Tag: Religion

  • Church: Religion? Philosophic Discourse? or Cultural Calling?

    Church: Religion? Philosophic Discourse? or Cultural Calling?

    The instant you say, ‘church,’ you dip your toe into waters of reactions which you know not how hot or cold, how shallow or deep, how stagnant or storm-tossed the hearer of your faith.

    Do you dare even ask?

    • Are YOU a CHRISTIAN?
    • Where did you worship last Sunday?
    • Do you belong to OUR church?
    • What are you currently studying from the Bible?
    • Would you talk of JESUS with me?
    • May I SHARE the Good News of my Biblical Christian faith?

    Just imagine the wide range of reactions of any other soul to ANY of these questions of the faithful evangelical Christian daring to share the Gospel of their Biblical Christian church.

    An even more troubling question:

    Does a Christian dare engage OTHER ‘christians‘ in a conversation about Christ (the Namesake of our Christian faith) addressing ALL of these questions and more about our Biblical Christian faith?

    Have YOU, in fact, tested these troublesome waters?

    IF SO, perhaps you too have received a baptism of hot opposition or a cold withdrawal of the flesh from the waters of faith.

    That would be evangelism = a RED FLAG of RELIGION to which a world (inclusively with some calling themselves a ‘church,’) will often react with ears that do not hear, as well as the rhetoric of rebellion against the Lord God and anarchy against salvation of the sinful soul.


    • Perhaps evangelism nets too few caught in the rising waters of a cultural flood of this world reacting to the ‘church,’ by denying Christ Jesus.
    • Maybe a pure Biblical Christian faith offends some tiptoeing into the mire of murky waters of philosophic denial.

    The [*] wicked fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

    They act corruptly, they commit abominable deeds;

    There is no one who does good.

    Psalm 14 :: Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) * wicked – one who rejects wisdom in rebellion against God
    (Although some these wicked fools have crept into pulpits of places which call themselves, 'church.')

    ANY constant questioning of authoritative adherence to the Word of God, the Holy Bible of our Christian faith, should sound an alarm to the faithful:

    Beware of the tempter in sheep’s clothing.

    Who else would deconstruct the Biblical Christian foundation of the Church, only to reconstruct our faith by compromises of the only Truth, replacing authoritative Scripture with several shifting pebbles of heretical half-truths ‘reasoned’ by the wicked at war with Christ?

    So I ask you .. I ask us:

    Who are these 21st century Christians?

    What are YOUR answers to my earlier questions I dare to ask my fellow evangelical Christian believers and worshipers of Jesus Christ? (ADD your Comment on Scripture to this Saturday Post of TalkofJESUS.com) 
    Our church in Christ Jesus has no place for the unrepentant wicked fool; for our Gospel is for those who believe.
    

    I began this Saturday Post series as a deeper discussion of DOCTRINE (or teaching) of the Church. The alarm of the watchman on the wall rang in my ears while hearing about a subtle teaching, an undercurrent of doctrine seeping into the evangelical christian church.

    Evangelical RECONSTRUCTION was something I naively had never heard of; YET now I will raise the trumpet of warning to sound the alarm:

    Medieval church bell tower during sundown in valley

    Something’s wrong with our church!

    (Who wouldn't agree?)
     YES it is.

    So why not RECALL it?

    (Send it ‘back to the manufacturer? Can’t do that. So how can WE evolve the church into a 21st c. style faith?)

    Tear it down to the ground demolishing doctrine by doctrine.

    Then WE can RECONSTRUCT that which WE have deconstructed to fix the church how WE want.

    But WE had better do it subtly (so as not to offend anybody) and stealthily (without account of a foundational Biblical Christian teaching).

    A 21st c. RECALL of the CHURCH is just what WE need for OUR Evangelical Reconstruction of the Church into a socially acceptable gathering which will attract any follower from religions of every culture of our world.

    NOT!

    To borrow from the Apostle Paul refuting premises of clear untruths:

    By no means!

    Perfect Teaching (for God’s imperfect ‘church’)

    https://talkofjesus.com/talk-jesus-com/what-is-doctrine/
    διδασκαλία – didaskalia – doctrine (19x), teaching (1x), learning (1x). – source: BlueLetterBible.org

    Doctrine, whether by preaching or teaching or proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is foundational to faith and therefore never to be torn down by any mortal sinner. Scripture affirms God’s truth and the trustworthy teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ for those who believe.

    .. so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, ..

    Letter of the Apostle Paul to the Church in Ephesus 4:14 Legacy Standard Bible

    This same Apostle (to the Gentiles) confesses in his first letter to the pastor, Timothy 1:15

    .. that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

    And the Apostle Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying,

    “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

    the Good News of Luke 5:8 Legacy Standard Bible

    Some call Peter and Paul, Saints (and they are); yet all of God’s faithful are saints to the Lord.

    Psalm 34:9 (WLC 34:10) יְראוּ אֶת־יְהוָה קְדֹשָׁיו כִּי־ אֵין מַחְסוֹר לִירֵאָֽיו׃

    Yodh
    Oh, fear Yahweh, you His saints;
    For there is no want to those who fear Him.
    Do YOU FEAR THE LORD GOD, oh you sinner?
    
    The MARQEE denominational name of your 'church' matters NOT, my fellow sinner. 
    Seek the salvation of the Lord, my dear fellow saint, His redemption of your soul to eternal life witnessed in the Gospel of the Christ JESUS.

    Perfect Preaching (Teaching)

    Is based on & does not manipulate Scripture.

    THE LORD GOD IS! (God IS God and mankind is not.)

    God spoke to and through men whom the Lord God chose and commanded to write HIS words.

    “God is not a man, that He should lie,

    Nor a son of man, that He should repent;

    Has He said, and will He not do it?

    Or has He spoken, and will He not establish it?

    Numbers 23:19 LSB
    Do you really believe that? Can you affirm that ONLY Scripture Sola Scriptura is the inspired word of the Lord God?
    ONLY Scripture – Sola Scriptura

    All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,

    2 Timothy 3:16 LSB

    NOT ‘some,’ NOT ‘select scripture’ ..

    AND separate from the truth that some church pastors will never reprove or correct those wayward weak sheep of their own flock,

    ALL of the WRITTEN WORD OF SCRIPTURE IS GOD INSPIRED!

    Mortal SINNERS DO NOT get to reconstruct what GOD has said.

    (But false teachers of every era subtly seek to lead Christ’s lost sheep into the abyss of disbelief.)

    Inerrant TRUTH: Our reasoned Biblical Faith

    Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

    The Apostle John’s Good News for you is:

    .. that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.

    Evangelical RE-construction of the Church

    Source material for the following is transcribed (written as accurately as possible) from the A.D. 2022 podcast 'Just Thinking,' previously recommended and linked on TalkofJESUS.com and used with permission of its author. - RH

    In deconstruction everything is a SOCIAL construction, including the church.

    Darrell Harrison
    By the way, this Saturday Post series, Church – Who are these 21st c. Christians? - is directed toward faithful evangelical Christians who fear God and believe Scripture as a warning and caution for infidelity to Christ we increasingly hear from the pulpits of our RE-engineered 21st c. 'churches.' - RH
    
    I will add brief comment to Harrison's outline below for your consideration and intentional thinking about the teaching of your church. Why not add your own thoughts in the Comments at the bottom of this post. 
    
    God-willing, we will continue the course of identifying the faithful of our 21st century 'Church' next Saturday.
    
    © Darrell B. Harrison and Just Thinking Ministries

    Evangelical Deconstructionism

    Most of the points quoted may be found in the Just Thinking Podcast near 1:32.

    FIVE-POINT PROGRESSION of Evangelical Deconstructionism

    1. EMBRACE and posit [plant or assume] the idea [philosophy] that the CHURCH is a SOCIALLY constructed system, NOT a divinely ordained idea [institution] that originated in the mind of God.
    2. ASSUME that this socially constructed system is designed to be exclusive of certain intersectional identities, traditions and behaviors.
    3. IDENTIFY subjective [reasoned in the mind] points or cracks in that socially constructed system that have failed [as reasoned by the philosopher] AND need to be fixed [or reconstructed].
    4. APPLY a hermeneutic [interpretive explanation] of SUSPICION to that SOCIALIALLY-CONSTRUCTED system so that ANYONE [who even remotely] connected to that system is deemed UNTRUSTWORTHY.. deemed an enemy.
    5. RECONSTRUCT this SOCIAL SYSTEM [church, etc.] into the IMAGE and likeness of the CULTURE with socially acceptable.. [everythingology].

    Have you heard the alarm?

    “Therefore watch out, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:

    Acts of the Apostles 13:40 LSB [in context 13:23-41]

    Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

    Gospel of Matthew 7:15 LSB – a warning of Jesus

    “Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

    Gospel of Luke 6:46 LSB – CHALLANGE of the Lord Jesus Christ to followers


    What must we do?

    Does YOUR local church have a new cultural calling to evangelism?

    Please comment below on what you observe of Evangelical Deconstructionism?

    Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel

  • Crucifixion! – The Spirit of Grace

    Crucifixion! – The Spirit of Grace

    Now Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written: “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

    John 19:19 NASB

    More Mockeries of the Son of Man on the Cross of Sacrifice

    Even today mockery of Jesus Christ is as common as rejection of the Lord God.

    In CRUCIFIXION! – The Pangs of Sin we saw the suffering Servant Jesus as punishment continued.

    From John’s witness thus far…

    • Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him – John 18:12 KJV
    • ..one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand saying, Answerest thou the high priest so?John 18:22b KJV
    • 24 Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.
    • 28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment..
    • 29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation..
    • 33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
    • 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
    • 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
    soldier whipping Jesus Christ

    His scourging poured forth sinless Blood by 39 lashes upon Jesus’ back.

    Pilate and the politically motivated religious leaders of Jerusalem made mockery of mercy (one less lash than Rome’s forty which should cause death) by condemning the Son of Man in whom they found no guilt.

    • John 19:2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head..
    • 3 and they repeatedly came up to Him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and slapped Him in the face again and again.

    About the sixth hour [noon]

    14 Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Look, your King!” 15 So they shouted, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.”

    16 So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

    17 They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, carrying His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between…

    21 So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; rather, write that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’”

    A Temporary Victory

    The powerful have won the political battle of the day!

    Yet complete defeat is near for political rulers of the Empire and the powerful leaders of religion in Jerusalem. For by their own shouts the preordained Sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the sins of the world is now to be fulfilled.

    22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

    It was nearly noon, the Passover Lamb now prepared by scourging. “CRUCIFY, CRUCIFY!” shout the crowds. We will NOT follow Jesus.

    Jesus the Christ will take back the power of sin from the enemy and defeat death from a Cross of Sacrifice.

    .. this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. Acts 2:23

    And how is this the Spirit of Grace?

    For this grace you must also wait until next time.

    To be continued...
  • What is Truth-2-Scourging your enemy

    What is Truth-2-Scourging your enemy

    Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him.

    John 19:1 NASB

    A Contest to Govern

    Contests to govern are always waged between the wealthy in charge and the wealthy who would rather be in charge.

    Roger Harned- talkofJesus.com

    Why is God about to suffer by the hands of His enemies?

    To fully understand what is about to take place, we examine the motivations of those in charge:

    1. The religious enemies of Jesus and
    2. The political enemies of Jesus

    Mocking your Enemy in Public

    By now we have seen the betrayal of Jesus by one of His own. And because of Jesus’ popularity with the populace of Jerusalem, powerful religious leaders had seized Jesus under the cover of darkness and tried Him in pre-choreographed trials away from the crowds.

    You may find it helpful to understand the background of Rome’s mocking its enemies in public, which you can read more about in the commentary.

    Much of the following insight quotes BlueletterBible.org commentary of Chuck Smith, secure link of full text & audio versions:: C2000 Series on John 18-19
    - Graphics & secure internal links below open separate tabs to previous posts from this series from the Gospel of John.

    This is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent ​— ​Jesus Christ. John 17:3 CSB picture of bright sun in the golden sky
    Eternal Life

    Jesus, the Christ of GOD

    Logos Word of God
    Logos: Greek describing Jesus Christ. “In the beginning was the word… John 1:1

    During the night in Gethsemane:

    and he said unto them, Who are you looking for? And they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. And he said unto them, I am he. (Jhn 18:4-5)

    quote & commentary below from blueletterbible.org

    You’ll notice that the word he is in italics, which means that is was added by the translators. Jesus just said, “I am.” That divine name of the eternal God. When Jesus said, “I am,” there went forth, no doubt, a blast of power, divine power.

    And as he said unto them, I am he, they fell backward to the ground.

    (Jhn 18:6)

    Now, at that point, Jesus could have just walked off and left them lying there. It is interesting that Jesus is in control of the whole situation. He is the Master. And though they have come to arrest Him, He is the one that is giving the orders.

    Now we examine the motives of Jesus’ enemies:

    Religious Rule over the Jews

    painting of Hebrews in the wi
    I AM the Bread of Life

    Jerusalem’s previous administration had lost power over the Empire’s right to tax their captive kingdom (Herod’s, in name only). When the Jews violently took to the streets in protest a couple of years previously, Pilate executed many Jews and revoked the authority of their leaders to execute anyone.

    depiction of Jesus in a crowded room on trial by Caiaphas
    Jesus trial by Caiaphas, High Priest

    Annas

    Continuing from the commentary of Chuck Smith

    And they led him away to Annas first; for he was the father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year (Jhn 18:13).

    Annas had been the high priest from the year five to the year sixteen. Annas was probably one of the most influential, powerful, wealthy men in the city of Jerusalem. At this particular time, the high priesthood was a political kind of an appointment by the Roman government. And it was secured by a bidding kind of a process. They paid and bribed for the privilege of being the high priest. It was extremely corrupted at this point. Annas was the high priest, and being the patriarch of that family, was recognized still as the power behind the office of the high priest.

    More about Monday's incident of Jesus overturning the tables of the moneychangers at the Temple in the commentary link.

    .. And so, He was first brought to this man, an extortioner, a wealthy man, a Sadducee.

    Caiaphas

    So that’s why there were two high priests, Annas the patriarch, the old man, recognized by the people; but the Roman government had appointed politically Caiaphas as the high priest. [My emphasis. – RH]

    Now, this Caiaphas was the one who said, “Look, it’s necessary that one be killed for the whole nation.”

    And Simon Peter followed Jesus (Jhn 18:15),

    And John does not tell us about His trial before Caiaphas, but the other gospels, Matthew and Mark tell us about the trial before Caiaphas.

    Physical Abuse of Jesus by the Jews!

    Note further from Smith’s commentary the beginnings of the sufferings of their Messiah Jesus by the hands of the Jewish leaders clinging to their tenuous power in Jerusalem.

    Now, Jesus had already experienced a tremendous buffeting in the house of Caiaphas. There, they put a covering over His head. And with this bag over His head, they began to hit Him. Now, that’s vicious. We are fearfully and wonderfully designed, and we are designed to have automatic reflex actions. And when we see a blow coming, we automatically reflex to protect ourselves from that blow by fainting and going with the blow, thus cushioning it. And as long as you see the blow coming, it’s amazing what you can absorb. As long as your body can see it coming and you can then compensate and cushion and relax and flow with it.

    .. So by covering Jesus’ eyes, by covering His head, and then buffeting Him, no chance to faint or to respond, and you take the full force of the blow, you don’t know it’s coming, Wham! That hurts! He’d already taken that kind of abuse.

    His face already bruised, swollen, bloodied by the blows from Caiaphas, they continued the abuse by smiting Him, putting on the crown of thorns, mocking Him. There is a horrible mob psychology, where people lose all of their natural inhibitions and restraints and act as a mob and like an animal. And it’s always shocking the things that people can do in the anonymity of a mob. The true vicious nature of man, sinful nature of man is revealed.

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