Results 21 - 40 of 975
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
21 | Conformed to scripture or Christ? | Rom 8:29 | Aixen7z4 | 153794 | ||
This question is similar to one (ID# 153548) that asked whether there is any difference between loving God and loving his word. That thread has been temporarily restricted from appearing on the homepage, and I am not sure why. I trust that the same offense and result are not repeated here, because I think that these topics are very important. I wonder what causes us to think that relating to God is equivalent to, the same things as, responding to the Bible. Now someone is also thinking that conforming to the image of Christ is the same as conforming to his word. We should not minimize the importance of the Scriptures. Jesus said, “(You) search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me“ (John 5:39). But we err, I think, in deciding that having the Bible is the same as having God, that loving the Bible is the same as loving God, and now, that conforming to the image of Christ is the same as conforming to his word. Each item is closely related to the other in its pair, but they cannot be the same. Jesus invited those who were searching the Scriptures to come to him, but he lamented; “Yet you will not come to me, that you may have life“ (John 5:40). They were going to the Scriptures but not to him. How then can those two things be the same? And there are many of us today who love his word and we may even want to conform our lives to it. We should consider that a personal relationship with the Lord, while related to his word, is not identical to it. The word of God was of extreme and paramount importance to Jesus. “It is written”. “Man shall live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”. Jesus would do what he did sometimes, “that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (as in John 13:18). But it would happen without his volition sometimes for the simple reason that the Scriptures are always fulfilled (as in John 19:24). And there were some things that he did that are either unclear to us or found nowhere in Scripture. I came to the scripture in Romans 8 because of what Paul had said in Philippians 1 and 3: “To me to live is Christ” and “that I may know him”. I find that God wants us to be like Christ. That includes paying to attention to his word, like Christ did, but it must include more than that. For one thing it includes more that the commandments that Christ gave; it includes his example. It involves more than reading about him; it involves fellowship with him. Jesus is not only a historical figure; he is the living Christ. He lives, not only in the Bible, but also in me. We should treasure the Bible, because it tells us about God. But the Bible is not God. We should not worship the Bible; we should worship God. We do not pray to the Bible; we pray to God. We should seek to be conformed to the image of Christ, and that includes conforming to Scripture, as he did. But it also includes a looking at him, a personal walk with him, a following him, a fellowship with him. That is what the Lord calls us to, not to conform legalistically, impersonally, to the Scriptures. And now, please do not spend time saying “I did not say that” and “nobody said that”. There are some believers now who look at the Christian life as an intellectual exercise. They take delight in knowing facts. In the best cases, they realize that the Scriptures are all about Jesus, and they seek to learn as much as they can about him. There are other believers who spend little time studying the Scriptures and more time worshipping and fellowshipping with the Lord, and serving him. Each of these groups needs to learn from the other, to love both the Lord and his word, and to conform to the image of Christ as found in Scripture. But those are two things, though intimately related, and they are not the same. I must hurry away from this post, realizing that I might have not made myself perfectly clear. We need both head knowledge and a personal walk with him. I trust that those who read this will understand and be able to contribute to that thought. Otherwise, just think about it, whether the word is all we have. It would be good to have a discussion of the actual image of Christ, and practical ways in which we can conform to that image. We may find, through personal experience that, that “we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord“. |
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22 | Can one know if their spouse is saved? | 1 Cor 7:15 | Aixen7z4 | 153783 | ||
I agree, Searcher, and it is sad, even astonishing, to think about it. The prophecy that Jesus gave in Matthew 7:22,23 will come true. Some will think they are saved and will not seek to get saved, until it is too late. It reminds me of Jesus’ verbal interactions with the Pharisees, somehow. He told them they were blind (John 9), but they would not allow him to open their eyes. He said “The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:49). And I wonder how many will recall reading the passage from Matthew 7 in that day. I wonder if some will actually mouth the words from Jeremiah 8:20 on that day: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved“. One thing I suggest, and I hope everyone can agree, that each of us should take a good look at himself and ask, “What if I am not saved??” It is strange to see people offended when that is suggested. It is as if they were asking, “How dare you question my salvation?” And yet, it may be the greatest favor we could ever do for someone. It could be the greatest favor we do for ourselves. Even now we may look at another person and wonder if he or she is saved. But each of us ought to take the opportunity to look again at ourselves. Perhaps, as Doc has suggested, we can erect a profile and look at others against it. We can also look at ourselves against it. But for now I only see a poor sinner leaning on the everlasting arms. |
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23 | why is it so hard to obey? | Phil 2:13 | Aixen7z4 | 153777 | ||
We can say positively that God is at work in us, making us willing to do his what pleases him. That is not the problem. The problem is that there are other forces pulling us in the opposite direction. As Paul would say: “To will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not“ (Romans 7:18). There is a battle going on in the mind. “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members“. “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17). The situation is not hopeless, of course. In fact, Paul had given the solution in the previous verse of Philippians 2 and in the previous chapter of Romans. “Work”. “Yield”. Cooperate with God, may I say. He is doing his part. We must do ours. Can we do it? Yes, thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:25). I can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13). |
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24 | Can one know if their spouse is saved? | 1 Cor 7:15 | Aixen7z4 | 153772 | ||
The question may be: "How can anyone besides the person himself, and God, know if that person is saved?" I agree that “even the person himself can be mistaken“. It is the most horrible situation imaginable, to my mind, that a person can think they are saved when they are not. The Great White Throne is not the place to find out. We do well, while on this side, to examine ourselves, whether we be in the faith; prove our own selves (2 Corinthians 13). The question of examining another person is another question, and the task may be impossible. I agree as well that a person can receive the word with joy and yet not follow through to salvation. They have no root in themselves, but endure for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by they are offended. How to predict or prevent that falling away, I cannot tell, except it be to make sure that repentance and faith are the responses to the Gospel (Acts 20:31). Repentance is the act by which we turn to the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:16). Faith, meanwhile, depends on the Lord to have done his part in regenerating (John 1:13) and sealing (Ephesians 1:13) and to do his part in keeping the soul (1 Peter 1:5). I am not sure that we can discuss the part that man plays and the part that God plays. I think you will say that God does it all, as in John 1:13, and I may say that God demands that we do our part (as in Acts 17:30 and 2 Thessalonians 1:8). Perhaps I can hasten to acknowledge that God enables us to do our part (as in Psalm 80 and Ephesians 2) and help us to find agreement there. I would be interested in seeing a "profile" of a saved person. I hope it is not drawn in the first epistle of John. There I really believe we have a profile of a true prophet, such as the apostles were (the “we“ in 1 John 1), in contrast to that of a false prophet or other spirit (as in 1 John 4:1), the “they“ of 1 John 4:5 vs. the “we“ in 1John 4:6. The distinction between a false teacher and an unbeliever comes, I think, because the former is active in pushing a false doctrine and turning believers away from the faith. The unsaved person does not necessarily do that but, as you have noted, may be mistaken about his own relationship with the Lord. But not to preempt you, it would be interesting to have a profile that we can look at to be fairly sure that another person is really saved. Be careful now, and show the scriptures, and paint us a full picture. Some parts may not be pretty. Some people who are apparently saved can nevertheless be quite unpleasant. |
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25 | Can one know if their spouse is saved? | 1 Cor 7:15 | Aixen7z4 | 153747 | ||
The topic is salvation, I suppose, and whether or not one can determine if another person is saved. Though it may touch on the issue of divorce and remarriage, and though an understanding of the relevance may be expressed here, it is not this writer's focus or reason for responding. How can anyone besides the person himsel, and God, know if that person is saved? A person who is saved knows, with varying levels of assurance, that they are saved (Romans 8:16; 2 Timothy 1:12; Colossians 2; Hebrews 10:22; 1 John 5:13, etc.). The Lord knows those who trust in Him (Nahum 1). "The Lord knows those who are his" (2 Timothy 2). Jesus said, “My sheep …, … I know them … and I give unto them eternal life” (John 10). It may be said, then, that only God and the person know whether they are saved or not. There are many situations in which one may want to know if another person is saved. That includes the time when he is deciding whether or not to make the person his spouse. The directive is that we are not to be unequally yoked with a person who us an unbeliever. What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? (2 Corinthians 6). Another time might be the occasion one has to witness to the person. He would want to know if the person is already saved. In this instance, how can one know? In the case where a person as lived with another, being their spouse, there may be ample reason to believe or not believe the person is saved. The person might have said they were, or accepted the idea of being called by the Lord’s name (as in Jeremiah 15:16). They will have shown some interest, or not, when the topic of salvation had come up. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). Otherwise, they may have shown it by their lifestyle. There is a difference between light and darkness (John 3:19; Ephesians 4). In any case, one can tell by witnessing to them. They are either saved, and have some measure of assurance, or they will indicate whether they want to be saved or not (as in Acts 19). There may be other reasons why one may find it necessary to discern dogs and swine from one's own brethren. Perhaps the surest way is to ensure that what you are casting before them are indeed pearls. They you can see their reaction, whether they reject it or turn again and rend you. Then the idea is to not repeat the error. Some who accept the truth may yet hold the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1). But the word from the Lord is: "Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness” (2 Timothy 2). To the extent that the person shows an inclination or intention to do so, that is an indication (John 10; 1 John 2). The question is intriguing because, of all the people of interest, it is one’s spouse that is involved, and possible a spouse who has left the home. Why would one be specially interested in knowing if the person is saved after the person has left? Is it because he wants to witness to the person or to pray for their salvation? Is it because the person wants to find another spouse while that one is still alive? In that latter case the person may be even seeking justification for his or her own desire to leave. The word from the 1 Corinthians 7 passage is, if you are married to them, then don’t leave (v. 11). If they leave, don’t replace them with another, not until they die (v.11; Romans 7). In the end, then, one does not need to know if their spouse is saved in order to 1 Corinthians. 7:15 to their own situation? The passage is not meaningless, but the question of the spouse’s salvation is irrelevant. Why would the Scripture say, "If the unbelieving one leaves..."? God knows that unbelievers do not trust him, and they may not obey him. He does not want them to leave, but they may leave anyway. Yet, they may be pleased to remain (v. 12). In that case they are sanctified (v. 14) and they may even get saved, living with a believer (v. 16; 1 Peter 3). The question is not whether the unbeliever will obey. They probably won’t. The question is whether the believers will trust him under those circumstances, and whether they will still obey. |
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26 | man? Woman? | Eccl 7:28 | Aixen7z4 | 153738 | ||
In context, it makes sense. The person who divided the book into chapters and verses did a good thing in helping us to locate passages. But we should not be focused on verses as if each one held a separate thought. Read the entire passage to get the context and the meaning. Read the following, for example, in the paragraph arrangement of the New Living Translation. Solomon says: “I have tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, ‘I am determined to be wise.’ But it didn't really work. Wisdom is always distant and very difficult to find. I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness. “I discovered that a seductive woman is more bitter than death. Her passion is a trap, and her soft hands will bind you. Those who please God will escape from her, but sinners will be caught in her snare. "This is my conclusion," says the Teacher. "I came to this result after looking into the matter from every possible angle. Just one out of every thousand men I interviewed can be said to be upright, but not one woman! I discovered that God created people to be upright, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path." Solomon was a king, a wise king, and had talked to many people. His conclusion was that very few men were honest, and even fewer women. The passage indicates that some women are seductive, and that serves to lessen the incidence of honesty among them. Does that not make it simple? It is profound, perhaps disturbing, but simple. Why a thousand? And why the reference to his harem? Think about it. Solomon had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart (1 Kings 11). |
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27 | Christian, or Good Ole Boy? 1 of 2 | Prov 23:7 | Aixen7z4 | 153631 | ||
Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him ... lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (2 Corinthians 2). |
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28 | Love God, His word, any difference? | Ps 95:10 | Aixen7z4 | 153548 | ||
Dear Doc: I am sad and disappointed that you do not see it. There are people who love the Lord, and do not love his word. Also, there are people who love God’s word and do not love him. I am so sorely tempted to tell you more stories from my travels and my practice to prove the point, but I will heed your warning about Forum guidelines and refrain. Instead, I will ask you to look again at the very scriptures you have quoted. Psalm 1 does say it is a happy situation when a man loves the word of God. It does not imply that every Christian is in that situation, only that it is good when he is. Psalm 119 does say that those who love the law have great peace. It does not imply that every Christian does that or has that. It encourages us to do it, so we can have it. John does say that whoever keeps God’s word has had the love of God perfected in him. But “whoever” means those who do, not that all believers do. Again, that is how the believers would know apostles, the true prophets, from the false prophets? The false prophet gives evidence by their fruit (Matthew 7) that they are false. The apostles were proving they were true by their obedience. You say that the world hates the word of God, and that may be so. But the Lord in Jeremiah 6 is not speaking about the world, but about his own people. How good it would be if you were correct, that every Christian loved the Lord and loved his word. But God says about his people, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider (Isaiah 1). Christ says to his church, “I have somewhat against you, because you have left your first love” (Revelation 2). These things are not written to discourage anyone. But neither should we pull the wool over our eyes or put our heads into the sand and pretend that all is well. Some of God’s people do not love him, or his word, or their brothers. Some do one, or two, and not the other. That is why the commandments and the encouragements stand: “You shall love the Lord” (Matthew 22). “(You) search the scriptures (John 5). “Lovest thou me?” (John 21). “If you love me, then keep my commandments” (John 14). “Remember whence you hast fallen, and repent (Revelation 2). “Desire the sincere milk of the word” (1 Peter 2). The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine …, but watch thou … (2 Timothy 4). If we assume that all is as it should be, then we do not see the need for change. But there is a need for change, in the church. We should love the Lord, and his word, and each other. Experience aside, the Lord has always shown his people that there is a need for improvement in each of these areas. There is such a need for those who love the Lord to love his word! If we do not see that, then it is Malachi’s day again, and it is sad. |
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29 | Love God, His word, any difference? | Ps 95:10 | Aixen7z4 | 153545 | ||
Hello, Doc: The only scriptural evidence I felt led to offer was the statement by our Lord, that ‘"sinners also love those that love them" (Luke 6)'. See verse 32. You can ignore the fact that humanism makes love for others the object of the religion and finds no need for God. To be in keeping with the forum guidelines, I should not have mentioned it, since I did not take the time to recall what the Bible says about that. I also will not ask you to give a Bible reference for the idea that “lost people do not know how to love”. I would guess that Jesus’ statement about “sinners” loving others is enough. |
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30 | Love God, His word, any difference? | Ps 95:10 | Aixen7z4 | 153538 | ||
I wrote the last response some several days ago, but I did not post it for fear it might discourage someone. I thought about it again today as I met with a couple. These people love the Lord; it was the main topic of their session. The evidence was the fact they were willing to obey the Lord. And yet, one of their major complaints was the fact they do not spend time with their Bibles. In other words, they want to love the word of God, but they don’t. I hope this does not confuse anyone. Please think about it before responding. There are some people who love the Lord but belong to a denomination where Bible knowledge is not emphasized. They believe that God speaks to them directly, and they are devoted to following what they believe is the Lord’s leading. They do not see the need to verify everything in the written word. They carry a Bible and read it in a cursory manner. They do not intend to get deeply into anything in it. They do not see the need for it. On the other hand, there are people who place a high importance on Bible knowledge. However, they leave a question as to their love for the Lord, as they do not place that high a premium on obeying it. They hear from time to time that God is not so much interested in what we know as he is in how well we put into practice what we know (1 Corinthians 8:1). But they cast that aside. They enjoy studying the word of God so much they confuse it with loving God. Imagine the lady in the story told by ‘meusing’ (above) spending all the time with her husband’s book but very little time with him, and you get the point. If you do not get the point from that, imagine a person spending a lot of time with the Bible but very little time in prayer. It happens. Imagine a person who has deep theoretical knowledge about love, but shows no love. Paul talks about him in 1 Corinthians 13:2. Both camps will profess a real love for both the Bible and the Lord, but they may love them in very different measures. Some love the Bible in sentimental way. They idolize and almost worship the book, and yet that “love” may lead them to take such good care of it that they make sure it is not marked or worn out or even opened too often. They prefer to talk about “the Bible” rather than about anything it says in particular. Some others know Bible things in minute detail, but cannot relate the facts to the nature of God or what he requires of us. They do not see the purpose of the word of God as expressed in Deuteronomy 29:29 or Jeremiah 9:23,24. It is one of the great tasks of the church, perhaps, to bring those two camps together. Those who love the word need to relate more closely to the author, and those who love the author need a better appreciation for knowledge of his word. We make a mistake to assume that the both are inseparable, or that one is indispensable to the other. It is not correct to say that everything we can know about God is in the Bible, or that we can know nothing about God except through the Bible. Surely those who know the Bible know that the Bible itself makes no such claim, but that in fact it tells us otherwise (2 Samuel 1:18, Psalm 19, Romans 1, John 20, 2 Corinthians 12, Colossians 4:16). Those who love the Lord should learn to love his word, whether to read it or to hear it, and we should love each other. Those things go together well, but they are not identical. |
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31 | Love God, His word, any difference? | Ps 95:10 | Aixen7z4 | 153537 | ||
O course, there is a difference. Try to see the difference by adding a third object of love, namely, your brother. You cannot love God without loving your brother (1 John 4:20). If a man says, “I love God”, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? Though we have not seen God, we can love him (1 Peter 1:8). But a man can love his brother without loving God. One man loves his brother precisely because he believes there is no God. He is a humanist. One man says, “God is love and love is God” and does not even seek to know the supreme being called Jehovah. The fact is, God is love (1 John 4) but love is not God. John says, “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us” (1 John 4:12). Does that mean that whenever we see people love each other we can conclude that God dwells in them? No. John is speaking about himself and the other apostles, and differentiating them from false teachers. He is saying the fact they loved one another was one evidence that God dwelt in them. There are other evidences, and the reverse of this one is not necessarily true. Jesus said, “Sinners also love those that love them“ (Luke 6). A man who loves God should love his brother. It is a commandment that we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. It is a commandment, not a corollary. It is always possible to disobey a commandment. And it is sad to say that Christians often disobey that commandment. Sad to say that there is often more love among “sinners” than among brethren. But let’s not get into that. Let’s just say that loving your brother is not the same as loving God. The two should go together, but they are not equivalent. The same may be said for loving the word of God and loving God. The person who loves God wants to please him, wants hear about him, wants to hear from him. Therefore, he should love the word of God. The same psalmist who says, “I love the lord (Psalm 116) also says, “Your law do I love” (Psalm 119). Indeed, blessed is the man who delights in the law of the Lord (Psalm 1). Yet some people have loved God when they had no Bible. They include Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, and my sister. They include most of the people of faith who lived before the invention of printing. And some people do not love the Bible in spite of the fact they have one, because they are unable to read or otherwise do not find it easy to understand. Some people love the Lord and have not learnt to love the Bible. |
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32 | Ever been a preacher as wise as Solomon? | Eccl 9:2 | Aixen7z4 | 153519 | ||
It frustrated Solomon to see it, and many a modern preacher seems to not see it, that time and chance happen to all. We have read (in Deuteronomy 28, for example) that good comes to those who do good, and evil comes to those who do evil. But Solomon says he looked and did not find that. The fact is, as Jesus says, that rain falls on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5). It causes us to look at those passages again. Maybe they were special promises to a special people at a special time, and we should not have generalized to all people of all time. David saw the prosperity of the wicked and Job wondered why the righteous suffer. They all learned to take the long view, to look at the end (Job 14:14; Psalm 73:17; Ecclesiastes 8:12). Many a preacher encourages us to expect all that is good now, and they suggest that we need to adjust our lives in order to get it. But one comes on at times to pray that the Lord will help us to live each day in the light of eternity. It does seem that we can focus on a few verses and become shortsighted. But Solomon gives us the long and realistic view. Is this not a measure of the wisdom of Solomon? |
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33 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Aixen7z4 | 153211 | ||
Understand that the matter is important. It is not a theoretical issue, even as the Bible is not a theoretical book. God’s word is given to guide our lives. In it there is direction as to the way to confront injustice and to promote justice. But most of us ignore the problem even as our brothers and sisters, and sometimes we ourselves are suffering from it. The least we can do is to talk about it, but my fear is that we won’t, and that some will seek as in the past to actively suppress the discussion. I know it sounds paranoid, but that is what happens. That is why the issue is not discussed. That is why injustice proceeds unchallenged, and justice fails, to the detriment and suffering of many. That is my fear, that the issue will be not only ignored but actively suppressed. I hope you understand. The meeting that I spoke of went quite well, in many ways. The Gospel was preached and some came to faith in Christ. The young man in question took part and said that he was glad for it. But the leaders of the church were not there to see what he was willing to do and able to do. That is what I had planned for them to see and I had hoped it would encourage them to allow him to use his gift in church. As it was, they did not get to know him that way and they still have not called him as they had promised about the task he had volunteered for. He told me he will look to other churches now for opportunities, and indeed he visited another church with me the next day and spoke to the elders there. It is good that there are other churches, and I trust that he will have a chance to use his gifts and further develop them. I understand and agree with all that you have said. We all should use our gifts to meet needs. The scriptures teaching that are well known, I hope. Titus 3:14 is a key passage concerning this. Thank you for pointing it out. But we must keep in mind it was Paul writing to his delegate and specifically instructing him to monitor and facilitate this. “I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking” (Titus 1:5). There are things that are lacking, and some would volunteer to make up the lack and use their gifts to meet the needs. But there are those who guard the gates and choose the players, and injustice occurs when some are denied opportunity. I hope you agree that everyone has both needs and gifts. That is what I get from passages such as Ephesians 4:16. The question has been how we should react when we see injustice, when gifts are not used and needs are not met. I had hoped that this discussion would have revealed some scriptural ideas for us to use, each in our area, as we see the need. Contrary to the idea of promoting some and consigning others to the role of spectator, which often takes hold, we ought to provoke one another to love and to good works. |
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34 | Is war biblical? | John 18:36 | Aixen7z4 | 153172 | ||
I also wonder about war. It is quite true that God commanded war in the Old Testament, and I have wondered about that. Why did he use that method as punishment, or to resolve a conflict? But, as you have pointed out, he also called for death of individuals, amputation, eye extractions, and so on. It is not death itself that bothers me, (God gave life and he has a right to take it) nor the destruction (They build the things again) but there is this pain and this misery that come with judgment and with war. I cringe as I read, especially, that they were to have no pity on the suffering ones. “Thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (Deuteronomy 19:21). “Thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them” (Deuteronomy 7:16). Still I have wondered about war. Why did God use war at all? War includes pain and suffering even for the winning side. Why could he not destroy his enemies with the breath of his mouth, as in Isaiah 11? But he used war sometimes as a way to punish his own people. “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land … (Habakkuk 1). “The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far … a nation of fierce countenance … which also shall not leave thee … until he have destroyed you” (Deuteronomy 28). It is quite significant, no doubt, that Jesus did not fight. “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living” (Isaiah 53). It is true that he had to die for our sins. “For the transgression of my people was he stricken“. In his own defense, he could not fight. He also could not call for angels to fight on his behalf. One might wonder about that as well, why it took his suffering, and even that which some would see as a defeat, to bring about salvation? Why could he not fight against Satan and win, without getting hurt himself, as in Genesis 3:15? But then again, why fight at all? The answer seems to be that war is God’s way to put away evil. Satan is evil and the author of evil, and evil must be destroyed (Deuteronomy 19:19; 21:21, etc.). Satan must be destroyed (Hebrews 2:14). Thus even the New Testament speaks of Armageddon (Revelation 16). Jesus has fought Satan and delivered us from his power (Romans 6), and he will fight him again and put away evil forever (Revelation 20). As for war between nations today, it is not at all clear when it is God’s will. There will be wars (Matthew 24:6) but it is evident that these are the result of sin (James 4). God does not want wars among us, his children, but even in the church wars happen, because of sin. Even on your question then, we may fight and disagree, but it does not seem to be God’s will. Is war Biblical? The Bible does record the facts and figures of war. It does record the fact that God has ordered wars for various reasons. Yet we may say that God does not desire wars, just as he does not want us to sin. But we disobey God, in other words, people sin, and that seems to make war both necessary and inevitable. Those of us who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ are in God’s kingdom, and Jesus says his servants should not fight (John 18:36, Matthew 26:52). The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (2 Corinthians 10) and the church should not seek to achieve its aims by war (James 4). But Christians are also citizens of countries that sometimes go to war, and they have this decision to make, to what extent they should be involved. Some choose to not be entangled in the affairs of this life at all (2 Timothy 2:4) choosing instead to actively engage in the spiritual conflict (Ephesians 6). But some choose to fight for their countries, and even to be the politicians who make decisions to go to war. And some fight over the idea. |
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35 | Such thing as a choice? | Eccl 6:10 | Aixen7z4 | 153168 | ||
What more can be said, that has not been said, I wonder, about this and the related topics? I would be alone ranger at this point, if necessary, and say that this debate will serve no useful purpose. But then again, perhaps that is what Samantha has said. Searcher has suggested that we may not want to go too deep into the question, and we seem to have agreed to that, as we have not gone too deep. I have often wondered what the purpose is, in taking sides in this great debate. I have some ideas, but I judge that it would not be any more profitable to suggest them. With apologies to our brother Tim, I would suggest instead that we do go deeper, and I will hasten to add that we could do so by looking for the truth in the other side. The two sides, I say, are compatible, and they come together at the deeper level. Scriptures do not cancel out each other. They are all true. We should not add to them, and we should not in any wise take one jot or one tittle away (Proverbs 30:5,6). Blessed is the man who has learned to say that Scripture teaches both an unchanging God and a God who calls for, and responds to repentance. I could take some time to show how the two come together, but I suggest instead that each of us look into it. It would save us time, no doubt, and give us time to respond to God with obedience. For one thing, it would allow us to obey 1 Corinthians 1:10. It says, to remind us, that God wants all of us to speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among us; but that we be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. It would please God if we did that. It would also allow us to stand together in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel, as mandated in Philippians 1:27. I do hope it is self-evident that the time spent debating this issue is time that might be spent striving together for the faith of the gospel. I would not be surprised if someone can prove otherwise, but I would suggest we not get into it. As before, I would suggest that each one look for himself into what those verses say, and what they require. |
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36 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Aixen7z4 | 153064 | ||
You are correct, of course, especially with reference to that previous discussion. The answers have been given to the leaders of the church. We presume that they have read the letters and they know what to do. But we are in the same situation as Habakkuk saw, and Jeremiah, where it is the leaders themselves who are perverting justice. One may well sing the dirge again: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” from Psalm 11. It is a rhetorical question, perhaps, and one should not expect an answer, except the one that God gives. The truth is, my dear sister, that I ask the question here in fear. There has been someone who would discourage anyone from providing suggestions here because he knows that I seek these answers, not necessarily for myself, but for some who come to me for help. And sometimes I am lost for words to say to one who is suffering emotionally and otherwise because of the treatment they receive at church. I have tried what I know, to give words of comfort, and to intervene on their behalf. And I know what it means to be ignored, or attacked, for “interfering” on behalf of a victim of injustice. But I ask the question if perhaps it might focus attention on what is going on, and maybe prick a conscience. I am about to leave for a meeting now, and I am taking along a young man who has been a victim. I can but hope that the sight of him will touch the hearts of the leaders who have been against him. I am afraid that he will leave the church and abandon his efforts to serve the Lord there. I do not know if this trip will be a step forward or backward. I think of your words again, and Jesus’ words, that one must be wise and harmless. I hope I can be that. It is a strange phenomenon that I see, no matter how often I see it, and though I know the word of God is true: “If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they” (Ecclesiastes 5). One should rest in the fact that God sees, perhaps, but it is hard to stand and look. Even men of the world have been moved by conscience to shake off slavery and apartheid and discrimination. But what will the righteous do? |
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37 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Aixen7z4 | 153057 | ||
Waiting for an answer, as to what can be done about injustice, and waiting for justice, are alike, both painful processes. One is interested in what the brethren think, and what God feels, and thinks, as he looks on. “Our transgressions are multiplied …, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; … “Judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. “Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment“ (Isaiah 59). The sight of injustice may arouse our emotions. It may arouse the most common feeling, fear. It may give rise to anger or, as has been suggested, angst. Or it may leave us apathetic. As always with God, there are choices, and for our choices there are consequences. When we see injustice, we can ignore it. But the Lord says, “He that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey“. In other words, “Those who turn away from evil make themselves victims”. (GW). We should think about that. We can condemn it. The Lord says, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression”. But showing God’s people their transgression can but much like placing a picture before a blind man. The psychologists call it denial, but it seems we need a stronger word. A brother protested to me recently that there is no prejudice in the church, in America. One who complained about a young man being denied an opportunity to use his gifts in the church was described as “envious”. One man took another man’s wife, and they both continued in the church. The one who lifted his voice to “cry aloud” was taken aside and counseled to be quiet. We can work against it. But then the pronoun “we” is hardly apt, for such a person often has to do that work alone. One may feel quite the Lord’s man then, and identify with the Lord himself, for it is he who “saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him“ (Isaiah 59:17). Of course, we can continue doing as we are doing now. That might include one of the choices mentioned above, but it could be otherwise. I am not sure whether an “intercessor” in this case is one who prays or one who takes some action, intervening. Either way, the Lord looked and wondered, because there was no intercessor. There was no one who prayed, and there was no one who did anything, about injustice. So he took action himself. It is in that vein that he said: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; “To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified“ (Isaiah 61). That is what Jesus did when he was here. He did not only speak it; he also did it. He began to say unto them, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). What a message! And what a program of liberation! And as he was leaving he said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father“ (John 14:12). We are here now. We are his body. We are to do his work. And one of his apostles said, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). This does not suggest that we attempt to fix things in the world. We preach the Gospel and call people out of the world and into the church. Then we should do what we can to ensure that there is justice, if not in the world, then surely in the church; if not for ourselves, then surely for our brethren, in the church. |
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38 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Aixen7z4 | 153033 | ||
Every word of God is pure (Proverbs 30) and surely there is pure honey, and dynamite too, in Matthew 10:16. Jesus told the apostles, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves“, and I think we can relate that to problem of injustice. Let me do it this way. Let us say it takes wisdom to go into a world of wicked men with the Gospel, for all men have not faith (2 Thessalonians 3:2). As a wolf tears a sheep, so wicked men can hurt you (1 Corinthians 15:32). One must be wise. But consider what happens when that wolf puts on sheep’s clothing, and you cannot tell by outward appearance that he is a wolf (Matthew 7:15). It takes wisdom. Consider what happens when those wolves have come into the church (as in Acts 20:29 and 2 Peter 2:12)! Now, what if those wolves dispense justice in the church? What when they pervert justice? Is the church then to bear with it, or to root it out? There was injustice in the early church, and “there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration“. The questions I have are these: Should the Grecians have murmured? Or should they have suffered themselves to be defrauded (as in 1 Corinthians 6:7)? And there is injustice in the church today. I hope all who read this would consider that these are not theoretical questions. I am aware of the way that people are treated in church, and the complaints sometimes come into my ears. My impression is that most people bear with it. Otherwise they move to another church, or they forsake the assembling of themselves together. And I am pondering this today, unsure of what’s to be done. The problem is everywhere. It is in society. Nonbelievers encounter it. Believers encounter it as they live their ordinary quiet lives, and as they present the Gospel. That latter situation is probably where we need the wisdom of serpents most, and the harmlessness of doves. But we need wisdom to face injustice in the church as well, and for me the question is urgent. As Peter would say (4:17) “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God“. |
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39 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Aixen7z4 | 153028 | ||
Brother Ray: May the Lord bless you. Please forgive me if I fail to comment on the differences among the translations. Since I am not an expert in the original languages or manuscripts, I tend to use all of the translations rather than to choose among them. I tend to see what they have in common rather than the ways in which they are different. I note, for example, the appearance of the little word “If” in so many of the verses. Thank God that our lives do not consist of continual suffering. But there are times when we suffer, and sometimes the suffering is an injustice, for no good reason, so to speak. Sometimes we suffer at the hands of professing brethren. At this point I am intensely interested in that topic, and would like to stick to it. The prevailing message that I get from Peter, and from the rest of Scripture, is that suffering is a natural part of life and we should bear it. The example that we have from Jesus is that he bore it. Like a sheep before her sharers, like a lamb brought to the slaughter, we should bear it. Some say we are fools to bear it. Some say our religion is foolish since it calls on us to bear it. There also seems to be a natural instinct to rebel against it. Add to that the fact that God is just and calls on us to be just. All of that may lead us to question why we should tolerate injustice, or how or when he wants us to. I agree that Peter says we (should) suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. I also see that we glorify God when we suffer for doing right, and that God gets no glory from our suffering when we suffer for having done wrong. But beyond that, there is justice that characterizes God (Psalm 89:14) that God commands (Isaiah 56:1; Micah 6:8) and commends (1 Chronicles 18:14) and there is injustice that God condemns (Isaiah 59:4). Something in us seems to crave justice. God seems to say it is commendable that we desire it (Matthew 5: 6) and we should be willing to wait for it (Isaiah 40:4). But the man of God asks, “How long?” (Habakkuk1). It does seem quite profound, and strange sometimes, that God allows injustice, that he suffered it himself in Jesus, and that he asks us to bear with it. He will get glory in the future when he rights the wrongs and compensates the victims, it seems, but it might help us now to understand all that. Please try to combine the verses and the translations and tell me what you find. |
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40 | What's the proper response to injustice? | 1 Pet 2:19 | Aixen7z4 | 153009 | ||
With that short answer from him, and from you, I received a great blessing; greater than you know, perhaps. Or perhaps you do know. My initial response was disappointment, since I had been asking for, and looking for, scripture references. But that response caused me to think, and to think of many scriptures. I have a sense that it was the same for you. Though you are obviously widely read, I have also seen that you know the word of God quite well. I suspect that you could have quoted many passages, but you used wisdom and chose not to. I would be very curious to know what passages you thought of, or what the young man in your story thought of. But if you choose not to share them, I will understand. Just rest assured that what you did share was a great blessing me. So, thank you, Doc. |
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