Pandora

As most of you know, my favorite past time is looking for new or little known recording artists who are not promoted by the big record labels. Before my mom had a stroke, I used to have to time to visit clubs to hear them. Now that I spend most of my time taking care of my mom, opportunities for visiting clubs are slim.

I've been browsing MySpace for artists on MySpace, but it's pretty time consuming since it's a "hit or miss" situation in which it's mostly misses.

Well, I found a fantastic web site for looking for new artists that match your taste in music.

It's http://www.pandora.com

There, you can create a "radio station" (list of artists that you like) and it'll start playing artists whose style is similar to those on the list.

It uses the data from the Music Genome Project to select music for that "radio station".

It's great if you are just starting to get into a genre of music.

You can create more than one "radio station" if your favorite music spans a plethora musical styles.

Oh, I almost forgot: it's FREE!!!!

How should Christians deal with sin?

For the last several days, I've noticed a re-occurring theme in the Christian discussion groups. It's the question of how should Christians deal with sin? Some suggested that we, Christians, should never tolerate sin, while others suggested that we should tolerate sin in non-believers but not within the Body of Christ. There are also those who argued that we should tolerate all sin.

As the discussion threads grew, it became apparent that there were several perspectives on what sin is and even more perspectives on what it means to tolerate (or to not tolerate) sin.

Let's first start with the Biblical definition of sin.

The word sin is found in two of the most important verses in the New Testament.

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned (hamartano), and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin (hamartia) is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Greek words harmartano (verb)/harmatia (noun), that are translated into the English word sin, are not religious terms. They are secular terms that comes from archery. The term means to miss the mark.

So what is the mark that we are supposed to hit but fail to hit? We can find it in Genesis.

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness

We were created to carry God's image and be stewards of His creation.

When we fail, in any way, to perfectly mirror God, we sin; or to quote Romans 3:23 when we "come short of the glory of God", we sin.

By this definition, all of us are sinning all the time. There is not a second in our lives in which we come close to mirroring the perfection of God; therefore, there is not a second in our lives in which we are not sinning.

Then, is it possible for us to not tolerate sin all the time?

How, then, do we deal with sin?

Here is what Jesus said:

Matthew 7:1-5
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

We must first deal with our own sin.

There are at least two aspects of dealing with our sin. One aspect is dealing with the wages of sin: death from which we must be saved. Another aspect is the pursue of holiness after we are forgiven.

How are we to be saved?

Romans 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

We need to accept Jesus as our Lord and believe that the Jesus' death and resurrection pays the wages of our sin.

Once we know that the wages of all our sins are paid, do we continue sinning?

Romans 6:1-4
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

No, we do not go on sinning because the grace of God is not just the forgiveness of sin but also the gift of a new life. To go on sinning, we would fail to reap the full reward of God's grace. We would receive the first half of God's grace: forgiveness of sin; but fail to receive the second half: a new life.

Since our pursuit of holiness would never be complete on this side of eternity, does that mean we would never be dealing with the sins of others?

Didn't Jesus say that we need to take the plank out of own eyes before we can pick the speck of sawdust out of our brother's?

Since we are never done with taking "the plank out of own eyes", doesn't that mean that we should not be dealing with the sins of others?

If that is so, then it would contradict the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:19-20
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

No, Jesus commanded us to teach others what is right and what is wrong (sin) and how to deal with what is wrong (sin).

Matthew 5:13-14
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

How others deal with this knowledge of sin and the forgiveness of sin is between them and the Lord.

There is one caveat. Leaders within the Church are measured by a higher standard.

1 Timothy 3:1-13
Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.
In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

While we are all still pursuing but not reaching holiness, leaders within the Church must reach a certain level of temperament, self-control, and respectability.

We can not allow leaders within the Church to overtly sin. These leaders need to be examples of men with great faith; and the presence of sin is result of the lack of faith.

Matthew 6:31-33
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Why do we steal? We do not trust God to provide for our needs.

Why do we lie? We do not trust God to protect us when we tell the truth.

How can we say that we have faith in God if we are not willing to abide by God's rules.

Leaders must exhibit greater faith than those whom they lead; thus, they must be those who do not exhibit the presence of overt sin.

How should Christians deal with sin? We are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of world; to teach what is sin and how to deal with it by setting an example for others to follow.

God Is Love

I just had a epiphany moment. When I hear people say, "God is good", I've always assumed that they mean that God is a good God. I was meditating on this thought when it suddenly occurred to me that good is not just a description of God. God defines what good is. In the same way, God is love does not only mean that He is capable of love, He defines what love is. In the same way God is beauty.

What is good? Being just and merciful simultaneously.

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Rom. 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord


What is love? Putting what is best for the other ahead of what's best for one's self.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


What is beauty? Being Holy: set apart and untainted

Leviticus 11:45
I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy

1 Peter 3:3-5
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.

Addendum and Errata to "Thanksgiving History"

• For those of you who are interested in getting more detail about my post reference there is an indented history of Puritans and Pilgrims w/ references on one of the web pages at the University of Virginia site:
  
  http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/puritan/purhist.html
  
  This page included the quotes that I posted. (I got my quotes from references that were on paper, however, I am not able to find those references in electronic form on the Web.)


• In my previous post, I made a slight mistake about Massasoit. His tribe was the Pokanoket tribe and the Pokanoket tribe was part of the Wampanoag Confederacy. I was confused because Massasoit was not only the chief or sachem of the Pokanoket tribe but he was also the Great Sachem of the entire Wampanoag Confederacy.
  

To be fair, Massasoit did agree to peaceful co-existence with the Pilgrims and so theoretically, the Pilgrims could have been thanking him for not attacking them. However, that was not the case. The first Thanksgiving celebration was due to the harvest which the Pilgrims credited to the Lord's provision.


• The Patuxet tribe, to which Squanto (whose real name is Tisquantum) belonged and was wiped out by a mysterious plague, was also part of the Wampanoag Confederacy. However, because Massasoit did not trust Squanto completely, due to Squanto's closeness with the Pilgrims, Massasoit assigned another native American, Hobamok, to also stay with the Pilgrims (along with Squanto).


• Also, I failed to mentioned Samoset, the other Native American, who assisted the Pilgrims. (Sorry, Samoset) He, by the way, was a member of the Abenaki sachem tribe that resided at that time in Maine.

Thanksgiving History

Why did the Pilgrims sail to the New World?

Before you answer that question with the template answer "Religious Freedom", consider these questions and answers:

1. From where did the Pilgrims originate? England.


2. From where did the Pilgrims sail? Holland


3. How long were they in Holland before sailing to the New world in 1620? over 10 years


4. Did they have religious freedom in Holland? Yes


5. Were they forced out of Holland? no
   

William Bradford described their departure in a now-famous passage which later gave the Pilgrims their name: "So they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their resting place near twelve years; but they knew they were pilgrims, and looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits."


6. Why did they leave Holland to sail to the New World?

It is unfortunate that the public school systems in America are still teaching kids the notion that the Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom.

Worst, yet, kids are given the impression that the Pilgrims are Puritans.

What bugs me even more is that the material, that is being taught, gives kids the impression that Thanksgiving is about the Pilgrims thanking the Native Americans.

Nooooooooooo!


Here's the full story.

The Anglican Church, at that time, were perceived by many to be corrupt. Those who did, were divided into two camps.

One group believed that the best course of action was to stay and purify the Anglican Church from within. This group was known as the Puritans.

The second group were composed of separatists who believed that any effort to purify from within the Anglican Church would be in vain. The best course of action was to build a new church and model the "City on the Hill"/"Light of the World" for the Anglican Church to follow. The separatists became know as the Pilgrims from William Bradford's description of their departure from Holland (see answer for question 5 at the beginning of this blog).

During their stay in Holland, they found their children being drawn away from their faith, seduced by the Dutch culture, or as Bradford described it, "drawne away by evill examples into extravagence and dangerous courses".

So, instead of being the Light, they found their children being drawn into the darkness.

To reverse the trend, they decided to leave for the New World in hope of not only reclaiming their children's religious future but also (as Bradford wrote it) "great hope, for the propagating and advancing the gospell of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world". Yes, one of their primary objectives, for sailing to America, was evangelism.

Squanto was a member of the Patuxet tribe who was taken to England and there he learned English. When he returned to America, he found that his entire tribe was wiped out by a mysterious plague.

Shortly afterward, the Pilgrims arrived (1620). Squanto adopted the Pilgrims and taught them how to plant corn, how to fish, and other survival skills foreign to the newly arrived urban dwellers.

When the Pilgrims had their first successful harvest (1621), they had a feast to thank God, the first Thanksgiving. They invited their neighbors, the Wampanoag tribe, whose chief was Massasoit, to the feast. (Please, see my next blog entry "Addendum and Errata to 'Thanksgiving History'" for correction of reference to Massasoit and his relationship with "the Wampanoag tribe".)

Remember that it was Squanto, a member of the Patuxet tribe, that helped the Pilgrims, not the Wampanoag. However, as part of the Pilgrims' worship to God, they invited the Wampanoag (the evangelism aspect of the Pilgrim's vision).

Here's the problem: they took all the Christian elements of the Pilgrims' story out of the history text book: The Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom and had a feast to thank the Native Americans for their help. Without the details, it seems to make sense. However, fill in the details, and the story falls apart. The Pilgrims had religious freedom in Holland. Squanto helped them but they invited the Wampanoag to the feast.

"Ask the Man on the Street" Questions about the Bible

I was watching the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno on Thanksgiving night and Jay was doing his "Ask the Man on the Street" thing. That night, he was asking questions like "Where did the Pilgrims sailed from?" And people were giving answers like: Canada and Peru.

It made me think. Since the average American knows so little about what's in the Bible, it would be a hoot if someone would do an "Ask the Man on the Street" thing about stuff in the Bible. In fact, we can even make them multiple choice questions like:

1. What did Jesus turn into wine?
   
   
   1. Gatorade
   
   
   2. water with which people used to wash their feet
   
   
   3. grape juice
   
   
   4. a mixture of all of the above
   
   
   5. none of the above (must specify an alternate answer)


2. How did Jesus feed five thousand men and their families?


1. Jesus called a catering service.


2. Peter knew some people...


3. Some kid gave Jesus his fish and bread dinner.


4. all of the above


5. none of the above (must specify an alternate answer)


3. What happened when the Apostle Paul preached a sermon that was so long that people were falling asleep?


1. A kid, after falling asleep, fell out of a window and died; but Paul resurrected him and kept on preaching.


2. Members of the congregation started speaking in tongues to keep themselves awake.


3. Hundreds saw visions of the resurrected Christ after falling asleep and couldn't figure out if Christ actually appeared before them or if they were just having a dream.


4. all of the above


5. none of the above (must specify an alternate answer)



4. What did the Israelites do as Joshua led them across the Jordan River?


1. They taunted their enemies with cries of "Allah Akbar (God is Great)".


2. They started a rock collection with the rocks they found on river bed after the Ark dried up the river.


3. They gathered fishes for a feast that they would have once they got to the other side.


4. all of the above


5. none of the above (must specify an alternate answer)



5. Why did Jacob have two wives?


1. Since Jacob's future father-in-law was afraid that his ugly older daughter would become a spinster, he made Jacob marry the ugly older daughter before Jacob can marry the hot younger daughter.


2. Jacob needed the extra dowry money to buy the farm.


3. Jacob couldn't decide between the two women.


4. all of the above


5. none of the above (must specify an alternate answer)

The Coming of Jesus

Someone posted the following message on one of the Chrisitian forums:

Jesus is not coming today,
tomorrow, this week,
or this year.
It MUST be true, otherwise most of us wouldn't be acting the way we do. Not convinced? Let's look at our behavior from another angle. Consider this question:

if Jesus were coming back today
what would you do differently?
The next question is even tougher. If you answered the previous question and determined there was at least one thing you would do differently,

"Why aren't you doing it?"
For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matthew 24:38-39

While I agree with Dave's assessments and his call to action, I'm not sure if his message would motivate the correct action. I suspect that people would read it and take it as a call to shape up our own lives, be a better person: a very self-focused response.

I don't believe that Jesus would want that type of response. I believe that Jesus would want us to focus on HIS call to action.

Here is my response:

Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 28:19-20
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Revelation 7:9
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.

Until the gospel of the kingdom is preached in the whole world and there are believers from every nation, tribe, people and language, Jesus will not be returning.

A better question would be: Do you really want Jesus to return? Do you pray "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and really mean it?

If so, what are you doing to make it possible? i.e., To fulfill the condition: This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world so that it is heard by those from every nation, tribe, people and language.

For the average American believer, the answer is VERY LITTLE.

How much does the American Church invest in overseas cross-cultural evangelism?

(Normally, I would use the word "missions", but these days this term no longer applies just to overseas cross-cultural evangelism; often it also includes a lot of domestic ministries).

Let's add some perspective context to that question.

If you take how much American Christians spend on Christmas presents for self, family, and friends and compare it with what the American Church invests in overseas cross-cultural evangelism, what do you think is the ratio?

Normally, I don't like to talk about dollars and cents because I believe in doing what Jesus models: one-to-one contact. I only mentioned it because what our checkbook ledger says reflects our priorities.

Sadly, our priorities currently say that we are more focused on our present day "shiny little objects" than the magnificent glories that are yet to come.

Do we want to be near-sighted scavenging crows or do we want to be eagles that soar to the sky?

Christian Liturgical Calendar

As we approach the beginning of the Christian liturgical calendar, I found it quite serendipitous that someone posted the following on one of the Christian discussion forums:

Why is Christmas such a big deal when it's no even in the Bible? Many laymen and laywomen will readily tell me to look at the begining of Matthew for the Christmas story.

I find this story hard to believe when comparing it to the actual word describing this Holy day.

Christmas or "Christ Mass."

As we already know Christ is the Greek form of Messiah the Lord's Anointed One. But Mass is a Latin word that Means "Barley Cake."

Why, on GOD'S green earth, do so called christians celebrate a holy day that doesn't make sense within itself?

Messiah's Barley Cake has nothing to do with the "BIRTHDAY" of our LORD!
Yet, if it were important to celebrate, Jesus would have surely warned his disciple's to do so.
If we go to the book of Matthew, Jesus is continually warning the Disciple's of his death and not his birth. He even remind's them to take up your cross (death) daily.
So what's more important to you, the supposed "CHRISTIAN?"
Following what the LORD Says, or following the tradition of men?


Here is my response:

The Christmas season is part of the Christian (Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) liturgical calendar. The liturgical calendar is a device which helps the church make sure that it focuses on each aspect of Jesus' ministry at least once during the period of a year. During each season of the liturgical calendar, the scripture reading would be from the Bible verses about that season.

Christian liturgical calendar is organized around: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and concluding at Pentecost. The rest of the year following Pentecost is known as Ordinary Time, from the word "ordinal, " which simply means counted time (First Sunday after Pentecost, second Sunday after Pentecost, etc.). Ordinary Time is used to focus on various aspects of the Faith, especially the mission of the church in the world. Some church traditions break up ordinary time into a Pentecost Season, (Pentecost until the next to last Sunday of August) and Kingdomtide (last Sunday of August until the beginning of Advent).

Advent is the beginning of the liturgical calendar. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Dec 24. Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing for the coming of Christ to deliver us from sin.

Christmas starts on the 25th of December and ends on the 5th of January (thus the twelve days of Christmas). And we all know what that's all about.

The season of Epiphany extends from January 6th until Ash Wednesday. The term epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal." It is associated with the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King.

The season of Lent spans 40 weekdays beginning on Ash Wednesday and climaxing during Holy Week with Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday). Originally, Lent was the time of preparation for those who were to be baptized, a time of concentrated study and prayer before their baptism at the Easter Vigil, the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord early on Easter Sunday. But since these new members were to be received into a living community of Faith, the entire community was called to preparation. Today, Lent is marked by a time of prayer and preparation to celebrate Easter.

The week leading up to Easter is, of course the Holy Week.

Unfortunately, most Protestant churches only celebrate the first day of the Christmas season and the first day of the Easter season; so, most Protestants are not aware of the entire Christian liturgical calendar. If we are going to celebrate the first day of the Christmas season and the first day of the Easter season, shouldn't we celebrate the entire liturgical calendar? There's more to Christ's ministry than just His birth and death. Otherwise, we can celebrate his birth and death any day of the year.

p.s., The "Mass", in the name "Christ Mass", refers to the worship service.

Reaching Your Neighbors

Someone wanted to do door to do evangelism and posted the following message asking for advice:

SO basically I want to get out there and start door to door preaching but what is the best way to go about it and get prepared?

Another member of the forum replied with the following message:

You're wasting your time...

Unless you are being guided by the Holy Spirit to do so. Sorry if that sounded unduly bold.


Here is my reply:

Door to door evangelism may or may not be the vehicle with which the Lord wants you to reach your neighbors. However, we are all called by the Lord to "make disciples". So, I would encourage you to continue pursuing reaching your neighbors with the Gospel.

I do have this advice. There are many ways through which the Lord can use us to reach our neighbors but they all have one thing in common: love.

Principle:
John 13:34
34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Application:
Acts 2:44-47
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

On this side of eternity, this world hungers for genuine authentic love (agape love). This world also knows that talk is cheap; we can talk about love all we want, but this world's not going to buy it unless we can show them the goods. They want see that we love one another because Christ first loved us. If you can't show them that we love one another, they are not going to believe that Christ first loved us. And if they don't believe that Christ first loved us, how can they believe that Jesus would love them. And if they don't believe that Jesus would love them, how can they believe that Christ died on the cross to atone for their sin.

If we want to reach our neighbors, we can't be doing it like lone cowboys. We need to do it as the body of Christ whose members love one another because Christ first loved us and let our love for one another draw in our neighbors which in turn allow Christ's love overflows from us onto them by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Some Suggested Action Points:

1. Develop a strong fellowship of brothers and/or sisters in Christ. All you need is a couple of guys (or gals) with whom you can develop deep godly relationships: guys (or gals) that you can pray with, pray for, lean on, and enjoy life with. Do things together: go sailing, fishing, bowling, guys' (girls') night out, etc.


2. As a fellowship, pray for the lost in your neighborhood and ask the Holy Spirit to direct your fellowship.


3. Invite non-believing neighbors to join you when you do things together: go sailing, fishing, bowling, guys' night out, etc.


4. Pray and look for opportunities to share the Gospel when non-believing neighbor(s) accept(s) your invitations.


5. Let the Holy Spirit flow.

Love one another as Christ loves you: by this all men will know that you are His disciples.

Worshipping Idols

Someone posted the following message:

i am a christan. and i was wondering.
I have been reading my bible alot lately and i have come across this passage which seems confusing.

what is meant by the idea of worshiping "Idols" ???
and how does it pertain what we do today

please some explain to me what this means .....



Here is my reply:

By definition, "idol" means a representation or symbol of an object of worship

Whatever you worship is an idol.

This leads to the question: "what is worship?"

The word worship has two roots

weorth (worth) + scipe

worship means giving "worth" to someone or some thing.

In essence, the first commandment

"You shall have no other gods before me"

and the second commandment

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments

are really the same commandment.

How does it apply today?

It applies everywhere. Every time you make a decision, you have to place priorities on all your options. Whatever you place as a higher priority than God you are placing greater worth than God, i.e., giving greater worship than to God: making he/she/it an idol.

If one decides that "going to a football game" is more important than worshiping God, then it is for that person an idol. If one makes budgetary decisions in which God does not get the "first fruit", then whatever came before God is an idol.

If one truly want to know if one is worshiping idols, all one has to do is list all his/her resources (time, money, energy, position, opportunities, etc.) and evaluate how one is using those resources. Did God come first?

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."


Someone in one of the Christian forums posted that although these are the true words of our Lord and Savior -- so why are many of us having a difficult time? He suggested two problems.

1. Where many people struggle with their faith-walk is in the area of sacrifice. While talking may be easy, the possibility of ridicule (sacrifice) is painful. Going on a mission trip is easy, but the cost is, well costly.
   If you're struggling with sacrifice there's a good chance your real problem is selfishness.


2. Perhaps you've been barking up the wrong tree. You might be an a great singer, for example, but if God hasn't called you into a musical ministry then your efforts may be burdensome.

Here is my response:

Matthew 11:30 follows Jesus' very long teaching session in Matthew 6 which includes the following set of verses:

Matthew 6:19-21
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:24-33
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.


In this very long teaching session, Jesus laid out the qualification for his promises. If you do this... I promise you this... "all these things will be given to you as well".

An easy yoke and light burden is the result of "all these things will be given to you as well". You don't have to labor, claw, or cheat to get "all these things"; "all these things will be given to you"; thus, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

To do so, our hearts must be in heaven and not on earth. Thus, our treasures must be in heaven and not on earth, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"

Both of the things, that the original forum post mentioned, are struggles with giving up treasures on earth. I think we can all identify more treasures on earth, e.g., a treasure on earth may be a relationship:

Matthew 8:19-22
19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
20 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
21 Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
22 But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

It is understood that this disciple's father did not suddenly died and needed to be buried. He is asking that he be allowed to wait until his father die, to respect his father while his father is alive.


But there is an aspect that the original forum post did not address; an aspect that does not deal with treasures on earth. When we become a disciple of Jesus Christ, there will be growing pains.

John 16:19
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'?
20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.
22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

Currently, we are living in a time when there's a conflict between two kingdoms (God's and Satan's). A product of this conflict (any conflict) is pain. e.g., See the Book of Job.

Unfortunately, we often confuse "having pain" with "not having an easy yoke and not having a light burden". Pain and burden are two different things.

Here's an illustration:

A soldier is seriously injured during a battle and can not move his legs. He is in pain. His buddy carries him out of the battle zone to the evacuation area so that the soldier can be transported to the MASH unit. The burden is on his buddy's back. Likewise, we may have pain, but the burden is on Jesus' back.

Christianity and the Psychology of Utilitarianism and the Biology of Moral

Until recently, research in cognitive studies have been based on the assumption that morals are learned behavior. Through positive and negative re-enforcement, decision making is reduced to a utilitarian process: What works within the context of the community is good, what doesn't work within the context of the community is bad.

One can see church teaching influenced by this utilitarian perspective, tying Christian doctrine to behavior that works within the context of the community.

I am not disputing the assertion that Christian doctrine promotes behavior that works within the context of the community.

However, I object to what is identified as the cause and what is identified as the effect.

Instead of community living being the origin of moral, the Bible clearly identifies God's moral as the origin of human creation.

According to Genesis, God created man in his own image, to be like Him, to have His nature. God wired into mankind His own moral values.

In fact, all of creation is designed to display God's moral.

Romans 1:18-20
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

His divine nature is not only seen but also understood from what has been made.

Recently, studies by Marc Hauser, a professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University, point to the biologically hardwired nature of morals.

In his studies, subjects were given the following scenario:

A trolley looses its brakes and is rolling out of control down a hill. It is about to hit five people who can not get out of the way. Between the trolley and the five people is a track switch. If the trolley is switched to the alternate track, it would hit only one person. Is it acceptable to switch the track so that the trolley hits only one person? Almost everyone answer the question with "yes". Hitting one person is better than hitting five.

Then, the subjects were given a new scenario:

There is no switch between the trolley and the five people. However, there is a person large enough to stop the trolley if pushed in front of the trolley. Is it acceptable to push the large person in front of the trolley to save the five people? Almost everyone answered the question "no".

The results were consistent with people of varying religious belief, culture, ethnicity, age group, and social-economic class.

Occasionally, someone may answer yes for both. However, when dug deeper, the results are consistent with the norm.

e.g., Hauser's father is a medical doctor who is a stoic thinker. His initial response was yes for both since both scenarios resulted in saving five lives instead of one. So Hauser posed a scenario closer to home (in this case closer to work).

You have five patients who are in need of organ transplants but was unable to find matching donors. A healthy person with perfect match for all five patients. Would you sacrifice the life of the healthy donor to save the lives of the five?

His answer is, "Of course, not!"

Then, how can you push the large person in front of the trolley to save the five?

With that, Hauser's father changes his position.

This result proves that moral is not based on a purely utilitarian decision. Both switching the track and pushing the large person would result in sacrificing one life for five lives. Yet, one is acceptable while the other is not.

Moral decision making is not only not a purely utilitarian decision, it is not a purely Pavlovian learned behavior which is positively or negatively re-enforced.

In fact, when asked why the first is acceptable while the second is not, no one can give an answer. Part of moral decision making is biologically hardwired.

Another example of non-utilitarian response is the test of the self interest economy.

According to Adam Smith's "Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", in a free market economy, the self interests of all traders would dictate the distribution of all resources.

In Professor Hauser's studies, subjects were given the roles of donor or recipient. Each donor was given a sum of money, out of which he or she must offer a portion to a recipient. The recipient can accept or reject the offer. If the recipient rejects the offer, the donor and the recipient would loose the entire sum.

If the market is driven by self-interest, all recipients would accept any offer greater than zero since the rejection would result in one not receiving anything; something is better than nothing.

The research, however, shows that unless the sum is greater than or equal to what the recipient considers is a fair distribution, the recipient would reject the offer. He or she would rather get nothing than to allow an unfair distribution to take place.

Once again, the decision is not based on an utilitarian response but on a built in sense of fairness.

Hauser found another departure from the traditional assumptions of cognitive studies. Until Hauser's studies, it was believe that we choose what we think is right. If we choose incorrectly, it is because we think incorrectly.

This assumption is counter to Biblical teaching.

Romans 7:15
15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

Paul understands what is right and what is wrong. Yet, he confesses that his behavior does not reflect what he think is right.

Hauser's research agrees with Paul's experience. Many subjects are able to determine what is right and what is wrong (according to the hardwired responses). Yet, what the subject chooses to do may be different from what they think is morally right. Hauser concluded that determination of what is morally right and deciding what to do are two different processes that contribute to the decision making process.

Hauser was able to confirm this theory using brain imaging. He found two active regions in the brain when performing moral decision making. One region is the region associated with emotional response. The second is the one associated with computational processes.

By comparing the brain activities of "normal" subject with those of psychopaths, he found variations in the activities in the region associated with emotional responses. While the psychopaths have similar activates in the region associated with computational processes (utilitarian response), they lack the emotional brake which prevents them from doing what is morally wrong.

These findings mesh with Christian doctrinal teaching. Simply teaching what is right and what is wrong is not going to transform a person. The problem is not with one's computational decision making processes. The problem is with the emotional response. The problem is with where one's heart lies. This, only Christ can fix.

Responses to my "When should the church worship corporately?"

Most of the responses to my original post has been along the line of the following:

we exited the age of the law, now we can still keep the law if we choose to, but that is not what saves a person, in fact if you keep the law as it is written you would never get to heaven. the only way to heaven is by being a christian.

Here is my response:

Your theology is not quite right. If we are able to keep all the laws (given or otherwise) if we do not sin, we would be able to get to heaven. The rub is that we are NOT able to keep the law (given or otherwise) NOT avoid sinning. That's why we need grace.

You would have been correct if you had said, "Trying to keep the law would not save a person." because it is impossible to keep the Law.

The second problem is your statement "we can still keep the law if we choose to". It would imply that we can choose ignore the law. If so, then we can choose not to honor our parents or not to abstain from bearing false witness, or from theft, or adultery, or from committing murder, etc.

Just because we are forgiven for our sin does not mean that we should not longer attempt to avoid sin.

Romans 6:1-2
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

The caveat is that there are two types of law. One is universal (apply to everyone at all time). The other type is given only to the Jews to be apply in the period before Christ.

e.g., honoring our parents and abstain from bearing false witness, and from theft, and adultery, and from committing murder are part of the universal part of the law.

e.g., the dietary laws the ceremonial laws are given only to the Jews to be apply in the period before Christ.

So which type is the keeping of the Sabbath? Since God gave the example of resting on the seventh day before there were Jewish people much less the giving of the law to the Jewish people, we can argue that it is universal.


p.s., It really bother me that there are Christians out there who flat out write off "The Law" as if it no longer matters because they are now saved. I've seen it not only in responses to the Sabbath discussion but also to a plethora of Christian issues. Sure, we are not able to be sinless. Sure, we are saved from the punishment due to violators. However, "the Law" (the universally applicable part) is still the standard by which we determine if we are on the right track. We've got to heed to Paul's urging in Romans 6:1-2.

A response to my "If God exists, why does he allow bad things to happen to "good" people?"

I receive the following response to my original post:

I am not attacking you but I do have some comments about what you said...maybe we are saying the same thing two different ways...just curious

Were do we get the idea He disciplines us because we did something WRONG....teaching is done when people do things write...and its not always with blows..in Greek it is translated in a verbal or instructional method not a beating method....
Because of the system that God set up were He gave us free will to choose a blessing or a curse it allows Satan to test us....when we make a hole...like fear it gives Him access through GOD's Protection.....
Yes trials and Tribulations come and when they do we must put our faith to the test.....which matures us....but just sitting around complaining is not testing ones faith...we must fight the good fight....why is it good....cause if you don't quite you can't lose!
God did not need to tell Job, actually you can see Job figured it out for himself....realizing He opened himself up to fear...

Yes to say that would seem a bit much but sometimes actually most times that is all it is....we opened ourselves up and then the domino effect....

I like most of what your mentor says but that is not biblical...God says He is our protector.....so if we do right things He will protect us! Doesn't mean hard times won't come or bad things won't happen it just means that through and through God will brings us through the others side without the smell of smoke.....even when we stand in the fire!
What you consider faith is actually hope....Faith believes and has no uncertainty....hope is future with a bit of uncertainty...
Though there is a price to pay for doing right it there is no lack of guarantee....actually its a promise from a God who can't lie...the prevention of people doing what is right is a lack of faith, perseverance and love! Though the reward of Heaven is great so to is the reward we receive here and now....our blessings are eternal....and wants to bless us abundantly .....


Here's my reply:

Actually, we disagree on these key issues.

Hebrew 12:5-8
5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.

The Lord does discipline when you do something wrong. See in verse 5, He rebukes you; i.e., He's pointing out to you what you are doing wrong.

I never associated God's discipline with "a beating". However, there may be hardship resulting from God's disciplining. There is always hardship associated with life course correction. e.g., Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. So God caused him to be thrown overboard and swallowed up by a big fish and taken to Nineveh (not exactly a cruise on the Pacific Princess).

No, Job never knew what happened to him. In fact that's the point of the story. The Lord spent several chapters saying to Job and his friends, "You don't known what I've been up to since the creation. You don't understand the big picture." After God's tirade in those chapters, God did not reveal to Job and his friends what had been happening to Job.

Yes, God is our protector. However, there is a priority of what He is protecting:

1. our soul


2. our eternal glory


3. then, somewhere further down the list is our body

God allowed Satan to give Job boils on his skin. God didn't protect Job from that.

You got to look at the big picture. Our bodies are mortal. They will die. Their purpose is to house our souls during this very temporary period in which we (our souls, our characters) are being perfected. Once they have served their purpose, we will receive new glorified bodies.

The lack of guarantee of reward to which I was referring is the lack of guarantee of reward here and now. As you can see from my post, I believe in a guarantee of reward in heaven.

Hebrew 11:1
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

When should the church worship corporately?

Someone started a discussion thread in one of the Christian forums arguing that we, as Christians, should worship on the seventh day of the week (the Sabbath as specified in the Old Testament) and not on the first day of the week.

Here is my response.

The Lord never said that we are to worship on the Sabbath (the seventh day). The word Sabbath was transliterated from the Hebrew word meaning intermission (period between doing things, rest). The Lord commanded us to keep it holy (qadash) and not work on that day.

Exodus 20:8-11

8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy (qadash).
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The Hebrew word in verse eight that was translated to the English phrase "keep holy" is "qadash".

Qadash simply means clean, purify, dedicate, set apart.

It does not convey any meaning which can be translated to worship.


In fact, the Lord gave us the Sabbath for our sake: so that we would have rest.

Mark 2:27
27 Then He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."


The Lord also commanded us to rest on the seventh year.

Exodus 23:10-11
10 For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops,
11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

Also, the fiftieth year (after seven seven-year cycles), the year of jubilee (battle cry), is set apart to be holy. In addition, bond servants are set free and all property are to be returned to their original owners. (Leviticus 25:8-17)


The irony is that, for most American Christians, Saturday and Sunday are the two busiest and most stressful days of week. We do most of our shopping and catch up on our household chores on Saturday. And on Sunday, we are up to our neck in church activities and after church often there's work that are due on Monday. And we certainly do not observe sabbatical year nor the jubilee year.

It is insane that we should be debating whether to be ultra-busy with church activities on Saturday or on Sunday. We need to rest!


So, when should we worship?

The example set for us by the original church is to worship every day. The original church met twice daily to worship: once in the temple courts with everyone in the church to worship corporately and once in the homes to worship in small groups.

Acts 2:46-47
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Allow me to summarize what the Bible tells us should do:

1. Worship corporately daily at the church building (temple).


2. Worship in small groups daily in our homes.


3. Rest on the sabbath (sun-down Friday to sun-down Saturday).


4. Celebrate the risen Christ on Sunday (not just Easter)


5. Rest on the seventh year


6. On the fiftieth year, rest, forgive debts (free bond servants - those who can't pay their debt), and return properties to their original owners.

If you really want to debate the issue, you should be debating whether we are willing to sign on the doing all of these.

p.s., I'm assuming that we no longer have to celebrate passover since it is for revealing who the Christ is and we already know who the Christ is. It's Jesus!

p.p.s., I'm also assuming that we no longer have to celebrate any of the atonement holidays since Jesus has already atone for all our sins (past, present, and future).

If God exists, why does he allow bad things to happen to "good" people?

Of all the questions asked by seekers, probably the most asked is the question:

If God exists, why does he allow bad things to happen to "good" people?

Most often, I hear Christians answer it by saying that God will discipline us when we did something wrong.

Hard times are SOMETIMES due to the Lord disciplining us because we did something wrong.

However, not ALL hard times are due to the Lord disciplining us because we did something wrong.

• Sometimes, it's because you've been faithful. For instance, Job was being faithful when the Lord singled him out to Satan. In this case, God called Job as a witness to testify that God is worthy of worship. Satan was allowed to cross examine Job. However, it was not a verbal cross examination; after all, people lie all the time. Satan was given the permission to cross examine Job's heart with those trials.


• Sometimes, we are called to be a witness to our neighbors through our hard time. Most of my friends and neighbors know that I take care of my mother who had a stroke and my brother who has numerous medical problems. Often, people would come up to me and ask how I do it. And it would be a prime opportunity for me to be a witness to testify that "I can do everything through him who gives me strength. [Philippians 4:13]"


• Sometimes, it's because God is just helping us to grow and it has nothing to do with whether we did something wrong or not. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. [James 1:2-4]"


• Sometimes, it's because of something going on in the spiritual realm that effects what happens here in the physical realm and we would not know until we are on the other side of eternity. For instance, God never told Job and his three friends what actually caused Job's hardship.

One final note:

One of my mentors said the following which keeps me on course when the storm hits.

If doing the right thing guarantees protection from bad stuffs and rewards of good stuffs then everybody would be doing the right thing. It is precisely the fact that there is a price to pay for doing the right thing in addition to the lack of guarantee of protection and reward that prevent many from doing the right thing. All we, who are doing the right thing, can do is to trust that the reward that we receive in heaven is much greater than the pain we suffer now. And that's why it's call faith.

Concluding My "The Woman at the Well: Scorned Sinner or Holy Woman?" Discussion

In my previous blog entry, about the woman at the well in Sychar, I was using the second definition of the word "holy": "set apart".

Someone posted the following question:

What is living holy?
How do we walk the walk according to the Word of God. Scriptures please!!!!!!!!

Here's my response.

To be holy...

• (before salvation) You must be saved: redeemed through his blood and the forgiveness of sins.
  
  Ephesians 1:3-8 [You'll find the reference to being holy in verse 4.]
  3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
  4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
  5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will
  6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
  7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of Gods grace
  8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
  
  Ephesians 5:25-27 [You'll find the reference to being holy in verse 27.]
  25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
  26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
  27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
  
  Colossians 1:22
  22 But now he has reconciled you by Christs physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation


• (after salvation) You must abandon ignoble pursuits and pursue noble purposes which includes abandoning sexual immorality and pursuing sexual purity.
  
  2 Timothy 2:20-21 [You'll find the reference to being holy in verse 21.]
  20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.
  21 If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
  
  Romans 12:1-2 [You'll find the reference to being holy in verse 1.]
  1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.
  2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
  
  Colossians 3:12-17 [You'll find the reference to being holy in verse 12.]
  12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
  13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
  14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
  15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
  16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
  
  1 Thessalonians 3:3-5 [You'll find the reference to being holy in verse 4.]
  3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;
  4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,
  5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;

More particularly, we are created to do good works that God has predestined for us. These good work are the noble purposes and all other are ignoble purposes.

Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Although all believers will be saved from eternal damnation, there is a second judgment in which our actions are weighed and our rewards are determined.

2 Corinthians 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each mans work.
14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

To be holy is to accept Jesus as both our SAVIOR AND LORD: get saved, do good works that God has predestined for us, and abandon all other works.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.

(Digging a Little Deeper into 1 Timothy 2:11-15)

For big picture ideas, a translated Bible is sufficient for a reader to comprehend the text. However, in many cases, seeing, the nuances in the Bible, requires knowing the text in the original language.

For example, in John 21:15-19, Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?"; each time Peter answered, "You know I love you." If the reader doesn't know better, he'd think that Jesus went out of His mind. However, if you read the original Greek, you'd see that Jesus asked Peter, "Do you agape me?" And each time, Peter answered, "You know that I phileo you." Peter was not willing to commit to saying that he agape Jesus.

1 Timothy 2:11 is another instance in which one has to go to the original Greek text to get the nuances of what Paul was saying to Timothy.

So, I'd like to insert the original Greek word next to the important words in these verses.

1 Timothy 2:11-15
11 A woman (gune) should learn in quietness (hesuchia) and full submission (hupotage).
12 I do not permit (epitrepo) a woman (gune) to teach or to have authority (authenteo) over a man (aner); she must be silent (hesuchia).
13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman (gune) who was deceived and became a sinner.
15 But women will be saved (the word "woman" is not in the original text only the third person singular form of saved) through childbearingif they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

Here are the definition of the Greek words.

gune - a woman; specifically a wife
aner - a man (properly as an individual male):fellow, husband, man, sir.
epitrepo - turn over, give leave , give permission
hesuchios - properly keeping ones seat
hesuchia - stillness (feminine version of hesuchios)
authenteo - act of oneself, usurp authority over
hupotasso - submit self unto
hupotage - derivative of hupotasso

I made several of observations about these verses.

1. Although "gune" is translated to woman in 1 Timothy 2:11-15, in Ephesians 5:22-24, "gune" is translated to "wife"
   
   Ephesians 5:22-24
   22 Wives (gune), submit (hupotasso) to your husbands (aner) as to the Lord.
   23 For the husband (aner) is the head of the wife (gune) as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
   24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives (gune) should submit to their husbands (aner) in everything.
   
   So, while most people assume that 1 Timothy 2:11-15 is about women teaching in church, there is a possibility that the assumption is false. Paul may be talking about the wife usurping the husband's spiritual authority in the family. In fact, the bit about Adam and Eve really doesn't make much sense if it's an elderly woman teaching young men and women.


2. If we search the Bible for the Greek word "epitrepo" (permit), we'd find that the word is used only when giving permission for the immediate situation. It is never used as an imperative for all situations.
   
   Matthew 8:21
   21 Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let (epitrepo) me go and bury my father."
   
   Matthew 8:31
   31 The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, permit (epitrepo) us to go into the herd of pigs."
   
   John 9:38
   38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission (epitrepo), he came and took the body away.
   
   1 Corinthians 16:7
   7 I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits (epitrepo).
   
   Hebrew 6:3
   3 And God permitting (epitrepo), we will do so.
   
   So, Paul was only denying permission for these particular women (or wives) to teach at that particular time. In fact, we do know that Paul acknowledge women speaking with the inspiration of God.
   
   1 Corinthians 11:5
   5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her headit is just as though her head were shaved.
   
   (Prophesizing is speaking with the inspiration of God and not necessarily predicting the future.)
   
   So, why was Paul not willing to give permission for these particular women to teach? We know from history that at Ephesus, Timothy was dealing with Gnostics. In Ephesus a man named Cerinthus was a leader of this cult. There is a great possibility that the women to whom Paul is referring were being influenced by the Gnostics.


3. Paul, however, does seem to make a distinction between teaching and leadership. When identifying the qualifications of spiritual leadership roles (elder, deacon, or overseer), Paul specified that the role be filled by a man with only one wife.
   
   In his epistle to the Ephesians, after he specified that we are to submit to one another, he specified how the husband and wife are to submit to one another. Wives are to submit to the husband as the church to Christ. Husband are to love the wife as Christ loves the church.