The Jewish New Year was observed many weeks ago, and it is not celebrated similarly as the Christian New Year. For the Jews, it is a time to reflect on their failures over the past year, and to try to right their ship of life. Christians can learn from that, because we usually celebrate (not observe) a secular holiday. Every Christian needs just one resolution for the new year. And, it would be marvelous if each of us could just keep that resolution. So...here's your Christian resolution. "I will follow the teaching of my Savior as recorded in the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I will follow the two commandments Christ gave us in Matt. 22:37-40, and I will not impose any restrictions in other parts of scripture not given us by Christ, Himself." If you can do this, you'll have a Spiritual Resolution and New Year.
Here is your guideline, and if you follow Christ's instructions from the verses above, you will not divide any people from the opportunity to accept Christ's offer. "Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Pretty simple and just. Many of the Christians I hear are not following the second part of Christ's teaching, which is also a strong indication they aren't really committed Christians.
If you claim you're a Christian, you must believe God created all people. That includes Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Europeans, Arab. and mixed races. God loves all mankind, but detests sin. Christ never taught hate, and the closest He ever came to violence was overturning the money tables and chasing the moneychangers out of the temple. Christ never taught separation and even healed lepers. He did not deny people the opportunity for salvation.
Before you think you understand the separation happening between Christians and people in general, consider the entire chapter 29 of Matthew. You may have trouble correlating these verses with today's situation. Remember, Christ is berating the leadership of the Jewish nation. That includes the lawyers and church leaders. Verses 27 and 28 describe the characters of many American leaders. This is not to accuse any political party, because both have their share of loud mouths with underdeveloped brains. But there is major responsibility for many of the seated Christian pastors and leaders. Their family values consist of man-determined rules not mentioned by Christ.
This is a continuing problem, first with Israel, and later up to now, with Christian pastors and church leaders. The pastors and spokespeople for the Christian church go along with popular congregation desires, and don't preach the most important issues facing Christianity. Congregations like to promote issues that don't affect them personally, such as abortion and homosexuality. They have to "give up" nothing to be "good", and can adopt a self righteous attitude. This is so easy, and their resolution to oppose these sins is a slam dunk. Their opposition does absolutely nothing to improve their own character. They are actually judging others in direct opposition to Matt. 7:3, "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"
Before you expound on particular virtues, I ask you to judge yourself on common sins such as gossip, the most damaging of the sins listed in the Ten Commandments. Ex. 20:`16, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." This is the one sin causing most problems in congregations according to the pastors I have spoken with. When you repeat a rumor, you are promoting gossip. This type of "goody" spreads like wildfire, and once your rumor (actually a lie) is out there, many who hear it may never find out the rumor was not true. This is base character assassination. This was rampant in the political campaign and is frequently utilized by the justice system on the local, state and national level. People, especially those who scoff at education, often eagerly accept these rumors, especially if they are "juicy."
Americans grow up learning that getting ahead in life is usually tied to violating the Tenth Commandment. Ex. 20:17, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's." Probably the worst covetousness has to do with money and power. That is the goal of practically all politicians. People tend to covet expensive cars, expensive clothes, expensive homes and other goodies beyond their earning level. It's not wrong to better yourself as long as you don't do it at the expense of others.
Self righteousness abounds in Christianity, as people recognize the sins of others while overlooking their own shortcomings. And, this is where Christians are getting a giant black eye right now. Show me a smug, self righteous church member who speaks out against the generally mislabeled sex sins, and I'll ask him if his life is so pure without sin to cast the first stone. John 8:7, "So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, 'He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."' Of course none were without sin, just as you and I are not sinless
All sins are of equal value. Isaiah 64:6 tells us how righteous we are, and nothing we do can change his description. "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness are like filthy rags;" That public official who tells you how great a Christian he is, should go back to the four gospels for self determination. Does he believe all same sex marriages are for the purpose of sex? Most aren't. Visit hospitals or managed care homes and you'll see the need for support and companionship. There are programs and financial help available only to married people.
I do not hear pastors preaching the difference between support or companionship marriage and sexual marriage. I don't hear pastors explaining Christ's ugliness. WHAT? Christ ugly? The Supreme Court conservative majority rules that a corporation is a person. That means a corporation bears the likeness of God and Christ. Apparently these five fake Christian justices never read or ignore the very first book of the bible: Genesis. Verses 1:26 and 27, 'Then God said, "Let Us make man in OUR IMAGE, according to OUR LIKENESS; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in HIS 0WN IMAGE; in the IMAGE OF GOD HE created him; male and female HE created them."'Now, go to any of the four gospels where Christ appeared, spoke, taught and was recognized by untold multitudes of people. This is the biblical IMAGE OF GOD. Our five conservative Christian judges don't follow scripture. Their ruling opened the floodgates of money for both parties in the election. So, you Christians who accept this ruling, take down your pictures, paintings and busts of Jesus Christ, because He isn't the likeness of God. Do you think God will be smiling upon you as you replace the real Christian art with corporate logos? Do you think America will be blessed under a corporate god?
Those "Christian" judges also set in motion a problem soon to develop and create further separation in America. By ruling that private businesses can deny service on a religious basis, they have violated a main part of our Constitution separating church and state. That isn't even the main problem. Their ruling means every other religion can demand the same privilege. That includes Islam and Atheists, among many others. Further, employers can manage your personal beliefs and refuse to give you a job unless you bow to the religion of THEIR choice.
One of my mentors, who spent many years pastoring several churches, told me a major problem in the church is promotion rather than teaching the Word. In America, bigness is the rule. I hear the pastors of some mega churches preach, and they frequently get scriptures wrong or they misunderstand the language. I hear the management of some Christian radio stations skirt the laws of advertising by giving a donor's name for a contribution. I also see churches with lavish "extracurricular" programs to draw large crowds and, hopefully, more members. There is always some teaching of scripture, but it is secondary. People are much more interested in entertainment than studying the Word.
It seems that church people have created a dividing line among all people, ignoring that God gives everyone a choice. Gay people are shunned and abortion is murder, although it's okay to let the pregnant woman die to try and save the fetus. Odd that anti-abortion people don't want any responsibility for all the "extra" children. I'm not for blanket approval of abortion, but it is necessary in some instances. I also hear the selfish loudmouths wanting to deny foreign children a safe haven in America. The real reason is because it will cost some money. Forget all the rubbish offered as to why we shouldn't accept them. We certainly did a Christian job displacing those pesky native Americans. Or, have you forgotten how the Indians provided food to the Pilgrims? At least that's the story we tell at Thanksgiving.
The present day Christian leadership has adopted a policy of divide and conquer. One state has already proposed to make that state religion Christianity. Of course there are many restrictions considered part of the rule of Christianity. That a state would do that isn't new because we had a similar situation that caused the Civil War. Our many Christian denominations in America have been dividing believers and would-be believers since the days of the Pilgrims. They preach brotherhood, but check out the man made rules of the denomination. Since God created all people, and so many are not Christians, do you think He made mistakes?
Americans are world leaders in giving, and were largely responsible for maintaining peace in the world over the last century. To be sure, we are all sinners, and none of us is qualified to assume we are elite in finances, looks, education or anything else. As Christ said in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-11), heaven will not be populated by wealthy and powerful people as we identify them today. A Christian is a servant of God, a worker following the Leader, Jesus Christ. A Christian has the cross to follow as a symbol, not the dollar sign. Christ died for your salvation, and you will take nothing with you to Heaven or Hell.
This message contains many negatives, but they are listed in an attempt to reach real Christians who are permitting greed and envy to move forward. You need to identify the proper people who are destroying the nation, and do the research on major issues that slip silently by while you boast about your Christianity. If you follow the spiritual resolution I listed, both you and our nation will have an opportunity to receive all the blessings God has for His faithful servants. Are those two Commandments Christ gave us in Matt. 22: 37-40 too much to ask in return for Christ's sacrifice? I pray you will delve into the instructions Christ gave us instead of listening to the outrageous propaganda coming from the pulpits and politicians. Happy New Year!
Christmas is a great deal more than the traditional observance most Christians celebrate. The reason for our celebration is the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. But, if we paid attention to books of the Old Testament, Christmas would mean much more. We shouldn't forget Santa Claus, either, because he gives us an excellent teaching point. In fact, symbols of the Christian observance of the holiday all can teach the story of Christ.
We may begin our understanding of God's long range plan of salvation by learning the lesson in the eighth book of scripture, the book of Ruth. This is a relatively short book, and I urge you to begin your Christmas holiday by reading this book. It is a love story and tells about redemption. You see, there was redemption long before Christ was born. The method was different, but the end result was the same. After I was ordained, I was given the task of presenting my church's Christmas message. I was very excited to have this opportunity, and I learned much about the politics of the church from this early episode. I was about to turn to the New Testament to prepare the message, when the Holy Spirit sent me to the Book of Ruth. I didn't have much understanding in those days, and thought I was in the wrong place. However, after reading the book, I understood I was supposed to present the story of redemption. That's why God sent Christ.
Before it was my place to present my message, the senior pastor gave his "introduction" for me to give the Christmas story. However, before I could begin, he had the congregation turn to Luke 2:1-20. There it was: Joseph and Mary sent to Bethlehem to register for taxes, no room at the inn, the wise men, shepherds and birth of Christ. He didn't leave much for me, except, I believe, an attempt to embarrass me and elevate him as senior pastor. He was in total shock when I gave my message of redemption through the Book of Ruth. He had never heard that message for Christmas. Chalk up one for the Holy Spirit.
Another Christmas season I used another book from the Old Testament to illustrate God's mercy in redemption. Please turn to the Book of Jonah. This is another relatively short book, but has a terrific impact. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh, a large city inhabited by a fierce people who piled mounds of skulls at the entrance to the city to invoke fear. Jonah was instructed to preach God and redemption to these people, a task he had tried to avert by running away. It's understandable you wouldn't want to preach to these people. God showed great mercy because the people did repent, and God didn't destroy them.
The third person in this story of redemption is John the Baptist, and this is the first character from the New Testament. You can read about him in all four gospels, but I like John , chapter one. These scriptures are the forerunners of redemption and salvation, and that is exactly what Christmas is about. Every child, Christian or not, should have the opportunity to hear the story of Christ's birth. It should not be overshadowed by Santa Claus and gifts. Instead, Santa and gift giving should be brought into the Christian story. It's not just mercy and redemption: it is really about love.
It's a shame Christian lawmakers are wasting their time trying to enact strict personal laws, while they can't even maintain the traditional observance of Christ's birth. They have seen Merry Christmas replaced by Happy Holidays. They have seen traditional decorations toned down and even banned. Worst of all, they have caved in to the almighty dollar, and have encouraged a commercial takeover of the holiday season. There is more excitement on Black Friday and the mad rush to the sales than teaching the meaning of Christ and salvation. Further, people, Christians included, miss a red letter opportunity to use the made to order symbols.
The symbols are the tree, which can represent the cross on which Christ was crucified. Even young children can understand a simple explanation of sacrifice and salvation. The lights represent the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, who dispelled darkness with the light of truth, honesty and love. The reindeer remind us of the setting of Christ's birth, His lowly status, and the animals that surrounded Him. The star guided the shepherds and wise men to the place of His birth. The gifts brought by the wise men were delivered with love and were needed when it was necessary for the holy family to flee to Egypt. In addition to the gift of salvation, God has given us gifts of the Spirit. Some of these are explained in Ephesians, chapter 4.
The incentive is for everyone, adults and children, to live a Christ-like life and be good people. We exchange gifts as a symbol of love and respect. Santa now handles the delivery of gifts, and expects children to be well behaved during the year. Santa, like Christ, does not have favorites, and represents the mercy and good that Christ taught. Some form of Christmas is practiced in many countries around the world. Christ welcomed and sacrificed His sinless life for all who would accept His offer of eternal life. That includes all races. If you separate races and support anyone else who does, you are violating Christ's teaching and God's plan of inclusion for all who believe in Him. There is only one heaven, and both bad and good people in all races. Christ will judge you, and decide if you qualify for heaven.
You cannot be filled with happiness and joy for Christ's birthday if you're filled with hatred of any kind. Don't be fooled by those half dozen verses in Proverbs stating God hates certain things. Those verses are not part of Christ's teaching, and were written by people with no religious standing, including King Solomon. Those verses are good suggestions for living a Godly life, but not following them does not exclude you from salvation. A sin is a sin, and all are judged equally. None of us can stop sinning because we are carnal in nature.
For those Christians who suffer from self righteousness, I send you to John 8:1-12. This is where a woman in adultery was brought for judgment. Jesus drew a line in the sand and invited any sinless man among her accusers to toss the first stone. Death by stoning was the punishment for adultery. One by one, the men left, because none were sinless except Christ. In the Christmas season, all Christians should be keenly aware of Christ's teaching, which was all about love. If you bear hatred, whether racial or otherwise, your Christian walk is in big trouble. The gift of eternal life is there. Don't blow your opportunity by excluding love from your Christmas.
This is a message that may be hard to swallow, but it's based on scripture. Christianity in America has been gradually changing over the past 50 years. Because of the gradual aspect of change, few people in the church world are aware of the change and the consequences that may follow. Mixed in, and making the changes more dangerous, are the carnal egos and personal agendas of some leaders.
Anyone who professes to be a Christian should be a follower of Jesus Christ and MUST follow His teaching. His teaching in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John MUST be the guidelines and practice to follow. These books have His words. No other books in the bible have His words. There are the words of kings, prophets, disciples and others, but none of these people are Jesus Christ. While the Epistles are important, they do not contain the words of Christ. For the most part, they are cultural guides as people enter into the practice of Christianity.
There have been two major problems introduced into Christian churches and congregations. Most church people have no idea of these growing problems. A sermon based on one or just a few verses of scripture usually will not reveal the problem. That is especially true if scripture is taken from the Book of Proverbs. Christ did not speak the words of Proverbs, and you must understand exactly who did write this book. The book has much wisdom and good advice, and is certainly of value. But, you must be careful to understand the difference between a carnal writer's advice and the very words of Christ.
Sometimes one word in a verse of Proverbs which, by and large, is good advice, is EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF CHRIST'S teaching in the four books of the gospel. I'll get to that word and other examples shortly, but first we need to examine who is writing this advice in the book. Many of the proverbs were written by King Solomon. We are told he was the wisest man who ever lived. He was wise, as indicated by his decision on the mother of a child. But there is much more you should know about this wise man. After he was anointed king, he set about killing all those in the court and leadership who had opposed his being king. This you will find in 1 Kings 2, where the closing verse 46 states in part, "Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon." His fame spread, and people said (1 Kings 4:31), "For he was wiser than all men." Note carefully, they said he was wiser than all men. He was not wiser than the Son of God. He obtained great wealth, but fell victim to carnal desires--a large herd of horses, and hundreds of wives and concubines. The women worshiped strange gods, and this was Solomon's main undoing. Even the wisest man cannot be blameless and equal the Son of God. It was Solomon's excesses that caused God to split the Jewish kingdom.
Not all of Proverbs is attributed to Solomon, and little is known of some of the other writers such as Agur and Lemuel. Not one of these writers wrote with the knowledge and wisdom of Christ, and their writings do not make up the Christian manifesto. If you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you are not a Christian unless you carefully follow Christ's teaching. While the proverbs contain some good advice, they are not Christ's rules.
We have three types of ministers. Each relies on a certain aspect of the bible. Some ministers stress the epistles, especially the letters of Paul. This results in confusion, because some of Paul's directions to newly established churches deal with cultural differences. Some of the problems from this includes such things as the use of color, which has separated some denominations from others. Another problem is forbidding women to be pastors or church officers. Women's leadership in the church began way back when Moses, Aaron and Miriam were selected by God to lead His people. Remember, the Jews are His original people. You (and some pastors) need to study a little history so you don't make these types of mistakes. God appointed man to be the leader of a household, not a tyrant (Yes, I'm familiar with that word). If you know anything about the primitive years of world history, you should know why He made that appointment. God constructed men to be physically stronger and better able to protect and lead a family. It was not because man was wiser.
Some ministers teach strongly from Proverbs. This is basically advice on how to live for success and to please God. The Pauline teaching creates confusion and separation. Proverbial teaching creates violence separation. Ridiculous, you say? I direct you to Proverbs 6:16. "These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him." The problem here is the use of the word HATES. Jesus Christ was sent by the Lord to instruct and heal. Christ NEVER used the word Hate. He described various sins, but covers each and all with His shed blood. In fact, He said just the opposite of hate. Matt. 22:39 states, "And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." If you don't know the First Commandment, it is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." Christ taught only LOVE, never hate. It's unfortunate the writer of Proverbs 6:16-19 used the word hate because God and Christ are the opposite of hate.
Ministers who like the word hate use passages such as I quoted, and add their own pet hates such as homosexuality or other sex related situations. I have heard several such ministers, and they really get into ranting and raving. They don't rave about infidelity (some are guilty of this), theft, or, worst of all, (6:19) "A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren." They equate same sex marriage with dirty sex and ignore the need for companionship, especially among the elderly, and the program benefits that are available only to married couples. These ministers either don't know the Word of God, or they are deliberately using an emotional appeal to gain vigilante or mob support.
These antics, such as the West Baptist congregation and others, are driving a wedge between actual Christians of the bible and professing Christians who are ignorant of the bible, following a pied piper. If you aren't aware of Christ's teaching and listen and follow this false teaching, you are in deep trouble. God expects you to study scripture and understand His Son's teaching and sacrifice.
At least part of the general public has realized the difference between Christ's teaching and this Proverbial teaching. The growing result is a black eye on Christianity. It is difficult for a minister of Christ to convince someone that the hate proverbs aren't Christian rules. You'd be surprised how many non Christians know a lot about the bible, and have decided they want no part of the hate cult. And folks, that's exactly what this type of teaching is--a cult. It is separating Christians in the church by forcing them to take sides on the issues. If the pastor preaches hate, you're expected to grab hold of the rope and yank. So much for love. As Christ once said, (John 8:7) "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." All sins are equally bad and may be forgiven.
So, why not teach the hate verses? They are part of showing you not to do things and, like most of the bible, are there to encourage you to use your mind and reason. The church today is full of people who are self righteous, believing they have all the truth. In reality, they have little truth. If you doubt this message thus far, turn to John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Now, one last word about hate. Turn to Matt. 5:44 for the last direction from Christ about hate. "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." If your speaker or pastor talks about hate, ask him about these verses. This is Christ speaking, not just a man.
You have a choice. You can follow Christ in love, or you can base your hatred on the few verses of Proverbs written by a man who became the victim of tremendous success and wealth. If your choice is to join in the muck racking of the Proverbial Church rather than the true Christian Church, at least refrain from calling yourself a Christian. It's difficult enough to win souls for Christ with all the wrong teaching by some "Christian" leaders and churches. Remember, when you accepted Christ you pledged to follow Him, not King Solomon. Your Christian walk will either be accepted by the Savior, or you will be rejected as warned in Matt. 7:23. "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."'
Be careful who you follow, because you will answer for your actions. You should have a personal relationship with Christ that supersedes any relationship with a mere man, no matter how famous he may be in the "church" world. You do have a choice.
