Daryl1
Member since Aug 25, 2010
Recent Comments
Re: “Beer Me, Jesus”
If one honestly looks for themselves at the Scriptures (the Old Testament and the New Testament) and does the research and the homework, they will find some incredible things. They will find that the unchanging manuscripts, the accurate archaeological references, and the multitude of prophecies that have come to pass in the Bible give far more than sufficient evidence to prove that what the Bible has to say is true, and can be trusted. And while the Bible says that men who do not repent of their sins will go to hell and be separated from God for eternity, it also says that those who are in Christ will have the power of God to turn away from sins and lead holy lives. While it says that those who put their trust in Jesus to be saved will go to heaven, it also says that God will work repentance through His grace in the lives of those who seek after God. If we want to see God work and move in our generation we should not step away from the hard truths, but we should rather choose to believe in the full scope of the truth of God, and not settle for less. We shouldn’t be satisfied until we are found to be everything that the Bible tells us we can be in the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Most grieving to me in this article is the false dichotomy that is implied: either you must stand in unison with the Scriptures and be ignorant to reality, or you must compromise the values of the Scriptures to accommodate the morality of society. I pick door number three, which is the manner of person that is described for us in the Scriptures. The man of God contends earnestly for the faith in Jesus that is required for salvation, but he does not say to the widow and the orphan “you’re on your own!” He spends time in prayer daily building up a spiritual life, but he does not neglect to care for the earth that God has given him stewardship over. He is concerned with holiness, but he does not neglect to comfort and pray for those with cancer or AIDS because he is too busy with “the things of God.” In dealing with the Pharisees and the religious rulers of His time, Jesus made reference to the great pains that they went through to give 10 percent of all of their earnings to the temple, down to measuring out the herbs from their garden and giving even that. But they had neglected the weightier things of the law. Things like mercy, justice, equity, and the coming Messiah. Did Jesus say to stop tithing? No! He said that the tithing should continue, but that the other, much more important things should be done as well.
Re: “Beer Me, Jesus”
A man is standing in a building. He is blind. He is deaf. He accidently knocks over a kerosene lamp. Flames start to envelope the building. Smoke starts to build. The Blind Man begins to sense that something is amiss, but he does not know what it is. He does not know what to do. He does not know where to go. Another man happens upon the blind as he departs the burning building, and begins to yell. He yells loudly. He yells adamantly. “Look at the fire, you fool! Don't you know that you are damned to burn in this fire, unless you depart? You started the fire, blundering about as you are prone to do. A fireman named Jesus has made a way to safety, and anyone who doesn't find that door is finished! Why aren't you running? You fool! Do you want to perish in this flame of fire?” The Blind Man never flinches; he never moves. In fact, feeling faint from the lack of oxygen he sits down. Soon he will be overwhelmed by the flame, and pain and death await him. Though he genuinely wanted the Blind Man to be saved, the messenger of impending doom was lacking in some basic understanding. Though he was in truth demonstrating love to the Blind Man by telling him of the doom and the way of salvation, his means were ineffective because of the condition of the person to whom he was speaking. A lot of people are tired. They are tired of seeing people scream their heads off and waving their arms around about hell and then failing to demonstrate the power of God really and practically to save them from the death to come. If God can save me from my sins, then why can’t He save you from yours? If marriage is sanctified between a man and a woman, then why do you pervert that sanctity by divorcing your wife? It all sounds like a lot of hot air, doesn’t it? Credibility for anyone within a mile of a church has been shattered to say the least. Between the Crusades, the Inquisition, witch hunts, and televangelists who pick your pockets there are very few in history who have claimed the name of Christ and then actually demonstrated the character that made Jesus stand apart 2000 years ago from the rest of those who claimed to work on God’s behalf. But do the failings of many to uphold the character of Jesus get me off the hook for doing the same? If a man stood before a judge in traffic court and said, “I was only speeding because everyone else was speeding too,” would he be let off of his charge? He would pay to the last penny! We have a responsibility to do what is right, even if the whole of the rest of the world chooses not to.
Re: “Beer Me, Jesus”
What Catalyst is seeking in doing good for the less fortunate is not bad, but they miss out the most important thing that God has delivered to the church: the good news of salvation through Christ Jesus our Lord. When anyone in the church brings charity without the message of salvation, it is like bringing the Blind Man a comfortable chair, a sack lunch, and some new clothes to enjoy while he perishes! We are flawed. We are imperfect. Because we brought upon ourselves the dirt of sin, we cannot enter into perfect unity with God. Jesus came and took the place of sinners on the cross, bearing the guilt, shame, and separation from God that was deserved by us. Then Jesus rose from the dead so that we might again be brought into fellowship and unity with God. It is in this Gospel message that there is the power of God unto salvation, and men are brought into fellowship with God. Without the Gospel message accompanying good works, we are simply making perishing people comfortable as they wait for eternal separation from God. At the end of the article, the question was asked “And when charity is done for conversion, well, it’s against the point. Isn’t it?” My counter question is this: “What does it prophet a man to gain the whole world, and to lose his soul?” If we say that we and God love our neighbor but we let then starve to death while we feast on the fatted calf, then we are liars of the worst sort. But if we do not bring more than charity to the needy, then when they pass into eternity it will all have been a waste.