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Knowing and Understanding Scripture

Knowing and Understanding Scripture

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Knowing what a Bible verse says is essential, but understanding what it means is even more crucial. True comprehension of Scripture involves grasping its deeper significance and applying its truths to our lives. It's a journey that requires careful study, prayerful reflection, and a heart open to God's guidance.

Here are key steps to understanding the meaning of Bible verses:

  1. Read the Verse in Context:
    • Don't isolate a verse from its surrounding passage. Consider the verses before and after to grasp the full context. But be prepared for God to enlighten you through part of the text appearing more important at one time or another. It does happen, in spite of our being taught other ways of reading.
    • Identify the chapter and book it belongs to, understanding its position within the broader narrative of Scripture.
  2. Identify the Literary Genre:
    • Recognise the genre of the passage (e.g., historical narrative, poetry, prophecy, epistle). Each genre has unique features and interpretive approaches.
    • For example, interpreting a psalm requires a different approach than understanding a historical account.
  3. Consider the Historical and Cultural Background:
    • Familiarise yourself with the historical and cultural context of the verse's author and audience.
    • Understanding their customs, beliefs, and challenges can illuminate the meaning of the text.
  4. Consult Reliable Commentaries and Study Tools:
    • Resources like commentaries and Bible dictionaries sometimes provide insights from scholars and theologians. But be careful. Some well loved major (and minor) books, particularly commentaries tend to confuse biblical issues with alternate translations, meanings, and misleading statements. [I won’t give examples, just be wary].
    • They can offer explanations of difficult passages, historical background, and cross-references to related verses.
  5. Reflect and Pray:
    • Engage in personal reflection and prayer, asking God to guide your understanding.
    • Seek the Holy Spirit's illumination to reveal the truths of Scripture and their application to your life.

Additional Tips:

  • Use multiple translations:  different translations can shed light on nuances and alternative interpretations.
  • Join a Bible study group: Discussing Scripture with others can foster deeper understanding and mutual encouragement.
  • Seek guidance from pastors or spiritual mentors: Some experienced leaders can provide valuable insights and support in your journey of understanding the Bible.

Remember, understanding the Bible is a lifelong process. Be patient with yourself and allow God to guide you as you seek to comprehend His Word more fully.

Here are some additional thoughts on the importance of understanding the meaning of Bible verses:

  • Transformational Power: Understanding the meaning of Scripture can transform our lives by renewing our minds and aligning our hearts with God's will.
  • Guidance for Life:  The Bible provides wisdom and guidance for every aspect of our lives, from relationships to decision-making.
  • Deeper Relationship with God:  As we grasp the meaning of Scripture, we grow closer to God and experience His love and presence more fully. Sharing Faith with Others:  Understanding the Bible enables us to share our faith effectively with others, leading them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

May you continue to seek understanding of God's Word, and may it guide and transform your life in profound ways.

Jesus and Aramaic

Jesus and Aramaic

Luke Hughes-Bunger ©2022

B.A. in Applied Theology, Moorlands Bible College

Why did Jesus speak Aramaic instead of Hebrew?

Jesus spoke Aramaic instead of Hebrew for the same reason my father speaks Punjabi, not Hindi. Jesus lived and worked, and ministered in areas where Aramaic was the “lingua franca” at that time, just like my dad was born in the Punjab, where that was the language of trade and commerce.

That doesn't mean that this was the only language he spoke or understood, but it would have been very strange to spend most of his time walking around speaking a language (Hebrew) that the majority of people did not use in their daily interactions.

If I’m a Catholic priest, who knows Latin fluently, I’m a real jerk if I walk around church speaking only Latin and insist on making you speak to me in Latin, especially since you and I both know I also know English. That is the equivalent of what speaking Hebrew in Judea and Galilee at the time of Jesus would have been.

At the time of Jesus, Hebrew, as a language, had largely been relegated to a ceremonial and religious language, not a language used by the people. It would likely be used in the temple, and for formal discourse, official proclamations, and some academic discussion among educated people, but in the street, it had been replaced by Aramaic a long time prior, with even some distinctive dialects among that language. Like Hebrew, Aramaic is a Semitic language with some similarities to others, but like Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, which likewise have shared origins, knowing one doesn’t automatically mean you’ll understand the other completely.

There is very good reason to believe koine Greek was spoken quite fluently too — Jerusalem and the surrounding area was under Roman rule at the time, and plenty of Greek speakers would have been in the area on official business, and there is good reason to believe that Jesus was at least conversational in this language too. Prior to beginning his ministry, Jesus almost certainly would have followed his Joseph into the family business as a carpenter. The word carpenter often has a pretty low-class connotation in our world, but in that time, a carpenter was likely to be a skilled and artisanal craftsperson. They would likely often be working with relatively well-off people who could afford such artisans, and would need to communicate with the at least middle-class, which would often be in Greek, and a large number of Roman public works took place in and around the area Jesus would have been working during his career, which would have required a lot of skilled craftspeople from all over the empire working together, with Greek probably being the unifying language in these environments.

We also know Jesus must have been fluent enough in Greek to be able to defend himself before Pilate without the need of a translator and spoke to several other officials who would have spoken Greek, and we never see this causing an issue for him, or them. We also see him make points based on idiosyncratic words or phrases which are from the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures [today commonly called the Septuagint] indicating that this translation [not the Hebrew original, or Aramaic translation] was the version he was using and familiar with at the time.

There is also some reason to believe Jesus was educated enough, possibly sitting under a local Rabbi, to know at least some ceremonial Hebrew. Compared to the surrounding area, Galilee was a well-educated enclave, with plenty of scholars and educators calling it home, and it seems reasonable even while he trained in his father’s craft, he would have also been drawn to religious education and discourse. When Jesus was left at the temple, he seems confused as to why this surprises his family, “Did you not know that I must be about "My Father’s business?” certainly seems to imply him studying and debating Scripture wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for him.

We see him read from the scroll in the temple which, while possible reading or quoting from the Greek translation, would likely have also at least included the Hebrew [or possibly Aramaic], and we see him having discourse and debate with the Rabbis and scholars in the temple who would have spoken Hebrew there too. Additionally, there are a number of places where Jesus uses words or phrases which seem in Hebrew to be jokes or wordplay, which don’t really translate well to Greek or Aramaic, and often in places where Jesus is rebuking the kind of religious people who would have understood Hebrew (e.g., Matthew 3:9)

It doesn’t seem unreasonable to suppose that Jesus didn’t exclusively speak, read and understand Aramaic, but the reason he mostly appeared to do so, was simply because that was the language most of the people he was interacting with used in their daily lives, and were most comfortable with.

How do I find God

How do I find God

Rajni Kachhela Follow

I learn by asking and answering good questions.

How do I find God?

Here is my answer to a similar question, about my journey to finding God. It took a long time and I tried many ways before I experienced God in a way that transformed my life.

I was born and raised in a Hindu family. I became a Christian at around the age of 25.

When I was in my teens I rebelled against traditional religion, considering it all superstitious. The folk aspect of Hinduism involves a lot of bowing to idols and priests, belief in myths about Gods who take forms similar to Greek mythology.

But at the same I thought if there were a God: “What is God like? If there is only one God why are there so many religions? Why are their teachings so different and contradictory? Surely God would be consistent?” These questions set my expectations for finding an answer that was coherent and made sense. But at this time I genuinely believed that the answer to life was progress in science and technology.

However, later I began to realise that materialism could not answer the most important questions about life. I found that the sciences, especially Biology, were reductionist because they defined life, including human beings, purely in physical terms We were not anything more than complex biochemical reactions and there was no purpose to anything. Even happiness and pleasure could be reduced to chemical reactions and any morals and values were meaningless from a materialist point of view. Quite depressing!

I began to read Hindu and Buddhist scriptures to see if they could enlighten me. But I found their basic premise to be untenable. They teach that the physical world is an illusion and we should detach ourselves from it because it is an endless cycle of change and it all comes to an end. We suffer because we desire this world and are attached to it. We need to detach ourselves through meditation and other exercises until we are perfectly separated and experience a state of mind called “Nirvana”. This way we would stop suffering and have peace within us. However, this was a circular argument and the question that crossed my mind was “The desire not to desire is a desire, so how can we possibly get to that state of mind? How can we stop having desires?” The lack of desire also meant that my individuality would be annihilated and be absorbed into the One. There was no way to test if this was real or not.

I also began to realise that human beings can be good but they were also capable of committing evil.

I thought most people who fought in wars and worked in concentration camps were “normal”, not evil monsters who enjoyed killing. If that was the case, could I kill? Could I have served as a soldier in a concentration camp? I realised that all people, including myself, had the potential to commit evil acts.

I came across writings of existentialists, and although I did not fully grasp their ideas, the conclusion they came to was that life is absurd. I also read Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky, and general books on Philosophy and Psychology.

It felt quite hopeless that I would ever find satisfactory answers to the questions that I had asked.

After university I met a work colleague who is a Christian and we had some very interesting discussions. I went to church, did not like it. However, when I read the gospels in the New Testament I was amazed by Jesus – the miracles, his wisdom, the way he explained the kingdom of God. I was challenged and moved by the Sermon on the Mount. I thought He was just extraordinary, that I had never read of anyone greater. Phenomenal. Some of Jesus' teaching in the sermon on the mount had a profound effect on me:

“You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?”

Matthew 5:43-46

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ….. your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Matthew 6:24-34

“And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,

for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

Mat 7:28-29

I had never heard teaching like this before and I wanted to live like this as much as possible.

I wanted to follow Jesus because of his wisdom, he always knew what to say and how to deal with difficult situations. Ultimately, it was at the cross that Jesus had the most profound effect on me. He was good, totally innocent, yet when they crucified him on the cross some of his last words were:

And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Luke 23:24

It was a revolutionary way of responding to evil. It was profoundly humbling and challenging at the same time. It made me realise though that I ought to try to follow him.

However, I was not prepared to follow him until I was sure about the truth of the story told in the gospels. I considered whether the gospels were true or not, because they contain extraordinary events, teachings and wisdom. I came to the conclusion that the accounts were true because the stories are told in a straightforward way and there was no attempt at embellishment. I also thought if I did not believe the gospels then there was nothing else I would be prepared to trust, because of the integrity and honesty of the accounts. I felt the conviction that if I believed the gospels were true then I needed to follow Jesus. It did not matter what my family and friends thought and how they would react. I was very aware that I did not have the ability to follow Jesus, that it would be impossible live up to his very high standard. I thought that I would just try my best.

A few days later I happened to be on my own in the staffroom at work. I felt Jesus' presence and the room seemed brighter than normal. I heard him say, “I forgive you everything and don't worry about anything.” I bowed my head and closed my eyes and prayed.

I had met God for the first time and knew Him personally. I felt joyful. Since knowing God intimately I have had a kind of peace I had never known before. Prior to meeting Jesus I had felt empty, purposeless and hopeless. Now I felt filled, I had hope and began to realise God had a purpose for my life. I continued reading the bible and Christian books to learn more about my faith. Through the Holy Spirit and the Bible I could hear God's voice, which was so important as I had questions about the way I should live my life as a follower of Jesus. One of the ways God spoke to me was when reading the bible some part of it would stand out and answer very specifically a question for which I needed an answer. I remember one time thinking that may be I had made a mistake because Christianity was a white person's religion and not for me. Soon after I read in my bible Jesus said:

“I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven..”

Matthew 8:11

This removed any concerns I had about whether Jesus was for particular races only.

A few months after my first encounter with Jesus I realised he had dealt with three powerful and controlling influences within me.

a) I no longer lived in fear of death. I had taken what I had learnt in my Biology classes to the logical conclusion and believed that I would become nothing if I died and that made me fearful of dying.

b) I no longer feared being on my own. I had feared isolation and always sought company to take away the anxiety.

c) I had also stopped reading astrological signs in the newspapers. Even though I did not see myself as superstitious I would read the signs to build up hope that something good would happen in my life.

I was completely unaware of these changes within me until the moment I recalled that these fears were not there any longer.

The reason I continue believing and following Jesus is that I continue to experience His peace, even through difficult time and I cannot explain it. It is beyond understanding. I feel satisfied that God is real and there is a purpose to life.

I also continue to believe because the Bible has the best explanation for so many questions that we ask:

  1. It has the highest view about people, that each and everyone of us is made in God’s image and, therefore, we are precious to Him. We have sinned and that image is marred but God sent Jesus to redeem and restore us.
  2. It is not reductionist and the whole of creation is good.
  3. God has built everything with purpose, and our lives are not meaningless but find their reason in God.

As you can see there is no formula to finding God. God is a person and He has made you a person. He wants to meet you personally. It is sin that separates you from God. The good news (gospel) is that Jesus has done for you what you could not do, atoned for your sin through His sacrificial death on the cross. Yet He lives, He was resurrected on the third day after His death. For you to receive forgiveness you need to repent of your sin and trust in Jesus.

The Talk Show

The Talk Show

© Jeffrey M Pearce 2023

Followers of Jesus almost cover the globe. But the global body of more than 2 billion Christians is separated into thousands of denominations. Anglican, Episcopalian, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Apostolic, Methodist, etc., — the list goes on and on. Estimations show there are more than 200 Christian denominations in the U.S. and a staggering 45,000 or more globally, according to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. So why does Christianity have so many branches?

A cursory look shows that differences in belief, power grabs and corruption all had a part to play.

But overall, personal ideas, beliefs, understandings and desires to push our own “theologies” and differing doctrines have been the making of Christianity since the earliest days of the Gospel (i.e. from approximately 27AD and onwards.) There was a “united” Christianity, up until approximately 120 or 130AD, but by referring to the Acts of the Apostles, and also Revelation chapters 2 and 3 we can see that The Gospel quickly changed in some details from location to location. The Apostle Paul certainly had problems helping various individuals and churches keep to the Gospel as he understood it.

Early splits

The early church, spanning from the start of Jesus' ministry, in A.D. 27, to about A.D. 320-330, was divided primarily based on geography. Worship and understandings of Jesus' teachings varied based on regional cultures and customs.

But there were also major breaks, or schisms, over Christian theology during this time. One of the most notable early schisms, the Arian controversy in the early fourth century, divided the church on Jesus' relationship with God. Arius, a priest from Alexandria, Egypt, claimed that because Jesus was "begotten", conceived, or brought about by God, he was a lesser divinity than God. But Athanasius, an Alexandrian theologian, claimed that Jesus was God incarnate.

This brought about major discontinuity in the Roman Empire. It drove a wedge through the Christians in the Roman Empire. The Council of Nicaea ultimately sided against Arius. But despite the Council’s official view, Christians were continually to be divided on the subject for over a century.

Then, in 1054, the Eastern Orthodox Christians split from the Western Roman Catholics in what's known as the Great Schism. The two groups disagreed on the taking of the sacraments — religious symbols believed to transmit divine grace to the believer. Furthermore, the Eastern Orthodox Christians disagreed with the Roman beliefs that priests should remain celibate and that the Roman pope had authority over the head of the Eastern church, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

The Catholic Church successfully suppressed other potential Christian offshoots partly by sustained persecution of enquiries into people's beliefs, called inquisitions. With the backing of secular rulers, heretics might be burned at the stake or forced into denying their beliefs.

Denominations explode

But after the Protestant Reformation in 1517, the number of denominations really began to multiply.

The Reformation — instigated by a number of events, most notably Martin Luther's 95 Theses — emphasized a personal faith. This movement was in reaction to the fact that interpretations of the Bible, grace (spontaneously given love and mercy from God [the Encyclopaedia Britannica of 1771 says that God’s Grace is “the work of the Spirit, renewing the soul after the image of God, and continually guiding and strengthening the believer to obey His will, to resist and mortify sin, and to overcome it.”]), the absolution of sins and entry into heaven were all mediated through priests in Catholicism. Luther and his followers understood that the Bible, not a church hierarchy, was the ultimate authority over all people, including priests and the pope. They even believed that several ecclesiastical practices, such as granting indulgences (paying the church, i.e. the pope, money to be freed of sins), were corrupt.

To begin with, there were just a few major Protestant groups, but ultimately, the Reformation ushered in more Christian offshoots. By the 17th century, the word "denomination" began to be used to describe religious divisions of the Church. Protestants had used scripture to criticise the Roman Catholic Church, claiming that any believer could read scripture and have a close personal relationship with God. But then the obvious problem emerged: Whose interpretation of scripture was the correct one? As believers debated the scriptures and sacraments, churches formed and split based on a multitude of biblical interpretations, etc. From these debates, denominations such as the Presbyterians, Mennonites, Baptists and Quakers, and many others, came into being.

Other Protestant denominations were formed out of a play for power, such as when Henry VIII started the Church of England in 1534. He saw the need to establish the political independence of England, and his way of doing that was to gain religious independence from Rome. He also wanted a divorce from his catholic wife, which the Catholic church would not grant.

However, after the Reformation challenged papal authority, townspeople and even down-and-outs could question religious authority about questionable and corrupt practices, as well as disputed verses from the Bible.

There will be more denominational splits and forming to come in the future. The Church as a whole will most likely not change its form of operation from what it has been like for the last 2,000 years or so. Jesus himself said: Ye shall know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). That is, you can learn about them by what and how they do, what and how they speak, and what and how they behave. That's an excellent test.

So what has all this to do with The Talk Show? Firstly, all the preceding historical notes and activities proceeded from the mouths of people who spoke their beliefs, doctrines etc., so others could either accept or reject those beliefs and/or doctrines. They were talked about, discussed, and a choice decided and made as to what and who to believe. Its like choosing what translation of the Bible we will read. How many versions of the Bible are there? There are currently over 3,030 versions in over 2,011 languages available digitally on bible.com, and printed versions in nearly 1,900 languages . © 2023 Google.

Of these 3,030 Bibles, which is the most accurate by word and biblical idea or meaning?>

Translation word-for-word, subject-for-subject and idea for-idea?

What is the most accurate Bible translation?

The New American Standard Bible is considered by some sources as the most literally translated of major 20th-century English Bible translations. According to the NASB's preface, the translators had a "Fourfold Aim" in this work: These publications shall be true to the original Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin and Greek.© 2023 Google.

Is the NKJV an accurate translation? The New King James Version is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the original, yet truly updated to enhance its clarity and readability." © 2023 Google.

Jesus said the following words, and we all need to take notice of not only WHAT He says, but WHAT HE MEANS in the ORIGINAL TEXT! This also must apply to any verse or text in the Holy Bible.

The Final Judgment

Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Mat 25:35 For I was an hungred [without Godly knowledge], and ye gave me meat [God’s wisdom and truth]: I was thirsty [without spiritual water], and ye gave me drink [that which I craved for]: I was a stranger [destitute, unknown, and lost], and ye took me in [welcoming me in to your kingdom or place of dwelling]:

Mat 25:36 Naked [without the truth], and ye clothed me [a robe to wear, a ring on my finger, sandals on my feet, and oil on my head, terms of acceptance]: I was sick [spiritually depressed and downtrodden], and ye visited me [came to me and met my needs as each one was able]: I was in prison [tied up with bonds of evil and iniquity], and ye came unto me [serving and encouraging me with Godly benevolence and goodwill].

Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? [Lord, we do not remember doing any of these things!]

Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren [brothers and sisters], ye have done it unto me.

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Mat 25:42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? [Why are you accusing us of these things?]

Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these [my brothers and sisters], ye did it not to me.

Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment [reserved for the devil and his angels]: but the righteous into life eternal [set aside for the reward of God’s true saints, those who know Him and have been obedient to His Will].

Jesus consistently uses the parables of meat and drink as hearing, saying, and understanding words of truth, whether it be the word of God, or words regarding others. In Luke 6:20 it is written “And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor [in spirit, in understanding God and His truths]: for yours is the kingdom of God [in all its fullness].

Luk 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger [for the Truth] now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now [for Righteousness]: for ye shall laugh [abundantly].

Luk 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you [wanting to despise and kill you], and when they shall separate [reject] you from their company, and shall reproach you [express one’s disapproval or disappointment], and cast out your name as evil [meaning devilish or satanic], for the Son of man's sake.

Luk 6:23 Rejoice ye in that day [sing songs of praise and happiness], and leap for joy [with great exuberance]: for, behold, your reward is great [without measure] in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the [godly] prophets.”

I was in Auckland, North Island, New Zealand for 6 years or so, and was working to raise money, live, and also doing unpaid pastoral work in a small house church in the suburb of Henderson. I would work till I had adequate funds to go to the South Pacific to do missionary work. Once I had run out of money I would return to NZ, get another job, continue with the unpaid Pastoral work, and do the same thing over and over. This went on for about 6 years. One of the jobs I worked at was with a Tool Makers Engineering Works in Henderson (North Island). I was a bit perplexed because the Manager and his immediate subordinate would not talk to me or address me, but would talk to all the other workers. However the Leading-hand was quite voluminous with his jolly talk plus personal questions to me.

One day he wanted to know how and why I was earning all this money that was coming to me from the overtime etc. So I told him about the missionary work I did in the Islands. He was nonplussed. He could not understand my wanting to spend what to him was considerable earnings on “low-class islanders”, and I must have a separate means of income.

I told him the “islanders” were very precious to me.

Him: “Yes but where does all the money come from?”

Me: “My father is very rich”

Him: “Really?”

Me: “Yes. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the wealth in every mine”. (A Sunday School song based on Psalm 50). Him: “Oh sh**t, I walked into that”.

I found out later he had been talking behind my back to the bosses, and after this conversation just written, the 2 bosses started talking to me in a quite reasonable manner. I’m not sure what made the difference.

Unfortunately it has been my experience over more than 50 years of living as a born-again Christian, that this practice of “back-stabbing” appears to be quite normal among “Christian adherents”, those who claim to be Christian, but who do not obey the commands of Christ, nor are obedient to His will. Matthew 25:4 and 25:45 can be easily shown to apply to the various members who are born-again, or not!

This “back-stabbing” seems to be an every-day occurrence among some so-called “Christians”. Perhaps they think they have power over others, in that they are able to put others down, while lifting themselves up to a higher position of grandeur, power and authority. Perhaps they believe that they are elevated to a position of the quality or state of being great (as in size, skill, achievement, or power). I really don’t understand this, because all I can see is that the “back-stabber” demeans him/her self, tells unprovable and indiscriminate lies, and in general allows him/her self to be used by others in authority to further their own position while the “back-stabber” just drops themselves in a position where many people will eventually wake up to their conniving and lack of telling truth and being honest.

The verse we saw in Matthew 25:40 is a real encouragement to me, because it tells us all that if we look after our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, then we are actually looking after our Lord Jesus Christ himself.

Turn to Matthew 25:45 and I have the opposite reaction. I am absolutely terrified for anyone who does the opposite of 25:40. To believe we are doing the right thing by God, but in fact be doing the wrong thing, is tantamount to spiritual suicide. To me it seems to be that serious!

Lets suppose a couple of possibilities.

If we encourage other Christians, speaking words of kindness, wisdom, correct instruction and help them in whatever way we are able to, then we will in fact be helping Jesus Himself.

BUT if we do the opposite and “back stab” our fellow Christians, then we are actually doing the same to our Lord Jesus.

Do you want to be in the first or second position? As written earlier, a person is known by their fruit. And their inner thoughts and determinations will govern the fruit they produce. This question must be answered by ourselves with all the intent of our hearts. Do we really love Jesus? Do we really want to serve Him by serving His brothers and sisters? Will we truly speak honest good words to and regarding His brethren?

Let’s talk honestly, truthfully, in a trustworthy manner, without hypocrisy, with resolute candour, and peace toward all. Let us have a “Talk Show” with our relatives and neighbours, with others we come in contact with, and as a general rule, those who God puts in our way. Share the good news of Jesus Christ, not the indiscriminate words of hate and destruction that we so easily give out to our detriment!

Finally, should Christians be above reproach?

In Proverbs 14:34, we read, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” In this simple verse, we see established a rule, or standard, composed of two alternatives. There is no middle ground. There are two causes, each with its own effect. © 2023 Google.

Colossians 3 teaches that the great hope and comfort of every Christian is that God himself will one day “present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:22). Every Christian is to be and to live above reproach.

What is reproach? the expression of disapproval or disappointment.

Do you want Almighty God to disapprove of your thoughts, words or actions? Do you want Jesus to be really disappointed with all your thoughts, words and actions?

If you really want to please God then listen to what Jesus says are the two most important groups of words in the whole of the Bible.

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [with every fibre of your being].

Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment. [i.e. the greatest command].

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour [as much] as [you benevolently love] thyself. Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Getting to know you

Getting to know you

©Jeffrey Pearce. 8/4/2022

It is a real problem getting to know people, isn’t it? They seem so much like us to start off, and then they change! They really aren’t like us at all, are they. We’ve listened to them on the phone, watched them on Zoom or Skype, read their latest letters and e-mails, but when we are face to face, they aren’t the same as they were last time. We don’t even like them anymore. They seem to have an agenda that we were not aware of before. God forbid, but they even make an impression on me that I am not prepared to like. How dare they touch my heart and soul and cause me to examine what I am really like, rather than what I want to think of myself!

Getting to know people really is hard. IT REALLY IS HARD! When Christine, my wife, and I married over 30 years ago, we both had great difficulty with each other getting to understand how we each ‘ticked’. She had come out of a difficult marriage, and I had come out of a Christian Cult. (The Theology was correct, the Biblical Teaching excellent, there were no additions or subtractions or traditions or varying qualifications, BUT! The leaders had absolute power hidden behind a prayerful admonition of “Thus saith the Lord!” And if you didn’t do what “the LORD” said, you were a guilty sinner in need of repentance, and sometimes complete salvation again. What is more, the money that you earned was yours. However, you needed to tithe as the Word said, you needed to pay your bills, food, rent, petrol and other earthly necessities, and the left-over amount was given “to the Lord” as apportioned by the leaders. After 17 years I worked out I’d given at least $90,000.00 in 1989 currency value, so I stopped working it out. I knew where some of it had gone, but where was the rest?)

So we, Christine and I, had hard times getting along, and with Christine’s 3 teenage young adults trying to rule the roost, choosing to not accept me and trying their hardest to get rid of me. The only thing that kept us together and got us through was that we BOTH had agreed that God had put us together. That was obvious from the circumstances and timing of our finding each other. Whenever we found the going tough and significant problems arising, we would take time separated from everything else and pray, acknowledging that God Himself had put us together and asking Him to show us what He would do.

As we went through these hard times (nearly 30 years) we both changed. Both Christine and I found a new character coming out from within us, like we had never been before. I will not talk about Christine, because she is rather quiet about herself, and only opens up to some individuals in private discussion. I will however talk about myself. (Another Eye (I) Specialist, I hear you say? No, just someone who is truthful and willing to be an example to those who may be prepared to learn.)

Before I became a Christian, my mother once said that I was “quite different” to all my siblings. She never did explain what that meant. I have one older brother, one younger brother, and the youngest, my sister. I still call her my favourite sister! I was selfish as everyone else, headstrong as everyone else, and determined to do things in my way and in my timing, i.e., I was opposed to God (and my family, because I wanted to be my own God).

After I became a born-again Christian, I changed. I was sold out to God through faith in Jesus Christ. BUT I was still determined to be in control after God had revealed His Will and Purpose. It doesn’t quite work like that! GOD is GOD and “does HIS will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth, and no one can stop HIM or question what HE does!” Daniel 4:35. I used to read that and marvel, not understanding that God in His Mercy, Grace, and Truthfulness was trying to sort me out. O stubborn heart! Would you believe that it took nearly 30 years to give in to God! I personally am NOT HAPPY about that. After all my teaching and preaching about loving God and our fellow man, and being obedient to God, it had taken THIRTY YEARS FOR ME TO GIVE IN TO GOD AND TO SUBMIT TO HIS PERFECT WILL. I am ashamed! Really ashamed! Jesus ALWAYS submitted to His heavenly Father. Jesus ALWAYS gave in to God’s Perfect Will. “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but Thine, be done.” Luke 22;42. Had I really loved Jesus as much as I said I had?

In the past I have told of the Thymectomy I had for the Myasthenia Gravis disease I still have. During the subsequent Coma of nearly 2 weeks, you will remember I had 2 “visions”, one after the other, of an evil one coming to crush me to death and the extreme terror it caused in me, followed by three holy persons who became one, who placed his right hand on my left shoulder, all became peace and calm and tranquillity, and he left after about 24 hours. When I woke from the coma, I was different.

The First Thing that happened when Nick, the ICU attendant assigned to me, woke me up he said “Wake up Jeff. Christine, your wife, is coming to see you.” I can distinctly remember thinking, “Wife? I don’t know I am married!” So, I just sat in the wheelchair they had put me in and watched the goings on through a fog of anaesthetised brain waves. I had been comatose for nearly two weeks and the anaesthetic was still affecting me. Then I became aware that a woman had entered the ICU and she was astoundingly attractive! I looked around to see how others were reacting to this vision of perfection, but they were all going about their work as though no-one and nothing out of the ordinary was present. Then she came my way and sat opposite, watching me and smiling. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know her, but she seemed to know me somehow. I had trouble looking at her, she was so pure and attractive. Then Nick came back and said, “Jeff, this is your wife, Christine.” What was I to do? I just didn’t know her at all. I didn’t remember seeing her ever. So, I just sat there looking at her. After about 20 minutes of just looking at each other, she stood up, walked over to me, kissed me, and left. I don’t remember anything else of that day.

The next day Nick told me that Christine was coming back. Then my Christine walked in, the one who married me over 30 years ago, the one with the pleasant face and attractive demeanour. I knew her instantly and reacted accordingly. I was SO PLEASED to see her. We talked for a while, but I soon tired, and Christine understood, kissed me, and left. It was so good to see her. Over the next months I puzzled over the “vision” (?) I had seen of Christine being pure and attractive and perfect. I think I remember praying about it because it really bothered me. Then one day a thought came to me. I don’t remember whether someone said it to me, or a thought came to mind, or it came to me while I was praying. But I DO remember what the thought was. It was that I had seen Christine as GOD sees her, not as humankind sees her. It suddenly made sense to me and changed the way I look at people in general, and women in particular!

I no longer look at people as big or small, fat or thin, tall or short, attractive or not, disfigured or perfect in looks. Instead, I try to see them as “MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD”, Job 40:10 “Deck Thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array Thyself with glory and beauty”. Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple”. (Please read ALL of Psalm 27). If only we could see people as God our Father sees them. I have never had that vision again, or anything like it, but what I practice is to imagine what I think others would look like standing with our Father. It is hard to do, because I am not perfect as God is perfect, but in general it really does help.

The Second Thing that I became aware of was that: I now REALLY love God. I now REALLY love people, ALL people.

Mark 12:30,31 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the greatest commandment. And the second greatest is like it, namely this, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these two.”

QUOTE

(Source undisclosed) We so often hear quoted that we are “to love our neighbour as ourselves” Leviticus 19:18. But then Jesus gave us an expectation that was even greater than that! “A NEW commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you love one another. By this shall all people know that ye are My disciples, if ye have one for another." John 13:34,35.

Strangely, we rarely hear these two verses quoted together! That puts us under a greater obligation than did that given under the Law!

END QUOTE.

Let’s consider the first Law of Leviticus 19:18, and Mark 12:31. Loving our neighbour. Who is our neighbour? EVERYONE. This is an all-inclusive Law covering all the peoples of the world. We cannot exempt anyone from the need of our benevolence and respect, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY TREAT US.

Here is where I REALLY get in to trouble! You see people think of my wanting sex, sexually abusing others, husbands think I want their wives, wives think I want their husbands, parents think I want their children, it’s the same down the street, in the parks, on the bus, and even in the church. Sex is predominant wherever the word “love” is spoken or written or used in any way these days. So when people see me showing Biblical Love, they immediately think sex, sex, sex. They don’t know me, they don’t have any idea what I am like, how I think, what my motives and attitudes are, or what I desire! This happens in the Church that belongs to Jesus Christ as well, so don’t go pointing fingers at those outside who do the same. We are ALL guilty of this!

Let’s talk about Biblical Love. To be Biblical means “to be of the Bible”, “true to the Bible”, “from the Word of God”. What is Biblical Love? Is the word Love Biblical? I’m not going to give you the references. Get a good Concordance, Crudens, Youngs, Strongs, the Westminster Confessions of Faith, or some good Bible Software (I like E-Sword, it’s good and it’s free, but from time to time I send them a donation for their excellent Bible Software) and read the word “Love” in its correct sequence of words and verses and chapters if necessary, in its proper context. Look for the Hebrew or Greek explanation of the word, and you hopefully will come up with a final description of “Love” as something like this.

“Love is summed up with the word Benevolence. “BENEVOLENCE is wanting the VERY BEST for the other person no matter what the situation or circumstance prevailing at the moment. This Benevolence is free of Creed, Religion or lack of it, Politics, Race, Colour, Hair colour, Tribe, Facial Features, Mental Capacity or Disabilities, National Identity, Personal Beliefs and Animosity to any and all we come across or meet!”

If we can honestly say that we adhere to this description of Biblical Love, then “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us.” Romans 5:5

We all have our pet loves and hates, our pet likes and dislikes, our determinate does and don't s. What about God? Does He have any particular commands or decrees in the “Old Testament”, the Hebrew “Torah”, that are particularly important to HIM, and therefore to us? Well actually, HE DOES!

Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and might.”

And there is another.

Leviticus 19:18 “ Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”

That looks sort of familiar. Haven’t we seen that before? Yes, just above when we looked at what it really means to Love. The following is from the “ta Biblia”, the original books of the “New Testament”.

Mark 12:30,31 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the greatest commandment. And the second greatest is like it, namely this, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these two.”

Check it out in both Hebrew and Greek, and the overall meaning is “wanting the VERY BEST for the other person no matter what the situation or circumstance prevailing at the moment. This Benevolence is free of Creed, Religion, Politics, Race, Colour, National Identity, and Animosity to any and all we come across or meet!”

Think what you like, but this is what I aspire to. People have a habit of saying that we cannot be good in this world and that no-one can be perfect. I deny this! How can I do that? Because the Holy Bible lists several persons who were considered perfect in the sight of God, actually 5 that I know of.

Really? Tell us who they were, Mr. Smarty. Who were these perfect persons?

OK.

Genesis_6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. (He was “perfect” because he obeyed God, built the Ark to God’s instructions and detail, then gathered the animals, i.e., he was obedient. In this way he and his family drew closer to God).

Job_1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. (Eschew; deliberately avoid using, abstain from). (Job was “perfect and upright” because he feared God [this shows great wisdom] and deliberately turned away from all evil. By his obedience in fearing God and turning from evil, he too drew closer to God).

Ezekiel 14:20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. (Daniel was “perfect in righteousness” because he would not turn to the right or left when facing unrighteous and godless decisions. God was his only desire, and the will of God his delight. He was just plain obedient).

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Luk 1:6  And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (Zacharias and Elisabeth were not considered blameless because they were without sin. They were blameless because they knew the 613 Laws of the Torah and Tanakh, and if they inadvertently broke one of God’s laws, they took steps to have their sins forgiven, and their sins purged by the blood of a perfect lamb, kid or calf. By the Law they knew God, and they also knew sin. Zachariah had his doubts, but he was still obedient to what God said, as was Elizabeth his wife. They were obedient to the instructions God gave through the Law, through the Angel, and through the Holy Spirit. Because of this they both were drawn closer to God).

This means to me that at least these 5 persons were righteous before God, or walked with God, and were considered BLAMELESS, even PERFECT, by the Lord. That is a tall order to fill! It means being considered perfect in the sight of God. It means being complete, pure, whole, mature, entire and obedient! And that is what these 5 persons were considered to be.

Now before we go any further and get all tied up in Theological ranting and raving, let us consider what the word “perfect” or “blameless” really means, and what it DOESN’T mean.

  1. Nowhere in the Bible does the word “perfect” mean SINLESS perfection. I propose that there is no such thing among humankind this side of the gates of Heaven. Kings 8:46; 2 Chronicles 6:36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

    Eccleciastes 7:16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?

    Ecc 7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?

    Ecc 7:18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

    Ecc 7:19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.

    Ecc 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

    Ecc 7:21 Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:

    Ecc 7:22 For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.

    Pro 20:9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

    Mar 10:18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

  2. So, what does “perfect” mean “Biblically” in the Tanakh or Old Testament. "When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be PERFECT." [Gen. 17:1 KJV] If we just believed that the meaning of the modern English word “perfect” was what God meant when He commanded Abram to obey Him, the person we know as Abram/Abraham of Scripture would not be allowed to partake in most of today's church congregations. We would expect Abram/Abraham to repent of all his sins, "get saved" or born again and baptized, or he would be shunned and avoided as a heathen. We acknowledge him as "...the father of our faith". But just look at the man. He had slaves. He was a liar. It may be that he made and sold idols. He was a fornicator, as far as we can work out. Abram/Abraham would not be accepted in our “Churches” today. I am very, very serious.

Don't forget. GOD changes not! The rules and guidelines that we think are appropriate and acceptable to GOD today, also have to be the rules and guidelines that were appropriate and acceptable before GOD to Abram. For example:

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

Mal 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Mal 3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

Mal 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.

Robbing God

Mal 3:6 For I AM the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Mal 3:7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Mal 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Mal 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 3:13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

Mal 3:14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?

Mal 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

The Book of Remembrance

Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

Mal 3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Here we have a simple example of the Lord telling the children of Israel that He has not changed regarding the payment of tithes to God by the Israelites. These people in general have been too selfish to please God by obeying Him, and He is not happy. But there are some who feared the Lord and tried to work it out between themselves for God’s benefit, and He has their names written in a book, and they are as His jewels and will be saved.

What has that to do with “perfect”? Everything! Because the Hebrew word translated as “perfect” in English is the Hebrew word “TA-MEEM”, and it has nothing to do with being spotless. It means complete, pure, whole, mature, entire, and obedient, and it refers to Abram giving up of himself and drawing closer to God the Lord. Abram gave up his first-born son, Ishmael, and sent him away with his mother, Hagar, so that Isaac, the child of the promise could inherit everything. Also, Abram, the friend of God, obediently set out towards Mount Moriah, knowing full well that God the Lord had commanded him to kill his “only” son, Isaac. Abram was obedient in giving up Isaac, even ready to plunge the knife into him, when the angel of the Lord stopped Abram and provided a substitute. In the example above, in Malachi 3:7, we read the simple statement that we should return to God, and He will return to us! God still uses this TA-MEEM process whereby he “encourages” chosen individuals.

1Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

1Co 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord, (to give up their favourite items of choice and draw closer to God, revering Him as LORD.)

3 In the New Testament we find that the English word “perfect” is translated from the Greek word (teleioó) -- to bring to an end, to...consecrate, finish, fulfill, make perfect. From teleios; to complete, i.e. (literally) accomplish, or (figuratively) consummate (in character) -- consecrate, finish, fulfil, make perfect. Alive in Christ

Colossians 2:6  As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Col 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

So do we now have a basic understanding of what the Bible means when it says “perfect”? It means complete, whole, mature, entire, obedient, blameless, cleansed by blood (whether it be covered by the blood of a perfect lamb in the Tanakh, or the Blood of Jesus Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary to completely remove sin and sinfulness). What pleases God is to see us not only wanting to draw near to Him, but in our imperfect life actually taking steps to do it, i.e., being OBEDIENT to His Will.

So where does that lead us?

When I came out of the coma, I was different, and I KNEW I was different. I tried to explain to Christine, but didn’t know how to, and Christine understandably could not comprehend what I was trying to tell her. It was as if I was in a new culture. And I am! And this new culture is so full of surprises.

I knew I was to LOVE GOD

With ALL my HEART

With ALL my SOUL

With ALL my MIND, and

With ALL my STRENGTH and MIGHT.

These are not just words or rules. GOD IS TO BE LOVED AND TO COME FIRST! Not the boat or the fishing or the sport/s or the car or the husband or wife or the kids or the house/s or all the money in the bank accounts or the Cryptocurrency, or any other person or thing! JUST DO IT! All cultures are superseded by this, to me, new one.

GOD COMES FIRST!

IF YOU DON’T GET THIS RIGHT FIRST TIME, THEN YOU REALLY ARE OFF TO A BAD START!

HE IS THE SUPREME BEING

HE IS THE “EL SHADDAI”, THE “ELOHIM”, THE "HASHEM" ("NAME"), THE ALMIGHTY GOD

HE IS THE KING OF KINGS

HE IS THE LORD OF LORDS

HE IS THE GREAT CREATOR OF ALL THINGS ANIMATE AND INANIMATE

HE DESERVES, AND IS ENTITLED TO, OUR HONOUR, OUR RESPECT, OUR WORSHIP AND GLORIFICATION

HE DESERVES, AND IS ENTITLED TO, ALL THE ENERGY WE CAN GIVE HIM IN FINDING OUT HIS WILL FOR US, AND DOING IT. IT ISN’T ALWAYS SPECTACULAR AND SELF-GLORIFYING. SOMETIMES WE NEED TO REST WHILE WE WAIT FOR GOD’S WILL TO BE REVEALED. WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO, WAIT FOR GOD TO REVEAL HIS WILL, THEN DO IT.

I once knew a young woman in a group of young Christians who were asked to minister at a Christian Church in Queensland, Australia, telling of their beliefs as to how they thought they were to serve the Lord. The reasonably young single minister introduced the group to the church, then sat back to take it easy for a while. Each of the young people rose one after the other to tell how THEY were going to serve God in this way or that, and they trusted that they would do glorious things for God as He was doing glorious things for them. (I remember doing a similar thing myself at that age.)

Finally, this young woman rose and said that she did not know what she could do for God as He hadn’t spoken to her yet. BUT when He did speak, she would obediently serve and please him with all her heart. The young minister quickly married her, they have 4 children, several grandchildren, and have both served faithfully in the churches God ultimately led them to. An easy job? Not on your life! Running a true suburban church is just as hard as being out in the jungles or desert seeking the lost and healing the sick. The concrete jungle is just as hard!

Incidentally, this young minister, in one of the churches before he met this young woman, was given the job of leading a small church on the coast below Sydney, NSW, Australia. This church had a static congregation, it was neither growing in numbers, nor falling. He was given the job of instilling spiritual life into this church, or it would be closed.

He began by explaining the ordinances and beliefs of the church to the congregation, and then started preaching righteousness from the Bible. The congregation’s immediate response was to start leaving. Even the Elders started leaving. Eventually there was only the Minister and one elder left. They had a “congregational conference”, just the two of them, to see what God wanted, and concluded that they should continue the services as normal, and see if they could pray for GOD, not the preaching etc., to bring in a congregation. In a slow, sometimes steady trickle or flow, God DID bring in a new congregation, and the church was saved at that time. This minister in Queensland had seen God work, and he knew God’s choice of a wife for him when he HEARD what she had to say. (So many of us LOOK instead of LISTENING).

Secondary to this inspiring command is the one that “we should love our neighbour as much as we love ourselves”. (We have already seen the references a couple of times, so you can look them up yourselves in both the Tanakh (Old Testament) and ta Biblia (New Testament)).

Well, that’s much easier isn’t it. We just have to be nice to people, and pat them on the back, and crack a joke with them. Yes, and we’ll pat their dogs and babies, and shake hands, and ask how their aged parents are going. Well actually they died 6 years ago. Oh, I’m so sorry. Are you? Really? Sorry means we wont do it again!

No, it isn’t that easy.

Then we find that commandment that Jesus (Yeshua) gave us, as our Undisclosed Source has reminded us. “A NEW commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34,35.

This is not an all-inclusive counting of everyone in the world. This is different! This commandment is addressed firstly to the Twelve Apostles, and by inference, TO Christians FOR Christians by CHRIST! This is wanting the very best for our fellow Christians because Jesus our LORD has loved us, not only as an example but with ALL HIS HEART AND BLOOD! And I am sure we have all seen this screwed up at various times. Disdain creeps in, even hatred. Rejection for poorer and less theologically correct believers. Power and disruption causes factions and cliques in churches, and love goes out the windows as the Holy Spirit leaves.

So what was that about love?

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Rom 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

Rom 12:11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

Rom 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Rom 12:13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

Rom 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

Rom 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

Rom 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

Rom 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Rom 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

Rom 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

This is loving our neighbours and our fellow Christians as much as we love ourselves. And believe me, IT ISN’T EASY. Anyone who thinks they are in for a lazy time working for the Lord, just ask our good friends Heather and Michael, or some of our other nameless friends who helped us with various difficult and strenuous jobs when I was so sick. Or ask my beloved wife Christine who has worn herself to a frazzle looking after me and working to wash and hang out the clothing and drive me everywhere and do the shopping and being so tired she can’t stop worrying about me.

And these are only a few examples of what it means to love our neighbour as much as we love ourselves. Imagine being called to the Mission Field in a far country, far from family and friends, with the funds drying up, prayer groups not functioning, local ministers aggressive to the preaching of God’s Holy and righteous word, and God’s leading and direction absent. Did God really call me to this? Was it really the voice of the Lord? I was so sure it was right. Perhaps I got it wrong.

And then when you get to the lowest ebb of spiritual life in great turmoil of mind and heart, God brings you through with a soul or two saved, then some more, and on and on. Then the local citizens start looking after your needs, and you begin to realize you didn’t need the faithless majority back home who forgot to pray for you (but the faithful few didn’t). Or the loving locals who replaced the unfaithful prayers back home, and the irregular gift givers who were replaced again by locals who didn’t give money but instead willingly gave food and washed and ironed your clothes, and gave you a place to stay, respected and honoured you and not only heard what you preached, but diligently sought to understand it, not because I preached it but BECAUSE GOD SAID IT IN THE BIBLE! I’ve been through all of that, and it is all a part of loving your neighbour as much as you love yourself. All the forgoing sounds like a big mess, going from one idea to another. But really there is a predominant thread woven through all of it. It is simply CULTURE!

I was born into an Australian European culture with all its nuances, slang, Aussie larrikinism and “different” ways of life. Christine was from English European culture with its varying abbreviations, different words, and different ways of expression. Sometimes different ways of dressing as well. Then we can look at the different cultures of the various States and Territories of Australia. Yes, they too have their own unique cultural words and patterns. So do the various immigrant peoples who now call Australia home. But above all of this, we in this country can proudly say that we live in the home of the OLDEST LIVING CULTURE IN THE WORLD. That really is something!

How do we enter these cultures? Why, every one of us is born into our various cultures. There is no other way, except perhaps adoption, or naturalisation ceremonies.

There is another culture we have not talked about, and it too is entered by birth. The Culture is introduced into the world by the Book called the Bible, the culture is Christianity, the first person introduced to the idea of this culture was Nicodemus, and the introducer is Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth). The concept is amazingly simple, ridiculed by billions, but to this day is upheld at least in some way by over 2.3 billion worshippers.

This is the concept. “Ye MUST be born again!” John 3:7. Just as we are born into the world, so we must also be born again into the World of God. The empire of the world is a natural world ruled and administered by natural laws and elements. The World of God is a Spiritual Realm, ruled and administered by Almighty God for the eternal good of all who will turn to Him in repentance and faith. Simple. But it is so different from the realm of the world. So different that anyone who is “born again” becomes a new, different person of a new culture, with a new way of thinking and talking and living. 2Co 5:17 Therefore if any person be in Christ, they are a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” babies are new creatures. So are we, when we enter this culture that God uses to separate us from the things of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Are you born again? Are you like Christ Jesus? Are you a new creation, new in Christ? Have your old wrong things, your old wrong customs, your old wrong habits, passed away? If they have not, then you too must be Born Again! Let’s see what the Bible says further about this!

Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at:

Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

I Never Knew You

Mat 7:21 Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Well, that seems pretty clear, doesn’t it! Don’t go around doing what everyone else does, but stick to the narrow way of righteousness, goodness, holiness, truth and godly, benevolent love. Above all, do the will of Jesus’ Father which is in heaven!

What else does the Bible say?

Luke 14:25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,

Luk 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luk 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 

[Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]--he cannot be My disciple.

Luk 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow after Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] cannot be My disciple. Amplified Bible]

Luk 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Luk 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

Luk 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Luk 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Luk 14:32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

Luk 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

In this new culture that we are born-again into, EVERYTHING revolves around DOING THE WILL OF GOD, WHO IS JESUS’ FATHER! It must be understood that NOTHING ELSE should be allowed to get in the way of this expectation. Hence the need to take care that our family, relatives, and friends do not take more of our time, effort and care than is necessary. GOD IS PARAMOUNT AND EXPECTS TO BE SO! And we have the responsibility of making it true in our own lives.

I hear you say that this makes us HIS slaves! No, it doesn’t! He causes us to be born into this natural world so that we can ultimately turn from the cultures of the world that belong to Satan, and upon dying pass from death to life (Matthew 10:22; 24:13) with God as our supreme Commander and Leader, and we as His obedient servants.

So, what else can the Bible give us?

In finishing, the Bible says that husbands are to love their wives, and for wives to respect their husbands. (Ephesians 5:25) This too is, I believe, part of that second most important command to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. If we do not love and respect our marriage partners, then how are we going to love our children, their children, our parents, their children and children’s children, and so on. What about the people next door, etc., etc., and on and on. The term “neighbour” as used in our Bibles means to me anyone who I come across in my local community or during my travels. So far it has mostly worked for me. If God, who is all in all, shows you differently, I’d love to hear from you.

Jeffrey Pearce,

Jp.tabiblia@gmail.com

www.ta-biblia.com

Details of a Cult

Details of a Cult

© Jeffrey M Pearce. 2024. All rights reserved.

Let’s take a look at a common list of characteristics associated with cults.

What is a cult? A cult is a group which is typically led by a charismatic and self-appointed leader, who tightly controls its members, requiring unwavering devotion to a set of beliefs and practices which are considered deviant. Wikipedia

The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he/she is alive or dead) regards his/her belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law.

Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.‬

Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).

The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry; or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth).

The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar; or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity).

The group has a polarised us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society.

The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations).

The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviours or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities).

The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.

Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group.

The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

The group is preoccupied with making money.

Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.

Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialise only with other group members.

The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group.

The Definition of Sanctification

The Definition of Sanctification

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Sanctification is a very large word that you may have heard at church from your pastor or Sunday school teacher. It simply means to sanctify: that is, to make holy or to set apart.  When God sanctifies us, He makes us holy and sets us apart. The word holy means to be different – to be set apart – from those around you.  God wants to save us from the stain of sin; this is known as justification. When God justifies people, He puts a “righteous” stamp on them; He takes away their “sinful” label and replaces it with a “righteous” one. He cleanses them of their sin and puts a new label on them. To justify is to change something’s label from “wrong” to “right.”  This is a one-time event; once God justifies a person, the “sinful” label is normally thrown away forever. It is conditional upon our staying obedient to Jesus until the time that we die. (Mark 13:10-13)

God also wants to save us from the power of sin; this is sanctification. Sanctification is not a one-time event. It is something that takes place over the rest of a Christian’s life.  Even though God cleanses us of our sin and takes away our “wrong” label, this does not mean that we are perfect.  Sin is still present, and we still sometimes listen to it and make wrong choices.  God wants us to stop listening to sin and doing what it wants us to do. God wants us to do what He tells us to do through the Bible and through His Spirit. He wants to save us from the power of sin, so that sin no longer has control over us.  Sanctification is the power to say “yes” to God and “no” to sin.

A Deeper Look at Sanctification in the Bible

Sanctification is the call to put off the old self, one wrought with sin, and put on the new self, one filled by the Spirit. It is the process of our hearts, minds, and desires being brought into greater conformity with God’s. Sanctification is the Christian’s growth in grace. Sanctification means to become more Christlike, an aspiration that seems all but impossible to reach – but the Lord calls all Christians to holiness and Christ likeness (1 Peter 1:15). When sanctification is talked about in the Bible, it is viewed in different stages and the concept is understood in a variety of ways. Initial sanctification  with our justification (1 Corinthians 1:2, 6:11).  Progressive sanctification is occurring now, as we are being sanctified (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 1:6). Future sanctification happens at death when we are glorified and made perfect (Romans 8:29-30; Philippians 3:21).  Full sanctification is not possible in this life; it can only occur when we have been united to Christ in heaven.

The Basis for Sanctification in Scripture

At the time of justification, we are united to Christ. In Romans 6:1-14, Paul explains that if we have been united to Christ, we have also been united to him in his death and resurrection. We have died to sin and been raised to new life.  This passage teaches that we have been freed from the power of sin, enabled to live in newness of life under the reign of grace, unified with Christ in his resurrection, and made new creatures. This passage emphasises definitive sanctification, however Christians will always struggle against sin and fall into it this side of glory.  According to 1 Corinthians 1:2, those who have been united to Christ have been sanctified, but there is still the reality that we will not be fully sanctified until glorification.

It is Christ’s righteousness that is the basis for our righteousness. “Jesus is the author of our sanctification, in the sense that he created it for us, but he is also the ‘pioneer’ of our salvation, because he does so out of his incarnate life, death, and resurrection.” [1]  The Westminster Shorter Catechism answers that sanctification is: The work of God’s free grace (2 Thessalonians 2:13) whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God (Ephesians 4:23-24), and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness (Romans 6:4, 6; 8:1). [2]  Sinclair Ferguson notes that Christians should not focus on their own spiritual progress but focus on what Christ has accomplished in redemptive history. The basis for our sanctification is always the Lord himself. Sanctification is not only discussed in the New Testament but is a work of the Lord’s faithfulness that is repeatedly brought to light in the Old Testament. In the New Testament the Lord sanctified His children by His grace. In the Old Testament, the Lord saved Israel from Egypt out of his loving-kindness.  Deuteronomy 7:6-8 reads: "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt."

The Process of Sanctification

So how does a Christian reach for sanctification? Some, like Pentecostals as an example, believe sanctification happens instantaneously alongside justification and the Christian is immediately set apart from sin. However, most believe it is a process that takes the entirety of our lives. The Bible speaks frequently about God’s sanctifying work in the Christian’s life, but what does the process look like? John MacArthur highlights three key steps in the sanctification process [3]:

  1. Cognition – understanding what the Bible says and means and renewing your mind (Rom. 12:1-2).
  2. Conviction – allowing the convictions that come from understanding Scripture shape how you live your life (2 Corinthians 4:13-14).
  3. Affection – loving God’s word (Psalm 119).

When the Lord sanctifies His people, he demands that they live a sanctified life.  Once we have been saved, it would seem illogical to continue to live as though we had not been saved.  As it was in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 7:11), the Lord commands that we now live according to His Word. We learn to love the Lord’s Law not out of a desire to earn God’s favor but because His Spirit has changed our hearts.  The indicative must follow the imperative. In Jesus’ day, religious leaders and Pharisees were more concerned with outward holiness than they were with the main teachings of the Law of Moses (love God and love others). [4]

Grace and Law in Relation to Sanctification

There has been much discussion of what role the Old Testament Law plays in sanctification. According to the Reformed tradition, it is only when we learn to love God’s revealed Law that sanctification becomes a reality in our lives. Lutherans and Reformers both see the Law as having three primary functions:

  1. To restrain sin from running rampant in the world;
  2. To serve as a mirror and to show us our need of Christ, since we are unable to keep the Law;
  3. To serve as a guide for how we are to live and teach the way of righteousness.

Lutherans and Reformers disagree on how much emphasis should be placed on the “Third Use of the Law.” Lutherans see the danger of works-righteousness (the idea that we can merit our salvation by our good works) and argue that the third use should only be used to point us back to our need for Christ. Reformers hold that the third use is the primary way in which the Law is used throughout Scripture since Christians are expected to bear good works.

According to Reformers, when a man is justified he becomes a new man and receives a new spirit, the Spirit of the living God (2 Corinthians 5:17) and his relationship to the Law changes.  The Law is no longer seen as a means by which he might try to achieve salvation (and therefore a burden), but rather he sees the Law as the manifestation of God’s loving will. The Law then becomes a guide for Christian living, but our motivation for following the Law has changed.  We no longer follow the Law to earn salvation, but rather our motivation is the delight to obey the Lord.  Tim Keller puts it such, "You are saved by faith alone, not by faith which remains alone…If you are not getting or becoming sanctified, you don’t have saving faith" (Galatians 5:6; James 1:22-25). [5] We have to be careful not to fall to either side of legalism or licentiousness.  Legalism states that we can earn God’s love and approval by obeying.  Licentiousness states that the Law no longer serves any purpose, and we can find satisfaction apart from God’s Word.  The Gospel states that we are accepted and loved, and therefore we obey.

The Lord’s Faithfulness in Sanctification

Sometimes the sanctification process looks a lot like suffering.  Paul and James both remind us that suffering produces growth in grace (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4). Often, suffering is the usher used to bring about sanctification in our lives. In 2 Thessalonians 1:4-6 Paul reminds the church that the Lord is faithful to bring about justice to those who have caused them to suffer. Their faithfulness to the Gospel in times of trials is evidence of God’s faithfulness.

What happens when we find these steps too hard and the process too slow? When we don’t have the desire to read our Bibles? When we don’t necessarily want to make the “right” decision? For the times when the sanctification process is hard and slow, John Newton has some words of encouragement. Newton was a former slave owner turned abolitionist who is known best for his lyrics to “Amazing Grace.”  He urges a correspondent he is writing to, as well as you and me, to continue on in the faith.

"Faithfulness to light received, and a sincere endeavour to conform to the means prescribed in the word of God, with a humble application to the Blood of sprinkling and the promised Spirit, will undoubtedly be answered by increasing measures of light, faith, strength, and comfort; and we shall know, if we follow on to know the Lord." [6]

A sincere heart and desire to know the Lord more deeply and richly is all that is needed for the Lord to work through our stubbornness and seeking after that which we know will not ultimately satisfy us.  It is not our will or determination that evokes transformation and growth but the loving-kindness of the Lord.  Even when our sanctification seems slow, the Lord is faithful to initiate and bring change. Paul reminds us of this truth in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."

So what is the motivation for sanctification? Why should Christians seek to be more Christlike?

Sanctification is not what we do to keep God happy. Keeping the Law is not about looking at what we can get out of it.

Rather, the process of sanctification ultimately results in a joy that comes from obeying the one who saved us. It is not possible on our own or by our own power and volition. It only comes about by the power of the Holy Spirit as He transforms our hearts and minds to delight in His will.

Death’s of the Apostolic Martyr’s

Death’s of the Apostolic Martyr’s

Some atheists have suggested that the disciples, during the decades following Jesus' death, simply invented their accounts of Jesus. These Bible critics say that the disciples, in an attempt to enhance His authority, then published the story that Jesus claimed to be God and was resurrected. Any fair-minded reader should consider the historical evidence.

First, the apostles were continually threatened and pressured to deny their Lord during their ministry; especially as they faced torture and martyrdom. However, none of these men who spent time with Jesus chose to save their lives by denying their faith in Him. Consider this hypothetical situation: Suppose these men had conspired to form a new religion based on their imagination. How long would anyone continue to proclaim something they knew was a lie when faced with lengthy tortures and an inescapable, painful death? All they had to do to escape martyrdom was to admit they had concocted a lie and simply deny their faith and claims about Jesus as God. It defies both common sense and the evidence of history that anyone, let alone a group of twelve men, would persist in proclaiming a lie when they could walk away by admitting that it was a fraud.

Yet, history reveals that not one of these men, who knew Jesus personally, ever denied their testimony about Him despite the threat and reality of imminent death. This proves to any fair-minded observer that these men possessed an absolute unshakeable personal knowledge about the truth of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Each of the apostles were called upon to pay the ultimate price to prove their faith in Jesus, affirming with their life's blood that Jesus was the true Messiah, the Son of God, and the only hope of salvation for a sinful humanity.

Most of our information about the deaths of the apostles is derived from early church traditions. While tradition is unreliable as to small details, it very seldom contains outright inventions. Eusebius, the most important of the early church historians wrote his history of the early church in A.D. 325. He wrote, The apostles and disciples of the Saviour scattered over the whole world, preached the Gospel everywhere. The Church historian Schumacher researched the lives of the apostles and recounted the history of their martyrdoms.

Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.

Luke was hanged by idolatrous priests on an olive tree in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

Peter was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ was crucified.

James the Just, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. This was the same pinnacle where Jesus went to during his Temptation.

James the Greater, a son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

Bartholomew, also know as Nathanael, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed to our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia when he was flayed to death by a whip.

Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it. He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

Thomas was stabbed with a spear (lance) in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the subcontinent.

Jude, the brother of Jesus, was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.

Barnabas, one of the group of seventy disciples, wrote the Epistle of Barnabas. He preached throughout Italy and Cyprus. Barnabas was stoned to death at Salonica.

Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero in Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

The details of the martyrdoms of the disciples and apostles are found in traditional early church sources. These traditions were recounted in the writings of the church fathers and the first official church history written by the historian Eusebius in A.D. 325. Although we cannot at this time verify every detail historically, the universal belief of the early Christian writers was that each of the apostles had faced martyrdom faithfully without denying their faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Reference: Jeffrey, Grant R., The Signature of God, Frontier Research Publications, Inc. (1996), p.254-257

Lostin the secular desert: Christianity under siege

Lost in the secular desert: Christianity under siege

GREG SHERIDAN

Christian symbolism abounds during Dark Mofo 2022, the annual winter art and music festival in Tasmania. Picture: Jesse Hunniford

We are on the way to becoming, for the first time, an avowedly anti-Christian nation. Not just non-Christian, but anti-Christian. The census tells us. The culture tells us. The law tells us.

The 2021 census represents an explosive dam burst, with a flood of biblical proportions to follow. For the first time in the modern nation’s history, only a minority of Australians identify as Christians.

This is not a gentle decline. It is a bus hurtling over a cliff. As recently as 25 years ago, nearly three-quarters of Australians called themselves Christians. In 2011, 61 per cent was still a solid majority; five years later it was 52 per cent, last year just 44 per cent and still falling.

That’s a staggering 17 per cent fewer of the population who are Christian in 10 years. Nothing as dramatic and consequential has happened in Australian belief and outlook since 1788.

To be sure, there are nuances in the census. “No religion” does not equate directly to formal atheism. The National Church Life Survey suggests a small majority of Australians believes in God. That’s consistent with the census. Non-Christian religions – Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism and others – take total religious affiliation above 50 per cent.

The census also has some surprises. Sydney, sin city, is the most God-loving part of Australia, just as London is the most religious part of Britain.

READ MORE: The decline of Christianity is a loss for everyone |Christianity on the decline as faith falls out of favour | Christianity is the most persecuted religion on the planet

But difficult as it may be for some Christians to accept, and much as some secular commentators may want to play it down, claiming that Christian affiliation was formerly overstated or to avert the public gaze from the radical wave engulfing us, Christians must understand they are a minority. That should free them to become a creative, dynamic minority, offering something magnificent to society. They also should get the same rights as other minorities, but that’s another story.

In his brilliant 2021 book, Being the Bad Guys, Perth evangelical pastor Stephen McAlpine presents the dramatic transformation in Christianity’s standing: “Wasn’t it only yesterday Christianity was regarded as a societal good? Now? It’s not only unpalatable; it’s positively toxic.”

In a justly famous blog post a few years ago, McAlpine suggested most Christians accept that Christendom – with all its virtues and all its villainies – is over and they are now in exile. They envisaged this exile in a metaphorical Athens, debating their beliefs in polite and interested company. That was Stage One Exile. Now, Stage Two Exile, is in a much more hostile Babylon, where they confront a state and culture uninterested in their ideas, determined instead to bludgeon them into submission.

A strand in Dark Mofo, much subsidised by innocent Tasmanian taxpayers, celebrates nihilism and ugliness. Picture: Remi Chauvin/Dark Lab

McAlpine says: “The elite framework that drives the culture is increasingly interested in bringing the church back into the public square, not in order to hear it, but to expose its real and imagined abuses and render it naked and shivering before a jeering crowd.”

Of course, the culture is not uniformly hostile to Christianity, but the “elite framework that drives the culture” certainly is.

I saw this in Hobart a few weeks ago. The so-called Dark Mofo, put on by the Museum of Old and New Art, MONA, was in full swing. A strand in Dark Mofo, much subsidised by innocent Tasmanian taxpayers, celebrates nihilism and ugliness. It frequently mocks and contemptuously misuses Christian symbols and terminology, and sometimes celebrates the repulsive and evil. One representative caption says: “Satanise your hands.” The Mofo jamborees have used inverted crosses, an old anti-Christian symbol; they have buried an artist underground for three days in mimicry of Christ’s resurrection; displayed a simulated man being hacked to death; re-created pagan customs; used foul animal carcasses; and much else.

No doubt there is great technical expertise in Mofo, but this dopey, second-rate, pretend radicalism – in truth about as radical as a ride in a limousine to a Hollywood fashion show – indicates a distressed and confused culture. It displays all the aesthetic insight and emotional maturity of an over-indulged teenager trying ever more offensive swear words to shock the parents who indulged him. When swearing no longer shocks, he lights a cigarette and stubs it out on their bed. That’s so cool, provocative, cutting-edge, subversive (the rank weasel word of our time). And so, so courageous. But on the Hobart waterfront, in counterpoint to Mofo, I attended a Christian exhibition titled Miracles. It was sublime, challenging, beautiful in design, with a quietly building narrative, engaged fully with science and reason. It examined the history of Christian miracles and explored their scientific investigation. Naturally it was subject to minor hostile demonstration.

So just who was authentically countercultural here? Who had something to say, an original vision? Who was serving truth and beauty?

Consider the ridiculous reaction to former prime minister Scott Morrison preaching a sermon at Margaret Court’s Pentecostal church in Perth. Morrison’s faith is the centre of his life. When he was PM, there was not one speck of effort to enforce, impose or privilege it. Morrison told the Perth congregation they could place a higher trust in God than in government, or even the UN, not that he said anything remotely against, much less delegitimising, government. He echoed the famous words of the psalm: “Put not thy trust in kings or princes.”

Scott Morrison delivers a sermon at Margaret Court's church.

A welter of absurd criticism followed on commercial TV, radio and the ABC, denouncing Morrison for “inappropriate” and “jarring” comments. We live in an age of spectacular cultural and religious ignorance. Did any commentator acknowledge that secular politics was invented by Christianity (“Render unto Caesar …”)? Christians have always placed a higher trust in God, even as they pledge to obey all legitimate earthly authorities. Jesus himself said: “My kingdom is not of this world.”

Morrison’s sermon dealt constructively, sympathetically and theologically with anxiety. Did any denouncer bother listening to it? Most disheartening was Anthony Albanese’s criticism, which wrongly implied Morrison was spreading conspiracy theories.

Morrison tells Inquirer: “Having a strong faith and belief has always meant dealing with mockery and misrepresentation. It is increasingly going with the territory in Western societies, including Australia. History shows this has only ever served to make faith communities stronger.”

Christianity’s enemies in Australia stand poised to prosecute a bewildering range of legal attacks against Christians and their institutions, designed mainly to prevent them speaking in the public square. The NSW euthanasia law obliges Christian retirement homes to welcome kill teams into their homes. Legislation in some states, especially Victoria, makes it extremely difficult for Christian schools to hire Christian teachers other than for the principal, chaplain and perhaps religious knowledge teachers.

Schools are a huge battleground because the Bible is full of “dangerous statements”. Consider St Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” This is a spectacular rejection of today’s zeitgeist.

No Christian expects the state to legally enforce their morality. And it’s certainly true that Christians routinely fail to live up to Paul’s ethos. But is it now a bureaucratic or even criminal offence for Christians even to speak and teach their beliefs?

If a Christian school merely teaches the New Testament, it could be sued for discrimination. If a school asks a boy transitioning to be a girl to just slow down and think things over, and instead of wearing a dress perhaps wear the sports uniform that is non-gender specific, it could be sued under several states’ anti-repression laws. Pastors have told me that if a man, suffering mentally and spiritually from confusion over sexual matters, asks the pastor to pray with him, the pastor can be prosecuted.

Most states have outlawed the seal of the confessional for Catholic priests, though there is no evidence this will help in the battle against child abuse. The confidentiality of the confessional has been a Catholic sacramental doctrine for many centuries. Priests have gone to their death rather than break it. Such confidentiality is allowed to lawyers and doctors. But good priests are to be criminals.

There are many more legal assaults on Christianity, under way or in preparation.

One question for Christian institutions is whether they bend the knee to the new state religion or continue the teachings of Christ and the Apostles found in the New Testament. The early Christians faced similar choices.

Under Roman rule, Jewish communities had an exception from paying homage to Roman gods, the official state religion. Once the Roman Empire distinguished Christians as a separate group, they lost that exemption. Early Christians were not looking for trouble, much less martyrdom, but they would not worship the divine god Caesar as Roman authorities designated their emperor.

Christianity in the past has frequently been at a low ebb and it has showed a genius for bouncing back. This always takes courage, resolution, shrewdness, innovation. New missions for new times. Despite today’s decline, there are many green shoots in the Christian garden. Jesus instructed the first Christians to proclaim his message, but also told them: “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

theaustralian.com.au11:34 'Just flabbergasted': Scott Morrison criticised over sermon

The Australian’s Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan says former prime minister Scott Morrison has been “irreverent… about the UN in a culture which abuses Christianity” when delivering a sermon at a church in Perth. “Every contempt and contumely is heaped on Christianity you can imagine,” he told Sky News More

Giving life to both halves of that injunction is challenging. How Christians respond to their newly difficult cultural circumstances will determine much of what happens to them, and to the truths they offer.

The Australian Catholic Church recently held a plenary council, a national consultative meeting. Its preparatory documents, emerging from a “new class” of Catholic institution bureaucrats, made a few gestures to the zeitgeist but was chiefly concerned with internal governance, positions of power and changing liturgy.

Philippa Martyr, a Perth academic who is a columnist at the Catholic Weekly, in a tough-minded judgment tells Inquirer: “One of the themes of the plenary council was that Catholicism doesn’t have to be this hard (in opposition to the culture). But in fact it does have to be hard (to be true). These gabfests are basically setting up income streams for people in future jobs. It’s all piffle. It’s got nothing to do with salvation.”

In the end, Christian denominations choose between surrender to the ideology of the culture or faithfulness to their beliefs. It’s not possible to do both. The Christian movements that accommodate the culture on its key points inevitably disappear, for if they are only offering what the culture already has, why would anybody bother?

Sydney’s Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher, at the start of the plenary council, admonished the preparatory documents for their lack of attention to three crises: the decline of Christianity produced by secularism and exacerbated by the abuse crisis and disengagement brought on by Covid; the need to protect “the unborn, pregnant, refugees, trafficked, frail elderly, dying and other invisibles”; and the growing cultural hostility to Christianity.

The early Christians, notwithstanding all the changes of 2000 years, faced similar challenges. I asked Melbourne’s Catholic Archbishop Peter Comensoli whether there were lessons from the early Christians for the church today: “Yes. I spend a lot of time in the Acts of the Apostles, to find ways to be active and Christian when you’re unknown. There’s a great ignorance of Christianity these days. Acts gives the church ways to be a faithful disciple when you’re small and not necessarily of interest, and if you are of interest you might be getting a bad rub.

“Life as a Catholic is a life of exile at the moment. That will be the way for some time. Identification with the faith is often with big institutions, schools, health care. But these are not the sites where we will rebuild faith. That will be in families and small communities.”

John Dickson, an Anglican cleric and a prolific and brilliant historian of the ancient world, believes profoundly in the example of the early Christians. It’s a theme of his superb new book, Bullies and Saints.

theaustralian.com.au02:31 'A shame' religion is 'down in the census': Hildebrand

Sky News contributor Joe Hildebrand says it’s a “real shame” that “religion is down in the census”.

“The early Christians were cheerful being a minority,” he tells Inquirer.

“They were reconciled to having no power and being frequently insulted. They thought of themselves as a tiny minority which had stumbled upon a vast treasure. Of course the rest of the world didn’t have it, so they wanted to share it. They were characterised by cheerfulness, confidence, humility.

“The early Christians didn’t have social credibility, or emperors or senators who professed Christianity. All they had was prayer, service, persuasion and suffering.”

Dickson cites non-Christian sources from the early days of Christianity recounting Christians’ compassion and generosity, their care for the sick, their philanthropy. Women flocked to early Christianity. Celsus, a second century Greek philosopher who wrote the first systematic denunciation of Christianity, mocked it as a religion of women and slaves.

“Everyone found a social lung in the early church,” Dickson says, “everyone could breathe a bit easier.”

The Christian sexual ethic, of marriage as an institution of mutual love, of women equal before God to men, of girl babies valued, of restraint on the gratifications and brutalities of men – these were radical but ultimately deeply attractive to a pagan world that had elevated self-indulgence for the powerful, and especially male gratification, very high.

Edward Gibbon, in his classic and intensely anti-Christian Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, lists five reasons for Christianity’s triumph: the zeal of Christian belief; the promise of eternal life; the miracles, though the age of miracles was brief; the virtues of Christians; and finally the unity of the Christians, with people, priests and bishops working to a common vision.

Today’s Christians, like anyone else, would find these qualities hard to emulate. But history shows Christianity’s ability, metaphorical and literal, to rise from the dead. It’s done it before. In our society, will it happen again?

GREG SHERIDAN

FOREIGN EDITOR

Christianity exploding

Christianity exploding

Think Christianity is dying? No, Christianity is shifting dramatically

By Wes Granberg-Michaelson

May 20, 2015 at 9:38 a.m. EDT

Add to your saved stories While Christianity may be on the decline in the United States, the world is becoming more religious, not less. While rising numbers of “nones” — those who claim no religious affiliation when asked — claim the attention of religious pundits, the world tells a different story. Religious convictions are growing and shifting geographically in several dramatic ways.

The centre of Christianity has shifted from Europe to the global South.

The religious landscape is particularly changing for the world’s Christians. A century ago, 80 percent lived in North America and Europe, compared with just 40 percent today.

In 1980, more Christians were found in the global South than the North for the first time in 1,000 years. Today, the Christian community in Latin America and Africa, alone, account for 1 billion people.

Over the past 100 years, Christians grew from less than 10 percent of Africa’s population to its nearly 500 million today. One out of four Christians in the world presently is an Africa, and the Pew Research Centre estimates that will grow to 40 percent by 2030.

Asia is also experiencing growth as world Christianity’s centre has moved not only South, but also East. In the last century, Christianity grew at twice the rate of population in that continent. Asia’s Christian population of 350 million is projected to grow to 460 million by 2025.

The global religious wildcard is China. Even today, demographers estimate that more Christian believers are found worshipping in China on any given Sunday than in the United States. Future trends, while difficult to predict because so much is below the religious radar, could dramatically drive down the world’s religious “nones.”

In Latin America, the massive Christian population is becoming more Pentecostal or Charismatic.

The growth of Pentecostalism in Latin America is estimated to be at three times the rate of Catholic growth. Non-Catholic believers now account for 2 percent of Latin America’s 550 million Christians.

Today, Brazil not only has more Catholics than any other country, but also more Pentecostals, reflecting Pentecostalism’s astonishing global growth. Tracing its roots to the Azusa Street revival in 1910, and comprising 5 percent of Christians in 1970, today one of four Christians is Pentecostal or Charismatic. Or think of it this way: one out of 12 people alive today has a Pentecostal form of Christian faith.

Global migration matters.

Such global trends are being experienced locally through migration. About 214 million people have moved from one country to another as migrants and refugees, or are in that process.

Those capturing today’s headlines are Africans clinging to precarious vessels trying to cross the Mediterranean, or the hundreds of thousands uprooted in Syria and the Middle East. But the striking religious factor is that overall, about 105 million who have migrated are Christians — a significantly higher percentage than their 33 percent of the world’s population.

Sociologists report that the process of migration typically increases the intensity of religious faith — whatever its form — of those persons crossing borders of nations and cultures. Fresh spiritual vitality in both North America and Europe is being fuelled by the process of global migration.

Immigration shapes the U.S. religious landscape.

In the United States, about 43 million residents were born in another country, and immigrated here. Of these, about 74 percent adhere to the Christian faith, while 5 percent are Muslim, 4 percent Buddhist and 3 percent Hindu. Of those presently migrating into this country, that proportion remains high — about 60 percent. The religious impact of immigration on U.S. society is typically overlooked in the debates over immigration reform, and the presence of about 11 million immigrants without acceptable legal documentation.

Yet, the reality is that patterns of immigration since the 1965 Hart-Cellar Immigration and Naturalisation Act, and continuing to this day, are having a decisive impact on the Christian community in the United States. A vast majority of Hispanics in the United States are Catholic, and immigrants are sustaining the demographic presence of U.S. Catholicism, accounting for 70 percent of Catholic growth since 1960. They also provide fresh spiritual enthusiasm. Demographers estimate that 54 percent of Hispanic Catholics practice charismatic forms of worship found in Pentecostal churches. Among Catholic millennials, over half are now Hispanic.

There are three times more Protestant Hispanics in the United States than Episcopalians.

Immigration has transformed Protestantism in America. Some of President Obama’s strongest advocates for immigration reform are found in more evangelical and Pentecostal leaning Hispanic groups, as well as the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops.

Asian and African immigrants who bring their faith with them across oceans likewise are also reshaping America’s religious landscape, and especially the Christian community. The Philippines follows Mexico as the country sending most immigrants to the United States, and those are overwhelmingly Catholic. The influence of Korean Christians is felt throughout both mainline and evangelical Protestantism. Fuller Seminary, in Pasadena, Calif., a centre of moderate evangelical scholarship and training, counts about 1,000 Asian and Asian Americans among its 5,000 students.

While African immigration is less numerical, its growth has been exponential, from 35,355 African immigrants in 1960 to 1.5 million 50 years later. Many carry their devotion to forms of Christian faith that are transforming sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, started not by missionaries but as an indigenous church in Nigeria, has grown to 5 million members in 147 countries, including 720 congregations in the United States. North of Dallas, it has built a worship pavilion holding 10,000 at the cost of $15.5 million.

While Chicago has 590,000 foreign-born residents in its city limits, 984,000 are found in its suburbs, with a majority forming places of Christian worship or joining multicultural congregations, if they find welcome. At the Vineyard church in Columbus, Ohio, 28 percent of its 9,000 members come from 147 countries other than the United States.

The United States cannot ignore the impact of immigration on religious patterns.

The growth of religious practice in the world is being experienced through patterns of immigration to the United States, patterns that should become a central feature of the debate over immigration reform.

I am mystified, for example, by political conservatives who cry for the resurgence of religious values in this country, and then support the deportation of those actually growing the nation’s religious vitality. And I am disappointed with political liberals, who, like I, support comprehensive immigration reform, but can seem deaf and dumb to the religious life of immigrants themselves, who often combine their unapologetic faith with commitments to social solidarity, welfare and reform of the broken immigration system.

The history of immigration to this country has been a story of unintended consequences which have tested our commitment to religious and cultural pluralism. The religious impact of immigration, largely unnoticed in hotly contested rhetoric around political reform, offers the potential, once again, to enrich our society in ways we have not yet imagined.

Wes Granberg-Michaelson, whose most recent book is “From Times Square to Timbuktu: The Post-Christian West Meets the Non-Western Church,” served for 17 years as general secretary of the Reformed Church in America.