NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

The Truth Shall Set You Free

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Unflinching bias is the worst kind of bondage.

Bias May Become
Obstinance
Before It Becomes
Repentance

John chapter 8 represents a pivotal point in the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees. It wasn’t the last time Jesus spoke to them or responded to their questions but it does record one of the longest single conversations Jesus had with the religious leaders in Jerusalem. And it didn’t end well.

It took place about 29 AD which means Jesus was approximately two-thirds into His three-year public ministry. The Pharisees had argued and debated with Jesus for two years and even talked about killing Him.

Things were escalating. In the end of John 8, they attempted to stone Him.

Nothing New

There is very little new content in this chapter. Apart from the opening few verses (the woman caught in adultery), the issues had been mentioned before.

Overview

The Pharisees complained in chapter eight that Jesus had no evidence for what He claimed. They knew this wasn’t true. Everyone else knew this wasn’t true and Jesus did respond to their accusations but one of the most important statements He made was to those who believed. What He said has inspired and stimulated thought ever since.

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. (John 8:32)

But getting back to the Pharisees, just to show how misleading their claim was, following are the many times and ways Jesus was attested to. All the references are from the Gospel of John.

  • John Baptist said He was the light of every person, 1:8. This is critical because everyone recognized John Baptist as a prophet, even the Pharisees. They didn’t like him but they couldn’t deny he was a prophet.
  • John Baptist also said Jesus was at the Father’s side, 1:18.
  • Jesus did many miracles in Jerusalem, 2:23. These miracles happened following the cleansing of the Temple and in response to the Pharisees request for a sign of His authority to clean the temple (v. 18). It was these miracles that prompted Nicodemus to confess, “We know you are a teacher come from God.” (3:2)
  • John Baptist also said God has placed all power in the hands of Jesus, 3:35.
  • Jesus referred to John Baptist as a witness to Him, 5:31-35.
  • He reminds the Pharisees that His miracles are a witness, 5:36.
  • Scriptures are a witness to Jesus, 5:39.
  • Moses was a witness, 5:45-46.
  • Crowds were a witness (they wanted to make Him King), 6:14-15.
  • His ability to teach was a witness, 7:15, 46.
  • Logical arguments were a witness, 7:21-24. Jesus compared His healing of a man on the Sabbath to the Pharisees custom of circumcising on the Sabbath.

In spite of so much evidence, the Pharisees still insisted there was nothing to back up the testimony of Jesus.

How The Pharisees Responded

In spite of the evidence, the Pharisees’ responses are dismissive, defensive and sarcastic.

  • They accuse Jesus of self-promotion.
  • They asked where Jesus’ father was, even though they knew that no one had seen God.
  • They asked if He was planning to commit suicide.
  • They asked Him who He was, a question that had been asked and answered many times.
  • They assumed they weren’t in bondage.
  • They claimed Abraham as their father, as if that made them privileged.
  • Then they claimed God as their father.
  • They call Jesus a demon-possessed Samaritan.
  • They deny eternal life.
  • They claimed Abraham could never have known of Jesus since he was long dead before Jesus came.
  • They attemtp to stone Jesus.

The Pharisees were clearly being obstinant. There was no open discussion or respectful debate. They weren’t asking questions or sincerely seeking answers. They were not offering rational arguments. Their intent was to cause trouble. Every effort to discredit Jesus had failed and the frustration bled through.

[Read more…]

HOPE: Now or Later or Both

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Hope: wish, dream, what

What Does Hope
Really Mean?

One problem with reading the Bible is the fact that there is a large span of time between the moment it was written and time you read it.

Even the newest parts of the Bible are still a couple thousand years old. It was written at a different place, in a different culture and at a different time, so we shouldn’t be surprised when the words change a bit.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not questioning inspiration or suggesting the words are unreliable. All I’m saying is that words do take on varying shades of meaning over time. They don’t change entirely, but enough to need qualifying. Without qualification, you get the wrong message.

Not to worry. We know the ancient languages and the meanings of the words as they were used in the past. We also understand these words as they were used over time. We’re not in the dark, but to understand the difference we need to study the process. We call that study etymology. It’s a science.

The word Hope is a good example. [Read more…]

“Jesus Saves” Imbues God’s Call

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The shortest, deepest, most meaningful message in the Bible.

Jesus Saves

The ministry is a calling, not a career. It can become a career but there’s a big difference between a calling that becomes a career and a career that was never initiated by a calling.

Those who answer the call are often well suited for many different types of secular work. In fact, several people move into ministry from secular positions taking their skills with them. Moses was trained in Egypt before leading Israel out of slavery. David’s fighting skills were honed while shepherding sheep. Elisha was a farmer before he became the prophet of God. The qualities he developed in farming – reliability, diligence, endurance, attention to detail, organization – were just as useful in ministry as they were in farming.

But the question is, why would anyone do that? Why would a person move from a successful career path in secular work, one they’ve worked hard to prepare for and succeed at, to take up a position in ministry?

Momma Called, Daddy Sent, Socially Ratified

Sad to say, some do this because others think they should. The response is induced by public opinion. Respected others become the basis for a call. And since the work itself is so desirable – ministry is thought of as doing only good things – it’s an easy shift.

The Bible does say ministry is good work.

If a man desires the office of Bishop, he desires a good thing (1 Timothy 3:1).

What it doesn’t say is that ministry is the only good work or that all other work is tainted, but that is the perception. Secular work is leprous. Ministry is heavenly. It’s all very pie in the sky.

The truth is, you don’t have to be in ministry to do good work.

Secular work isn’t partly dingy and ministry isn’t the purified version of vocation. In fact, sound theology teaches there is dignity in all work. Dignity being derived not from the nature of the work but from the way you perform it.

God Called

Another reason people opt for ministry is the call. They are called by God to the work of ministry and the calling is often attached to some specific location. A town or city.

But is that enough? Career oriented people tend to be decisive individuals. They’re focused. They visualize where they are going, they anticipate specific results and they make and own their choices. Allowing someone else to make those choices, even God, doesn’t sit well with these types.

So what is it that prompts them to leave a well defined career path and move into ministry apart from the call? What expectation captures their attention and keeps them focused on ministry?

In short, the answer is simple: [Read more…]

9 Reasons Calvinism Is Illogical

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Outcomes are predetermined, not individuals.

Of All Moral Choices
Salvation Is The Simplest
And Least Complicated

In the colonial era of American history, religion was very prevalent. The first settlers on American soil were religious dissenters, aka Pilgrims or Puritans. They lived by a very strict rule of life and church was the central point of their lives.

One well known minister from that era, Jonathan Edwards, preached a sermon titled Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God. The topic was Hell and no one could describe it better than Edwards.

In response to that sermon, almost the entire congregation reacted in some way. They wept in their seats, moaned, begged for mercy, cried out, walked around, fell down and more. That service is thought to be the start of the great revival that swept the area.

What people don’t always point out is that the colonies were immersed in the doctrine of Calvinism and those early Christians took the belief to it’s logical end.

Calvinism is the belief that God alone determines which individuals will be saved and which will not, and these eternal choices were made before creation.

In other words, if you or any other person is a Christian now, it is only because God decided in eternity passed that He would save you. He saw you before you were conceived and chose or elected you for salvation. God was personally and intimately involved with you even before you were you.

In the colonial years, they believed that salvation was entirely a work of God. The Elect need do nothing, indeed could do nothing.

If any person approached a Christian leader and asked how they could be saved, the answer was simple. Nothing! You can do nothing to make it happen or to avoid it. If God has chosen you, you will be saved.

It is no wonder then that so many people responded so emotionally to Edwards sermon. If the listeners were longing for heaven – a reasonable assumption since they were in church – but were insecure about it, how could they not?

It doesn’t stop there. [Read more…]

God Is Personal Means What

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Does the holiness of God completely trump His personal response?

God Is Fully Aware
And Personally Responsive

Every Bible believing system I know of refers to God as Personal.

But then, after saying that, these same systems suggest things that defy the concept, like God doesn’t hear the prayers of sinners.

Begs the question. Several actually.

What do they really mean by Personal? Or better yet, what impact would Personal have on beliefs about God if taken to the logical end? The answer is profound.

Let me explain.

Whatever is done Personally is done in person, by a person and for a person. It’s relational.

Saying God is Personal means He acts as a person and relates to people individually. He hears individual prayers. He saves individuals. He isn’t relationally challenged.

Tell me. Has God ever sent a message His Spirit didn’t personally infuse?

God’s blessing on any nation, culture or geographical area is largely based on His relationship with the individuals. In other words, God is God to the whole group one person at a time.

Generally, everyone agrees with that, but extrapolating the idea draws fire. [Read more…]