| The Encourager |
We often mention how many times we take the things in front of us for granted. We are presented with blessings each day [Psa. 68:19, Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth us with benefits], yet we are not always thankful. We come to assume that somehow we deserve them, so we take them for granted and consider these blessings an entitlement. Likewise, the same principle applies to some of the things we see in Scripture, such as the prophecies. Our generation has seen the greatest miracle outside of Jesus Christ Himself, and yet most people, and even Christians, just take it for granted. We have seen the prophecy fulfilled of Israel becoming a nation again after being ruled by Gentiles for over 2000 years. From the time of the dispersion caused by Babylon, to the year 1948, Israel did not run their own country. In 1948, they not only became a nation again, but a nation with the same culture, bloodline, and God that they had back in the antiquities. The first part of the prophecy was fulfilled then [Hos. 6:1-2], they are revived, and we are waiting for the second part of the fulfillment when they will be raised up at the 2nd advent. Our churches and preachers do not make much fuss over the event, even when it is one of the greatest proofs of our Bible. The Word of God has detailed prophecy unlike any other written account from anytime, and we just take it for granted. Also taken for granted is the effect that Christianity has had upon the entire world. No other religion other than Judeo-Christianity has affected every region of the world, and done so with such radical thoughts. These thoughts have changed the entire thinking of the civilized world and are an integral part of our lives today, whether you are even a Christian or not. Thomas L. Krannawitter, in his book “Vindicating Lincoln” discusses the thoughts of Abraham Lincoln on the black race. Lincoln had a radical idea that there are certain rights [human rights] that are inherent to all people just because they are people, not cattle to be owned. Mr. Krannawittter quotes Alexis de Tocqueville on page 1 of his introduction as saying, “it required nothing less than the coming of Jesus Christ for human beings to see one another as equals”. Before Jesus Christ was born the idea that all men are on the same footing was totally radical. The Old Testament was the preparation of the fulfilled prophecy, so God had to keep Israel secured and separated. Israel was and still is God’s physically chosen people, but Jesus Christ gave a radical new direction to the thoughts of all of humanity. In the New Testament, there is no regard to being Jew or Gentile when it comes to the basic need of mankind; salvation [Gal. 3:28]. Notice the verse even mentions “bond nor free”. That is what President Lincoln understood. Although it would be a mistake to equate the equality of all mankind with the rights of Americans, [as some of our politicians are doing today by insisting that terrorists should have access to our court system], it is understood that there are certain equalities among all humans. Even though there is a difference in cultures, races and personalities, there is no difference in the basic place of mankind which Jesus Christ set for all of us. All men are sinners and their course is set for hell [Rom. 3:23]. All men are in need of a Savior which is Christ the Lord [I John 2:2]. All men will be judged on these simple universal facts and what they did with them [I John 5:12,13]. All saved people are part of the body of Christ [I Cor. 12:27]. Jesus Christ did what no other religion, government or philosophy even tried. He put all men on the same level, which is why Christians such as Wilberforce campaigned to put an end to slavery in England, and Christians were the driving force to put an end to slavery in America. Of course you had some Christians that denied what Christ said and maintained that slavery was good, but it would still deny the basic stand of humanity that Jesus Christ preached, that we are all on equal footing. And yes, Virginia, I do know the verses in the New Testament that do not deny slavery, but I also know the book of Philemon, and how the entire attitude toward slavery was changed. Paul puts himself, Philemon and the slave Onesimus all on the same footing in regard to their human worth, so that Onesimus was not viewed as just a piece of property anymore. Look at the other religions of the world, and see how they regard people considered inferior to them. There is no equality, respect, or consideration of others from their sacred writings. They only do so now because of the influence of Christianity. Another world changing effect brought on by our Bible is the treatment of women. Females were regarded as just so much cattle in almost every culture. Even in the Old Testament the men were afforded the ability to possess multiple wives. You would be hard pressed to find a culture where the wives had multiple husbands, [although Hollywood comes close, even Liz Taylor had to divorce them so she only had one at a time!] New Testament Christianity changed our whole perspective of how we regard and treat women. It begins with the preachers, and their command to have only one wife [I Tim. 3:2]. Jesus Christ has one bride, the church [Eph. 5]. When a man is allowed a multitude of wives, then it diminishes the wife’s value, the love she receives, and even the place of honour that she holds. There are several commands given in regard to a man’s wife, that were totally radical from the culture that was the norm at the time. The husband and wife are to submit themselves to one another [Eph. 5:21]. That would be as shocking as telling him to submit himself to the family pet. They are to look at their lives and conduct to see what is pleasing to the Lord, but also to see what is best for their spouse rather than themselves. Men are to remain the head of the household. Only a monster has two heads, so someone has to be in charge. But the attitude of being in charge is totally changed. For centuries, women were looked at as only for the purpose of pleasing the men. But the Lord instructs us on a new attitude. Husbands love your wives even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it. How does Christ love the church? How does He treat us as His bride? The Bible states that Jesus Christ came to give us life, and that more abundantly. He did not save us to make us miserable, or just to own us, as He even states very emphatically in the book of John that He calls us no more servants but calls us friends. This brings about a radical change in the dynamics [don’t I sound educated!] of the family. My family is not there to make me look good, but rather, it is my mission in life to help my family to be good, not just look the part. And then Jesus states that we husbands are to be willing to give our lives for our wife. Now think about it, if I had four wives and one of them was in trouble, the thought would have to come to mind, “oh well, I still have three left”. But when you have one wife, you love her with all your heart as the Lord Jesus Christ loves the Church, and you and she are one flesh, then it changes your priorities in life. Outside of the Lord Jesus Christ, my wife needs to be first in my life. My life is to do the will of God, and a major part of that will is to take care of the woman God gave to me. That is to honour and serve her, while at the same time to lead her in the will of God. If that seems like a contradiction in terms to you, you missed the teaching of Christ. These thoughts were extremely radical at the time of the New Testament writings, and yet they changed the known world. No other religion has affected every nation the way Christianity has. But we sit back and take it all for granted. When we lose our Christian principles you will find that we will lose these radical ideas also. As the world rants more and more about liberty while shutting out the words of God, they will find themselves losing ground on the basic rights God gave to us through Jesus Christ. The more politicians and special interest groups talk about giving us liberty, the more they are taking our freedoms away. The news media wants to promote the “Fairness Doctrine” because some are losing audiences, but they don’t realize they will also be the first ones to lose their ability to say what they want under the first amendment if those policies are put in place. We Christians need to speak up. Now is not the time to be politically correct in regard to what our Bible has accomplished in the history of mankind. We have the truth. We have the accounts of history to show what is the fruit of Christianity as well as the history to show the fruits of these other religions, such as the slaughtering of innocents supposedly providing you 70 virgins in heaven [that must be virgin hell!] and women are reduced to nonentities that cannot speak up or show themselves in public. Bible Christianity will provide a quality of life [and I am not talking about financially] that is unparalleled in any other culture and affords basic human dignity to all. Let’s not lose that by giving in to recycled philosophies that have proven themselves stupid. Copied from The Encourager, January/February 2010 If you would like to receive the Encourager, please e mail us your address. |
| Radical Thoughts by Pastor Steve Hays |