10 extra channels. I block 9 of them and watch the Science Channel! All of that to say, I love science.
It wasn't until my adult years that I began to question my belief in evolution. I am truly a product of the educational system in the United States, so I realize that by even THINKING this, I've committed heresy. Look at the facts! How could anyone question those scholarly men and women in their clean, white lab coats? And look at their degrees, by golly! These folks have studied their subjects so thoroughly that anything that they say should be taken at face value, especially by a lay-scientist slob like me. Don't you think?
If studying a subject thoroughly makes it truth, then we all need to bow the knee to Allah, because the Muslim fundamentalists really know the Koran! When we examine evolution for what it REALLY is, we find it lacking, ESPECIALLY in the light of science. First, we learned in all of our high school science classes, that for a theory to be regarded as fact, it had to pass the experimentation test. That means that we do experiments repeatedly, and over time, if we get the same result, we can call it fact. Does evolution pass this test? It really depends on what you mean by evolution. There are very few scientists that believe in the same things that Charles Darwin believed in. As the years have gone by, Darwinism has morphed into Neo-Darwinian Micro-Mutational Evolutionary Theory, (NDMMET). These theories are only similar in that they believe that life came from non-life, natural selection and that God, if He exists, was only the great "clock maker" who wound the whole thing up and let it go.
If we are to believe in NDMMET, we need to do so without the benefit of the experimental method of scientific reasoning. The "god" that we need to tip our hat to is uniformitarianism. Uniformitarianism is the belief that as things are today, they always were in the past and always will be in the future. Modern scientists would have you believe that all there is to know is right in front of you and all you have to do is to wind the clock back to find the truth. Since life exists, wind the clock back and life MUST have come from non-life. Since there is diversity of species, they MUST have come from a single source. This belief system stands in stark contrast to "catastrophism", which is the belief that non-linear events interrupt history on occasion. (The Christian would put "miracles" in this category.) God warned believers against falling into this trap. 2 Peter 3:3-7 "Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming, (Jesus)? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly." (italics mine) Does this scenario sound familiar?
Evolution cannot be proved experimentally. It is a "faith" system. I would go as far as to call it a religion. I heard a scientist speaking on television this week. He said, "I fully expect to find earth-like planets in circular orbits to be as common as grains of sand in the next ten years. If we don't, it may mean that the Earth is unique. That would be very disturbing to me." Though he wasn't speaking about evolution per se, he was referring to earth-like planets where life could arise spontaneously. He was fearful of finding out that the only place in the universe that has life is our Earth. Why would he be disturbed by that? If the Earth is a unique place and if life only exists here, then his FAITH system would be sorely challenged. It is a grave and life-changing thing, when all that we have come to believe by faith, is thrown into chaos.
I really want to challenge evolution on a technical basis, but I am sure that the majority of my readers would find that discussion boring. For the purpose of this article, I simply want to posit these ideas:
1) Evolution is a faith system and not science. The proponents of evolution, have either been educated in our school system and believe it because they had to pass a test on the subject, (so it MUST be true), or they use the theory in order to have a rationale to dismiss the biblical account of creation. If the biblical account is true, then the Bible is true. If the Bible is true, then the God of the Bible is in charge. If the God of the Bible is in charge, then I must OBEY Him. Since I don't WANT to obey anyone, then evolution must be true! Romans 1:21-25 "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."
2) Evolutionary theory is a moving target. As the years have passed, evolutionary theory has had to change in order to remain valid. The fossil record does not support evolution, so scientists have borrowed from catastrophism and come up with "punctuated equilibrium". Punctuated equilibrium means that fossil forming events were so sudden that they only took a snapshot of life at a given moment, like a great flood. (Hmmmmm!) Only under the most unusual circumstances can fossils be formed, ergo we have many missing links. Also, evolution has had to blithely skip over one small point. Biogenesis. Evolutionary scientists have quietly and unsuccessfully tried to create life from non-life for many years. The closest that they ever came was the celebrated experiment from the 1950's that was able to form amino acids from hydrocarbon gas. The experiment had to assume that there was NO oxygen present at the time that "life" was formed, and it had to make the quantum leap of faith that somehow, since amino acids could be formed, it was only a matter of time before the goo in the flask would rise up and start talking. (Amino acids are to life, as a nut is to a Rolls Royce.) In spite of all of the time and effort dedicated to figuring out how life "happens", no one has come close to figuring out STEP ONE in evolutionary theory. (But you had better believe it anyway!)
3) Christians do not have to capitulate to "science" in order to make valid arguments in defense of the biblical account of creation. There has been a wave of defections from the creationist camp to some form of "evolutionary creationism" or "progressive creationism". This has happened because for the most part, Christians are ignorant. First, most Christians were educated in the modern school system. They weren't necessarily taught by a card carrying atheist, but they were educated by teachers that were educated by teachers that were educated by teachers that bought into and embraced a naturalistic, atheistic world view. The government school system taught them, tested them and rewarded them for their knowledge of evolutionary theory. The TV and all other popular media propagandized them and reinforced the belief that evolution was "smart" and creationism was backward, red-necked and unsophisticated. Also, Christians are, for the most part, ignorant about the Bible. I recently had an email debate with a fellow that defended his belief in evolution along with his belief in the Bible. I asked him if he had actually read the Bible. His answer was NO, but he had read a ton of books written by guys that validated what he already believed ABOUT the Bible. That should be enough, right?
I plan to revisit this discussion in later posts. I believe that evolution and the underlying worldview that flows from evolutionary theory are extremely destructive to not only society in general, but to the Christian church as well.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Patriotism - My Responsibility?
About 10 years ago I embarked on an ill-fated run for Arizona State Treasurer. My initial motivation was to "make a difference" for the Christian cause. I say "initial" because after the campaign started, many other forces washed over my brain, including power, greed and ego. God was gracious to me, and he crushed my political career flat.
Since that time, I've been asked to run for several different offices, but for the most part I've sat on the sidelines merely remembering to vote every election day. I have been a supporter of our local policy and lobbying group, but one question has bothered me. As a Christian, what is my responsibility regarding politics and government? I have to admit that I've often adopted an extra-Biblical philosophy and tried desperately to rationalize it in my own mind.
How about this one? If Christians are not involved in politics, then the non-Christians will take over. Or what about this point? God would want Christian government in the United States, and I have a God-ordained obligation to do whatever I can to promote it. I read the New Testament twice per year and the Old Testament once and I have to admit that I can't find any support for this emotional flinch.
I recently received several emails from a fellow that insists that in order to be a philosophically consistent Christian, we need to demand a new investigation into the events of 9/11. He asked, ". . . how does your belief in Christ manifest itself in your life and politics?" He saw a disconnect between the view expressed in James 1:27 "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world", and his question, "What about serving widows and orphans? What about those widowed mothers and orphans of 911? Please understand that none of them are satisfied with the results of the findings of the 911 commission." Where does the Christian have obligation and where does he have option?
I read an interesting post from Chuck Colson's BreakPoint yesterday. He makes this point, "In the United States, Christians have all too often vacillated between two extremes—the God-and-country, wrap-the-flag-around-the-cross mentality or on the other hand, the simply passing-through mindset." I agree. I know many politicians that are bent on reforming our government and from my perspective they see the greatest good that they can accomplish on this earth as being the reformation of our government into a republic/theocracy. On the other extreme, there are believers that I know that won't even vote because they see the government as too far gone and too worldly for them to become even slightly involved. (I had a good Christian friend that wouldn't even go to the polls to vote for ME! Maybe he knew me too well?)
The Christian's relationship to government is laid out in Romans 13:1-6 "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing." This passage shoots down subtly the argument, "If Christians are not involved in politics, then the non-Christians will take over." The command is not to get involved in government, but to be subject to the government that God put in place. It also shoots a big fat hole in, "God would want a Christian government in the United States. . . " This passage was written when one of the most oppressive governments in history was in power, namely Rome! "For there is no authority except from God. If God wanted a Christian government in the United States, there would be one!
What should the individual Christian do vis-à-vis politics? First, if God has called a Christian to be salt and light in the political arena, there is no prohibition against it. The same requirements are in place for that individual that there would be if he were a fire fighter, a missionary, or a corporate executive. He must exhibit integrity and his driving passion MUST be the MISSION, to make disciples as he walks through life. If his passion is something other than this, necessarily he can't be walking in God's will. 2 Corinthians 5:9 "So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him." Understand this, that God wants us to be ENGAGED in the world, but not be separate from it. This does not mean that we are to DESIRE this world in any way. Paul said in Philippians 1:21-24 "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account." (italics mine) If the Christian politician does not do his work with this in mind, then he cannot please God.
For the Christian that has not chosen politics as a profession, he has a responsibility to restrain evil and to have stewardship over that which God has given him. In the Jesus' day, the average citizen had no voice in government, so his only responsibility was to honor the king and to be subject to the authorities. Today, we have the same obligation, but we also, by virtue of God's divine providence have been gifted a republic. In the same way as we care for our children, our homes and our automobiles, we have a stewardship responsibility over our government.
As for restraining evil, Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." If we have opportunity, we have an obligation to overcome evil by doing good. This could be taken to an extreme. Could this mean that we need to drop what we are doing and go to Capitol Hill to demand another 9-11 investigation? Maybe, but it always needs to be measured in the light of the MISSION. Will your actions actually "make disciples"?
In the end, God's word is the final arbiter of truth. If I am measuring my heart against the Bible and I don't allow it to deceive me, then I will have a healthy view of politics. I can still be "heavenly minded" and avoid being "no earthly good"!
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Should God Bless America?
I may live to regret this, but I am going to take a slightly different tack for this article. Tomorrow is America's 231st birthday, and since the 4th of July is my second favorite holiday, (only second to Thanksgiving), I want to talk about our country.
After 9-11 there was an incredible outpouring of patriotic sympathy. The number of flags that were flown in the weeks that followed must have made the flag manufacturers stand up and salute! In fact, there was a report that fuel consumption had increased by 1% after 9-11 because of the loss of aerodynamics on most automobiles. This was because everyone was flying a flag or two on their cars! Soon those entrepreneurs got into the act and there were bumper stickers with patriotic slogans pasted everywhere. I must admit, I was encouraged.
The encouragement was short lived. Many of the bumper stickers had the theme, "God Bless America." I believe that most Americans would love to have God's blessing, but few of them actually want God. It's pretty amazing when you look at the drift that has happened in my 48 years of life. Since I was born in 1958, God has been kicked out of school by the Supreme Court. The results of this catastrophe are only now becoming evident. Students are afraid to pray in public. You can be suspended in many school districts for just mentioning the name of Jesus or for wearing jewelry in the shape of a cross. Since the Bible was kicked out, there is no basis for authority. Kids are supposed to obey their teachers "jus' 'cuz". In fact, since evolutionary theory has been taught as FACT in most schools, youth has become the goal at the expense of the wisdom of the aged. Let's face it. Your children are one step SUPERIOR to you in the evolutionary process. People are spending fortunes and risking their lives in the pursuit of youth through cosmetic surgery or the use of steroids. What ever happened to Proverbs 16:31? "A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness."
Since I'm a geek, I love watching the Science Channel and the History Channel. Since this is Independence Day week, the History Channel is doing a special series on the Presidents of the United States. It is really fascinating to watch the transition from men like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to Presidential candidates like I see running in '08. Seriously, what would any of those men from the 18th and 19th centuries think about the stuff that these people are selling today? I have to admit that it is pragmatic to choose a woman's right to kill her baby over the right of the baby to live, because frankly, the baby won't be a voter for another 18 years.
What would those Presidents, both noble and somewhat ignoble think about homosexual "marriage"? You have to admit that it is politically expedient to "allow people to express their sexuality any way they want", because you can couch your support under the guise of "individual rights", and vilify anyone who disagrees as a bigot. For the first time in American history a people group has been classified, not by what they ARE, but by what they DO. (By the way, the claims of irrefutable genetic evidence that homosexuality is something that one is born with are WILDLY exaggerated. If you really want to talk about genetics, since Adam's fall, we ALL have a genetic predisposition to sin! (Psalm 51:5) MY pet sins just happen to be different than theirs.). In my lifetime there have actually been "gay christian churches" organized in this country. Obviously, the Bible and what it ACTUALLY says has been jettisoned, even in many cases in the church.
From my view, God has shown incredible restraint and mercy on America. I don't think that the disaster on 9-11 was necessarily God's judgement on our nation as much as it was His restraining hand. I blush when I see the evil and debauchery that is practiced with utter abandon in this country, and then compare it with cities like Sodom and Gomorrah. Honestly, I think we may owe the citizens of those cities an apology! As far as utter rejection of God and his Bible go, those cities have nothing on us.
Should God bless America? We need to continue to pray. So what is our responsibility as believers? Should we attempt to change society through legislation? The only model that we have to follow from the Bible is the Pharisees! We can only affect change in the culture, by affecting change in individual lives. We need to start with ourselves. Men, if you aren't engaged in the battle by loving your wives and loving your neighbors, because you are too busy with your vocation or your avocation, you are part of the problem and not the solution. Women, if you aren't submitting yourselves to that big jerk that God has put into your life, (your husband!), giving him honor that he will never be able to earn and spending the bulk of your time teaching younger women to do the same, (Titus 2:3-5), then YOU are part of the problem. Children, are you disobedient to your parents? Employees, are you in rebellion against your unfair, arbitrary boss? We need to start with US.
So what is the task before us? Should we cloister ourselves and hide our children from the evil world? God says an emphatic NO to that. First, are we any different or any less deserving of hell than any of the groups I mentioned above? 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (italics mine) I stand on the same ground before the cross as any of my fellow citizens. So do you. Second, we are called to ENGAGE the world, not hide from it. In fact God even has a purpose for our children in this regard. Psalm 127:4 "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth." That's right. Arrows are OFFENSIVE weapons. If we don't sharpen those arrows by teaching the TRUTH to those kids, we are going to necessarily leave them to fend for themselves in a society that is producing little atheists by the hundreds of thousands, that will be our children's ideological enemies for the rest of their lives. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Let's celebrate Independence Day with a renewed commitment to find out what God wants us to do; then ask Him for the strength to do it. Then perhaps God will truly bless America.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
After 9-11 there was an incredible outpouring of patriotic sympathy. The number of flags that were flown in the weeks that followed must have made the flag manufacturers stand up and salute! In fact, there was a report that fuel consumption had increased by 1% after 9-11 because of the loss of aerodynamics on most automobiles. This was because everyone was flying a flag or two on their cars! Soon those entrepreneurs got into the act and there were bumper stickers with patriotic slogans pasted everywhere. I must admit, I was encouraged.
The encouragement was short lived. Many of the bumper stickers had the theme, "God Bless America." I believe that most Americans would love to have God's blessing, but few of them actually want God. It's pretty amazing when you look at the drift that has happened in my 48 years of life. Since I was born in 1958, God has been kicked out of school by the Supreme Court. The results of this catastrophe are only now becoming evident. Students are afraid to pray in public. You can be suspended in many school districts for just mentioning the name of Jesus or for wearing jewelry in the shape of a cross. Since the Bible was kicked out, there is no basis for authority. Kids are supposed to obey their teachers "jus' 'cuz". In fact, since evolutionary theory has been taught as FACT in most schools, youth has become the goal at the expense of the wisdom of the aged. Let's face it. Your children are one step SUPERIOR to you in the evolutionary process. People are spending fortunes and risking their lives in the pursuit of youth through cosmetic surgery or the use of steroids. What ever happened to Proverbs 16:31? "A gray head is a crown of glory; It is found in the way of righteousness."
Since I'm a geek, I love watching the Science Channel and the History Channel. Since this is Independence Day week, the History Channel is doing a special series on the Presidents of the United States. It is really fascinating to watch the transition from men like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to Presidential candidates like I see running in '08. Seriously, what would any of those men from the 18th and 19th centuries think about the stuff that these people are selling today? I have to admit that it is pragmatic to choose a woman's right to kill her baby over the right of the baby to live, because frankly, the baby won't be a voter for another 18 years.
What would those Presidents, both noble and somewhat ignoble think about homosexual "marriage"? You have to admit that it is politically expedient to "allow people to express their sexuality any way they want", because you can couch your support under the guise of "individual rights", and vilify anyone who disagrees as a bigot. For the first time in American history a people group has been classified, not by what they ARE, but by what they DO. (By the way, the claims of irrefutable genetic evidence that homosexuality is something that one is born with are WILDLY exaggerated. If you really want to talk about genetics, since Adam's fall, we ALL have a genetic predisposition to sin! (Psalm 51:5) MY pet sins just happen to be different than theirs.). In my lifetime there have actually been "gay christian churches" organized in this country. Obviously, the Bible and what it ACTUALLY says has been jettisoned, even in many cases in the church.
From my view, God has shown incredible restraint and mercy on America. I don't think that the disaster on 9-11 was necessarily God's judgement on our nation as much as it was His restraining hand. I blush when I see the evil and debauchery that is practiced with utter abandon in this country, and then compare it with cities like Sodom and Gomorrah. Honestly, I think we may owe the citizens of those cities an apology! As far as utter rejection of God and his Bible go, those cities have nothing on us.
Should God bless America? We need to continue to pray. So what is our responsibility as believers? Should we attempt to change society through legislation? The only model that we have to follow from the Bible is the Pharisees! We can only affect change in the culture, by affecting change in individual lives. We need to start with ourselves. Men, if you aren't engaged in the battle by loving your wives and loving your neighbors, because you are too busy with your vocation or your avocation, you are part of the problem and not the solution. Women, if you aren't submitting yourselves to that big jerk that God has put into your life, (your husband!), giving him honor that he will never be able to earn and spending the bulk of your time teaching younger women to do the same, (Titus 2:3-5), then YOU are part of the problem. Children, are you disobedient to your parents? Employees, are you in rebellion against your unfair, arbitrary boss? We need to start with US.
So what is the task before us? Should we cloister ourselves and hide our children from the evil world? God says an emphatic NO to that. First, are we any different or any less deserving of hell than any of the groups I mentioned above? 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." (italics mine) I stand on the same ground before the cross as any of my fellow citizens. So do you. Second, we are called to ENGAGE the world, not hide from it. In fact God even has a purpose for our children in this regard. Psalm 127:4 "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth." That's right. Arrows are OFFENSIVE weapons. If we don't sharpen those arrows by teaching the TRUTH to those kids, we are going to necessarily leave them to fend for themselves in a society that is producing little atheists by the hundreds of thousands, that will be our children's ideological enemies for the rest of their lives. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Let's celebrate Independence Day with a renewed commitment to find out what God wants us to do; then ask Him for the strength to do it. Then perhaps God will truly bless America.
His servant,
D. L. Culiver
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