THE ART OF SPIN

                                                   THE ART OF SPIN

We begin Walbear's expose of scriptural spin by reading Matt. 7:1. "Judge not, that you be not judged." Most of us make an assessment of individuals when we meet them, which is actually judgment. This type of judgment gives us a basis to deal with them. We attempt to decide if the person can be trusted with issues common to us, such as telling the truth, stealing, safety, etc. The more religious person often goes further, placing the individual as a loser or not worthy to be considered a Christian. This is snap judgment, and establishes how far we can consider this information when we have to make a decision. Many Christians assess the person to place him in one of two classes: saved or unsaved. You could replace those terms with Christian or otherwise.

It has amazed me to now see and hear a SPIN applied to this verse of scripture. By quoting just one verse, you are able to further define the subject at your own pleasure as long as you don't go to verse two and complete the admonition of Christ. By limiting your delivery of judgment to one verse, you can divert complete attention to your goal. To fully understand Christ's teaching of judgment, you need to read chapter seven's verses one through five. Verse two explains the pitfall of making an incorrect judgment. "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

These verses are a warning not to exclude others from the Christian community because only Christ can do that. We are talking about any person and their general actions. We are not talking about sins, because we are all sinners. The question is, does the person who claims to be a Christian, or who is touted as a Christian, display the characteristics of a Christian as given us by Christ in the four gospels? We need to give this subject careful thought. Committing a sin is quite normal for any Christian, and only one is unforgiven. Christ died to cover our sins, but a genuine Christian has an obligation to utilize the power of the Holy Spirit to cure the temptation of sin. Christians of different denominations should not judge others of a different denomination, etc.

This is pretty straight forward instruction. Now we get to the spin. It begins as explained above by citing just one verse. To throw you off, you now get a veiled threat through verse two above. Salvation and Heaven are determined by God and Christ, not by any man. There are several places in the gospels that tell us this. Man cannot make a determination of Christian worthiness, so it is not our choice to label anyone a Christian or non Christian. That seems pretty final, but it ignores a Christian's duty for separation. Everyone has a choice to accept or reject salvation. The problem then becomes one of separating apostate (false) pretenders and teachers from the real Christians.

Apostate teachers and supporters are quite proficient in their work. We see some pretty polished liars and half truth merchants making the rounds and amassing huge fortunes. How do we keep ourselves from their clutches? If you are saved, you can call on the Holy Spirit to guide you. Of course you will be directed to scripture, where the answer can be found. If you are comfortable with spiritual experiences, you can follow the directions for discerning spirits. The quickest way is to look at the person's character and actions. What does the person say, and what does he do? Since we are talking about individuals who are trying to persuade you to do something, carefully check his true record. Make certain your material doesn't come from prepared or biased reports. There is scripture for this. This is where false teachers or commentators lead you into the sin of violating the Ninth Commandment...bearing false witness.

Christians should investigate not what anyone says, but what they do and have done. Your snap judgment should lead you directly to "they said" or "they did." Christ explains how to personally judge His true followers in Matt. 7:15-20, and 7:21-23. We can judge not their salvation, but their character through their lifetime activities at work and play, in their family life, and treatment of others. Saved people sin, but they do not dwell on any particular sin, and they do not violate numerous sins frequently. Verses 21-23 tell us claims by individuals to be "religiously correct" are often used by apostates. Matt. 12:33-37 gives us another warning to carefully consider the words and actions of people. The example of good and bad fruit relates to a common experience we have through our lifetime.

To prevent us from confusing Christ's judgment of good, evil and salvation, we have the details in Matt. 25:31-46. These passages deal with Christ's final judgment. This is the judgment of compassion, the set of values Christ taught. These are the actions a saved person who claims to be a Christian MUST have. These verses are compactly summarized in James 2:14-26. Don't be fooled by talk about socialism. That is entirely different from compassion. This is the efficient method apostates utilize to confuse greed of money with Christ's compassion. We'll look at the verses of Matthew first, then look at James's warming.

Matt. 25:31-46: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying 'Lord when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them,
'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, My brethren, you did it to Me.'

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty and a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

These passages make in clear that we must look out for those who are unfortunate and need assistance. Of course there will be people who lie and cheat to get something for nothing. That does not give us license to deny help to deserving people. I'm going to give you a spin being offered by politicians that sounds good to the upper half of society. It requires the simple knowledge of being aware of our laws of taxation. A person or family living on minimum wages loses deductions for social security and withheld income tax when the paycheck comes. These people also pay sales taxes on purchases. The social security deduction and sales tax are not returned. When a politician says he will help the poor by slashing taxes, it will only amount to the very small income tax taken from the paycheck. The lower middle class will get virtually no benefit. Stones do not have blood to give; you must get blood from something that has blood. Slashing taxes in this manner is simply spin to satisfy people who can live comfortably on their income. It will generate lots of votes.

Confusing compassion with socialism is a major factor in dumbing down Christians. Sharing is not a trait of humans at birth. Children need to be taught to share. Americans need to understand that sharing from plenty is not socialism. While many churches have good programs for missions and community service, the difference between compassion and socialism is not adequately explained. There are other faiths that have a better understanding of sharing, at least those who have more devout members. It's not all about money, which seems to be the main talking point.

Christians learned about compassionate sharing in Acts 4:32-35, and note sharing was "as they had need." Also see Acts, chapter five, where a couple sold possessions and lied about keeping half the proceeds. They gave a sizable gift to the fledgling church, and it was not wrong for them to keep half. They sinned because they lied about their sacrifice. When Christians tithe or give alms, the gift is judged by Christ, and He judges the person's heart. You see this clearly in Luke 21, with the widow's mites.

As the early church grew, so did the number of apostate teachers. This continues today, and the advancement of communications, along with our pressure to balance work, school, family and other interests, apostate teaching abounds. The church and politics have become entwined because congregations are a virtual captive audience, and ripe for apostate misinformation. James sums it up in chapter two, verses
14-17. "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body , what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead." Obedience is more desired by God than sacrifice. Our political leaders inherited the United States from white immigrants. We conquered another race to do it. Are we now about to deny other immigrants an opportunity? You have a choice of fear or faith. The lessons of scripture are being ignored.

Rev. Walbear