Opus 2026-304: Literally Test

I was reading through Psalm 72 this morning and I was struck by the picturesque language sprinkled throughout.  Early on I came across this,

(Psa 72:3 KJV)  The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.

It is a nice picture but my mind started wandering how my Mid-Acts Dispensationalist (MAD) friend, who insists that the Bible be interpreted literally, would deal with that.  How does a mountain bring peace?

Most rational people have no problem with this verse or verses like it.  Even people who claim to be literal can see this is poetic.  The disclaimer offered here is “rational people”.  

As often happens my mind started to wander to passages of the Bible that are loved by millions and what would happen if you took the words literally.  My mind went to the 23rd Psalm.  Allowing for the fact that dispensationalists often reject the OT because it was written to the Jews and not us gentiles, I decided to comment on it a a literal work.

(Psa 23:1 KJV)  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In my mind this would require Yahweh, that is what LORD translates, to show up with a shepherd’s crook, flowing robes, sandals and one of those turban type head coverings.  I would say that He would be standing by my bed when I wake up except the next verse says,

(Psa 23:2 KJV)  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Evidently I am going to be sleeping in the grass.  That does not thrill me because I am aware that the grass is full of ticks, fleas, ants, scorpions and all the varieties of creation, but that is where He is going to put me.  Still waters I can handle.

Then I get down to,

(Psa 23:4 KJV)  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

If God is in charge and is leading me beside still waters, how did I get in this valley?

The next verse starts off well,

(Psa 23:5 KJV)  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

The table is set.  Good.  But wait a minute, what are my enemies doing here?  You would think we could have found a restaurant with a nice quiet, corner table.  And what is this about my cup running over?  I don’t think my wife would approve of that.

It finishes by promising I will live in God’s house forever.  Of course that is except for the times when I am laying in the grass or walking in deadly valleys.  

We obviously don’t read it this way but that is what a literal approach demands.  The believer who has all of the synapses that God gave him will realize that such an approach does not work.  Some verses are meant to be poetical and figurative such as rivers clapping their hands or God having wings and feathers.  Others are meant to be taken quite literally,

(Rom 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

I think that we can tell the difference and not just keep changing our standard to make scripture fit our preconceived notions.  But who am I to judge?

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-538: Monday Pulpit: Ho Hum

I am a terrible listener when it comes to sermons and Sunday School lessons.  There are some who can keep my interest but my mind tends to wander.  Maybe “wander” isn’t the right word.  It may be that I am paying too much attention and my mind takes leaps into the possibilities.

Today I was straying into an inner inquiry on why I was straying.  Why did the closing verses of Romans 3 not hold my attention?  Maybe it was because so little of what was being said was based on Romans.  At one point I got my hopes up.  This verse was read,

Romans 3:30 (KJV) Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

The teacher asked what the difference was between “by” and “through”.  I did a quick look and saw they were different words in the Greek.  By the time I got back from that quick look they had already decided that they meant the same thing.  No.  They don’t but that was all we got on it.

The last phrase in the chapter implies that our faith establishes the law.  I didn’t have the nerve to bring that up.

So much of the preaching and teaching I am exposed to is primarily cliches, vignettes, platitudes, memories, well worn Bible verses, boilerplate, and what ever pops into mind.  It is a good thing I am learning to keep my mouth shut.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-508: Monday Pulpit: To Change or Not to Change, That Is the Question

In our Sunday school discussion we came across two different passages of scripture, which in my mind set up a tension.  They were quoted far enough part that I don’t think anybody else noticed it, but the first one was,

(Rom 3:10 KJV)  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

And a big thing was made over how no one could be righteous.  OK.  Later on as the subject changed and the topic went on a different path, somebody quoted the passage from James,

(Jas 5:16 KJV)  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Now we have a problem.  If the prayer of a righteous man is effective and no one can be righteous then it’s impossible for prayer to be answered.

Seems logical to me.  It seems logical because there’s a fallacy in the application of the verses.

And this got me thinking about how people try to take God and put Him into a box and force Him to be what they want Him to be.  This morning as I was on the porch thinking about how God is dynamic and not static, it came to me through several jumps that there’s a reason why God is considered a spirit.

Now we get into physics.  There are four phases of matter that I’m aware of.  One of them, plasma, I know little about and does not exist on the planet Earth in its natural form.  We are familiar with the other three.  We have solids, liquids, and gases.  Each one has different attributes.

Most people want to make God in the image of the solid.  They like to quote verses which say that God does not change; that He is always the same.  They like to quote how He is a rock.  And there are some interesting parallels there.

Unfortunately, the Bible tells us that God is spirit, not a rock.  What are the differences?  A rock cannot change its mass nor its shape, nor its volume.  It is static.  While we’re on it, we might as well look at the attributes of liquids.  Liquids do not generally change their mass nor their volume, but they can change their shape.  God is not a liquid nor a solid.  He is a spirit, which literally means gas.

Gas does not change its mass.  That stays the same, but it can adjust its volume and its shape.  It can expand and contract without changing its mass.  It can bend and fill crevices without changing its mass, so in a very real sense spirit can change and stay the same.

Such is God.  I hate to tell you, but He is able to get out of the box that you put him in.  That’s something rejoice about.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-319: Mommy, Kiss It

One of my recurrent areas of contemplation and meditation is based on the principle that I Corinthians 13 gives us an idea of what it means that God is love.  Today I was thinking about, what we call forgiveness and my mind went to that last phrase in verse five.

1 Corinthians 13:5 (KJV) Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NASB95) does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,

1 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT) It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

Notice the different understanding that the modern translation and paraphrase give that last phrase.  If my theory is correct, then that last statement tells us that God does not keep a record of our sins.  Now when we think about forgiveness we have no trouble with that but I’m thinking that it also reflects that God does not keep a record of our outstanding sins.

It isn’t a matter of ignoring them, or forgetting them.  It’s a matter of not needing to keep a list.  God knows that we are born in original sin and He knows that we have all sinned as Paul says,

Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

For God to keep a tally of our sins would be like us going down to the ocean and continually checking to see how wet it was.

This is where the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross comes in.  We are forgiven by the free choice of God, call it grace or mercy, we are not forgiven because we have gotten enough merit to deserve it.  He makes that decision based on our believing that the sacrifice of Jesus was enough to pay for our sins.  It’s hard for us to comprehend this because we want to believe that bigger sinners are harder to forgive, and that we are just a little sinners so we are more deserving.  Not so.  We all fall short, and only God’s free, active forgiveness, enabled by the blood of Jesus, is enough for us to have salvation.

If the suffering Jesus went through and His passion were not so extreme we could almost think of it as something simple like how Mommy’s kiss heals our booboos.  He offers us the free gift of salvation and is waiting to heal us not because of how big the list is but because it’s the only chance we have.

That gives me a reason to rejoice this morning.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-096: Surprised by Greed

CS Lewis wrote a book called Surprised by Joy.  It is on my shelf and I have read it but it has been a few years.  I think it is a personal love story about the woman he married who was named, strangely enough, Joy.

I might want to write a book called Surprised by Greed.  It would not be a personal revelation, but simply an observation.  Our culture, which is now controlled by the cultural Marxists*, advocate rich people get to that position out of greed.  They are rich because they are greedy.  That means that they will do anything to steal the wealth of others.  This is cultural Marxism because it is pushing class warfare or identity politics and trying to divide people based on their economic situation.

Of course poor people love a good excuse for why they’re poor.  It has been fascinating, watching some of the short, YouTube blurbs where millennials are agitated because they are now expected to work at work.  They are shocked that all the free benefits that they weren’t really earning have gone away.  They need to look into what happens in the lives of people that win big lottery playoffs.  They tend to be back in poverty in a very short time.

What this overlooks is the basic fact that poor people are just as greedy as rich people.  They may be less organized and gifted, but they are just as greedy.  Some rich people are generous and caring.  The same is true of poor people.  The point is that people are not defined by their income.  They are defined by their values and personality.  Those attributes are demonstrated in how they live their lives, the choices they make, the priorities they establish.

Our modern American environment doesn’t lock us into a frozen course in life.  Our parents and their style of parenting are very influential, but we can’t get away from the fact that we make choices in friends we hang with, majors in education, jobs we will accept, and even in the car we drive.  And all of those things affect where we are in life.

The one thing that we don’t seem to want to admit, unless we come from a Christian background with strong preaching and teaching, is that the big problem lies within us.  It is called sin.

(Rom 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Maybe I should call my book, “Surprised by Sin.”

*(Liberals, educators, cultural Marxists, the media, socialists, communists, crony capitalists, fascists (I repeat myself), elites, Rinos, Democrats, leftists, Never Trumpers, Antifa, BLM, MSM, Deep State, etc.  Synonym for swamp dwellers)

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-262: Noah Law

According to the apostle Paul, the purpose of the law was to show us what righteousness was, and what sin was.

(Rom 3:31 KJV)  Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

(Rom 7:7 KJV)  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

This is in the middle of a long discussion of the law.  I am simplifying so don’t take this to the bank as a proof text.

Now, hold that thought and go back to the time of Noah, in Genesis 6.  This is centuries before Moses was given the law.  Technically there was no law to break.  Ask yourself how was mankind being judged as evil if there was no law by which to measure?  How can people be judged by God if they don’t know what is the difference between right and wrong?

I think my conclusion would be that people and their inner man make a decision which direction they’re going to go.  You see this kind of thinking all through Psalms and Proverbs, two books I am currently spending more time reading than any other part of the Bible.  I realize they are written after God gave the law to Moses and before the sending of the Holy Spirit but I find verses like this,

(Pro 4:16 KJV)  For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

This is more than original sin or the sinful nature.  This is a conscious decision to embrace evil and advance it.  This is bigger than the law.

When we talk about law there are two important statements that must be considered.  The first was the statement of Jesus when he said that he did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill the law.

(Mat 5:17 KJV)  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

The second, mentioned earlier, was when Paul told us that the law was there to show us the boundaries, but that we were not saved my following that law.

If you put these together, it makes you wonder if the concept of fulfilling the law means that the laws are now moving from being legalistic statutes to being moral principles.

Recently when I was on a road trip I drove through some mountainous terrain.  I was not on the Interstate so the pavement followed the contour of the ground along the path that the cows used to travel to get back to the barn.  The road was probably first paved when Model T’s were the common mode of transportation.  They were graded flat.  Some wise person who did little driving decided that the curve required a 35 MPH speed limit and put up a sign to enforce it.  At the time it made sense:  Marginal grading, slippery surfaces, poor suspension and new drivers could combine to deliver death and destruction.  It was the law and to disobey was a recipe for disaster.  

Move forward 100 years.  The road has been regraded.  The surface has been improved.  You car has the suspension for the Indy 500 and you have been practicing spin outs in your dad’s car for years.  The sign still says 35 MPH.  The hill is still the same.  The laws of physics have not changed.  Also, I guess the local cop could still give you a ticket for going 40.  That law needs to be fulfilled not destroyed.  The principle however still is as real as ever.

This concept of principle vs statute would not apply to clear moral laws such as theft and adultery.  They are fulfilled because the Holy Spirit has us acting that way.  Other laws such as the sacrificial system, diet and rules for gardening are in a different category.

Is there a danger here?  Obviously.  We tend to push as far as we think we can get away with.  I took the curves at 60 MPH and lived to tell about it.  The fulfillment comes from having the Holy Spirit give us guidance and living in obedience.  The example in Matthew is in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount.  Many people say that is an impossible expectation.  I would say they might want to put a little confidence in the Spirit and walk with Him.

Thoughts and speculations for working out what seems to be a conflict.  I don’t require you to agree but I would request that you put away your branding irons reserved for heretics.

homo unius libri

Opus 2022-015: Utopian Righteousness

Many devout, serious and genuine Christians are of the Calvinist persuasion.  This makes allowance for the fact that most of them deny being Calvinists.  Yet, as the saying goes, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”  That is how I always heard it.  According to a site called Quora the original is a bit longer,

“I can’t prove you are a Communist. But when I see a bird that quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, has feathers and webbed feet and associates with ducks—I’m certainly going to assume that he IS a duck.”

Theologians have a problem with the idea of righteousness.  They tend to quote the Apostle Paul when he wrote,

(Rom 3:10 KJV)  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Paul is theoretically quoting the Old Testament and a suggested verse is,

(Psa 14:1 KJV)  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

The problem with this is the problem with any eisegetical proof texting, it ignores a host of other scripture that must be included to come to an understanding.  In the same chapter of Psalms it says,

(Psa 14:5 KJV)  There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.

My mind got off on this rabbit trail because I was counting my blessings and I really can’t believe that God blesses me so much because I deserve it.  Or maybe I do.

Anyway, I got off on the question of how do we define righteousness.  It occurred to me that we have a problem with righteousness the same way that the current crop of woke Proregressives* have a problem with America.  In both cases people are comparing reality to Utopia.  When people find fault with the United States of America they compare it to some fantasy land that is called Utopia.  They don’t compare it to any real country because they know they will come up short.  The same with righteousness.  

I believe it is possible to live a righteous life.  It may not be utopian but it is a standard that God gave us along with the ability to live that way.

homo unius libri

Opus 2021-140: Time for a Hug

When I first heard the term I was amazed by the total lack of self awareness involved.  It was the acme of arrogance.  It was the height of hypocrisy.  I felt like an adult listening to a child claim he didn’t take the cookie when the crumbs are still around his mouth and down his shirt.  I refer to the silly speak of “multiracial whiteness.”

And then I realized that I had come home.  The clock that was broken had made it to the twice daily chime point.  I came to understand that multiracial whiteness was exactly what I was raised with.  It was taught in my home.  It was taught in my church.  It might have even been taught in my schools.  

Of course we did not call it such a loaded bit of attempted slander.  It was summed up in the phrase, “The ground is level at the foot of the cross.”  It started by knocking us down as a race, and by that I mean the human race.

(Rom 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

All.  Not just a social class.  Not just an ethnic grouping.  All.

Then we are told how we can be lifted up.

(Joh 3:16 KJV)  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Notice again it is the world and “whosoever”.  And then there is the statement of where we are after God works in us,

(Gal 3:28 KJV)  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

You ask, “Where is the multiracial whiteness?”  Glad you asked.  Keep in mind that the people who originally came up with this are actively working to destroy Western civilization.  They have a special hatred for Christians.  When they say “white” what they mean are the people who live their lives in a way that is based on the Bible and the Constitution.  That is their definition of white.  Obviously it has nothing to do with skin color except that whites are easy to attack.  We were raised with this silly idea of “turn the other cheek” and “a soft answer turns away wrath.”  By their definition Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas, Candice Owens and a host of others are white because they believe in truth that does not change based on the latest Gallup poll.

Keep in mind that the haters of the world make a habit of trying to insult and often the insult is embraced.  Christians first received that name as an insult.  Straight was supposed to be kinky.  

So it is time to embrace your whiteness, whatever the color of your skin.  It is time to realize that there is only one race that counts, the human race.  Sorry NASCAR fans, different kind of race.

homo unius libri

Opus 2018-147: Foundations of Privilege

If there is such a thing as “white privilege” then it stands to reason that there would also be such a thing as “black privilege”.

What would black privilege be based on? 

It is interesting the racist attitudes that come through in the Tourette responses of the left as they blurt out pet phrases.  (Apologies for the comparison to those with Tourette.)  Notice when they talk about white privilege they seem to think it involves being corporate executives and when they are worried about black privilege it means being allowed to use the bathroom at Starbucks.  The way they try to say that minorities are equal is to give them cheat points.  It is almost like they are trying to cover up their own prejudices rather than give genuine opportunity to people they look down on.  If you can make the masses happy with bread and circuses then they will never demand a voice.

Black privilege should be based on the same thing that white privilege is supposed to be based on:  Hard work, ability and as close to an even chance as can be found in human society.  You don’t achieve that kind of deserved privilege by lowering the requirements for one group.  Are different ethnic groups different?  Probably, no, make that a yes.  When it comes to the individual do those differences have any significance?  No, not at all.  Just because men are taller on average than women does not mean that the random man will be taller than the random female.  And it certainly doesn’t reflect on intelligence or skill.

America is based on individual liberty not group identity.  As the left continues to work to Balkanize us we must work to look at people by what Martin Luther King, Jr. called the content of their character.  For Christians that is summarized in a couple of concepts.  First,

(Romans 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

and

(John 3:16 KJV)  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

with a reminder,

(Galatians 3:28 KJV)  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

These are the ideas that are at the root of the American Experiment.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-151: It’s in the Blood

Christians have a lot of ideas that seem strange to modern minds.  One of the obsessions that we have is with blood.  It isn’t that we are violent or perverted.  We are not talking zombie makeup.  It is because of the teachings rooted in the history of Israel about God’s character and humanity’s needs.

One attribute of God is justice.  This is tied in with His immutability.  God is thus locked by His character into a consistency that does not allow for Him to violate His principles.  We may not always understand them but they are consistent.  The laws of science and nature are a result of this consistency.  Thus we have such ideas as cause and effect, action and reaction and a refusal to accept that life could come from nothing.  We might get a deeper understanding through research and experimentation but at the core are unchanging laws.

As a just God, there is a requirement that breaking His laws demands punishment.  When we sin we must be punished. 

(Romans 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

So that means that all must be punished.  That is what a just God demands.  But a loving God provides a way out.

(Romans 6:23 KJV)  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In order to be consistent, God won’t just forgive the sin.  The sin must be paid for.

(Hebrews 9:22 NAS77)  And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

So you end up in a paradox.  We sin.  Sin must be punished.  The punishment must be death.  Blood must be shed.

(Leviticus 17:11 KJV)  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Thus blood becomes of vital importance to Christians.  Blood must be shed.  It can be ours or it can be the blood of the Perfect Lamb of God.  Is it the shedding of the blood or the sprinkling, application, that makes the difference?  That is for another day.

homo unius libri

Opus 2014-175: Un-self Righteous, part 1 of 2

Warning!  Theology ahead!

We can be righteous and not be perfect.

Another verse that some Christians like to quote is,

(Isaiah 64:6 KJV)  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

They interpret this to mean that it is impossible to be righteous in reality.  This verse is usually misquoted.  I heard it again on the radio this week.  Notice the plural “righteousnesses.”  This means the spiritual games we play.  It does not refer to our spiritual condition.  It is a serious miss-quoting of what the Bible actually teaches.

It is true that we are all sinners from birth.  Here are simple statements from both Testaments.

(Psalms 51:5 KJV)  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

(Romans 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

But you cannot read the Bible long before you come across such verses as,

(Genesis 7:1 KJV)  And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Here in the first book of the Bible you have God declaring that He sees Noah as righteous.  I don’t think God is blind or delusional.  He is also not a liar or a politician putting spin on an issue.  For those into Hebrew I would point out that both “righteous” (6662) and “righteousnesses” (6666) come from the same family of words.  One is an adjective and one is a noun.

If you have the time and are still in denial about this simple fact, do a word search on the word “righteous” and see how many times it is applied to God’s people.

To be concluded...

homo unius libri

Opus 2013-318: On the Street: The Theology of Party Sameness

The conversation recently at the tire store covered a lot of ground.  One topic was the two political parties.  We often hear that they are the same.  They really are not and yet it often seems that way.  I tell people they are the same in the sense that a dog and cat are the same.  Both animals have four legs and a tail.  Both are carnivores and predators.  At the same time, one is nocturnal and the other enjoys the sunlight.  One is a pack animal and one is a loner.  They are not the same

The political party’s are similar in some areas.  In fact they are the same in many areas.  One common trait is that many in both parties ignore their party platforms.  Corruption is rampant is both.  Elitism does not know a party name.  Arrogance flows downhill from all high spots.

This is true even though their platforms are not the same.  They have different philosophies.  One believes in government answers, the other believes people should make their own mistakes. 

What causes the similarities?  They both have people and human nature is the same.  Followers of Christ are familiar with the concepts of original sin and depravity.  Nonbelievers might talk about broken people caused by social inequality.  Either way these faulty personalities strike across party lines.   Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, all parties frequently violate moral standards because they have people with the same flaws, not because they are not different.

To put it simply,

(Romans 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Corruption, graft, cronyism, arrogance and coercion can be reduced by citizens paying attention and getting involved but they will never go away totally in this life.  The government has “shut down,” except for all the pet projects of the powerful.  Health care is in turmoil, but I bet a Senator can still get an immediate appointment. 

Meanwhile the sun is coming up, the corn is being harvested and the drive to work should be easier if you still have a job.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-263, Elections Matter

We have a general election approaching.  Like most elections I can remember, this one is claimed to be a key vote.  It will decide the future.  The basic fact is that every election is key.  Each one decides the future.  Elections matter because they are the only legitimate way in which a free people have of directing their future, short of rebellion and war.

Political parties are not the same.  I know you have heard that it doesn’t make any difference, that they are all corrupt.  Is that supposed to be a surprise?  If you are not a Christian or subscribe to a lot of the nonsense that you hear in the touchy feely churches of the country then it might be a surprise.  Christians know better.  Mankind is sinful.  It is an article of faith.

(Romans 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

This effects all of nature and all of society.

(Romans 8:22 KJV)  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

So, yes, all political parties are corrupt to a point because they have people in them.

But they are not the same.

Saying political parties are the same is like saying that dogs and cats are the same.  After all, they both walk on four legs, are covered with fur, have tails and eat meat.  All that is true but the conclusion is not.

I am aware of the flaws of the Republican Party.  I live, however, in California.  It is not referred to as the People’s Republik of Kalifornia for no reason.  It is an example of what can happen when every part of government is controlled by the Democratic party.  The state is going bankrupt.  Businesses are leaving as fast as they can.  What is the answer?  Raise taxes.  Regulate farming.  Control thermostats.  Coming to a state near you.  Review California’s model and ask yourself, “Has this been a success or a failure?”  When the Democrats are in total control things go downhill quickly.  When the welfare classes are the majority it is a problem. 

Then I thought about the Republicans during the brief time they had control of congress.  To be honest, they did not do much better.  The only consolation is that we could say they spent like Democrats.  The funny thing is that the Democrats picked up on this.  I guess there was a reason the Founding Fathers put so many checks and balances in the system.  They did not want to see what California has become.

Ask yourself what you want to see for your country.  Vote like it makes a difference, because it does.  If sanity does not prevail you will be able to look at the left coast and say, “Coming to a state near you.”

November is almost on us.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-26, Monday Pulpit: Saints or Sinners?

One of the ignored doctrines of the church is the doctrine of sin.  What is taught often walks close to the precipice of historic Gnosticism.  The Bible teaches clearly that we are born in sin.  We are all guilty. 

(Romans 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

All followers of Jesus must accept this truth.

Some go overboard.  They are so focused on sin that they ignore the fact that once we are washed in the blood of the Lamb we become saints.  Do a quick run through the letters of Paul.  He consistently greets the recipients of his letters as “saints,” not “sinners.” 

This came up at our men’s Bible study last week.  We were sharing and one of the young men who has had a rough walk kept talking about being a sinner and how that was not going to change.  He was not looking for excuses, just repeating what he had been taught by the man who was mentoring him. 

Are we saints or sinners?

Can we be both?

The Bible study is working through I Peter so I did a little searching in First and Second Peter.  I did a word search for the following words:  Sin, sins, sinner, sinners, saint, saints, righteous.  Maybe I missed a word.  Let me know.

It is important that we know our theology and doctrine.  They are important.  It is more important that we know our Bible.  Theologians are men, and women too, I assume.  Doctrine is a human summary.  The Bible is the Word of God.

When Peter talks about sin and sinners it is in the past tense, before we are saved.  He does not use the word saint in the KJV.  He does talk about us being righteous.

Think about it and adjust your vocabulary.  We WERE sinners.  We PROBABLY will sin.  But now we are saints.  I am not comfortable with that, but that is the Bible’s label, not mine.

Am I wrong?  (My wife is not allowed to respond to that question.)

homo unius libri

Opus 2011-139, Basic Beliefs: All Have Sinned

Closely following after the idea of Original Sin is the idea of personal sin.  The Bible makes a simple statement,

(Romans 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

This is a simple statement that is in harmony with the rest of scripture.  All human beings have sinned.  The result of sin is spiritual and eternal death.

(Romans 6:23 KJV)  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This means that every human being is on the way to hell, not because of a precondition, but because of actions and choices they have made.

homo unius libri

Opus 2011-27, Key Scriptures: Romans 3:23

(Romans 3:23 KJV)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

One reason modern and post-modern people reject the gospel is that they don’t think they need it.  They don’t believe they are sinners, so why would they need to be saved?  They will admit that there are problems, that society is falling apart, that nothing is working, but reject the concept of sin.

The proclamation of the Bible is that all people have sinned.  Even the holiness people, the spiritual decedents of John Wesley, who taught a doctrine called Christian Perfection, believe that all have sinned.  Anyone who rejects this idea may be a fine neighbor and someone to serve on the PTA with, but they are not a Christian.

The problem with the world is not economic.  It is not lack of education.  It is not racism.  It is not the Democrats.  It was not your mother.  The problem is, was and will be sin.  And that sin is alive and well in every human being until dealt with by the blood of Christ.

homo unius libri