Itchy Ears

I was watching a video in my Issues in Science and Society class, on the topic of homosexuality.  In the video there were two men who were giving their stories.  One man told the story of being raised in a very conservative Baptist home and being disfellowshipped from his family due to his choice to live a homosexual lifestyle.  The other man, coming from a non-religious home, decided to live out his homosexuality, but after reading a Gideon Bible, concluded that God does not bless homosexual marriages.  Therefore he had to choose to continue to act on his feelings, or to submit himself to the Word of God.  He decided to commit himself to a life of celibacy and submit to the Word of God.  Toward the end of the video, the practicing homosexual who is “married” to a man, gave his rationale for his choice.  He said who can really know for sure what the Bible says since it was written hundreds of years ago.  He said the word “homosexual” is not even a word that existed and is only put into scriptures by people who are biased.  Then he said “men lying with men and women lying with women,” is not what the Bible says in the original language.

Then I remembered an article that I also had to read for this class, written from the perspective of a homosexual where the author states that the prohibitions against homosexuality was a cultural thing and doesn’t apply to today.  Also, the issue that Paul address in Romans isn’t in regards to loving and committed homosexual relationships, but is in regards to homosexual prostitution.

As I listened to his argument, it sounded so familiar to me.  The same rationale used by this homosexual to support his lifestyle, is the same rationale that people use to refute the Sabbath.  There are people who know about the 7^th day Sabbath, but ignore it because they say, it doesn’t matter.  They say the Bible was written a long time ago by human beings, so how can we say it’s accurate.  They say that Sabbath really doesn’t mean Sabbath.  They say that it’s a cultural issue and that it doesn’t apply today because Jesus rose on Sunday. They say that “The Lord’s Day,” in the original language means Sunday.   

Are we as Christians really paying attention to how closely and subtly the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled.  My issue with the homosexual community, aside from the fact that it’s a sin, is that they having done a fantastic job of using love and tolerance to attack Christian doctrine:  The Gospel, the power of God, the authority of the Bible, etc.

But it’s not just a homosexual problem…..it’s a sin problem that leads us down this path.

How convenient it is to argue that the Bible was written millions of years ago, when we don’t want to be held by its standards and told that our behavior is wrong.

How convenient it is when we want to twist scriptures of the Bible to fit our lifestyle and make us feel comfortable.

How convenient it is to become a Hebrew and Greek scholar, when we want things to mean what only WE want them to mean.

How convenient it is to say that the Bible cannot be trusted, when the reality is, WE can’t be trust.

1 Timothy 4:2-4 “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with ^[a]great patience and instruction.³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, ⁴ and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths”

What is being said in this passage has been happening, but it’s happening even more boldly now.  The homosexual community has been very successful with persecuting those who don’t say what they want to hear.  But it’s not just them.  The stage has been set where people want to hear words, music, messages, and preaching that makes them feel comfortable and soothes their ears.  Taking away the authority of the Bible, takes away the awareness of sin…….or so we think.

I am so glad that God is a genius and that He’s not a manmade god.  That His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts because aside from the Bible, and aside from the preaching of the Word, and aside from the witness of His people, God says in Hebrews 10:16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them, After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will write them,”

Let’s not be people with itchy ears, and harden ourselves against the convicting, saving power of the Holy Spirit. 

No Love...No Point!

My teacher made our class read a online article called "Godless Cities," where it named the top two Godless cities and the top Bible minded city. To my surprise, Chattanooga TN was ranked as the top Bible minded city. Actually most of these southern states are known as the "Bible belt." But what was interesting is that my teacher made a point of saying that it's ironic that these Bible belt states are the same ones who were supportive of slavery. 

Aside from how the author of the article defined "bible minded," I was really stuck in thought by his statement. It caused me to think, what difference does it make if anyone's city is considered to be the top Bible minded place? The reality is, Chattanooga made the list but Chattanooga still has a serious gang violence issue. Chattanooga still has crime. There are still homeless people in Chattanooga. Chattanooga has corporate greed. There are still prostitutes in Chattanooga. There are abused women and drug users in Chattanooga. Chattanooga still has racist and prejudice residents. Murders still take place in Chattanooga. Sexual immortality is still a reality in Chattanooga.

I don't even know the official numbers but Chattanooga has churches on almost every corner of this city. It's like people wake up and randomly decide to start a church. That's how many churches this place has. 

But the question is, has being bible minded and having churches on every corner, turned this city into a place that reflects true disciples of Jesus? 

The Bible does not say that people will know that we are His by how many Jesus t-shirts we wear. Bumper stickers we put on our cars. Flags we place on our porches. Buttons we wear on our suits. Commentaries we have on our shelves or any of that stuff. 

The Bible says "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35 NASB). 

This is THE sign! This is the TEST. This is the list that we should be striving to be on. It makes no difference to be Bible minded but not truly transformed by the word of God. And the evidence of our transformation is LOVE.  And if we love one another the way Christ loves us, a lot of the foolishness that happens in this Bible minded Chattanooga will slowly but surely be issues of the past. 

The Bridge-gate Scandal

Governor Chris Christie has recently been caught in a controversy known as Bridge-gate, where it was leaked that he abused his power as governor by shutting down a bridge in New Jersey to commuters because another politician was unwilling to fall in line with Christie.  Some people have been saying that if Christie is found guilty he could easily be impeached.  This scandal comes at a bad time because Christie is presumed to be the front runner for the GOP in 2016.  So I ask, what is there to be said about the abuse of power?  When, if ever, is it ok, to use one's authority or power for selfish gain? 

Well, when I look at the life of Christ, I would have to answer the question by saying never.  No one has more authority and more power than Jesus does.  Yet, when we look at His life in the New Testament gospels, we see that Christ actually never used his power for himself.  In fact, this abuse of power is one of the things that Satan tempted Jesus with when He was in the wilderness and on the cross.  But Christ did not fall victim nor entertain anything that Satan said.  In fact, when we look at Jesus' ministry, his power and authority was used to heal people and vindicate people.  And ultimately Jesus' power and authority was used for the salvation of all those who would believe in Him.  There are so many things He could have done for Himself.  Even at the cross, He could have changed His mind and responded to those who taunted Him.  Instead He used His power and authority to give up His life so that we would have one.  Then He got up from the grave so that we too can have hope after the grave.  If God were to ever be selfish, there's not a doubt in my mind that we would be lost.

(NASB) John 3:16 "“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."