Continuing our look at Jude.
14 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
Showing posts with label persecution. Show all posts
Showing posts with label persecution. Show all posts
Friday, September 4, 2015
Friday, August 7, 2015
Beat the System
I recently was inspired to listen to my Christian 80's rock again. I always come back to Petra and Stryper as bands that not only had great music, but they had theology that not a lot of today's music seem to be able find. This is not another blog about Christian music though it is about some of the theology that that music has brought back to mind.
The song Beat the System from the Album Beat the System by Petra 1985. I know that for today this phrase has more along the lines to mean "question authority, and fight the man, resist authority, find a way to circumvent the establishment." But at the time it was more along the lines of fighting the world system of sin.
Not that battling sin is the purpose but doing things as Christ commanded as opposed to simply following after the world. It was that idea of being counter cultural. It was about actively subverting the flow. It acknowledges that to follow Christ is most likely not going to look like what the world is doing. This is the very definition that fills in what Jesus told his disciples they would have to do.
Jesus said that the disciples that follow him will have to bear their own crosses. Disciples who follow understand that he is more than savior, he is Lord.
I don't know about you but the picture I get of carrying a cross is scary and it is not just the death part. See the death part makes sense, Jesus was put to death. Of his disciples James the brother of the beloved John was put to death before the close of the New Testament, he was beheaded. Another disciple that was brought up under the apostles teaching Stephen was put to death, stoned to death. John the baptist was also put beheaded for obeying the commands of God. Herod stretched out his hand and tried to Put Peter to death as well, he escaped. The apostle Paul was stones and persecuted and even appears to have died and rose again in the midst of his mission. Fox's book of Martyrs tells the story of pretty much every other disciple being martyred as well.
In other words taking the call to follow Jesus seriously has consequences.
When Joe Banks was faced with his own mortality and asked what his interests were he said: "Courage, courage interests me." Joe versus the Volcano (1990).
But does courage interest us as Christians, for the sake of the gospel?
It interests me truly, but I find also a lot of fear in my heart. I wonder if for many of us the bigger problem is not the death, that has almost a victorious sound to it. To be able to be counted worthy to die in such a way would be an honor for any Christian, not that I want to minimize the sacrifice at all. But I feel that it is the taking up and carrying the cross part that is difficult for most of us. Are we able to walk through the streets of our own neighborhoods and communities with a sign of death on our backs? Not just that but being ridiculed and mocked and accosted while we do?
If walking down the death march was easy I suppose many of us would do it. The problem is we don't know the time frame from when we start walking to when our death sentence is carried out. Can I live in a world that hates me for standing on truth for a lifetime? Can I live as a pariah in my own community? Now I don't relish at the thought of persecution nor should anybody, but do I live in such a way as to ever invite it?
Do we dare to beat the system or would we rather work as a shadow operatives? Please understand this in not an indictment but a real question that even I have to wrestle with. As the storms are gathering I ask myself am I willing to share my faith, and what that means for a dying and decaying country that wants to throw off all restraint? Am I willing to do this without sitting behind a computer screen? In case you aren't one to read the headlines much, persecution for Christians in this country has begun. It is still only in its infancy, it has to figure out how legally it can do it, but if you are paying attention the wheels are already moving to shut up the voices of dissent that we the Christians have become.
It is ironic because the world system of sin that we are to counter is becoming one with our own system of government. One that wasn't always that way. We are becoming a new Rome. Will we cry out that Christ is Lord and not Caesar? Or will we stay happy behind our closed church doors until the government comes to remove them?
The song Beat the System from the Album Beat the System by Petra 1985. I know that for today this phrase has more along the lines to mean "question authority, and fight the man, resist authority, find a way to circumvent the establishment." But at the time it was more along the lines of fighting the world system of sin.
Not that battling sin is the purpose but doing things as Christ commanded as opposed to simply following after the world. It was that idea of being counter cultural. It was about actively subverting the flow. It acknowledges that to follow Christ is most likely not going to look like what the world is doing. This is the very definition that fills in what Jesus told his disciples they would have to do.
Jesus said that the disciples that follow him will have to bear their own crosses. Disciples who follow understand that he is more than savior, he is Lord.
I don't know about you but the picture I get of carrying a cross is scary and it is not just the death part. See the death part makes sense, Jesus was put to death. Of his disciples James the brother of the beloved John was put to death before the close of the New Testament, he was beheaded. Another disciple that was brought up under the apostles teaching Stephen was put to death, stoned to death. John the baptist was also put beheaded for obeying the commands of God. Herod stretched out his hand and tried to Put Peter to death as well, he escaped. The apostle Paul was stones and persecuted and even appears to have died and rose again in the midst of his mission. Fox's book of Martyrs tells the story of pretty much every other disciple being martyred as well.
In other words taking the call to follow Jesus seriously has consequences.
When Joe Banks was faced with his own mortality and asked what his interests were he said: "Courage, courage interests me." Joe versus the Volcano (1990).
But does courage interest us as Christians, for the sake of the gospel?
It interests me truly, but I find also a lot of fear in my heart. I wonder if for many of us the bigger problem is not the death, that has almost a victorious sound to it. To be able to be counted worthy to die in such a way would be an honor for any Christian, not that I want to minimize the sacrifice at all. But I feel that it is the taking up and carrying the cross part that is difficult for most of us. Are we able to walk through the streets of our own neighborhoods and communities with a sign of death on our backs? Not just that but being ridiculed and mocked and accosted while we do?
If walking down the death march was easy I suppose many of us would do it. The problem is we don't know the time frame from when we start walking to when our death sentence is carried out. Can I live in a world that hates me for standing on truth for a lifetime? Can I live as a pariah in my own community? Now I don't relish at the thought of persecution nor should anybody, but do I live in such a way as to ever invite it?
Do we dare to beat the system or would we rather work as a shadow operatives? Please understand this in not an indictment but a real question that even I have to wrestle with. As the storms are gathering I ask myself am I willing to share my faith, and what that means for a dying and decaying country that wants to throw off all restraint? Am I willing to do this without sitting behind a computer screen? In case you aren't one to read the headlines much, persecution for Christians in this country has begun. It is still only in its infancy, it has to figure out how legally it can do it, but if you are paying attention the wheels are already moving to shut up the voices of dissent that we the Christians have become.
It is ironic because the world system of sin that we are to counter is becoming one with our own system of government. One that wasn't always that way. We are becoming a new Rome. Will we cry out that Christ is Lord and not Caesar? Or will we stay happy behind our closed church doors until the government comes to remove them?
I am not talking about revolution. I already wrote about that, I am talking about what Paul calls not being ashamed of the Gospel from Romans 1.
14. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith."
So ask yourself, ask and pray. Does courage interest you?
thanks
14. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith."
So ask yourself, ask and pray. Does courage interest you?
thanks
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