Critical Spirit vs. Peace

I needed these verses! A great friend provided the first and I ran across the second:

 

2 Corinthians 13:11 (ESV) " Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

 

Hebrews 12:14 (ESV) " Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."

 

2 Corinthians addresses "brothers". These folks would be fellow Christians. Instead of being critical, melancholic or even malevolent, we are to rejoice!  Rejoicing is a positive outlook. We're Christians now; we must act like it! No! "Act" is wrong. We are to behave or live as Christians. We're to have a Christian spirit. Too many people are just "acting".

 

"Aim for restoration", we're told. At one time we brothers were in harmony. Pride often gets in the way and contentions arise. We are to be restored to the original relationship; not the pre-Christian one, but where we were when we were born again. (Surely we were joyous!). In fact, the Bible tells us:

 

Matthew 5:22  (ESV) 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

 

This scripture uses the term "reconciliation".  We are to restore that close relationship which we must have with a brother in Christ! It's a synonym of restore. Where were we before the anger? We were not angry! A contention, normally caused by pride, creates anger.  Certainly we can disagree!  If we're dogmatic, pride replaces reason. If we throw out an insult in anger we need counseling. We need to be told what Christ expects. (These verses do exactly that!) If we have even caused a brother to be contentious, before our offering is respected, we must first make things right with out brother. That's the "love" part in "loving thy neighbor as thyself"!

 

2 Corinthians also say "comfort one another"!  How can we do that when we have a critical spirit?

 

John 7:24, (KJV) “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment”.

This verse basically says. "Don't criticize  based on assumptions,  but rebuke in love."  If we're always ready to "jump" onto a person who may be sinning, we're in no position to restore anyone to Christ. We are as the Pharisees if we're always waiting and watching for someone to break the law, and they were referred to by Jesus as "vipers". The Pharisees in general, had a "critical spirit", and their judgment was unrighteous.  How do we "comfort". We admonish in love. Our teaching is not to condemn, but to correct! We condemn when our hearts are angered. We correct when our hearts are loving!

2 Corinthians tells us to "agree with one another". Of course we're going to have unresolvable doctrinal differences because we're not God. Some matters just can't be settled. We're to agree to disagree, and to disagree without anger nor hard feelings. We don't always have to be right because we're just not!  Why would we get angry if someone disagrees with us? Pride!  Pride interferes with agreement and comfort and is the original sin!

"Live in peace" 2 Corinthians tells us! If we seek to restore, comfort one another and be agreeable, we will have spiritual peace and that critical spirit of John 7:24 will be replaced by love and charity! What's more, we're told "the God of love and peace will be with you". We remain in communion with God! The flipside of that is if we don't endeavor to live in peace, we'll be in ill communion with God!

Hebrews 12:14 links "striving for peace" with holiness. To be holy, we are to be Christlike. Being at peace with our brothers, even our enemies, is a prerequisite for holy living. Without peace between brothers, holy living is a farce! A genuine Christian works on the critical spirit we all have! I have it and you have it to some degree. We can improve and God knows when we're truly being humble.

I cannot change others, but I can change me. I can't change me without the Comforter. All that I've written applies to me. If by coincidence you find it applies to you as well, then Christ has the answer... love!

 

Einstein and Relativity: God and Relativism

I won't go into detail, but Albert Einstein was known for his "General Theory of  Relativity".  Basically, this theory discusses the space-time continuum and it's non-compliance to Newtonian Physics. Space and time is not "relative" to the observer, but remains the same regardless of point of perspective. Well, what's this got to do with "relativism" and God?

"Relativism" is also a theory that the concepts of truth and moral values aren't absolute, but depends upon the person. In other words, people may believe things are wrong for others, but right for themselves. It also means that some people believe no truths or values are valid, hence in belief, they are anarchists. Whereas, Einstein proposed a concept of "no relativity", the theory of  "relativism" does just the opposite!  Enough of Einstein now! Let's turn to God!

"Truth" is when something is proved to conform to the actual. "What is truth?" is the primary question philosophers and scientists seek to answer. Each time there is an hypothesis the tester must operationalize the test to compare variables. When hypothesis are tested, null correlations are examined. Hypothesis are never proved, but "fail" to be disproved!  Scientific studies, then never "prove" anything. They strictly fail to disprove with varying amounts of uncertainity. Science, therefore, requires faith. Rather than faith in a creator God, science requires faith in fate!

The Bible doesn't outright define "truth", but everywhere implies that just because God is God, what he says and does, his plan, is truth!

Psalm 33:4 "For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth."

There is verse after verse correlating God and truth. The most often written verses complement "truth" with "God's mercies"!  God has mercy on those who seek truth, and as we can see from Psalm 33:4, whatever God says is truth! Philosophers and scientists look for truth beyond God. Regardless of what they find in their theories and discontinuities, God remains Truth!

Back to Einstein for a second. After all Einstein's research and conclusions, this atheist Jew said (paraphrased) "It had to start with God!" Now, that's the "Truth"!

Many people declare God wrong. Scripture says "the Lord is right"! Not right in some cases or most of the time; but God is always right. That's absolute! That's purity of thought! Absolute is not abstract and it's not a mix. The absolute temperature is when all heat is removed from a substance. It's not a mix of  hot and cold! All, not some, of the electrons are at rest. There is no motion. That occurs at negative 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit. That's cold! That's absolutely cold!

Note that "absolute" is "absolute". It's when all heat is removed from a material. It doesn't depend on who's holding the thermometer or to whom the liquid nitrogen belongs. It's just absolute. Relativism would mean that absolute zero cannot be. It would vary depending on something else. Wrong! Any known element is without electron activity at that temperature. It's not relative to anything!

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

 

Remembering that Jesus IS God, this means that God is absolute! His word is unchanging. Remembering from Psalms that God's word is "right" then God's was right yesterday, he's right today and he's right tomorrow! God is not hampered by the space-time continuum. That continuum is created by God. Mr. Einstein discovered what God created, but who gets the credit? Einstein. Go figure!

 

Some people, referring to God's Word, say "Times have changed. That's no longer true today."  That statement is "relativism". In effect the sayer would as well say "God is a liar"!  For instance, if homosexuality is an abomination to God when Sodom and Gemorrah was destroyed, it still is disgusting to him. Nothing has changed! Sin is absolute! It's not wrong for the people of old, but right for this enlightened age! That's not scriptural. That's Satan's deception!

 

I just implied that Satan is a practioner of "relativism".  That's right! He doesn't care if you believe in God as long as it's God tempered with relativism. The demons believe in Jesus; they're just rebellious against his majesty! Satan (the devil) is not spoken of very highly in scripture, as his followers are not:

 

John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

 

If you don't believe in absolute truth, but propagate relativism, then who's your father? Answer: "the devil". The devil is a liar and his entire goal is to undermine God. He wants you to believe that God's Word is not right. He wants you to believe that truth is not absolute, but changes through the ages. He wants you to believe in the theory of "relativism".

 

One Christian lady with puffed-up knowledge told me "In biblical times they didn't know that the man with a legion of demons was schizophrenic!" [This statement reeks of relativism because God is omniscent (all-knowing)]. I replied "On the contrary, science today doesn't recognize schizophrenia is demon possession!" (If the symptoms are examined schizophrenia may very well be just that! Otherwise, there may be no connection between the two and the lady was making a false hypothesis). Either way, that's "relativism"!

 

Our patriarchs by faith obeyed God! It was works, but was credited to them as faith. Today we have Jesus and are called to place our trust in Him. That trust is also faith. We're not saved by the works, but by faith, However, the "works" we do are evidence of our faith!

 

James 2:17 "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

 

Some would say that "works" no longer matter. As we can see from James (several places even) that works is "proof" of our salvation. This is the operationalization of Christianity. Just as scientists operationalize by the use of data in "proving" their hypothesis, God did the same. (The wise man said "There is nothing new under the sun.") "Works" is how salvation is quantified! Zero works means no salvation. It's absolute! For some "works" is not part of the equation! They accept the "hypothesis" that they're saved (assurance) on faith alone, even short-lived faith, when works is the measurement of faith! 

 

Those who believe that "works" is of no consequence, that's "relativism". They deny truth for their own wrong perception of truth; a relativistic truth.

 

Relativism is disobedience to God. It's obedience to the devil even though you may not realize it! Satan carries a deadly disease. That disease is eternal death. There is a cure for that disease. It's ABSOLUTELY pure blood. It's the blood of Jesus, uncontaminated by an ABSOLUTELY sinless body.

 

Where would your hope be if John 3:16 read:

 

 ^"For God loved some of the world, and  he gave, or had taken, one of his possibly many begotten Sons, that a few are allowed to believeth somewhat in him, and may or not perish, but possibly have a little life depending on God's mood."

 

Quite a different impact, being relativistic! Here's God's ABSOLUTE promise:

 

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Now that's a fact. That's truth. Amen!

 

 

 

 

John 3:16 and What it Means to You

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

 

"For God".  God is supreme in the universe. His name is "I AM THAT I AM". He is the beginning and the end. He created the earth, the universe and mankind. We owe God reverence. He demands that we revere Him and only Him.

 

"So loved the world". That's us! God loves everyone. He loves evil-doers. Guess who that is? That's you! That's me. We don't deserve that love because we disobey God all the time. He understands. He forgives us. That's called "grace". We deserve death, but he gives us another chance!

 

"He gave". That's mercy! Think about the person who has wronged you most, even spat upon you and cursed you. Given the chance to get even would you punish or reward? Our nature is to get even! God had that choice. He chose mercy. He gave. He gives and he continues giving, although we keep sinning. Now, that's mercy!

 

"His only begotten son". God sacrificed his ONLY son who was part man and part God himself. Jesus isn't another God. He IS God in the flesh. He feels pain! He is sorrowful. He is at peace. He is love!

 

"Whosoever believeth". That's us! Anyone who chooses to open the door when Jesus knocks. He knocks right now. He awaits your response. Will you open the door? It has to be Jesus knocking! If there is an unfamiliar "knock", it's an imposter. Jesus is the Way and only Way! The blood sacrifice of Jesus is for the sins of ALL mankind. You can do nothing to deserve it. You can do one thing to receive it. That's acceptance. Accepting Jesus and knowing that he took your sins upon his own body and died so that you might have life. We must believe! Belief is not a passing fancy, but enduring faith. Faith is the things we hope for. Faith is believing that we can live forever and the only way to do that is by accepting Jesus.

 

"In him". That's Jesus. He is God himself who took on the flesh of man. Flesh just as we have! He did that so that he could feel what we feel. He empathizes for us because he is not only God, but is man also!  He feels our temptation. He feels our pain. He loves and has joy just as we do. Jesus cried. He cried just as we do. He felt sorrow. He cried for us.

 

"Should not perish". Our present bodies will perish, but they should not! It wasn't meant to be that way! We were created with immortality, but by the sin of one man, Adam, we bear the death sentence when Adam was penalized for his rebellion against God. As Adam is the father of death, Jesus is the father of life! Since Adam, ALL men have broken God's laws. We also will pay the penalty by a mortal death. Our present bodies will turn to dust, but with salvation, we shall receive imperishable bodies. We will be physically perfect without pain, disease nor depression! We will be joyous and will rejoice in the Lord who by his mercy allowed us to live on!

 

And the reward which we don't deserve? "Eternal life"!  Eternal is forever. Infinity. Beyond time. If we turned a door knob once every ten thousand years when that knob was totally worn out... eternity is just beginning! I want to spend that time joyous and in heaven. Since something eternal will happen to all of us, what other choices are available? If Christ lied we will lie moldering in the grave without hope.  Since Jesus is Truth, we will either have eternal life or eternal death.  However, death will be more than moldering in the grave. Eternity will be punishment without end for those who deny Jesus and his gift.

 

You say "A loving God won't send me to hell!" True!  A loving God gives you a way out! He has a plan for you so that you'll never have to endure torment (hell). By denying Jesus you condemn yourself to hell!  Don't do that! Any rational person would choose eternal life over eternal punishment.  If you think about one thing, think about your destiny. That's rational thinking!

 

"I don't like to think about death!" you say?  That changes nothing. By drifting through life without a plan for eternity which we call "hope" you condemn yourself. God calls you to consider your future. Will you enjoy a resurrected body as Jesus did, or will you choose eternal death? Think about the wonders of God! He has shown the majesty of his creation. By what you see you know of him. Now that you know him, accept his offer... accept his gift. Accept eternal hope! Accept eternal life!

Friends: In front of a Live Audience!

"Friends" is a television show.  We've seen friends interact on the pixelated screen. They care for each other, love each other and disagree. If they say something that will permanently hurt, the make-believe friendship, they just do another take! Real life is not that easy and friendship is so much more than "hanging out" together!

What is a friend? First, let's take a look at what a friend is not.  An enemy is certainly no friend. Someone who undermines you; someone who has feelings of envy, anger and superiority; or someone who just outright loathes you is certainly no friend!  At work I had a person tell me "I hate you!". Hate is a very strong word. What did I do to be despised? "I hate you because you're management!", the employee replied. He certainly had an irrational predisposition due to envy and anger. Why? We were on different teams and each had different goals and members of opposing thought. All true, but that's no reason to hate!

Myself, I have to work on "hate" more than anything!  Sometimes we get confused over hating actions  of people verses the people themselves.  As a child I would say "I hate him!" Mom would be quick to say "You should say 'I hate what that person is doing to me'."  Mom had it right! There is a fine line of demarcation which we must be careful not to cross. We can "hate the behavior, but not the person". I don't believe that's a verse in the Bible, but Scripture does teach us to hate sin and love our enemies!

Jesus, yes God Himself, said:
Matthew 5:43 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 4 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

How can a Christian even begin to love an enemy when they are still working on loving their friends? The answer lies in a Christian's true relationship with God!  "Do I really love God?" "Do YOU really love God?"

Matthew 22:37 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." Do you truly love Jesus? Is Jesus truly your friend?

A friend is not a mere acquaintance!  An acquaintance is one we "know". We may like to do things together and have common interests, but that friendship bond is just not there or is superficial. If you leave town tomorrow, it is likely that you may keep in contact, but there is little effort there to remain close. Partyers have many acquaintances! 

Most people have many enemies, more acquaintances, but few friends!  If each of us have two or three friends we're happy and content. Some are fortunate enough to have a bond through Christ such that the friendships are more widespread! Some may try to do it by secular means, but somehow those friendships seem to be more shallow that what "brothers and sisters in Christ" have, or at least should have. Now, let's look at what IS a friend:

Note that when I commented on Matthew 22:37, that I used "love" and "friend" interchangeably. That's a given; or at least it should be! A friend is ____________ (you fill in the blank).  For me a friend is a person that I know; one who I love and one with whom I have a trusting relationship. As a bonus, it may be that the friend and I enjoy the same activities, beliefs, values and personality type. (Most of my friends profess to love the Lord as I profess myself!) Yes, we must "love" our friend. Love and trust can only apply if the first criterion is met. Yes, we must "know" the person. Normally, it would be someone we know well enough to have developed a love relationship and with whom we have established a bond of trust!

Trust is a relationship where we have faith in the person's character and integrity to the extent that we don't doubt them. They're there for us! A person we trust is someone who tells is not only what we want to hear, but has the courage to tell us what we really don't care to hear. A friend admonishes  and reprimands. If we do wrong things a friend points out our error or faults! A friend will confront us in love and is courageous in doing so!  However, a friend doesn't condemn, but does admonish and reprove!

Where do we find true friendship? Is it the bar? The ball park? At the university? At the dinner party? In truth, you can find friendship anywhere, but we must be able to discern between acquaintances who have things in common, but  "love" and "trust" fails to be matured. Actually, it is more likely that secular places offer many acquaintances, but since there may not be a commonality in beliefs, values and even honesty, it is likely that all those people we call friends are only acquaintances. Be careful!

We find others with common beliefs, values, and morals, hopefully in the church. We're all there because we seek Christ or know and love Christ. If we know what Jesus teaches, then our beliefs have a high degree of commonality. (No, we don't necessarily believe alike on every issue, but we have Christ in common).  Within the church, Satan works on contentions! He wants strife within the church. That's his modus operandi!  Christ will use the color of a carpet or a doctrinal point to cause strife. When we're at odds we're not communing! When we're failing to commune with one another, Jesus is sidelined. When Jesus is sidelined, Satan wins. When Satan wins we lose!

Our church is a "commune". People, when seeking a church, look for friends first, even before doctrine!  If the church is unfriendly or has strife, it is easily detected and genuine people move on to where true communion exists! (I left a church myself because that camaraderie just wasn't there!). Some Christians have a negative disposition. They are short tempered, criticize, look for fault or just don't love and care for people.  They need to either fully submit to God or repent!  If one's a Christian it should be recognizable. If your nickname is "grumpy" then somethings missing in your love.

1 Tim 6:11 "But thou, O man of God, flee these things (sins); and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness."

These are the characteristics of friendship! These are characteristics of a true Christian!  Be a friend to your Christian brother. Be a friend to those with whom you strive. Be a friend to your enemy!










 

Getting Back to Basics

In yesteryear's beauty pageants a question of the finalist always yielded a similar response "My desire for mankind is that we have world peace!" That was the answer most sought after by the pageant judges! That's as noble as it gets!

We all want world peace!  We want the killing to stop. We want our leaders to get along. We want partisan politics for the good of the nation. We want crime to stop. We want a society where child abuse and rape is non-existent! We want people to quit fighting over money. It goes on an on. Just think of what you want for mankind. I bet it's one or likely all of these things!

When did it all start? This jealousy, hate, selfishness, pride and hate?  I just noticed the negative connotation in all these words. God created us in his likeness, and surely that's positive, but now we're filled with negativity! I'll skip right over the "original sin" part. Most of us know the disobedience of Adam and Eve and the consequences.   What next?

Genesis 4:7 "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?"

 

Cain, a dirt farmer, and Abel his brother, a shepherd, presented their offerings to God. I won't go into detail, but Abel presented to the Lord the best of his herd. On the other hand Cain brought some of his harvest. Both made a sacrifice, but Cain's was apparently offered out of  duty, not of respect. God didn't respect the offering because of Cain's countenance.

 

Countenance?  That's just "mood". We all know what that is? Cain just didn't offer God his offering with a right heart.  We see immediately how wrong Cain's heart was because out of jealousy his anger aroused to the point that he killed his younger brother! Then he immediately lied to God about it! He told an  outright lie, and a added a sidebar to try to fool God. "Am I my brother's keeper?"  Let's take a look at all the sins committed by Cain:

 

1) His offering was not of the "blood". Blood is a sin offering. Although grain was also used as an offering it was merely a "thank you" offering. Grain offerings were always offered secondary to the animal offering. God was due his offering for being gracious!  By withholding an appropriate offering, Cain stole from God. What became the "Eighth Commandment", "thous shalt not steal".

2) Cain's offering was disrespectful. We don't know how, but it as the attitude or mood in his offering. We are to make offerings to God cheerfully, not begrudgeonly. Cain placed himself over God. He violated what became the "First Commandment', "thou shalt not have no other gods before me."

3) "Cain rose up". He had malicious intent. His anger got the best of him. What probably caused the anger? Jealousy. Cain being the older brother was in a position of higher esteem since he was due his birthright. God recognized the offering of the younger brother with respect, not the eldest. Jealousy is what became the "Tenth Commandment", "thou shalt not covet"!

4)  Cain slew Abel. He broke what was to become the "Sixth Commandment", "thou shalt not kill".

5) Cain lied. (This is what people have annealed today and call "spin")/ He replied to God "I know not" when asked where Abel was. This violates what was to become the "Ninth Commandment", "Thou shalt not bear false witness".

6) And lastly, what "law" did Cain violate when he wise-cracked "Am I my brother's keeper?"?  He violated the greatest commandment and it's corallary Matthew 22: 37b "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." He showed a lack of love for God and a lack of love for his brother. In violating the "Greatest Commandment" he violated them all!

 

What "negative" personality traits or behaviors did Cain display? selfishness, jealousy, anger, lying, murder and blasphemy. Why does evil exist? Evil exists because mankind does not respect the desires, no commands, of God!  Mankind is most interested in the propagation of "self". Man wants what he wants. Man lives for pleasure, power and greed!

 

Unfortunately, Cain was not the last man to stand in the way of peace. Since that day mankind has repeated this activity, one I will call "The Wicked Commission". We think of Nebuchaddnezer, Pharoah, Caesar, Genghis Khan, and Hitler as leaders who caused world turmoil. They were certainly "Cain-like" in their behavior and all stood in opposition to world peace.

 

However, there are also "Little Cains"!  Those are the people who are Cain-like in their own personal small world. These are the people who "flip you off" because you make a driving error. They get angry because you're more prosperous than they are.  They dislike you because you have an education, or conversely, because you don't. They're angry because you have  a better family life and  perhaps a trophy wife. There are millions of reasons these folks are "Little Cains" because rebellion dwells in the hearts of mankind!

 

You may see that the people to whom I've referred are un-Godly, non-Christians even. However, there is a stench in the Christian world as well!  Why do you think we have church denominations? It's because we listen to and follow others instead of Christ!  (I confess that it's good to leave heretical churches and those which denigrate Christ and Scripture, but on non-substantial doctrinal issues, it's silly, even prideful!)  In essence, we are saying "I have pride in my interpetation and if you don't agree with me you're doomed!"  Woe are any who place pride over love. Yes, we can disagree, but leave room that each one of us may err!  The Bible is full of doctrine. Much of it is hard to understand because God is a mystery. We're just not meant to know everything, but we're always ready to put God in a box!  God cannot be defined. God just IS!  He doesn't follow scientific theories nor principles; he created them!

 

In writing this immediate text, I am making points to which I believe I am correct. However, I must leave room that I may not be. I've been wrong before and I may be wrong now. However, I seek my positions from Scripture in full context. I try to look at all related scripture. Sometimes I still don't get all the light. Please consider my thoughts, but realize that we may differ. You and I may use the same Scripture, but understand it differently. One is wrong, but each are sincere!

 

I attended a church recently which disagreed with me on one point of doctrine. When I was questioned about it by the pastor I replied "We'll find out when we get to heaven." I was trying to take pride out of the equation and remain amicable. The preacher got angry and ostracized me! That is a "Cain-like" attitude!  Shortly, thereafter that pastor resigned in a sex scandal. When a person sins there are other complementary sins? It's like cancer. When the primary location of cancer is found, there remains hidden secondary, even tertiary sites! Sin works the same way! Sin is "cancer of the soul".

 

Let's get back to basics! We're all wrong! We all sin and we all deserve death! Rhetorically speaking: If I'm a post-millenialist, so what? I'm saved and will someday be glorified!  So what that I like music in church? I'm still a child of God!  So what? So what? What is love of God and love of others! That's the basics we're to get back to! Love changes things! That's the basic idea.

 

 

 

 

To be entertained? Or is it Reverence?

 Nielson studies indicate that the average American watches television 34 hours each week. A university professor,s study shows that Americans spend eight hours per month on Facebook. The earth's population spends 3 billion hours per week playing videogames. The New York Times says teens listen to 2-1/2 hours of music each day. Then we have ballgames, board games, cards, gambling, concerts, amusement parks, swimming pools, boats, motorcyles, jogging, bicycling, and the list goes on. America loves to be entertained. When people aren't productively working it seems that they are being entertained! 

 

My question? Why do we have to entertain people at church? Sure, we are to have "joy" in the Lord, but joy isn't the same as entertainment!  Joy is intense happiness. What then is happiness? I like "enthusiastic satisfaction"!   Pleasure is associated with entertainment. Pleasure is amusement and fun. Hence, we compare intense satisfaction with fun. Which is your cup-o-tea? Does the Lord prefer entusiastic satisfaction on our part or merely amusement?

 

Isaiah 29:19 "The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel."

 

The meek (Godly) shall have increased joy! The poor shall rejoice (feel joy) in the Holy One (God)!

 

Now, how about pleasure? Yes, we can have "pleasure in the Lord". It's a pleasure for us that he provides for all our needs and comforts. However, there's a big difference between enjoying the pleasures of God and the pleasures of the flesh.

 

Romans 1:31 "Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

 

These verses basically identify fleshly pleasures.  The particular ones named do not specifically mention entertainment, which doesn't have to be wicked, but duplicates what the pagans do.

 

Acts 14:15 " And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: 16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.

 

"Suffered all nations to walk in their own ways" refers to paganism. Pagans were engulfed with pleasure. Their religious worship was even celebrated with sexual and epicurean activities. If you'll remember, even the Jews fleeing Egypt copied their captors. They danced ecstatically and elevated a golden calf to idol status. 

 

On the other hand David stripped to his civies and cavorted in dance, being joyous to the Lord!  In the context in which I'm writing, the contrast between worldly pleasure and joy in the Lord, is at the heart of the argument! How far should we go to entertain in the church or should we even?

 

I propose that we consider this verse:

 

Palm 34:3 "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together."

 

The question I'll ask is: Does the church service predominantly magnify the Lord or is it more to provide pleasure to the congregation, remembering that magnifying the Lord provides joy and pleasure is more directed at the senses?

 

The church is a sanctuary. A sanctuary from the world!  Exodus 25:8 "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them."  A "sanctuary" is a sacred reserved space. The church is God's sanctuary. In that church we ought to escape the world. It's a place dedicated to God, not to us!

 

In that thought is my argument!  God's sanctuary, the church, is Holy Ground. We gather there to magnify God! It's not a place to pleasure ourselves, but to provide the aroma of praise to God! It's not a concert arena... it's where the Holy One comes to be praised!

Exodus 3:4 "And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 5 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

 

Leviticus 19:30 "Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord."

Have "reverence". That means we are to have profound respect for and admiration for God. We gather in His sanctuary to hold God in awe! Self-interest is put aside for awhile and the focus is on God (with the exception of our own salvation).

My thoughts are that if the media used by the church is to primarily to provide pleasure to the listener rather than to magnify the Lord, then it's not reverent. I don't believe it's necessary to present God's Holy Word in a "fun" manner. It's insulting to the maturity of the listener in my humble opinion and presents a glossy version of subject matter. I see no reason that a Christian child or adult cannot put fun away for less than an hour to learn about a Holy God. 

For hundreds of years people have learned and learned with enthusiasm just for the joy of learning. They did without skits and other extraneous techniques, but reached into the depths of the subject matter. The "fun" part of the lesson is often time consuming and non-value added. Oftentimes, secular methods are used to provide the "fun in learning".  Scripture should be presented in a manner to bestow all due respect on a Holy God! That means to take the time to be serious and stoic for just an hour a week. I  guarantee that you can learn more and that sincerity will be a sweet incense to the Lord!

Condemning and Rebuking

Many people rashly quote Matthew 7:1 in defense of their own peculiar sin. I had a woman who had asked for her and her boyfriend to ride bikes with us say "We're not married, just living together, but I'm a Christian, so don't judge me." In this context she is meaning  "Don't think ill of me!"

I had not said a word!  She confessed to living in fornication by making this statement. I said not a word, although I knew she was wrong!  I did not judge her, but she had just judged herself. She believed I thought ill of her!

The Bible verse which she was paraphrasing is Matthew 7:1 "Judge not, that ye be not judged."

If I think to myself "That's sinful!" Have I judged? No. I acted on the information given to me. If I think or say "You're going to hell!" Have I judged? Yes. I sentenced her and I have no authority to do so; my authority is limited by own unholiness. If I have an opinion about her behavior am I wrong? No!

What if in the course of the conversation I had told her of this scripture:

1 Corinthians 5:11 "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."

The verse is referring to a Christian brother or sister. If that person is a fornicator, "with such an one no not to eat"!  I make a "judgement call" (opinion) as to whether to apply Scripture or not.  If the lady confesses Christianity, but admits to fornication, my "judgement call" (opinion) is to refrain from eating (associating) with her because I'm obeying Scripture. I'm not rashly condemning the lady, but obeying Scripture.

If we look at the original Greek, "judge"  (Strong's #2919, Greek: krino) Thayer's definition in context is  "pass judgment on the deeds and words of others".  This is a circular definition for it uses "judgement" to define "judge".  Another definition from Thayer's is "to be of opinion, deem, or think ill." This latter definition is more fitting the Christian who isn't sentencing, but reproofing! Let's see what the American Heritage Dictionary says. "Judge" means to pass sentence on or condemn, the definition being obsolete for contemporary use, but right on for seventeenth century! You see, we have two definitions of the same Greek word!  I believe that the proper context for Matthew 7:1 is "condemn". I believe that she, and most people, use it in the context of "don't have a bad opinion of me"!

You see we have context! If I'm merely admonishing or rebuking. Thayer's "opinion" definition is more suitable. If one is being mean and self-righteous, American Heritage is more correct (condemn).

Rewriting Matthew 7:1 using alternate, but applicable wording says "Condemn not that ye be not condemned."  I believe this is the appropriate context and I reinforce that using Adam Clark Commentary:

"Judge not, that ye be not judged."These exhortations are pointed against rash, harsh, and uncharitable judgments, the thinking evil, where no evil seems, and speaking of it accordingly"

"Condeming" someone is rash and harsh. We're being uncharitable when we damn people to hell for what they do because we deserve the same punishment ourselves! Hence, while we rightfully evaluate other's Christian walk in order that we may obey scripture ourselves and to warn the sinner, we're not to do so with condemnation or a mean streak.  Yes,we're called to "warn"!

We evaluate others constantly, although maybe not consciously. It does not say "Don't have an opinion." We are led to the spirit based on what we sense to tell people what pleases God:

2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

Reproof is "to rebuke" and means to criticize or repress.  It's not a ticket to condemn, but it is to lovingly inform of the consequences!  It's the nature of our perception to warn that counts, not the fact that we evaluated behaviors. That's the difference... our attitude toward the person we perceive as sinning! Do we want them to change the sin because we love them or are we being like a Pharisee? (A Pharisee had a heart of contempt, but a love of the law).

Let's look at the legal system.

I have been stopped by a trooper many times for "speeding". His instruments provided evidence that I was in fact in violation of the law. He didn't write the law, but his job is to ensure safety by monitoring drivers.  I tell the trooper "I'm not speeding." His reply may be something to the effect "It would appear from my radar that you were driving in excess of legal limits."  Have you  been judged? No! Your behaviors have been noted and evaluated for "probable cause". Are you going to jail? No! You have yet to be judged!

On rare occasions instruments are wrong or speed limit signs have been destroyed. Extraneous pieces of evidence may provide proof that I'm innocent of the charge. If the trooper is merely seeking to insure public safety he likely has no animosity toward me. He wants to save not only my life, but the lives of others. He isn't condemning (judging) me. He perceives that I did wrong. He writes a ticket which tells me where, when and to which judge to appear.

Then I appear before the judge!  The trooper is there. He tells the court why I was summoned. He perceived that I was  speeding because his radar indicated that I was driving in excess of the law. The judge then asks me if I plead "guilty" or "not guilty". If I say "guilty" I have confessed my wrong and will likely receive some type of condemnation, normally monetary loss.  If I say "not guilty" I can present the evidence that the speed limit sign was torn down, hence I'm not guilty! I can be judged guilty or innocent! Judgment is two-sided. The trooper who "rebuked" me, didn't condemn me; the judge condemned me because I condemned myself by word or deed!

Given all the evidence, the judge makes a decision. He can exonerate me of all charges of he can condemn me by requiring a fine or jail time in lieu of.  The judge not only looks at the evidence, but condemns me for my wrong!

As pertains to Matthew 7: 1, the policeman was doing what was right!  He informed (admonished) me that I was breaking the law (which he studied and knew) and told me how I was breaking it (rebuked me). He didn't punish me or ridicule either for that matter. He merely sent me to the judge to decide. The judge metes out punishment (condemns, judges). In the case of Matthew 7, the one rebuking the behavior tells the rebuked one what Scripture says about the behavior. It's done in a caring ameliorating manner.  It's not done by "Youre' going to hell!", screamed out, but "Here's is what God says about this matter."

Back to the lady who's living in sin. I surmised that she was fornicating. She attested to that by saying "Don't judge me!".  However, if she had not said that, I would have been drawing malicious conclusions without all the evidence. If she had said "I'm living with Joe." and I surmised fornication, I have judged (condemned) her without probable cause.  As an example, Abraham Lincoln, some say, was a homosexual because he slept with other men while on his lawyers circuit. He was judged (condemned) wrongly. It is without evidence and isn't charitable or loving.  That is the type of judgement of Matthew 7:1.

If my motive is to teach and warn others, rebuking is an option. If it's to criticize or condemn, I'm being uncharitable!

 Matthew 7:1 "Judge not, that ye be not judged." doesn't end there. It is modified by the next verse beginnign with "for":

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Christ told the Pharisees they were going to hell!  He has a right to condemn. In fact, he will condemn all non-repentent sinners at the Great White Throne Judgment.  Paul, although not Christ, was Christ's apostle and disciple. He, although still a sinner, rebuked many in his ministry. He preached against those in heresy in the church. He preached agaisnt fornicators in the church. He preached agaisnt the people who were incestuous relationships in the church, et al.  He used the evidence of their lives to reproof sinners! He was using Scripture for what Scripture is for!

We can acknowledge sin in people's lives without condemning, that "acknowledgement' what many see as "judging".  My best friend once told me when I was sinning "You're sinning! You need to change!" He perceived my sin based on the evidence and then reproved me!  Thank you friend! It takes a loving friend to reach out to me to get me back on spiritual track. He wasn't judging in the sense of "condemning", but in the sense of "acknowledgement".

I've told you what Scripture says, what it means using all the objective evidence and what Adam Clark Commentary says. On the other side of the thelological spectrum is what Matthew Henry Commentary says:

"We must judge ourselves, and judge of our own acts, but not make our word a law to everybody. We must not judge rashly, nor pass judgment upon our brother without any ground. We must not make the worst of people. "

In short, Adam Clark and Matthew Henry agree and complement Scripture as well as my analysis of Matthew 7:1.  Theologians say that Matthew 7:1 is the most common Scripture quoted by those in rationalization for their particular sin. Rather than say "Don't judge me!" those using that phrase should say to Jesus "Forgive me for I'm just a sinner". Jesus forgives! He's paid the price. Please don't rationalize by using scripture out of context. Those rebuking you may be the ones who love you the most!

Man teaches. God judges. That's the way it should be!  If you're playing God by condemning, then continue reading Matthew Chapter 7. It has a lesson applicable to you!