Apocalypse Please?

No this not about Muse's great song but about a never ceasing stab at predicting the apocalypse. I had to comment on this trend of some "christian" groups who keep trying to predict the end of the world.

I remember seeing the book 88 Reasons The World Will End In 1988, in 1991. Even I got excited about the predicted end by the terminator machines in 1997, but it  never came. Harold Camping predicted the end would come in 1999 by some Jewish calendars and interesting mathematical calculations, but even math failed us. The millennium bug that was Y2K, the year to usher in the computer apocalypse also failed to boot.  The Mayans and some Christians thought 2012 was the end, we even got a mediocre movie out of it. And recently the rare Blood moon of 2015 align with some Jewish festivals thus the apocalypse. These are only a small handful of the times this has been done, rest assured this will not be the end literally, nor of this problem.

Christians please wise up. This has been done so many times. I have watched people I love make life decisions over our tendency to fall for panic inducing predictions that do little more than make both book profits and false prophets alike.

Christians we are called to be wise as serpents. Wisdom calls to us but we keep deciding we would rather be simple. Proverbs warns of the importance of wisdom and the foolishness of ignoring it. Christians are not stupid. We have a logical informed life changing Gospel and an intelligent and all loving wise God.

Why do we fall for this? 

Jesus himself told us that no one would know the hour or day. So why, why do we keep thinking he is wrong and these false prophets are right? 

This also doesn't mean "But we can know the year or season!" It is meant to communicate don't ask, you will not know. God does say we can read the signs but that means looks high for your redemption draws near not that it is meant for some kind of specific interpretation and it is definitely happening on this date so buy guns and sell your stock.

The guy on street corner holding the sign has at least the sense to not tack a date onto the warning. 

Might part of it be that we are so heavenly minded we are no earthy good? What I mean we have so little to contribute and less to hope for in the here and now that only the hope of heaven moves us? 

Are we maybe in danger of loving God but not so much our neighbors? If we knew the apocalypse was tomorrow shouldn't we be preaching the gospel, rather than trying to get our ducks in a row? Anticipation of his returns is every Christian's hope but it should change us for the here and now, for the better.

We should be that much better at love and ministry to the world. We should be that much better because there really is an urgency in the message. Today is the day of salvation!

There is an atheist website about pet care for after the rapture. It is mocking the whole concept for sure but it is clever in that we have not been. If we predict, freak-out and are duped by this only to do it all over again next time then where is our hope and our security really planted? It certainly isn't in Jesus' own words.

Furthermore what does this say of Christians? Well unfortunately it says we both fail to possess understanding of our own theology nor do we engage our minds beyond a fight or flight response. 

So after every mistake are we learning or is our guitar still weeping? John Lennon is spinning in his grave.

Our redemption does draw near, with every passing day it is closer than when we began, but God will come in his time and we will not know when. That is why we are told it will happen like a thief in the night. The picture is for us to prepare in such away that we are ready no matter when it is. Why? Because we do not know and will not know. The signs are a reminder of the times for the purpose of moving us to timely ministry not an indication of an expiration date.

The idea is that his return is imminent. This means we can't know the time but we are always supposed to be prepared. We are to be ready. This is the point of the parable of the 10 virgins. Be ready because we do not know when the bridegroom will come. There are things to be done for preparation. There is a way to wait. When we chase after dates we are like the foolish virgins who are not prepared and only do what is necessary after the time has run out. We sit around with our wicks not trimmed and our oil running out. We wait for the calling of the city guard to announce his return before we move into action. This is why people chase dates because they themselves are not prepared and they need something to make them move.

Part of the reason we are not told the date is to prompt a response in us now. We have to develop a life style of discipline in order to be prepared. Or else we become the wicked servant who supposes the master is still far off and beats the fellow servants and is completely caught off guard when the master arrives.

So please dear Christian stop looking to the next prophet or world event to inform you of something that God has said he will not share. Instead understand that everyday your redemption draws near and that that means live accordingly.

Many more nice looking round numbers on the calendar will come but that should not bother us . But If not, how about February 1, 2121? It has a nice calendar looking date and It is far enough in advance for me to keep some credibility. If the Lord should tarry until the date comes to pass I will be already dead and safe in his hands.

But really, why not just listen to God?

Thanks

Wrestling with 1 Corinthians 5

Where is the grace Paul?!

1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

3For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

6Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

So we judge the person inside the church who claims brotherhood not those who do not. Why? Because we lack grace? No because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Addressing sin in the church is not about legalism it is about maintaining the witness to the world of salt and light. The witness that does not openly condemn the world with words but by our deeds are the unrighteous put to shame. If we allow our good deeds to be clouded by prevailing sin then our message is totally silenced. This is why sin in the church needs to be addressed not because we are loosing our salvation or because we have a poor balance of works and grace but because our testimony is tainted. 

But doesn't Paul like, talk about grace, like, all the time?  Grace is what this man needs from God in order to address his sin. If this man believes that he can change on his own then he misses the point. Paul's point is not to get this man to fix himself but to recognize what he is doing needs correction and that he needs to reach out for grace. This guy is already trying it his own way and he needs the grace of God to help him change, if he will only lift his head. This is Paul saying you have started looking elsewhere and you need to rely on God. 

But doesn't grace mean being nice, why is Paul yelling? He sounds upset.

See we have to let the Bible define grace for us. Jesus actually talks very little of it. Paul gives us most of the information about grace. In Titus 2 he explains that grace enables us to have salvation for sure, but what it does it teach. It teaches us obedience and self-control. It informs out behavior, it enables and teaches us to be Godly. It is not blanket favor that means God looks the other way. 

The problem is we can't see the heart. For someone lost in sin trying to come to God and actively needing grace, he is granted it, but we do not see it when we see someone lost in sin saying they want God but not changing. 

Let's be honest Grace is hard to spot when someone is walking through it and forgiveness is hard to grant. We can't see people's heart but we can see their deeds. It is deeds that spread and influence in the church. Paul is concerned because the atmosphere is one where the people are arrogant and not instead grieved over the sin. The leaven had spread and the testimony was silenced. "Why go to the church? The people there are involved in more vile sin that we are." In other words the Gospel is ineffective. The message is undermined the mission is pointless and we are all wasting our time. At least that was probably what Paul was thinking. 

Thankfully Paul wasn't content to leave it there. He wanted change because there is more grace to go around. There is favor from God that enables salvation and teaches his people Godliness.

Paul absolutely does not want the Gospel of Jesus undermined by the behavior of the church. This is something that we need to take very seriously. This is why it is a big deal when a very prominent Christian leader or any leader falls into moral sin. Their sin has ramifications, their behavior has influence. Their sin speaks about the condition of the church and the condition of the Gospel. Paul is all about about grace, but grace is never supposed to undermine the message. 

Our good deeds are to put the world to shame, not that our sinfulness seems inviting. Because frankly it is not, it is off-putting. Church sin is only appealing to the nominal and hypocritical it is never appealing to the outside world. At least in the sense we think, In fact they love it because it silences us.

Paul speaks about this again in Titus.

 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Peter says it as well.

16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Paul is all about grace. Christianity is all about grace, but do not undermine the movement. Do not undermine the message. Do not undermine the Gospel. Let God's grace teach you. 

So where is the grace? It flows down to under-gird his people and the gospel. It does not flow down to help keep the leaven alive to spread throughout the body. The little book of I John is all about this. He is faithful and just to forgive all our sins, so don't for a moment claim that you are without them. 

So Paul has grace for the repentant and harsh words for the hard of heart, but all are forgiven when we humbly come to the mercy seat of God. Grace teaches and enables salvation. 

thanks 

Jude 14-16 a Commentary

<sup>Continuing our look at Jude.

14</sup> It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ¹⁶ These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. (ESV)

14 Jude reminds that he is drawing imagery from the book of Enoch. This judgement is in its own category and is apocalyptic in nature. Judgement that requires a pulling back of the realm of the physical so the spiritual realm can be witnessed. God is upset. Again these ones have warnings and prophecies about what happens to them from the Bible. They should know better and they are without excuse. 

15 Judgement is coming for these men who not only pervert the truth of the faith but act in ways worthy of Judgment. God will bring conviction on these because of their anti Godly deeds. Not only are their deeds anti God but their methods are anti God. And not only this but they speak harshly against God himself. This is probably both by undermining his character in their teachings and outright blasphemy as they have already been shown to do against the glorious ones. These men undermine God's character when they teach that God allows and encourages things that he outright forbids. This undermines the character of God. It misrepresents God. It challenges his authority and it attempts to steal God's glory making him out to be something lesser than he is. Did I mention God is upset with these men?

16 Jude calls them grumblers and malcontents. This may be what fuels their misdeeds. They refuse to be content with what God has done, they continually grumble against the one who would have saved their souls. Perhaps they grumble against what they consider his restrictions on their behavior so they drum up teaching that allows them to continue down their dark path? Instead of listening they follow after their own sinful desires, and worse for the wear they use the grace of God to justify their own sins.  They are loud mouthed boasters and they show favoritism for their own gain. They work for money and prestige and somehow their message of cheap grace leading to sexual sinful pleasure has a landing place in some hearers. 

The testimony of Jude about these men is damning indeed. What is worse is that they are teaching others to follow suit. God will absolutely judge false teachers. God will defend his honor and character and woe to the man that attempts to poison the image of God. God will not excuse those who lead others astray, nor will he excuse those who attack his very nature. This is both for Jude's time and in ours. Grace does not excuse perverting the character of God.  I do want to comment for application on how they show favoritism to gain advantage. This is precisely what is happening in our culture, they show favoritism to those with the sinful proclivities of our culture and in return receive praise and acceptance. They get to both live in the world and be of the world. They manufacture a different gospel that sinners love because it does not call them to repentance. So they rightfully gain a following and point to this "gain" as God's blessing but do not see that their judgment was long written down. We should not lose heart that many follow after them and the rest that hold the line get socially condemned, because it is before God that any man stands or falls. Take heart the day is coming when everything done in the darkness will be revealed. 

I know this is challenging. I feel discouraged sometimes when our own Christian theology is hijacked. When grace and love are the handles that they hang their new teachings and perversion on we are made to look like bigots and backwater fundamentalist without hearts or care for the the world. But take heart, God is well aware of the score. 

thanks 

Jude 9-13 a Commentary

<sup>Continuing the series in Jude. 

9</sup> But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” ¹⁰ But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. ¹¹ Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. ¹² These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; ¹³ wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. (ESV)

9  Verse 9 fills the in the gap of who the glorious ones are. Taking from Jewish tradition again Jude mentions the disputed body of Moses that Michael fought with the Devil over. Even Michael who we assume would likely have the authority to pronounce a judgement on the Devil refrains but lets God be the one who brings judgment on Him. In contrast to this humility these men seem to be cavalier in their addressing of the glorious ones whether angel or demons. If Michael was prudent in his handling of the Devil shouldn't we as creatures created lower than the angels use at least a similar demeanor when dealing with the glorious ones? 

10 Continuing in this vein Jude says that these men blaspheme all that they do not understand. They act like foolish animals only using instinct instead of using their minds given to them by God. They act on natural impulses rather than relying of God. This is especially dangerous as our natural state is one that is enslaved by sin. An unconverted heart is still left to the whims of the enemy. When our natures are not under the protective hand of God then we act out the only resources available to us: our base natural desires. They reject faith because they cannot engage it without the help of the spirit. Especially in this case a faith that was given to them from God. They inform their own theology and demonology instead of letting God inform them and thus they are destroyed in their ignorance. 

11 Jude gives three more example of prideful people and groups who tried to do it there way as Sinatra famously sang. Cain who killed his brother Able out of jealousy over a better given offering to the Lord. God warned him that sin was at his door waiting to overtake him.  If he would have only repented and softened his heart, but instead he went his own way. He is the first murderer and the father of murderers. Those who do it their way. The second example is of Balaam's error, of chasing gain in order to curse the people of God. He knew that God was real and that he favored Israel but Balaam chose to align himself with the highest bidder. His own dumb ass was smarter than him in the epic tale of his donkey talking to him because he did not see his destiny of futility at opposing God. The third example is of a group of people who wanted to usurp authority from Moses God's chosen leader of Israel and perished in their arrogance and attempt at mutiny. 

12 Jude again uses three example of the emptiness of these individuals. They feast with you in secret feeding only themselves. They share in communion while they secretly undermine the whole thing. They are supposed to lead but feed only themselves, their message does not feed, their flock is starving while they are well fed. They are clouds that do not bring rain to a dry a desert. They have no purpose but to be blown around by the wind.  They cause an expectation of hope but bring only death. They are like trees with no root, they do not bear fruit and they take up space in the garden and even in that latest of the season they still do not yield a crop. 

13 Jude uses yet more imagery to paint the picture of their utter uselessness in the kingdom of God. They are waves that do not contribute to the tides but only bring a dirtier foam to coat the shores. They are stars that wander the skies in darkness. Their light does not contribute to lighting up the sky or being in one place to aid in direction on a dark night. They are futile. 

For application God does not view these people in high esteem at all.  God will not hear these people and God will not feel sorry for people who follow them either.  Jude uses so many different pictures here to communicate these men's uselessness before God. Jude seems to think that God takes the perverting of his Word very seriously, our take away is so should his people. God is calling for repentance, but will the people hear? Will we hear a message that sounds so harsh to people who are teaching his own? Will we believe that people holding the place of Pastor might have strong charges against them? This is a serious charge and it is important to note that this is after the resurrection and giving of the Spirit. It is not like these charges and call to repentance are before we moved into the softer grace filled covenant. God is very upset with the mishandling of his word and the leading of his flock astray. As James reminds not many of us should desire to be teachers because we will ensue a stricter judgment. A scary and sobering thought. This is a sobering reminder to those who desire the office of an overseer. The Bible says such desires are a good thing but we have to remember the weight of the responsibility as well. It is OK to question your leaders when they are leading the people into sin. 

thanks

 

In suspect of Institutions

I have said many times that I don't really care what politics and the world are doing. They are never going to agree with Christianity or live up to its worldview, nor should we expect them to. That is what the gospel is for. I do care when people speak as if Christians and grossly undermine its teachings. I do care when people misrepresent Christ and his church.

I was watching video of a prominent "christian" professor saying that he is in suspect of christian institutions. Now this is fine for a person to believe on his own, but what he was doing was embracing all sorts of social views in opposition to the Bible. This is also fine for a person to believe on their own but not as someone one supposedly believes in Christ. The other problem is the applause of the audience which furthers this notion that as long as Christianity is about paying lip service to Jesus it is cool, but the minute it is institutionalized it is a problem. Institutionalized means it becomes an organization it adopts methods, it has structure, rules, ways of operating, and people buy into them. Oh No!!

People like to include Jesus until he says something that excludes. So what they mean is they like Jesus but they do not like theology. This is why about 70% of Americans claim to be Christians but less than half than that do not know what being born again means. So if it has theology it is now opposed to Jesus? This silly notion that somehow Paul and Jesus are opposed theologically or worse yet Paul was all about theology and creating an institution whereas Jesus wasn't interested in theology.  Hmmm....

So is this true?   Let's take a look.

It is a popular phrase to say "I am spiritual but I don't like organized religion." I get it, the whole Catholic thing definitely did some damage back in the day. Some have seen the modern church do some as well. But what does spiritual even mean? As a Christian I know what it means. It means having to do the with the Holy Spirit who indwells us. It means allowing him to guide and thrive in your life, He is present and active. But if he doesn't and isn't why use the term?

What are you trying to communicate? Might it be that you are interested in the idea of God, but perhaps you want him on your terms?

True some people backed slavery, some backed Nazi Germany at first, some backed the Inquisition, and the Crusades and the Witch burnings. Sure some did this and sometimes it was an organization that did it. But many did not, certainly not all did. Should we really distance ourselves from theology because some have misused it? Should we really ignore large sections of the new testament because some of it has been used poorly in the past?

Jesus said it was to our benefit that he goes away so that his Spirit would come and lead us into all truth (John 16:7-14). This is what we get in the New testament. So is Jesus and the Spirit at odds as well? Jesus' instruction in the great commission was to teach all things that he taught but much still had to be delivered with the advent of the Holy Spirit.  

If we put societal whims above the pages of scripture then who really is God in this scenario?  If we say we just want Jesus but don't want any of those rules then we do not really understand Jesus at all. If you think something is not important because Jesus didn't say it directly himself then get out your scissors and trim down the new testament quite a bit.  Furthermore why buy into the Gospels? They were also written down, but not by Jesus, but by his disciples. So is it only direct quotes that count, is that what we really believe? Then cut out all the black letters from the Gospels as well.

This line of thinking is hardly Christian nor does it by any means honor Christ.

Jesus tells his disciples that his Spirit will come and lead them all into truth. This is the backdrop to the writing of the rest of the cannon. In other words Jesus is comfortable leaving the building of his church in the hands of his disciples. They are after all instructed by his Spirit; saying that this was the better set up. So to have people come along later who are undermining this organization set in place by Jesus is to not understand the Gospel or the Kingdom. It sounds more like the term institutionalized is used because we don't want to deal with all those hard verses, we just want to have only love talk and Jesus. 

But, If we care about Jesus' words, we will put stock in his church.  They may have some mess-ups in history, but that is precisely why we need all his teachings, for bringing balance. That is exactly why we need, may I say it? Fundamentals. The teachings that he left to come later after his departing, he let it be delivered from the Spirit to his apostles.

Jesus has this discussion with Nicodemus in John 3. John tells us that some people believed in Jesus but Jesus himself did not put his trust in them. He knew that people were about lip service to him but when it actually came to following him people often would walk away. Jesus starts to get at this with Nicodemus. If you think I am a good teacher and possibly the messiah and are interested in the Kingdom (an institution)  then understand you need to be born again (a rule). To follow Christ means to come to him on his terms. He gets to decide if his kingdom is a free-form, rules free, love fest or if it actually has doctrines and practices that are important. If you read the new testament you will see that he does in fact favor one over the other.

Coming to Jesus is always on his terms not on whether or not his followers have crafted a following that you find appealing or not. If we decide to distance ourselves from institutions then it should be because they have strayed from his words, not because his words form doctrines and those doctrines contain some fundamentals, because they do. If you want to extract Jesus from the Bible then fine but you are left with one of those other Jesus' that even the Bible mentions as not worth following. Think I am making this up?

1 Corinthians 2:11

1I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Even Paul admits that this line of thinking is silly. But we have people wanting the name of Jesus but not the historical man from the pages of scripture given to us from the testimony of the mouth's of his followers. So here we are. The question becomes how do you know if the Jesus you follow is the actual one? Well, you better become familiar with the one proclaimed from the Scriptures by his followers.

So If you are suspect of the institution of the church perhaps you should double check who your headmaster actually is, hmm? Because even Dumbledore was friendly, powerful and worth following, but he didn't die for anyone's sins making peace with God. He was also fiction.

thanks

A Lack of Clarity (all those versions part two)

The reason I wrote the first blog about this subject was because of a tendency I have seen to write off the Bible because "You know the Bible has changed and been re-written over the years by many different people right? You do realize this right?" In other words you are foolish to put too much stock in its pages.

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen someone post this on comment sections about anything that has to do with Christianity. I know, why read the comments, it is the bane of our existence?! 

But I wrote that last one to point out that actually we have extremely accurate Bibles that highly reflect authorial intent which Christians believe were God breathed.

2 Timothy 3:16 
14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

But I didn't address the other line of argumentation fully which is also used just as often: that the Bible is just not that "clear". Well I have mentioned this in passing a few times and after having read yet another article about how we all need to chill because the Bible is not that clear. I felt the need to stand up once again and defend Gotham. Not that Gotham needs my defending, nor am I Batman but the church has a history of good theology and I don't want that to go away with a flood of misinformation. Louder voices on the internet are not always good ones.

So in my response I wish the Christians would admit about the Bible though difficult can be understood with study and practice. Maybe not to full complete understanding or liking but that is why humility is important in knowing God. I may not understand everything fully but let's stop tossing babies around in bathwater.

Relevant Magazine had an article about things people need to admit about the Bible and they are right ; to undermine the scriptures is a great way to undermine the Christians faith which is very relevant to enemies of God. So I will respond to their five points.

Point 1 The Bible is not magic but a collection of Books with different Genres. Good, true point.

Point 2 The Bible isn't as clear as we'd like it to be. Um sometimes it isn't but I think that this is more of a passing blip than a point. It is awfully clear on many things. It is awfully clear on many things that people do not like. Just because we do not like something doesn't mean it becomes unclear. Let's not let the little ambiguous ones undermine its authority. It's little foxes that spoil the vineyard afterall. Well we are at it let's talk about the one you think are so ambiguous that you think we should create a principle that actually undermines its authority. See I have seen this point but people don't want to discuss it.

The example used the point of violence as God commands against it but at other times uses it as judgment. Why is God so inconsistent? It must be unclear. Well to understand this point apply your first one. In one way God is commanding obedience for his people to act as judgment on the nations, and in another he is commanding no personal vendettas. God says vengeance is mine. It is not inconsistent for him to carry out such vengeance with the hands of his people who he actively governs over. See distinctions which come about through study shouldn't make us conclude that the Bible is too difficult to make assertions, but that is always what this line of argumentation wants to argue.

Jesus often spent a lot of time quoting from the Old Testament saying it is written for his line of reasoning. It as is if he put a lot of stock in what was recorded in ink. Jesus even combated his own temptations with the words of scripture, but Satan tried to do the same. Jesus didn't throw up his hands and say "You are right Satan we are both using the same scriptures, it is just so unclear!" No, he seemed to believe that the words long written down had meaning when properly understood and applied. 

This point should be the Bible doesn't always ask easy things of us; but a lack of understanding does not mean a lack of clarity. 

Point 3 The Bible was inspired by God not dictated by God. True so what are you getting at? It seems since this was not fleshed out into any real reason, that this is simply to undermine the authority because  "You know God didn't directly say it? This is that same argument that "You know it's not in red letters so Jesus doesn't believe that!" The Bible does give testimony on what its' readers should believe about it. 

The Bible acknowledges that many people will rise up and misuse the word and that false teachers will abound. The answer is not to throw up our hands in hopelessness. No, the answer is to study to show yourself approved.

2 Tim 2:15
14Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Point 4  We all pick and choose the Bible we Believe, Preach and Defend. Well, some may I guess, but largely as a whole no we don't. But as you have displayed, the weak Bibliology that is being build on this premise will conclude from the flimsy foundation you are building with points 2 and 3.

People will do this if we continue to uphold a view of the Bible that is so grounded in man's own ability to comprehend God. But when we ground our view in the Bible's own testimony, that it does come from God then there will always be someone to point out that the Bible does in fact say something worth listening to. If this is really the truth about Christianity then we are a stupid people indeed. In fact if my Bible is simply the version that I like then who is to say who is right, or if anyone is? And for that matter why not go find one that is a little better, perhaps the book of Mormon or the Koran? See, if we have this little regard for the Bible than we really have no right to use it to make lists of 5 reasons that others should pay attention to.

Point 5 God is bigger than the Bible. Again true, to the point of obvious. But this is usually meant to mean that being spiritual is as and if not more important that understanding God's revelation. But then if you are not willing to submit to his own revelation about himself, if you are not willing to acknowledge that his delivery system was also for a reason, than who is now even bigger than God? Well, you are. All world religions believe this. They believe God is bigger than the pages of scripture so they inevitable leave them to find him elsewhere, and we get another religion. So which one will you let define your God? I will rely on the revelation that he gave from his disciples inspired by God himself. You can rely on your world experiences if you want to.

We live in the internet age where everyone is welcomed a comment. Ok sure, even I am using that privilege. But just because somebody writes something doesn't make it true, just as my own words are subject to scrutiny. I used to tell my students in ministry no speaker, no writer, no pastor, no blog, nobody is better than the word. Every speaker, writer, blogger, pod-caster whatever on matters of Christianity, God , Theology, everyone is this area is only as good as they are submitted to the word. Even Paul didn't just say "Well because I say so!" he commended the Bereans who went out studied what he said. Don't let someone convince you of something just because they are eloquent or they have a platform. Search it out, submit to God and he will lead you into truth. Solomon said it this way

Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

If the truth sets you free, it shouldn't lead into a bondage of ambiguity. Because the author is right about this thing; everyone does have their version of the truth. The question is does it reflect God's or not? Is it submitted to God? People waver, people change, people fight, people argue, people disagree, but that is people not God's testimony. James gives a warning on this matter in his third chapter.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
 
The clarity questions is really about accurately reflecting God's word or not. So take the time to make sure you are.

thanks