Sunday, September 18, 2005
Word For The Week
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
Was Hurricane Katrina the wrath of God being poured out on a sinful New Orleans? This meme has been asserted repeatedly in OpEds across the country, but is there any merit to it? The answer is an unqualified NO. Earlier this week, I responded to a LTE which made that very assertion - that Hurricane Katrina was God's wake up call for America - and made the point that if New Orleans needed a wake up call then the Church needs a wake up call all the more. We who call ourselves a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, we need to wake up because judgment is indeed coming, but it's coming to the Church first.
I often wonder what the Religious Right is thinking with their politics - what's their goal? It seems like they are trying to enforce external conformity to The Law instead of trying to induce an internal transformation through the renewing of people's minds. Are they Christians or Pharisees? Do they not know that we all have sined and fall short of the glory of God? Surely they are familiar with the wages of sin and the gift of God, but why is it that we never hear the name of Jesus from the lips of those who claim to be His followers? Christianity without Christ is insanity. Christianity is not about outward conformity to the Law, Christianity is about a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so why do political conservatives call themselves Christians when they are not advancing or advocating the cause of Christ? Going to church no more makes you a Christian than does going to McDonalds make you a happy meal. It is those who have received Him, those who have believed on His name that have been given the right to be called the children of God. We have too many Pharisees mascerading as Christians today.
But the Religious Left isn't much better. If the Religious Right would be today's Pharisees then the Religious Left would be the Sadducees. The Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection and only believed certain parts of Scripture were authoritative, both in Jesus' time on earth and today. Then as now the Sadducees put much more weight on their own thinking than on God's revelation, but reality is not based upon man's thinking. It was not man who said, "Let there be light!" to spark the Big Bang. It was not man who said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water" and distilled breathible air. It was not man who said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds" and flora flourished, each according to its kind. It was not man who created God, but God who created man. It is God who is our unmoved mover mover. It is God who is our uncaused cause. It is God who has created all that is according to His design. It's all about God! It's time for the Left and the Right to figure that out, because the whole duty of man is to revere God and to keep His commandments, because God will bring every deed into judgment. All of us have sinned and we will have to pay the penalty for that sin, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We simply have to accept His atoning sacrifice on our behalf. The choice is yours.
I often wonder what the Religious Right is thinking with their politics - what's their goal? It seems like they are trying to enforce external conformity to The Law instead of trying to induce an internal transformation through the renewing of people's minds. Are they Christians or Pharisees? Do they not know that we all have sined and fall short of the glory of God? Surely they are familiar with the wages of sin and the gift of God, but why is it that we never hear the name of Jesus from the lips of those who claim to be His followers? Christianity without Christ is insanity. Christianity is not about outward conformity to the Law, Christianity is about a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so why do political conservatives call themselves Christians when they are not advancing or advocating the cause of Christ? Going to church no more makes you a Christian than does going to McDonalds make you a happy meal. It is those who have received Him, those who have believed on His name that have been given the right to be called the children of God. We have too many Pharisees mascerading as Christians today.
But the Religious Left isn't much better. If the Religious Right would be today's Pharisees then the Religious Left would be the Sadducees. The Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection and only believed certain parts of Scripture were authoritative, both in Jesus' time on earth and today. Then as now the Sadducees put much more weight on their own thinking than on God's revelation, but reality is not based upon man's thinking. It was not man who said, "Let there be light!" to spark the Big Bang. It was not man who said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water" and distilled breathible air. It was not man who said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds" and flora flourished, each according to its kind. It was not man who created God, but God who created man. It is God who is our unmoved mover mover. It is God who is our uncaused cause. It is God who has created all that is according to His design. It's all about God! It's time for the Left and the Right to figure that out, because the whole duty of man is to revere God and to keep His commandments, because God will bring every deed into judgment. All of us have sinned and we will have to pay the penalty for that sin, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We simply have to accept His atoning sacrifice on our behalf. The choice is yours.
May The LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who will bring every action into judgment,
My He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
And may the LORD,
Who will bring every action into judgment,
My He turn His face toward you and give you peace.
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