This article was written to answer someone named Arin.
It is not "our" confusion. We always get confused when we follow "our" ideas because we are human and subject to emotions and passions. That is why there are absolutes. Your idea about women being repressed is not in the Christian Bible. Paul said that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female" but that all Christians are one and equal to each other.
Now if we look at the outcomes of what we people do .... that I would agree is another story.
There are religions where man is reaching up to try to find a God and then there is Christianity where God reached down and in fact came down to find man. The product of this are many of the great institutions of this world, schools for all not just the rich, hospitals likewise, in fact most universities at least in North America were established originally as Christian institutions of higher learning, and in fact democracy itself with all its flaws. All of these and more originated from Christian outreach to those who were less fortunate.
Now I do not see or know of any religion in the world more anti-people than Islam. The Koran talks about killing the infidels. More moderate, usually westernized, Muslims have left this belief but if you go anywhere in the world today where there are massive killings, it is often Muslims trying to kill off the non-Muslim population. (Sudan being one current example where the Muslims are attempting very well to kill off the Christian blacks.) And of course the middle east.... Have you ever heard of a Jewish suicide bomber? Arabs who live in the Jewish state are treated the same way and have the same benefits as non-Jews. It is the ones who have deliberately been kept poor by Arafat or Saddam Hussein or the like and taught to hate Jews and Christians who send their children to die for "Allah", a god made up by Mohammed after searching thru about 360 Gods that the ancient arabs use to have.
There are many religions, but only one God, not Allah, but the real God found in the Bible. And there is only 1 son of God who came to earth, died as a sacrifice for us to satisfy the requirements of the Jewish law and then rose again and went back to heaven. Even tho we as people have messed with the original ideas and done terrible things sometimes because of "our" messing, the originator, the creator still reigns.
You may be interested in a True Love Story found at http://www.joyfulmourning.com.
P.S. What a fortunate person you were to have seen those so often. Only saw them briefly on our month-long tour across the U.S., to B.C. and then an Alaska cruise.
FIGHTING AGAINST GOD
What a futile thought! And yet so many let their doctrine taught to them by men, interfere with what the Scriptures say about various topics.
We can ALWAYS explain scripture away. But when do we stop? If we start explaining one item away then what about the next and the next and the next?
The internet is rife with people trying to prove their point. Most often they quote a lot of books that others have written because they are supposed to be authoritative.
If they do quote the Bible, they usually avoid the sections which they do not like and talk only about the sections which support their point of view.
There are cults out there that do that too. We have to be very careful in explaining away scripture. If ALL SCRIPTURE is God-breathed, profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, then WHY DO WE TRY SO HARD to EXPLAIN AWAY the parts we do not like?
- 2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
- 2Ti 3:17 that the man of God may be perfected, thoroughly furnished to every good work.
Some of the wisest words, other than those of Jesus, I have ever heard were uttered by Gamaliel ....
- And now I say to you, "Withdraw from these men and let them alone. For if this counsel or this work is of men, it will come to nothing. But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God."
(Act 5:38-39 MKJV)
Take speaking in "tongues" as an example. I do not have to point out websites that are fighting against the 'tongues-speakers' but if you really care to waste your time, Google will help you find them all.
To me it is a waste of time. Are we not to redeem the time?
Check out this email I sent to an assumed brother. Unfortunately instead of answering my questions, he avoided the scriptures I asked him to talk about entirely. Why does someone do this?
- Are you my brother?
Why not just read the Bible if you are confused about tongues Mick? Isn't it enough? Do you have to have a priest, I mean another brother explain everything to you? Or can you read it for yourself?
What is the promise of Joel?
But Peter, standing up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, Men, Jews, and all who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. For these are not drunk as you suppose, for it is the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: " And it shall be in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And in those days I will pour out My Spirit upon My slaves and My slave women, and they shall prophesy. And I will give wonders in the heaven above, and miracles on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
(Act 2:14-19 MKJV)
I should just challenge you to think about what groups have daily Christian TV on 24 h a day. What kind of man is Pat Robertson, or David Mainse of 100 Huntley Street and I could go on. Are you trying to say that all the wonderful things that God enables them to do are all fake because they believe in speaking in tongues? Or do you believe in the verse which talks about knowing Christians by their fruit?
Have you read 1 Cor 12, Mick? Do you believe it or explain it away somehow?
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I would not have you ignorant. You know that being led away, you nations were led to dumb idols. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says Jesus is a curse, and that no one can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit. But there are differences of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are differences of workings, but it is the same God working all things in all. But to each one is given the showing forth of the Spirit to our profit. For through the Spirit is given to one a word of wisdom; and to another a word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; and to another faith by the same Spirit; and to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; and to another workings of powers, to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; and to another kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues. But the one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing separately to each one as He desires. For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.
(1Co 12:1-12 MKJV)
So you know how they try to get around this? By citing "when the perfect has come" . So to some the perfect is the Bible as it seems to be to Mick. That verse talks about gifts passing away when the perfect has come.
Okay let us be logical. It says the gifts, workings and ministries are given by the same Spirit to [or for] our profit. These are the gifts I see mentioned.
- Word of Wisdom
- Word of Knowledge
- Faith
- Healing
- Workings of powers
- Prophecy
- Discerning of spirits
- Tongues
- Interpretation of tongues
So since Jesus always was, then no gifts were necessary. OR
If we take him coming in the flesh, then the gifts on the day of Pentecost, WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED because I would assume that we can ALL AGREE that JESUS IS MORE PERFECT THAN THE BIBLE. After all HE IS THE WORD and always has been.
So since they did occur after Jesus came then that CAN NOT be what was being talked about ....
Here is the other problem. People like Mick seem to feel that ONLY CERTAIN GIFTS PASSED AWAY and of course, they are all the miraculous gifts which he does not like to think about.
Well if ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD BREATHED, etc. then why would only some of the gifts disappear? Perhaps faith has also disappeared? Or prophecy? Or healing? So who decides which gifts were taken away? Do we not need these gifts to profit from or receive correction? And if the answer is no, then why were they put in the Bible?
So I guess we should explain to all those that God has healed that it was really satan that healed them. Or those that kept faith for something, had we better tell them even though they received the object of their faith, that it really isn't real? And that faith passed away when the Bible was completed?
If Christians spent less time fighting the rest of the body of Christ and more time loving people into the kingdom, wouldn't the kingdom be bigger?
Or is it more important to have our doctrine "right" than to reach out to the Lost, Mick?
With Love because I assume you are my brother....
-Charles
Bible, Christians, gifts, healing, prophecy, scripture, tongues
Sunday, October 7, 2007
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