Integrity

Barry, Bump and Basement Joe. The three stooges of the US presidency. No one accuses any of them of having basic integrity. In a very real sense, presidents have always been a reflection of the kind of people dominant in the US. Democracy apparently produces the kind of person who best reflects the people who elect them. In other words, people vote for the candidate who parallels their own thought patterns. One has to scratch fairly hard to find basic honesty in any of the three stooges.

Though most of the country seems to be voting for Trump, it seems that many are doing so reluctantly. Polls did show there was a huge will on the part of the public to see both candidates gone. Unfortunately, neither candidate obliged the polls. We will never know how much difference it would make.

But I speculate that it would have made little difference. Democracy, again, chooses the man who best reflects its character. There is a deep integrity problem in the character of our country. Sex is no longer determinable for one party; in the other party, immigration would stop with an iron wall. In such circumstances, I have always voted for the one that I would figured for the least damage. How the mighty have fallen!

Consider our forefathers. It is no accident that one party hates our forefathers. They seek to fundamentally change our government, hating the very republic that we have set up.  One of our forefathers said that our government is made for a wholly moral and religious people. What happens when we have lost both religion and morals? How the mighty have fallen!

What is a Christian to do in such circumstances? It is time to remember that this form of government will pass away soon. I do not mean that it will adopt a form of Marxism, though that indeed may happen in the near future. I mean that all governments, all kings, and, yes, all presidents shall soon be forced to bow to the King of kings, the Lord of lords. We Christians are called to watch, to be ready, and to be found working on the day of his return. Are you busy working for the Lord. What if it were today?

We are to be one of those thousand points of light that George Bush used to talk about. But different than Bush talked about. A person holding out the very truth of life, that alone has the power to redeem and save. A light in the darkness, that some might yet be snatched from the fires of judgment that are coming upon the whole earth.

It is called in Jeremiah, the time of Jacob’s trouble. In Revelation, it is referred to as the hour of temptation. Jesus says that he will return after the times of the Gentiles are over. And Paul says Israel will be awakened after the fulness of the Gentiles is past. That time is almost upon us. Are you ready if it were today? Are you watching? This little light of mine, I am going to let it shine.

 

 

Polishing the Lust Apple

 

This morning it occurred to me that there is a column to be written on our incessant chasing after lusts. Are we not all guilty of chasing lusts? The new pickup for me, shines brightly and tempts me to incur deep debt. But I do not want this column to be one where I am just talking about our very real fight against the lusts of the world. Rather I want to talk briefly about the person who does not walk circumspectly, and allows his lusts to fill his life.

Voddie Baucham, in his book It’s Not Like Being Black, writes of the complete and utter debauchery of Kinsey. I grew up in a time when Kinsey was a respected authority and quoted often even in classrooms. I knew that much of his research had been proven fabricated, but back then, no one even realized that much. But Kinsey was much worse and deserved death a thousand times over for his misdeeds in abusing children. No, I do not want to write about Kinsey. A half moment’s thought about Kinsey does not suggest a good outcome for his judgment.

Rather, I want to write about the young believer, and the sad possible outcome for his life, if he follows the lust apple, whatever it may be. Long ago, for I am getting very old, I saw a period where men delighted in putting bumper stickers on their cars that read, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” I do notice that some believers walk down this errant track, and seem unable to find a righteous walk with the Lord.

Consider the Christian who is tempted toward sexual sin. As a young person, he polishes the apple until the shine becomes so bright that he cannot do anything but take a bite. We all understand the brightness of the temptation, and it takes an older person to realize that years of denial are the only course to righteousness. But our poor young man, having experienced the delights of the flesh, can only see how wonderful it was. He takes to polishing his apple. Getting out his wax, and buffing it with a soft cloth, it becomes shinier and shinier. It becomes so big in the young man’s life that he can see nothing else, and he begins to give in again and again. Until his lusts for the shiny apple seem to consume him.

Proverbs has a great deal to say about the young man needing not to give himself to sexual sin. It is old wisdom, but still wisdom for all of its age. But in our days and times, there is now a phenomenon happening along with such sin. After being frustrated repeatedly about turning away from his sin, he begins to rationalize. “It’s not so bad,” he reasons. “God loves us all anyway.”

It is not long before his rationalization has reached new heights. “It is just the way I am, and God takes us just the way we are.” Now his apple of lust has become so big in his mind that he can think of little else. It becomes his all-consuming passion, the “idol” of his life. And along with it, a new attitude. “God made me this way. God loves me. Therefore God must approve of my lifestyle.”

A true statement partially, for God does indeed love you. But the God who made you, did not make you to continually sin. Something has become broken. Proverbs says,  Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.  Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. (Proverbs 4:14, 15). There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof is death.

We all have family caught in the throes of sin. Indeed, if I look in the mirror too long, I turn away in despair. But the bounds of wickedness have enlarged for our generation. Now those with polished apples are telling us that we need to accept them as they are, to love them as Jesus would have us to do. But Jesus never taught us to accept wicked behavior as the norm. Remember that he warned the Pharisees with “you brood of vipers.” One of the measures of Christianity must be a continual renewal to God, and a denial of lusts. We must turn away from our polished apples, no matter how they shine.

What is the outcome of such people? I do not know. I agonize over the poor souls I see struggling. At the best I fear that all their works will be burned up in the judgment, but perhaps they themselves will be saved. I know not. It surely is not a good place to be in when we all stand before the bema seat of Christ.

But I do know that their attempt for you to accept their sin is wrong. We must repudiate all sin, and attempt to walk in the light with every footstep, guarding our course carefully, for that day when we meet Christ. Do not feel sorry for them—they have polished their apples, and they alone must face the consequences. It is ever a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. As enjoined in the Bible, we must all prepare to meet our God.

 

 

 

What is Literalism?

 

Of course, I am applying this short discussion to the Bible, and it actually began early in my life. I was simply taught to appreciate and evaluate original sources, long before I became a Christian. I was taught to go back to original sources. In our days and times, people frequently misquoted the older writers, sometimes deliberately, sometimes through misunderstanding. The recommended recourse? Go back to the original and see for yourself what the writer was saying.

That attitude I brought to Christianity. Clear others away and see what the Bible actually says. Many in our society today are not aware of just how reliable our ancient manuscripts are. I came across this yesterday in my reading from Lee Strobel. “. . . that there are between 200,000 and 400,000 variants, or differences, between the copies that we have. So the implication is clear: How can we trust the Bible if it’s pockmarked with errors?”¹ Strobel goes on to answer his question, “First, the more copies you have of any document, the more variations you’ll have. So, for example, if you only have a handful of manuscript copies—as in the case of most ancient literature—then there won’t be very many differences either.” ²Strobel further explains that we have thousands of copies of the Bible. “So the high number of variants is actually a by-product of the overwhelming quantity of copies that we have—and is a mark of strength.” ³

So, someone could (and did) misquote the texts of Scripture by implying that the manuscripts were riddled with errors. In fact, there are no ancient manuscripts with more errors, but instead of having less than a dozen or so manuscripts, we have thousands. Of course, the error rate goes up, but the errors are mostly misspellings and other trivial things. We do have wonderfully reliable manuscripts to purview today.

If God took so much care to preserve the texts for us today, we ought to take special care in seeing what they actually say. And that is where literalism comes in. What I try so hard to teach is called the historical/grammatical method of interpretation, commonly called the literal method. Essentially the idea is that what God says is what God means. The difficulty is in seeing what God says. All of that is interpretation. Anything that follows after interpretation should be called application.

Application of what is said in the Bible should always follow interpretation. When I approach any text in the Bible, I ask the following questions to understand the context: Who is speaking? Who is he speaking to? In what circumstances do they find themselves? Is there anything about the setting that might give more meaning to what they are saying?

That is why when I look at John 15, where Jesus talks about the vine and the branches, I look to understand the context. Some Christians seem to approach the chapter without checking context, but the context is everything. It is not like Jesus drops everything that is happening on his second-to-last night before crucifixion. He is down to hours, perhaps even less time, and he knows he has to get the message out. He is not teaching about the abiding doctrines that are the church; he finds himself with two parties of Israelites. He is teaching about the abiding Israelites, and telling of those Israelites who are not abiding. Those who do not remain in him, namely Judas and the priests, will be burnt up, just as the worthless branches are burnt up. Further, he lets the disciples know that those who he loves are subject to pruning. Namely, Peter will be severely pruned shortly, and yet in the end will bear more fruit as a result of the pruning. Also, the disciples themselves, after telling Jesus that will never desert or forsake him, will find themselves running away and hiding. For three days they will be lost and hopeless and beyond repair. Then the husbandman will come in and prune the disciples, making them all ready to bear more fruit. Missing the context can lead to awful interpretation, including thinking that Christians lose their salvation.

Literalism is the only answer. What is God saying? To whom is he saying it? The Protestant church prides itself on being literal; perhaps it is time to look at a few passages and see whether we are doing the job of living up to our literal goals. I remain surprised at the sharp contention I encounter in teaching literalism. Some errantly think I am trying to compromise the Christian message. Nothing could be further from the truth. What I am trying to do is to get us to look at exactly what is being said. One of my favorite verses is in Timothy where Paul reminds Timothy that all Scripture is given for doctrine and reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that we might be complete, thoroughly furnished with all good works. Shouldn’t we first be concerned with what is actually being said? Surely we can pursue completeness and righteousness.

1.         Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christianity Answer Book (Answer Book Series) (p. 87). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

2.         Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christianity Answer Book (Answer Book Series) (p. 88). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  

3.         Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christianity Answer Book (Answer Book Series) (p. 88). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  

 

Design or Accident?

 

It happened as an adult the first time when I was in high school. Sitting in the physics class, not paying attention to the lecture, I was entranced by the Periodic Elements Chart on the wall. Looking at the properties of elements and the way they bonded together was simply fascinating. It was a wonder! I started thinking about a common bond, H2O, water. I was struck by the properties of water. In my biology class, we had learned that water reached a boiling point, and got no hotter. Instead it turned into gas. I noted the freezing points, which thankfully only came briefly in the valley I grew up.

But then an odd thing happened. Still tuning out the lecture—I had the ability to focus sharply on particular thoughts—I began to wonder why the properties of water. Why does water boil at 212 degrees? Why does it freeze at 32 degrees? What would the earth look like if it boiled at 90 degrees? What would the earth look like if it froze at 50 degrees? I quickly saw that if either proposition was true, life would not have been possible on earth. Frozen oceans and water boiling would not be conducive to any life on earth, much less the human life we find on earth today.

And this was only one basic substance: water. All of the other elements on the great chart on the wall had properties specially tuned so that the atmosphere on the earth was just right for life. What are the odds? At that point, I changed from a skeptic to a believer. I had uncovered the secret of the universe. It was design.

Odd, that conversion. Sitting in a class, not listening to one of the state’s renowned physics teachers (who I speculate was probably atheistic), I decided that there had to be a God who created this whole universe. The teacher would have probably been appalled to know what I was thinking.

In later years, I read the quote often about Darwin’s doubt. He himself said that nature itself had “the appearance of design”. But, he went on, it is only the appearance of design. I see now, that Darwin was stuck, as we all are, with his premises that there was no God. Darwin was famous for going overseas to see some birds, not believing in creation. And he came back, with wonderful descriptions of the birds, but he still did not believe in God. Stuck with his premises, but the whole world has mistakenly followed those premises to rather poor conclusions.

It was not until I met my first “real” Christian nearly two years later that I found Christ. She had answers for my questions and a strong faith that could not be shaken. I saw in her the very presence of the creator God. So infatuated with her, I decided to marry her, and this year we celebrate 52 years of marriage.

Paul tells us that all of nature declares the glory of God, and that we are responsible to see the Designer when we look at the design. We have trees and clouds and grass and life itself, that all scream design. Maybe, just maybe you might take a walk this day, and look for evidence of the Designer. It is all around you.

 

Abraham and Father's Day

 

Father’s Day is coming up, and I thought it good to talk about Biblical fathers of the past. As a father, I raised two beautiful grown daughters. But I did have to watch lest I exasperate them, as the New Testament enjoins fathers to avoid doing. But this story today goes deeper, perhaps touching on the very character of the father, who sometimes unwittingly passes on his worst characteristics to the next generation. There is an excellent record of it happening, beginning in the life of Abraham.

And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
Genesis 20:2

Abraham, living in a foreign land, was afraid for his life. He made a poor choice, recorded in the Bible, lying to Abimelech, and denying that Sarah was his wife. I love the stories of Genesis because they tell it like it is. We are told that Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness. That is true, but it is also true that Abraham was full of frailty and like one of us, was inclined to make poor choices. This sin, Abraham’s preferred choice, was to entangle his family for generations.

The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
Numbers 14:18

I am not going to argue that Abraham made a poor choice; rather it seems obvious that he did, and I am going to trace his poor choice through his generations. In other words, what Abraham did had long-lasting effects on his family that went far beyond his own considerations. Notice next, Isaac, his son following dutifully in father’s footsteps.

 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
Genesis 26:9

Years later, Isaac somehow recalls the sin of his father, and claims that sin for his own. He is not excused, as Abraham was, by saying that his wife really is his half-sister. So, we might fairly say, the little sin of Abraham has grown into a bigger sin for the son, Isaac. Isaac in turn, passes this on to his son, Jacob.

And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
Genesis 27:36

No matter that Esau despised his birthright—let’s focus on Jacob, a master trickster. He finds ways of supplanting Esau and taking his birthright, showing himself to be a master trickster. How humbling it must have been for Jacob to have to work under a true master of trickery, his uncle Laban. Laban tricked him so many times, and but for the grace of God, would have sent Jacob away penniless.

Jacob has his twelve children, all of whom show father’s characteristics. His brothers sell Joseph into slavery but convince poor dad that an animal killed his beloved Joseph. But Joseph is clearly in the “trickster” mode when he is later able to fool his brothers and hide his identity, even to the point of accusing his brothers of theft.

But the brothers of Joseph are guilty of heinous things. They sell Joseph and pretend that he is killed, and they keep the secret for years from their father.

Notice the sin of trickery, of deception. It has now come a full four generations and is much worse than when it first appeared. What is the message to fathers, on a Father’s Day? It is a heavy responsibility to be a father, and we fathers ought to always know our children are watching, and very prone to adopt our weakness, our sin, and make it their own. How careful we ought to be then! Thankfully, most of us try to live exemplary lives, but we fathers ought to know all the same, our children will see through to our weakness, and may well adopt it for their own. Fathers, what a call to excellence, to walking in the Spirit humbly and seeking righteousness before God. Isn’t that what we want our children to inherit?