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Post by tlsitd on May 9, 2018 16:06:10 GMT -5
I hear this so many times when Christians are reasoning with unbelievers, or with other Christians, and it makes me cringe!
They try to explain away the things in the Bible that they know won't be well received, such as teachings of the New Testament that many Christians don't like to mention, and which have largely been swept aside, or things that God commanded or allowed the people of Israel to do in the Old Testament. They try to defend God's actions or to water down the teachings of the New Testament to avoid ridicule and rejection, rather than simply explaining them truthfully and affirming that God's ways are perfect.
Example: Slavery, in general, not being condemned in the Old or New Testament. (Mistreatment of slaves, yes, but the owning of slaves, no.) The Old Testament even approves of war captives being taken as slaves and wives. There are rules for how to treat them, but it's not forbidden. And while the New Testament does not teach that Christians should enslave (and in light of the other teachings of the New Testament, and the loving Spirit of God, I can't conceive of any Christian holding another human being in bondage against his or her will), the commandments for Christian slave masters in the epistles do not include 'free your slaves'; nor do the commandments for slaves include 'rebel against, run away from, or kill your master'. It does advise slaves to gain their freedom legitimately if possible (by earning it), and commands us not to become slaves of men (by selling ourselves into indentured servitude as was a common practice back then, to pay for something one couldn't afford, and which is a kind of debt); but nowhere in the New Testament does God approve of slaves running away from or disobeying their earthly masters. (Paul even returned a runaway Christian slave, Onesimus, to his Christian master Philemon, although Paul appealed to his master for his freedom.)
Why is this a problem for so many Christians? Because they don't have God's perspective on the matter: It doesn't matter to God whether one is a slave in life or free, but whether Christ is one's Master. A man can serve Christ just as well as a slave, if that is God's will, as he can as a free man, if that is God's will. And God is in no less control over a Christian slave's circumstances---including how his master treats him---than He is over a free man's circumstances. It may be God's will for a Christian to be a slave, or a prisoner, for a time, or even for life. Our eternal reward for having served Christ faithfully in whatever condition or circumstance He ordains for us will far outweigh any sufferings in this brief earthly life. And all Christians, whether enslaved or free, will have various kinds of sufferings for Christ's sake, if they obey Him.
Joseph was a slave for a time, and he was faithful to God as a slave, and God blessed him as a slave; but He didn't set him free. Then he was a prisoner for a time, and he was faithful to God as a prisoner, and God blessed him as a prisoner; but He didn't immediately set him free. When He finally did set Joseph free, he was undoubtedly a better man on the inside for what he had been through. And unlike Joseph, who was repaid by God for what he endured with temporary earthly blessings as a ruler of Egypt, Christians' rewards for being faithful to the Lord will be eternal---far outweighing the troubles of this life, which will be forgotten.
God causes ALL things to work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), no matter what their circumstance or station in life. His will is always best, even if we don't understand or like it; we will appreciate it in the hereafter---if we trust and obey.
The master who did not know God and lived a life of luxury will fare worse for eternity than the Christian slave who lived a life of deprivation, labor and mistreatment, while serving the Lord. (Remember the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus.) And the slave who did not know God or serve Him will be in hell right along with the master who did not know or serve Him.
Likewise with wives and husbands: Nowhere does the New Testament teach that a wife doesn't have to submit to her husband in everything if she doesn't like him, or if he isn't saved, or if he doesn't treat her right, or doesn't love her, or is a drunkard or a louse, etc. Nope. But can you imagine the outcry from Christians and non-Christians alike if a man or woman upheld the Scriptures about this matter rather than trying to explain them away or avoid them, because it doesn't agree with modern ideas?
Does God love women? Absolutely. Does He love men more than women? No. So there's a reason for this teaching, as there is for everything God commands, even if we don't like it or understand it. (And sometimes the reason is simply that it is the way that God desires and ordained things to be, which should be good enough for us.)
God is in complete control of the circumstances of all of His saints, whatever those circumstances may be. (Even the heart of the king is a stream of water in the hand of God, which He directs wherever He wills.) There may be times when He provides a legitimate way out of an unpleasant situation, and other times when He does not. Whatever God's will for us is is what is best, according to His purpose of sanctification.
So, all that to say: Don't make excuses for God and His commands or His ways or what is written in His word. Just justify Him, because He is perfectly wise and perfectly righteous, and this is His creation and His plan, not ours. Let people have a fit if they want to, and call and accuse you of being everything but a child of God for standing by God's word. It's not them you ought to be concerned about pleasing. Our God is perfect in all His ways, and He knows exactly why He commands what He commands and what He is doing in our lives and in His creation. We don't have to understand, agree with or like everything He does or says for it to be right!
If we don't understand why God commanded or allowed something to be done in the Scriptures, we should simply say, "I don't know; but God is perfect in all His ways, and His ways are higher than ours"; and let that be the end of it, rather than trying to twist God's word to suit people's preferences or "modern" ideas when they don't agree with the teachings of the New Testament, or delicately and shrewdly skipping over or maneuvering around those subjects or Scriptures which we know people will find offensive and disagree with the Bible's position on.
I make no excuses or apologies for anything that is written in God's word, I only seek to understand it, and accept what I do not understand as belonging to God---who is God, as I am not.
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Post by frienduff on May 9, 2018 17:13:20 GMT -5
SISTER your heart has been prepared BY the LORD . I hear you loud and clear , this is pure truth . When our hearts have been prepared By the LORD , we are used by Him as well. From every word God ever spoke , Its pure to the taste . Those who are ashamed of HIM , not a good place to be . WE follow HIS EXAMPLES , HIS PATTERN in all things . WE honor HIM , HE SAVED us , not we ourselves . A heart that is truly greatful to have been saved IS a heart that will honor THE PATTERN GOD has set . SISTER you loved . You loved and again you loved . THIS is how we should be . NEVER questioning WHAT GOD has said , OR the pattern HE did things . SIMPLY obeying , IF even, we don't understand WE JUST OBEY and HONOR HIM . You loved sister . I have a feeling if the pc police read your post they will have a hay day with it . BUT sister, DO we HONOR GOD , or men , EXACTLY . SISTER say it again . You loved .
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Post by tlsitd on May 9, 2018 17:29:29 GMT -5
SISTER your heart has been prepared BY the LORD . I hear you loud and clear , this is pure truth . When our hearts have been prepared By the LORD , we are used by Him as well. From every word God ever spoke , Its pure to the taste . Those who are ashamed of HIM , not a good place to be . WE follow HIS EXAMPLES , HIS PATTERN in all things . WE honor HIM , HE SAVED us , not we ourselves . A heart that is truly greatful to have been saved IS a heart that will honor THE PATTERN GOD has set . SISTER you loved . You loved and again you loved . THIS is how we should be . NEVER questioning WHAT GOD has said , OR the pattern HE did things . SIMPLY obeying , IF even, we don't understand WE JUST OBEY and HONOR HIM . You loved sister . I have a feeling if the pc police read your post they will have a hay day with it . BUT sister, DO we HONOR GOD , or men , EXACTLY . SISTER say it again . You loved . Amen! ("PC police". Haha! The only PC I'm concerned about is "Pleasing Christ". )
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Post by frienduff on May 9, 2018 21:15:12 GMT -5
That is right sister . pleasing Christ . praise the LORD .
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Post by John on May 9, 2018 21:51:26 GMT -5
I wish there was a way to give you more than a single thumbs up for the OP. I couldn't agree more! I have been talking about how people feel the need to sanitize God's Word and make it acceptable for a contemporary audience for years. People have denied doing that, but they do it all the time with things like you mentioned. I will add another, polygamy. The law of Moses regulates the practice, but never calls it adultery, and neither does the New Testament. People use scriptures about divorce to try to claim it is sin. Just like in the case of slavery, I am not saying it is the best choice to make, but it is never condemned. Remember too that it was allowed in the same law of Moses that gave a death sentence to adulterers. It can't be the same thing.
Why do we do this? I think there are some that simply believe that if we are too honest, there are people that will be turned off to God. They think these are things that don't really matter, not essentials, so they play games with the Bible to make it appear it doesn't say what it does in some cases. How about gender roles or how God wants men to be masculine and women to be feminine, not only in behavior but in appearance? This will only get worse. The topic that will soon be off limits will be homosexuality.
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Post by justinadams on May 10, 2018 4:52:23 GMT -5
Very good post. We have all been infected with modern dualism (or fractured world-views).
As such, many are just afraid of who the Lord High God truly is. The whole story of how it all began, how it was directed and what powers were in play is never taught from the pulpit. Why? Because it is SCARY, BRUTAL and REAL.
So we seem to be forced into a two-dimensional mold of common parlance. Everything has to fit into our comfy world of social media and if we do not get a 'like' somehow our day is ruined.
How on earth (pun intended) do we expect the Spirit of God to take us seriously when we are so entwined in world-think. It would be a good idea for us to read Orwell's 1984 from time to time; just to reassess what we think we know. The media is a driven device - driven by profit and little else. Why would we believe it? It is what is NOT said that can get us into trouble. The 19 second sound bites seem to sum up what most believe. More than this and you are branded an extremist - or a Jesus Freak.
There are many historical facts that we just want to remain deliberately stupid over. Why? Because it make us uncomfortable to know history. For instance: 130,000 Russians were imprisoned by the Nazi powers during the fist part of their Russian invasion. These were mostly peasants and a few soldiers. Did you know that only three (3) out of every hundred captured ever returned home? That is just a 3% survival rate.
10,000 British soldiers died when the Japanese took over Singapore. The Brits had capitulated. The 10 thousand were lost on the forced march to prison with no water and no provisions.
It is estimated that world-wide, 500 million souls were lost over the war years. That is as many as the RCC and affiliates killed since it began its pogroms.
There are many horrible and varied historical and scriptural facts that we are never taught from the pulpit.
We should be allowed to be uncomfortable with the world and its systems. This place is NOT our home. We are sojourners thru a mostly barren land. We are pilgrims and we should drag as many out of their world-induced stupors as we can. If they get upset with our truths - let them take it up with The King.
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Post by tlsitd on May 10, 2018 7:39:54 GMT -5
I wish there was a way to give you more than a single thumbs up for the OP. I couldn't agree more! I have been talking about how people feel the need to sanitize God's Word and make it acceptable for a contemporary audience for years. People have denied doing that, but they do it all the time with things like you mentioned. I will add another, polygamy. The law of Moses regulates the practice, but never calls it adultery, and neither does the New Testament. People use scriptures about divorce to try to claim it is sin. Just like in the case of slavery, I am not saying it is the best choice to make, but it is never condemned. Remember too that it was allowed in the same law of Moses that gave a death sentence to adulterers. It can't be the same thing. Why do we do this? I think there are some that simply believe that if we are too honest, there are people that will be turned off to God. They think these are things that don't really matter, not essentials, so they play games with the Bible to make it appear it doesn't say what it does in some cases. How about gender roles or how God wants men to be masculine and women to be feminine, not only in behavior but in appearance? This will only get worse. The topic that will soon be off limits will be homosexuality. Amen. It's not our business or our right as Christians to make God "more appealing" to people (either Christians or unbelievers) by smudging or avoiding or 'nicening-up' topics that might offend them. When we do this, what it says to people is: "I'm ashamed of my God because I don't really believe that everything He does is right, so I have to make excuses for Him." What it shows is a lack of confidence in God's righteousness and wisdom; and it's pathetic. God doesn't need anybody to make excuses for what He does, commands or allows. He's God! He can do whatever He pleases, and is perfectly justified in whatever He does. Don't mess with His word, just teach it like it is, and let people deal with it as they will. David was a man after God's own heart, and Abraham was His friend, and both of them were polygamous, as were many other men in the Old Testament. I don't think polygamy is God's ideal for Christians, or that it was ever His ideal for humanity (He did only make one woman for Adam after all), but He doesn't forbid it or consider it adultery. And how much more attention does husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the church receive than wives being submissive to their husbands in everything as unto Christ? We always hear about the first, but seldom the second---and we all know why! But the second is no less important than the first, and both are commands of the Lord. What about it being a shame for a man to wear long hair or for a woman to cut her hair short? What about women being forbidden to speak and keeping silent in the churches, and it being a shame for a woman to speak in church? ( A command of the Lord, not the apostle Paul. 1 Corinthians 14:36-38.) Totally thrown out the window; which means that virtually every church on earth is disobeying God in this matter. (But that doesn't mean it's become acceptable to God.) What about women being forbidden to teach doctrine? (So much for all those women "pastors".) What about not fellowshiping or even associating with brothers who are living in willful sin? (1 Corinthians 5:9-13) ( Oh, but that's so harsh and unloving! Well, God is love, and it's His command, through His apostle, and there's a reason for it---both for the good of the one who is sinning and for the rest of the body who could be contaminated by his sin. You don't have to agree with God about this, you just have to obey Him. Are we wiser than Him? The demons want us to think so.) And so it is with many matters and many Scriptures. God knows why we teach what we teach and say what we say as we say it; we're not fooling Him if we manipulate His word---either by deliberately misinterpreting what is written, or by avoiding it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2018 7:40:47 GMT -5
Amen sister.....and it's a blessing and encouragement to hear someone addressing and affirming those things. That is when our faith becomes the evidence of things not seen......when we are obeying God even unto the detriment and destruction of our life in this world, because we have our faith and hope on the world to come. Burying the corn of wheat of our life in the ground of our circumstances, with our eye on the crop that is not yet seen, but yet to come. The carrying of our cross and obeying the Lord no matter the cost.....and it does cost to follow Him, as Jesus said it would.
A little bit of wisdom that might pertain to why He did not make laws against certain things, like slavery, or polygamy....I believe it has to do with these things being a kind of necessary part of the economy of those harsher times.....slaves were earning their food and shelter, they formed a large part of what we call "employees" today. (Being an employee in some ways is a kind of modern form of slavery, albeit with more freedom of choice involved and shorter hours and better conditions in general.) Likewise with shortened lifespans to begin with and so many wars, there were fewer men to go around and women needed the protection and provision of a man in the world of that time....as well as the high value placed on having children. God wasn't micro-managing people's lives as much as we may think....and in Christ, He works through faith and love and so He didn't command the sudden breaking of contracts and covenants...that believers would have to immediately free (fire) all their slaves, plunging both into sudden hardship and poverty...for similar reasons Jesus didn't make a law commanding that new believers who had multiple wives should abandon their extra wives and children.....but these seemed to be things that He allowed faith and love and conscience to do their work over time, until today under Christianity slavery eventually became a thing of the past along with polygamy, where the love and purity of Christ has been allowed to do its work in individual hearts working it's way like the good leaven into how society became structured.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2018 7:59:55 GMT -5
<< Amen. It's not our business or our right as Christians to make God "more appealing" to people (either Christians or unbelievers) by smudging or avoiding or 'nicening-up' topics that might offend them. When we do this, what it says to people is: "I'm ashamed of my God because I don't really believe that everything He does is right, so I have to make excuses for Him." What it shows is a lack of confidence in God's righteousness and wisdom; and it's pathetic. God doesn't need anybody to make excuses for what He does, commands or allows. He's God! He can do whatever He pleases, and is perfectly justified in whatever He does. Don't mess with His word, just teach it like it is, and let people deal with it as they will. >>
Just want to add that the commands and ways of the Lord Jesus are not arbitrary or because He wants to make us miserable on purpose or because He is a harsh taskmaster.....but there are very good reasons and wisdom behind them all. Which He is able to help us understand, so that then we can share that wisdom with others to help them as well. (If they are willing to receive it, which unfortunately is often not the case, in which case He hides the truth from hearts that are wrong.) Even so, it is a matter of He is God and we are not, and we learn to just humbly bow down to Him even those times when we dont' understand. But I think in general He does want us to have the light of His understanding so we are not walking around in the dark, His wisdom working together with His word in our hearts.
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2018 8:14:49 GMT -5
<< We should be allowed to be uncomfortable with the world and its systems. This place is NOT our home. We are sojourners thru a mostly barren land. We are pilgrims and we should drag as many out of their world-induced stupors as we can. If they get upset with our truths - let them take it up with The King. >>
I think the more we grow in the Lord, and the older we get, the more we realize the harsh facts about this world and why we wouldn't even want to make it our home. Sometimes I recall and miss the illusions and innocence of being young and relatively carefree, and wish I didn't know what I know, but then again we have to grow up sometime and it just drives us on all the more to have our eyes above, and long and groan for our true home. Forgetting what lies behind and reaching for what lies ahead, amen.
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Post by tlsitd on May 10, 2018 8:43:19 GMT -5
Amen sister.....and it's a blessing and encouragement to hear someone addressing and affirming those things. That is when our faith becomes the evidence of things not seen......when we are obeying God even unto the detriment and destruction of our life in this world, because we have our faith and hope on the world to come. Burying the corn of wheat of our life in the ground of our circumstances, with our eye on the crop that is not yet seen, but yet to come. The carrying of our cross and obeying the Lord no matter the cost.....and it does cost to follow Him, as Jesus said it would. A little bit of wisdom that might pertain to why He did not make laws against certain things, like slavery, or polygamy....I believe it has to do with these things being a kind of necessary part of the economy of those harsher times.....slaves were earning their food and shelter, they formed a large part of what we call "employees" today. (Being an employee in some ways is a kind of modern form of slavery, albeit with more freedom of choice involved and shorter hours and better conditions in general.) Likewise with shortened lifespans to begin with and so many wars, there were fewer men to go around and women needed the protection and provision of a man in the world of that time....as well as the high value placed on having children. God wasn't micro-managing people's lives as much as we may think....and in Christ, He works through faith and love and so He didn't command the sudden breaking of contracts and covenants...that believers would have to immediately free (fire) all their slaves, plunging both into sudden hardship and poverty...for similar reasons Jesus didn't make a law commanding that new believers who had multiple wives should abandon their extra wives and children.....but these seemed to be things that He allowed faith and love and conscience to do their work over time, until today under Christianity slavery eventually became a thing of the past along with polygamy, where the love and purity of Christ has been allowed to do its work in individual hearts working it's way like the good leaven into how society became structured. That's an interesting insight, and I think that's quite plausible and that there's a lot of truth in it. I can't imagine a Christian man's faith directing him to take a second wife or to have a slave today, given how society operates and what life conditions are like---at least not in a developed country. In Christianity, it's actually better for a person not to marry at all, if he or she can receive such a lifestyle by faith. So multiple wives definitely wouldn't be an asset to God's purpose for a Christian's life, as multiple wives would require even more of a man's attention than one. And while slaves are still used in some parts of the world, I can't imagine a Christian wanting or feeling led of the Lord to own them, not only because of the moral offense it would cause the Christian but also because a Christian's God-given purpose in life (and what his or her goal should be) is not to prosper in business but to be about God's business, which doesn't require much in the material sense.
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Post by tlsitd on May 10, 2018 8:56:05 GMT -5
<< Amen. It's not our business or our right as Christians to make God "more appealing" to people (either Christians or unbelievers) by smudging or avoiding or 'nicening-up' topics that might offend them. When we do this, what it says to people is: "I'm ashamed of my God because I don't really believe that everything He does is right, so I have to make excuses for Him." What it shows is a lack of confidence in God's righteousness and wisdom; and it's pathetic. God doesn't need anybody to make excuses for what He does, commands or allows. He's God! He can do whatever He pleases, and is perfectly justified in whatever He does. Don't mess with His word, just teach it like it is, and let people deal with it as they will. >> Just want to add that the commands and ways of the Lord Jesus are not arbitrary or because He wants to make us miserable on purpose or because He is a harsh taskmaster.....but there are very good reasons and wisdom behind them all. Which He is able to help us understand, so that then we can share that wisdom with others to help them as well. (If they are willing to receive it, which unfortunately is often not the case, in which case He hides the truth from hearts that are wrong.) Even so, it is a matter of He is God and we are not, and we learn to just humbly bow down to Him even those times when we dont' understand. But I think in general He does want us to have the light of His understanding so we are not walking around in the dark, His wisdom working together with His word in our hearts. I agree. If God didn't want us to understand His ways or His wisdom or His reasons for doing or commanding things, the Bible would be a whole lot shorter than it is! Of course He wants us to understand many things; the Scriptures themselves are the proof of that, and the fact that His Spirit interprets His word to us to give us the right understanding of it, which He knows we need. And we should certainly share with others the reasons for things that we know and explain what we can when it's appropriate and beneficial to do so, if we can, so as not to put an unnecessary stumbling-block in their way. But even if we don't understand or agree with something in God's word (and there is much that we do not understand and won't understand until eternity), we should still affirm God's righteousness and wisdom before others, and not wait to do so until He tells us "why", which He may or may not. That "God is God" is good enough if we don't know the answer or the reason. We shouldn't invent explanations for things that we don't understand that will agree with and please people who hold the world's wisdom and values rather than that of God and His word.
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PG4Him
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Post by PG4Him on May 10, 2018 9:23:56 GMT -5
Good is the One who invented concepts like right and good. He created them. He defines them. He isn’t God because He’s right; He’s right because He’s God. Humanistic minds want to audition various views of God until they find a winner, one that conveniently agrees with their personal opinions of right and good. They see themselves as the arbiters of moral good. They think they are the judge, and God must somehow submit to them.
When Jesus said we shall not judge, He didn’t say not to judge only the bad or only other people. We mustn’t think ourselves qualified to judge good or bad by our own personal metric. We find in ourselves no standard to judge at all. The only standard that matters is the one that comes from God. We must look to Him and His standards to be able to judge right and good. I may throw a temper tantrum about slavery in the Bible all I please, but it will not change the reality of God being God. Either He is God or He is not. If He is God, and He is the originator of all right and good, then I must accept that there is more to the picture than I can see.
Personal arbitration of good and evil is what sunk Adam and Eve. Through that entryway came all of the wickedness we see on this planet. It is not a light matter. We must cling to God as the source of good and right.
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Post by Sister on May 10, 2018 9:59:19 GMT -5
I hear this so many times when Christians are reasoning with unbelievers, or with other Christians, and it makes me cringe! They try to explain away the things in the Bible that they know won't be well received, such as teachings of the New Testament that many Christians don't like to mention, and which have largely been swept aside, or things that God commanded or allowed the people of Israel to do in the Old Testament. They try to defend God's actions or to water down the teachings of the New Testament to avoid ridicule and rejection, rather than simply explaining them truthfully and affirming that God's ways are perfect. Example: Slavery, in general, not being condemned in the Old or New Testament. (Mistreatment of slaves, yes, but the owning of slaves, no.) The Old Testament even approves of war captives being taken as slaves and wives. There are rules for how to treat them, but it's not forbidden. And while the New Testament does not teach that Christians should enslave (and in light of the other teachings of the New Testament, and the loving Spirit of God, I can't conceive of any Christian holding another human being in bondage against his or her will), the commandments for Christian slave masters in the epistles do not include 'free your slaves'; nor do the commandments for slaves include 'rebel against, run away from, or kill your master'. It does advise slaves to gain their freedom legitimately if possible (by earning it), and commands us not to become slaves of men (by selling ourselves into indentured servitude as was a common practice back then, to pay for something one couldn't afford, and which is a kind of debt); but nowhere in the New Testament does God approve of slaves running away from or disobeying their earthly masters. (Paul even returned a runaway Christian slave, Onesimus, to his Christian master Philemon, although Paul appealed to his master for his freedom.) Why is this a problem for so many Christians? Because they don't have God's perspective on the matter: It doesn't matter to God whether one is a slave in life or free, but whether Christ is one's Master. A man can serve Christ just as well as a slave, if that is God's will, as he can as a free man, if that is God's will. And God is in no less control over a Christian slave's circumstances---including how his master treats him---than He is over a free man's circumstances. It may be God's will for a Christian to be a slave, or a prisoner, for a time, or even for life. Our eternal reward for having served Christ faithfully in whatever condition or circumstance He ordains for us will far outweigh any sufferings in this brief earthly life. And all Christians, whether enslaved or free, will have various kinds of sufferings for Christ's sake, if they obey Him. Joseph was a slave for a time, and he was faithful to God as a slave, and God blessed him as a slave; but He didn't set him free. Then he was a prisoner for a time, and he was faithful to God as a prisoner, and God blessed him as a prisoner; but He didn't immediately set him free. When He finally did set Joseph free, he was undoubtedly a better man on the inside for what he had been through. And unlike Joseph, who was repaid by God for what he endured with temporary earthly blessings as a ruler of Egypt, Christians' rewards for being faithful to the Lord will be eternal---far outweighing the troubles of this life, which will be forgotten. God causes ALL things to work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), no matter what their circumstance or station in life. His will is always best, even if we don't understand or like it; we will appreciate it in the hereafter---if we trust and obey. The master who did not know God and lived a life of luxury will fare worse for eternity than the Christian slave who lived a life of deprivation, labor and mistreatment, while serving the Lord. (Remember the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus.) And the slave who did not know God or serve Him will be in hell right along with the master who did not know or serve Him. Likewise with wives and husbands: Nowhere does the New Testament teach that a wife doesn't have to submit to her husband in everything if she doesn't like him, or if he isn't saved, or if he doesn't treat her right, or doesn't love her, or is a drunkard or a louse, etc. Nope. But can you imagine the outcry from Christians and non-Christians alike if a man or woman upheld the Scriptures about this matter rather than trying to explain them away or avoid them, because it doesn't agree with modern ideas? Does God love women? Absolutely. Does He love men more than women? No. So there's a reason for this teaching, as there is for everything God commands, even if we don't like it or understand it. (And sometimes the reason is simply that it is the way that God desires and ordained things to be, which should be good enough for us.) God is in complete control of the circumstances of all of His saints, whatever those circumstances may be. (Even the heart of the king is a stream of water in the hand of God, which He directs wherever He wills.) There may be times when He provides a legitimate way out of an unpleasant situation, and other times when He does not. Whatever God's will for us is is what is best, according to His purpose of sanctification. So, all that to say: Don't make excuses for God and His commands or His ways or what is written in His word. Just justify Him, because He is perfectly wise and perfectly righteous, and this is His creation and His plan, not ours. Let people have a fit if they want to, and call and accuse you of being everything but a child of God for standing by God's word. It's not them you ought to be concerned about pleasing. Our God is perfect in all His ways, and He knows exactly why He commands what He commands and what He is doing in our lives and in His creation. We don't have to understand, agree with or like everything He does or says for it to be right! If we don't understand why God commanded or allowed something to be done in the Scriptures, we should simply say, "I don't know; but God is perfect in all His ways, and His ways are higher than ours"; and let that be the end of it, rather than trying to twist God's word to suit people's preferences or "modern" ideas when they don't agree with the teachings of the New Testament, or delicately and shrewdly skipping over or maneuvering around those subjects or Scriptures which we know people will find offensive and disagree with the Bible's position on. I make no excuses or apologies for anything that is written in God's word, I only seek to understand it, and accept what I do not understand as belonging to God---who is God, as I am not. Great post. Thank you for reminding us of all these truths. You have just helped me out with something. God bless.
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Post by tlsitd on May 10, 2018 11:00:12 GMT -5
I hear this so many times when Christians are reasoning with unbelievers, or with other Christians, and it makes me cringe! They try to explain away the things in the Bible that they know won't be well received, such as teachings of the New Testament that many Christians don't like to mention, and which have largely been swept aside, or things that God commanded or allowed the people of Israel to do in the Old Testament. They try to defend God's actions or to water down the teachings of the New Testament to avoid ridicule and rejection, rather than simply explaining them truthfully and affirming that God's ways are perfect. Example: Slavery, in general, not being condemned in the Old or New Testament. (Mistreatment of slaves, yes, but the owning of slaves, no.) The Old Testament even approves of war captives being taken as slaves and wives. There are rules for how to treat them, but it's not forbidden. And while the New Testament does not teach that Christians should enslave (and in light of the other teachings of the New Testament, and the loving Spirit of God, I can't conceive of any Christian holding another human being in bondage against his or her will), the commandments for Christian slave masters in the epistles do not include 'free your slaves'; nor do the commandments for slaves include 'rebel against, run away from, or kill your master'. It does advise slaves to gain their freedom legitimately if possible (by earning it), and commands us not to become slaves of men (by selling ourselves into indentured servitude as was a common practice back then, to pay for something one couldn't afford, and which is a kind of debt); but nowhere in the New Testament does God approve of slaves running away from or disobeying their earthly masters. (Paul even returned a runaway Christian slave, Onesimus, to his Christian master Philemon, although Paul appealed to his master for his freedom.) Why is this a problem for so many Christians? Because they don't have God's perspective on the matter: It doesn't matter to God whether one is a slave in life or free, but whether Christ is one's Master. A man can serve Christ just as well as a slave, if that is God's will, as he can as a free man, if that is God's will. And God is in no less control over a Christian slave's circumstances---including how his master treats him---than He is over a free man's circumstances. It may be God's will for a Christian to be a slave, or a prisoner, for a time, or even for life. Our eternal reward for having served Christ faithfully in whatever condition or circumstance He ordains for us will far outweigh any sufferings in this brief earthly life. And all Christians, whether enslaved or free, will have various kinds of sufferings for Christ's sake, if they obey Him. Joseph was a slave for a time, and he was faithful to God as a slave, and God blessed him as a slave; but He didn't set him free. Then he was a prisoner for a time, and he was faithful to God as a prisoner, and God blessed him as a prisoner; but He didn't immediately set him free. When He finally did set Joseph free, he was undoubtedly a better man on the inside for what he had been through. And unlike Joseph, who was repaid by God for what he endured with temporary earthly blessings as a ruler of Egypt, Christians' rewards for being faithful to the Lord will be eternal---far outweighing the troubles of this life, which will be forgotten. God causes ALL things to work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), no matter what their circumstance or station in life. His will is always best, even if we don't understand or like it; we will appreciate it in the hereafter---if we trust and obey. The master who did not know God and lived a life of luxury will fare worse for eternity than the Christian slave who lived a life of deprivation, labor and mistreatment, while serving the Lord. (Remember the parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus.) And the slave who did not know God or serve Him will be in hell right along with the master who did not know or serve Him. Likewise with wives and husbands: Nowhere does the New Testament teach that a wife doesn't have to submit to her husband in everything if she doesn't like him, or if he isn't saved, or if he doesn't treat her right, or doesn't love her, or is a drunkard or a louse, etc. Nope. But can you imagine the outcry from Christians and non-Christians alike if a man or woman upheld the Scriptures about this matter rather than trying to explain them away or avoid them, because it doesn't agree with modern ideas? Does God love women? Absolutely. Does He love men more than women? No. So there's a reason for this teaching, as there is for everything God commands, even if we don't like it or understand it. (And sometimes the reason is simply that it is the way that God desires and ordained things to be, which should be good enough for us.) God is in complete control of the circumstances of all of His saints, whatever those circumstances may be. (Even the heart of the king is a stream of water in the hand of God, which He directs wherever He wills.) There may be times when He provides a legitimate way out of an unpleasant situation, and other times when He does not. Whatever God's will for us is is what is best, according to His purpose of sanctification. So, all that to say: Don't make excuses for God and His commands or His ways or what is written in His word. Just justify Him, because He is perfectly wise and perfectly righteous, and this is His creation and His plan, not ours. Let people have a fit if they want to, and call and accuse you of being everything but a child of God for standing by God's word. It's not them you ought to be concerned about pleasing. Our God is perfect in all His ways, and He knows exactly why He commands what He commands and what He is doing in our lives and in His creation. We don't have to understand, agree with or like everything He does or says for it to be right! If we don't understand why God commanded or allowed something to be done in the Scriptures, we should simply say, "I don't know; but God is perfect in all His ways, and His ways are higher than ours"; and let that be the end of it, rather than trying to twist God's word to suit people's preferences or "modern" ideas when they don't agree with the teachings of the New Testament, or delicately and shrewdly skipping over or maneuvering around those subjects or Scriptures which we know people will find offensive and disagree with the Bible's position on. I make no excuses or apologies for anything that is written in God's word, I only seek to understand it, and accept what I do not understand as belonging to God---who is God, as I am not. Great post. Thank you for reminding us of all these truths. You have just helped me out with something. God bless. I'm glad to hear that. Praise the Lord.
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