February 15th rant...
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (Ephesians 5:1-11)
What does it mean to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness?
At what point must we, as Christians, take an honest unblinking look at ourselves and the things which we allow and indulge in, and excise those things which do not please God?
How can we follow the instructions of the scripture to be in, but not of the world?
Where is the line?
Here in America, we are bombarded 24/7 with ‘information’ It arrives in many different forms, via many different media, and encompasses every possible topic, subject and perspective.
Is this a good thing?
Many would argue that it is but a sign of the times, that the ease of access to information is helpful and helps to propel the human race forward. I would argue that it is not only problematic, but is destructive.
The Prophet Daniel wrote so long ago,
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4)
So I wonder if this is part of what Daniel saw. The abundance of information, the access to it, has made people better informed than at any other time in the history of man.
The question is: About what?
We can easily get information about the eating habits and sexual proclivities of so-called celebrities with but a few keystrokes. We can access the most detestable, filthy and morally bankrupt behaviors complete with sound and video, delivered right into our homes via TV, Internet, cell phone, Iphone, media player and any other means that you can think of.
This is indeed the information age, and this is indeed information, it is indeed knowledge.
But what purpose does it serve?
Many years after Daniel, Paul wrote that
There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and no kind is without signification. (1 Corinthians 14:10)
This is true. But how often do we stop to think about the information that we receive its purpose, its function, its impact on us (on our children) and the worldview, agenda or beliefs of its purveyors?
All of us are guilty of this. The issue is, how do we change???
By becoming more diligent about what we take in to our bodies and minds. It all ties together, you see…
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)
Clearly, we live in an increasingly Godless nation, and many would argue that this is a good thing.
I for one, disagree. In fact, I believe that the Prophet Amos’ words are in fact coming to pass…
Amos 8:11-12 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the Lord. 12 And [the people] shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord [inquiring for and requiring it as one requires food], but shall not find it. AMP
The first thing that I hear you thinking is that this cannot be applied because we have more preachers than ever in our country.
There are over 331,000 Churches in America, and there are all kinds of religious broadcasts on the web, and TV, etc.
But the question here must be raised:
Why are we in the state that we are in?
With 331,000 Churches, and the median church size at 75, this means that about 25 million people in this country go to church. According to the census as of June of 2008, there were 304 million people in America I would think that if each one obeyed that great commission and just shared the Gospel with 13 people, the entire nation would be personally evangelized.
But what do we really believe, we church goers?
Why do we not see it as a problem to bring the abhorrent and ungodly into our homes? Do we conveniently skip past Ephesians 5, because it doesn’t suit our tastes? We are, after all, in an age with more variety than at other time in human history.
Recently I shared the story of the Dad that I encountered in the video game store. He bought one of the most violent video games ever for him and his 8 or 9 year old son to play. As they walked excitedly to the counter, I looked at the back of his jacket proudly proclaiming his Christianity and his fealty to Jesus Christ.
I was struck by the incongruence of the scene, and then I began to wonder about the acts of hypocrisy and double mindedness that I commit on a daily basis.
I know many Christians who have no problem with Oprah or Maury, John Mayer or Jay-Z, Lady Gaga or Beyonce. I know Christians who watch and enjoy television shows which espouse and promote worldviews antithetical to the Gospel, and have no problem with that. I know Christians who frequent websites which promote things that I can’t mention here, and as Romans 1 says:
Who, though they have knowledge of the law of God, that the fate of those who do these things is death, not only go on doing these things themselves, but give approval to those who do them. (Romans 1:32)
What happened to:
“Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” ?
Is it because we pastors haven’t done our jobs?
Is it because the message of the Gospel is invalid in this modern world?
Is it because the tide of muck is too thick, swift and strong, and we cannot swim against it?
Is it because the Bible is antiquated and time-locked, therefore it is merely a historical/quasi-mythological storybook?
Or is it because we no longer know what it means to be Christian?
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (Ephesians 5:1-11)
What does it mean to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness?
At what point must we, as Christians, take an honest unblinking look at ourselves and the things which we allow and indulge in, and excise those things which do not please God?
How can we follow the instructions of the scripture to be in, but not of the world?
Where is the line?
Here in America, we are bombarded 24/7 with ‘information’ It arrives in many different forms, via many different media, and encompasses every possible topic, subject and perspective.
Is this a good thing?
Many would argue that it is but a sign of the times, that the ease of access to information is helpful and helps to propel the human race forward. I would argue that it is not only problematic, but is destructive.
The Prophet Daniel wrote so long ago,
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4)
So I wonder if this is part of what Daniel saw. The abundance of information, the access to it, has made people better informed than at any other time in the history of man.
The question is: About what?
We can easily get information about the eating habits and sexual proclivities of so-called celebrities with but a few keystrokes. We can access the most detestable, filthy and morally bankrupt behaviors complete with sound and video, delivered right into our homes via TV, Internet, cell phone, Iphone, media player and any other means that you can think of.
This is indeed the information age, and this is indeed information, it is indeed knowledge.
But what purpose does it serve?
Many years after Daniel, Paul wrote that
There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and no kind is without signification. (1 Corinthians 14:10)
This is true. But how often do we stop to think about the information that we receive its purpose, its function, its impact on us (on our children) and the worldview, agenda or beliefs of its purveyors?
All of us are guilty of this. The issue is, how do we change???
By becoming more diligent about what we take in to our bodies and minds. It all ties together, you see…
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)
Clearly, we live in an increasingly Godless nation, and many would argue that this is a good thing.
I for one, disagree. In fact, I believe that the Prophet Amos’ words are in fact coming to pass…
Amos 8:11-12 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the Lord. 12 And [the people] shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord [inquiring for and requiring it as one requires food], but shall not find it. AMP
The first thing that I hear you thinking is that this cannot be applied because we have more preachers than ever in our country.
There are over 331,000 Churches in America, and there are all kinds of religious broadcasts on the web, and TV, etc.
But the question here must be raised:
Why are we in the state that we are in?
With 331,000 Churches, and the median church size at 75, this means that about 25 million people in this country go to church. According to the census as of June of 2008, there were 304 million people in America I would think that if each one obeyed that great commission and just shared the Gospel with 13 people, the entire nation would be personally evangelized.
But what do we really believe, we church goers?
Why do we not see it as a problem to bring the abhorrent and ungodly into our homes? Do we conveniently skip past Ephesians 5, because it doesn’t suit our tastes? We are, after all, in an age with more variety than at other time in human history.
Recently I shared the story of the Dad that I encountered in the video game store. He bought one of the most violent video games ever for him and his 8 or 9 year old son to play. As they walked excitedly to the counter, I looked at the back of his jacket proudly proclaiming his Christianity and his fealty to Jesus Christ.
I was struck by the incongruence of the scene, and then I began to wonder about the acts of hypocrisy and double mindedness that I commit on a daily basis.
I know many Christians who have no problem with Oprah or Maury, John Mayer or Jay-Z, Lady Gaga or Beyonce. I know Christians who watch and enjoy television shows which espouse and promote worldviews antithetical to the Gospel, and have no problem with that. I know Christians who frequent websites which promote things that I can’t mention here, and as Romans 1 says:
Who, though they have knowledge of the law of God, that the fate of those who do these things is death, not only go on doing these things themselves, but give approval to those who do them. (Romans 1:32)
What happened to:
“Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” ?
Is it because we pastors haven’t done our jobs?
Is it because the message of the Gospel is invalid in this modern world?
Is it because the tide of muck is too thick, swift and strong, and we cannot swim against it?
Is it because the Bible is antiquated and time-locked, therefore it is merely a historical/quasi-mythological storybook?
Or is it because we no longer know what it means to be Christian?
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