Perverting Scripture: II Chronicles 7:14

"If...My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

We have heard this scripture used for 30 years to support Christian political "action." It was a proof-text for the Moral Majority. It was the scriptural text for both Reagan inaugurations. It is pervasive in the American Church...as the proof-text for "culture war" and "conservative" Christianity.

I solemnly witness against those who pervert this word of God, and turn it to the evil purposes of the world-system's kingdom.

"If...My people who are called by My name..." These words are addressed to CHRISTians.

"...humble themSELVES and pray and seek My face and turn from THEIR wicked ways..." God tells Christians to do three things: abdicate their pride, seek Him, and meaningfully repent their sins. Where is the "political action" the deceivers have urged on us as God's will ? Where does God lay the blame for our country's sickness-unto-death on abortionists, gays, "liberals," as the promoters of "culture-war" teach ? He says instead that CHRISTIANS must repent.

"...then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land." God makes specific promises: and if we want Him to hear us, forgive us, and heal our land, we need to do what God says. It is therefore critical the American Church hear what God says (not what those who pervert His word make it to say): and deal honestly with our sin (not disingenuously praying He'll deal with other people's sins).

When we will DO what God says, God will be faithful to fulfill His promises. Do we want God to heal our land ? Then let us humble ourselves and seek God's face. Let the Church REPENT !!

Defining The Kingdom of God

“Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. “

-- Matthew 6:10

(The second phrase explains what Jesus means by "Your kingdom come.")



“…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. “

-- Romans 14:17



“For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.”

-- I Corinthians 4:20

Twa Kingdoms and Twa Kingis

The Scots reformer Andrew Melville famously rebuked the King of Scotland with the words, "Thair is twa kingdoms and twa kingis in Scotland..." Seizing the king's sleeve, he declared that
"Thair is Chryst Jesus the King, an' His Kingdom the Kirk, qhase subject King Jamie the Saxth is, an' o' qhase kingdome nocht a king nor a lord be he, bot a member."

Melville was right, in the only way a human being can ever be right: he spoke exactly what the Bible teaches. For that same reason, what Melville said remains true today, and always. There are two kinds of government on earth, and only two kinds: God's Kingdom, and man's.

God's authority to rule, and power to rule, are absolute: He rules all creation, time itself, circumstances, the living and the dead. God's rule is so absolute that man's authority and power to rule are entirely derivative of His, and only at God's sovereign delegation. Those to whom He delegates His power and authority, He holds accountable. And we who are subjects of earthly kings, He holds accountable to obey as recognizing His authority behind our fallible human rulers.

But the American Church has particular difficulty with the teaching of the Kingdom of God. Our national culture-heroes are rebels, beginning with the "founding fathers." The documents on which our nationhood is based justify rebellion against the authority of our earthly king. Rebels are the pantheon of our national culture...the Confederacy, Jesse James, robber barons, the heroic rebels of "Star Wars." The touchstone here is again what the Bible teaches: "...rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft..." (I Samuel 15:23, KJV)

Some teach that our "founding fathers" were deeply Christian men. It's a claim that is historically, documentably, untrue. It's a claim manifestly intended to support the deceitful purposes of a current political faction. (The "Tea Party" rebels, for example, adapt their name, and dress in colonial garb, to present themselves as the true descendants of the "founding fathers.") But whatever else they were or weren't, the "founding fathers" were undeniably rebels: and in God's eyes, the equivalent of warlocks. If God has blessed the United States...and He has...it is in spite of, NOT because of, our antecedents.

The American Church has a choice to make, and make soon: to which kingdom do we belong ? Thus far, willfully misled by self-serving partisans of the ruling world-system, The American Church has followed deceivers. Church, REPENT your deadly foolishness, and return to your First Love !!

I mourn and pray for this poor sick country; even more for its rebellious Church, which is all that stands between us and God's righteous judgement.

Research findings

"The primary reason people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. Although most people own a Bible and know some of its contents, most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to challenges and opportunities of life."

--a Barna Research Group report, quoted in Christian Ethics Today (February 2004; Volume 10, No. 1, p. 3). This study found that only 4% of American adults base their decisions on a "biblical worldview."


As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (paraphrase, Proverbs 23:7).


"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus..." (Phillipians 2:5, KJV)


"...we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ..." (II Corinthians 10:5, NASB)

E-mail Lie Reply Form

We all get multiple lying e-mails. Most of those I see are forwards from Christian friends, and presented as "Christian" viewpoints.

I really get tired of replying to each of those, showing proof the e-mail's untrue, and reminding my friends that Jesus said He is "the truth"...and that it's unworthy for Christians to be spreading falsehoods.

I get tired of replying to every lying e-mail: but I think we're scripturally commanded to correct any "brother taken in a fault," as a first step in reclaiming fellow-believers who have been seduced and misled.

A form-letter seemed necessary. But it's important that its tone be one of gentle correction. As any of us could be, our brothers and sisters are deceived by, and used by, the "father of lies." We have to be merciless against the lie, but merciful to those who've been deceived by it.

If the following meets those criteria, you're welcomed to use this form-letter.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear ---------:


An e-mail I recently received from you makes a statement that is untrue.

(quote statement)

Here's (Snopes, etc.) research on this:

(give applicable URL from Snopes, etc.)

If your understanding of scripture is that Jesus is "the truth" (John 14:6), as He said He Is, you can understand why it's important to challenge this false statement. In doing so, I realize the lie didn't originate with you: that you were deceived, as any of us might be, by "the father of lies" (John 8:44);

Fortunately, we don't have to be victims of Satan's schemes, and the deceivers who do his work. There are a number of reliable websites available to help us check out ideas Satan is trying to slip into our thinking.


Snopes has a long track-record of sorting out e-mail lies:

http://www.snopes.com/


Politifact measures the truth of politicians' and commentators' claims on its Truth-O-Meter; and also researches the truth of "chain e-mails," and "other groups" (such as Scientology):

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/


FactCheck researches the assertions made by partisans on both sides of public issues.

http://www.factcheck.org/


Truthorfiction is a new one a reader called to my attention, and seems to be honest.

http://truthorfiction.com/


You and I know how critical it is to our personal walk that we accept no operative ideas but truth. Equally important, we know that by faithfully rejecting the lies Satan aims at us, we avoid becoming his tool to infect other Christians' hearts and minds with operative lies.

I know you believe as strongly as I do that Jesus is "the truth," and that "no lie is of the truth" (I John 2:21). I’m sure you'll want to witness against the falsehood in your recent e-mail and warn everyone you sent it to, before they spread that lie further and mislead more Christians.

In Jesus, (your name)

Loving Truth

Jesus said He is "the truth" (John 14:6). There is no possibility of misunderstanding His meaning, no grammatical quibble by which we can take Him to be speaking metaphorically. He claims to be, in His Own Person, Truth itself.

It's one of those statements that must deeply embarrass those who want to think of Jesus as a "great moral teacher." In ordinary human discourse, we would take such a statement as evidence of madness ("on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg," as C. S. Lewis wrote), and not of enlightened profundity. By such statements, Jesus leaves us no alternative way to take Him: He must be a lunatic, or Who He says He Is.

I don't take Jesus as a madman. And if He is the unique Being I take Him to be, no one's definition of Him can be as authoritative as His own. If I take Jesus' claim seriously, it's worth my most rigorous effort to understand His Self-identification.

The statement is not nonsensical. Even to our limited understanding, there are key ways in which truth is like Jesus. Truth is, for example, eternal. Truth is unchanging. Truth is no respecter of persons. And God desires that truth dwell in our innermost parts as fiercely as He desires that Jesus live in our hearts.

But there are more profound implications. If Jesus identifies Himself, absolutely and intimately, as Truth, Christians...we whose identity is rooted in Who Jesus Is...have an absolute and intimate relationship with Truth. His intent is not to present us a theoretical exercise, but the operative fact underlying every act of the life we have in Him.

If I love Jesus, I must love Truth. If I want my life to manifest Jesus' Lordship, I must obey Truth. If I follow Jesus, I have to follow Truth. If we believe Jesus when He says "I am...the truth," our belief is reflected in our every act.

In one unique passage of scripture, "truth" is indeed a verb, an action, in the original Greek. Usually translated "speaking the truth," the literal meaning would be somewhat clumsy in English, along the lines of "truthing it." The purpose for which we are commanded to so absolutely act truth is instructive: "...to grow up in all aspects unto Him Who is the Head, even Christ..." (Ephesians 4:15).

Church, grow up. If we believe, on Jesus' Own authority, that He Is Truth, we must be a people who love Truth. Love for Truth is manifested by our acting in Truth. By that measure, it doesn't seem the American Church loves Truth very much.

At least in the part of Christ's Body where I live, the American Church considers "culture war" its major priority. The Church eagerly carries the can for political partisans and their propaganda ("...winds of doctrine...trickery of men...craftiness in deceitful scheming...," as scripture puts it). Friends and relatives deem it Christian (!) service to daily forward "conservative" and "patriotic" e-mails, laced with "facts" that aren't true...and promise God's blessing to everyone who spreads the lies further !!

These "culture war" poisoners have no excuse, cannot plead that they were deceived. There are reliable websites that sort out the lies...for those who want to know the truth. Snopes.com is useful on e-mail propaganda, for example, and factcheck.org examines the "facts" in political speeches and ads. There are others. The Church should be deeply ashamed that secular society loves truth enough to create the tools to find it...and the Church doesn't love Truth enough to use them.

But the Church is guilty of a more shameful failure. Unlike secular society, Christians can avail themselves of the Spirit, Whom Jesus called "the Spirit of Truth." How can anyone following the Holy Spirit be deceived, even by the "trickery" and "deceitful scheming" of professional "culture war" spin-artists ? Jesus said the Spirit will lead us "into all truth:" the Church doesn't act as if that's where it wants to go.

The Church' problem is not inability to know Truth, or inability to sort out the lies. The "culture war" Church simply doesn't love Truth that much...not as much as it loves its "own way." We believe, and inform all our Christian friends, that a prominent Democrat quotes Karl Marx' approvingly: but not because we believe it's true. We don't actually care whether it's true or not: if we did, we would check the "fact." Our operative criteria is not truth at all, but what we want to believe. Truth or lie, if it suits our prejudices we pass it on, endorsing it to all our Christian friends.

We don't care about the truth of an e-mail that says the A.C.L.U. is campaigning to remove all cross-shaped headstones from military cemeteries. We want to believe that the A.C.L.U. is against everything decent people (ourselves, for example) stand for, against our faith, against patriotism. Our identity in Christ requires that we love and obey Truth: but we'd prefer to be a "cultural warrior" and (as this e-mail was signed) "A Proud American." On the authority of an anonymous e-mail, we are ready to believe and act on a lie...even to spread it throughout the Body of Christ...when it flatters the corrupt self-image which we prefer to being part of Jesus.

Church, REPENT ! You offend the One Who Is Truth. But He has promised to show mercy if we bitterly repent our wicked ways. Let us return wholeheartedly to our First Love, follow Him, and turn away from following lies.

Diversity

If we believe that God created the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them...as scripture says, and all Christian creeds affirm...we must believe that He made rain-forests, deserts, salt-marshes, prairies, mountains, atolls, woodlands, arctic tundra, swamps, and all other forms of land and sea.

We must believe that every variation of weather and time: Spring, clouds, heat, night, Winter, sunshine, wind, rain, and all else: is His sovereign creation.

We must believe that God created Letts, Mongols, Ibo, Gaels, Cree, Jews, Bantu, Finns, Malays, Aborigines, Poles, Ainu, Touregs, Maya, Basques, Inuit, Han, Franks, Tamil, Berbers, Cheyenne, and all the other tribes, races, and nations that people His earth.

We must also believe that God is the Author of every circumstantial permutation in which His creations combine: of every kind of weather He created, in every season and time He created, to every kind of people He created, in every single place He created.

It's fashionable, in the political faction the American Church identifies with, to mock diversity (narrowly defined) as "political-correctness," a "liberal" idea. It's unworthy that Christians join the chorus of mockers. But if any idea is as w i d e as creation, it is diversity: and our proper attitude should be worshipful awe, and praise for the One Who so liberally creates differences and variety in every aspect of all that exists. Diversity is first of all God's idea, a reflection of His uniquely powerful, joyful, creativity.

It's unworthy that we, even in our lesser role as American citizens (where the factionalists operate), hold diversity in contempt. In a nation whose motto is "E Pluribus Unum," disparaging the idea of diversity betrays ignorance of the central principle that makes us, in collective unity, America.

It's been suggested (somewhat humorously) that America's motto can be roughly translated "we're all in this together." The principle of unity-in-diversity that makes the Church one Body (I Corinthians 12) is as vital, on a lesser plane, to a nation: and factionalists, in the nation as in the Church, are a force of divisiveness and destruction. Those who love America cannot hate diversity, on which our national unity is based. Those who love God cannot hate diversity, the reality with which He lavishly adorns all His creation.

08-19-07

Summa Ecclesia

"Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." Mark 9:50


"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34


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


"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” John 15:12


"This I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17


Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor... Romans 12:10


Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Romans 12:16


Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8


Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. Romans 14:13


So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Romans 14:19


Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus. Romans 15:5


Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. Romans 15:7


And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. Romans 15:14


Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. Romans 16:16


Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? 1 Corinthians 6:7


(husbands and wives:

Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:5 )


So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 1 Corinthians 11:33


...so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 1 Corinthians 12:25


All the brethren greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
1 Corinthians 16:20


Greet one another with a holy kiss. 2 Corinthians 13:12


For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Galatians 5:13


But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Galatians 5:15


Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:26


...with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love... Ephesians 4:2


Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
Ephesians 4:25


Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32


...speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord... Ephesians 5:19


...and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. Ephesians 5:21


Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;... Philippians 2:3


Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices. Colossians 3:9


...bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Colossians 3:13


Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16


...and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you.
1 Thessalonians 3:12


Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.
1 Thessalonians 4:9


Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:18


Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11


...and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. 1 Thessalonians 5:13


See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. 1 Thessalonians 5:15


We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater. 2 Thessalonians 1:3


For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. Titus 3:3


But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13


...and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds... Hebrews 10:24


...not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Hebrews 10:25


Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. James 4:11


Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
James 5:9


Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:16


Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart...
1 Peter 1:22


Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 1 Peter 4:9


As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10


You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.
1 Peter 5:5


Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ. 1 Peter 5:14


...but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7


For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 1 John 3:11


This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 1 John 3:23


Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7


Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:11


No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:12


Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. 2 John 1:5


(All citations N.A.S.V.)

Distemper of the Times

If there is a temper of the times, there is a distemper of the times. In the American Church today, our distemper is factionalism, a work of the flesh posing as spiritual strength.

Most American Christians accept as a matter of course that "we" are surrounded by enemies: secularists, "liberals," socialists, a legion of evil-doers and evil-thinkers who are intent on destroying "Christian values," and determined to take our God-given liberty from us. To a Church which thinks itself besieged, combativeness seems the highest spiritual virtue, and those most violent in their enmity are hailed as the greatest defenders of the faith.

Church, grow up. We are surrounded by enemies because we have invaded their kingdom. Their realm is imperiled, not the one we belong to. Like the Allied armies after D-Day, we have enemies on all sides of us...because we are advancing into their territory. It's a dangerous place to be, and in human combat can go either way: but the Church' war cannot. Established by God Himself, empowered by His Spirit, chosen and prepared as the bride for His Son, the Church WILL NOT be defeated or destroyed. If that's your fear, skip ahead and read the last chapter of the Book.

Church, grow up. We are not called to be God's defenders: He is ours. God is our Savior: by what mad pride do you, powerless transient vapor, consider that The One Almighty and Eternal needs to be saved by YOU !?! In this battle, we must stand with God: but it's for OUR protection, not His.

Church, grow up. We indeed have liberty in God: but it's not the kind that can be taken away by the world's evil forces. In fact, our liberty is exactly from "the world's evil forces:" sin, hopelessness, and death. If you're fighting to keep "them" from taking your God-given rights, you're operating on the Declaration of Independence' idea of "liberty," not scripture's. When Paul wrote about "liberty," he was not urging Christians to fight for their "rights." Church, get serious.

We are not in danger of being destroyed...unless you disbelieve God's promises and His scripture. We are not called to defend God...unless you think your strength is greater than His. We are not in danger of losing our liberty...unless you think our culture's idea of liberty is truer than God's. Combativeness and enmity are not spiritual strengths; they are manifestations of pride and disbelief. They are exactly what scripture says they are, works of the flesh contrary to the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-21).

Church, grow up. Church, REPENT !!

Simplify, Simplify

We all have a theology, a body and system of belief toward God. Even atheists' disbelief orients them toward Him. There are as many theologies as there are human beings; but I think there's wisdom in looking at them the way a famous jazzman looked at music: "there's only good music, and bad music." Theology too is either done well, or done badly.

Theology should be easy. Most subjects of study are constantly changing, with new fashions of thought, and new discoveries. Even history, which we might expect to remain static, is subject to continuing revision and correction. But God is unchanging. What He is today is what He has always been, and will always be. The truth about God will always be true. He's not a moving target.

Theology should be easy to do well. It consists of only two parts, God and our understanding of Him. He's the unchanging I AM THAT I AM. Our lives, in contrast, are characterized by continual change: but that's a necessary fact of good theology. Our movement in time and circumstance allows us to see God in new dimensions. It also challenges us to be honest observers, and realize where the movement lies between One standing on the bank and those roiling through the rapids.

Theology only has two parts; God, and ourself perceiving Him. The difficulty of good theology is that it requires absolute truthfulness toward both. We have to be rigorously honest about the relationship of the two; that God is God, and I'm not. It's a simple affirmation of reality, and everyone admits the theology of the first point. Our problem is with the theology of the second.

Medical students are said to detect in themselves the symptoms of every disease they study. When we turn our life to understanding God, we likewise become aware of His working in ourselves...and uncomfortably aware of all the falseness there His presence spotlights. It's an unbearable awareness, for which there are only two remedies: remove the filthy rags with which we furnish our innermost life, or shut out the harsh light that reveals them.

Our problem with God is that He requires us to look at ourselves with the Truth that He Is. We have to be honest about our self-centeredness, pride, self-will, self-justification: to call our most prized attributes what they are, sin. God being God challenges our autonomy at its root: our comfortable delusions of self-sufficiency must go, or Truth will. It's a very high, very PERSONAL, price we're often not willing to pay.

Perhaps I find theology easy because I fail worse than most at being God. I can't deceive even myself (always my surest dupe) on that score. Painfully aware (by God's mercy) how far I miss the mark, I don't dare miss HIM. Hope and life exist only in God's living Presence: whatever it costs to know Him is worth the price.

There's only good music and bad music, good theology and bad theology. Good theology is easy. But it forces on us the determinative MORAL question, the choice between bad and good. The practical question in choosing good theology is whether we will pay what it costs...our autonomy.