| October 22, 2000 |
Vol. III, No. 25
|
A man was stranded on a deserted pacific island for years. Finally one day a boat comes sailing into view and the man frantically waves and draws the skipper’s attention. The boat comes near the island and the sailor gets out and greets the stranded man.
After a while the sailor asks, "What are those three huts you have here?"
"Well, that’s my house there."
"What’s that next hut?" asks the sailor.
"I built that hut to be my church."
"What about the other hut?"
"Oh, that’s where I used to go to church."
Man has a propensity for pluralism, which is clearly seen, in his pursuit of religion. His promotion of the "go to the church of your choice" philosophy is widespread. In any metropolitan area within our country, one can see edifices of every type that proclaim man’s predilection for plural religions. The apostle Paul encountered this notable feature when he journeyed to Athens and spoke at the Areopagus (Acts 17:19-23). Paul’s observation was that the Athenians were too religious. He further proclaimed that there was but one God then proceeded to introduce them to this unknown God.
Recently, the Republican presidential candidates engaged in their second debate. One of the candidates, George W. Bush, when asked who was the philosopher whom he most admired, answered Jesus Christ. This sent shock waves through the political pundits. They rushed to the airwaves and to print with their trepidation over the introduction of religion into politics.
One such pundit reflected openly how this would be divisive because those who were Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc. would take offense at such a statement. He then reasoned that Mr. Bush should not have evoked his religious beliefs into the political arena.
Whatever one may think about the debate over separation of church and state, all agree that politicians are people. People are imbued with certain philosophies that direct their perspectives and actions. To demand that a person perform their job without allowing personal beliefs to direct their judgment is a demand that cannot be kept. Diversity of agendas exists because of the diversities of personal philosophies held.
The point Paul made and the one we must make today is that when we speak of religion, the church or salvation, we must do so in the singular. There is one body [i.e. one church (Ephesians 1:22-23)], one Spirit, one Lord [Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:13-15)], one faith [Christianity (Acts 3:6 & 16)], one baptism [immersion in water (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21)] and one God and Father of all (Ephesians 4:4-6). The false doctrine of pluralism cannot stand in the light of this divine Truth.
Man should search for divine guidance. Searching may cause one to realize he is aligned with the wrong church, change then becomes necessary (Acts 22:1-16). He then moves on to the true church (Acts 2:47) leaving the old man behind (Romans 6:4; Colossians 3:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17) and going on to the new.
Organizing a new church for personal aggrandizement or promotion of a particular doctrine or just plain old orneriness is contrary to the oneness of the New Testament church. Our constitutional form of government guarantees freedom of religious expression. I am extremely grateful for this blessing. However, Christianity is an absolute monarchy with Jesus Christ as king. Freedom of religious expression does not exist within Christ’s kingdom. He has all authority (Matthew 28:18). There is none that sit in His seat, not even the Pope.
The day men are willing to say "Speak Lord, thy servant hears and obeys", pluralism will lose its grip. Dear Father, may that day hasten its coming, I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
--Glen Young via Road Creek bulletin, Elkhorn City, KY
Your biography may never be written so as to sit on a library's shelf or to be read by generations not yet born. But you still have a biography, and God knows it.
All biographies have some common points. There is a date of birth, and there is a date of death. It is indeed appointed unto all men "once to die." (Hebrews 9:27) Regardless of whether one's passing is mourned and lamented, or not even noticed, the spirits of all return to the keeping of God while the bodily remains return to the elements of which they are made. Burial on land or at sea, or cremation, do not change this in the least.
"We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." (I Timothy 6:7) All accumulated wealth and all accolades and praises of men count for nothing in the hour of death, or beyond. This is common to all men.
This does not suggest that it therefore does not matter what we do or how we live. As one poet said, "It is not the whole of life to live, or all of death to die." There is accountability. As a greater than the poet said, "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." (Romans 14:10)
We need to learn what matters, what really counts. It should be obvious that this life has but little value in and of itself. It is temporary and it is exceedingly brief. But eternity is on and on.
The Lord who made us and who will judge us has told us what he requires of us. There are divine principles by which we are to live, and they are briefly summed up in the first two commands, namely, to love God with all the heart, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. (Matt. 22:37-39) These principles have clear specifics as to what we are to do. It is elementary that you should read God's word, and humbly follow it. It is the only way to have a happy ending to your biography.
--Jere E. Frost
In the opening lines of Matthew chapter 18, the apostle tells us that when a rivalry developed among Jesus’ disciples about who would be the greatest among them, the Lord sat a little child before them and insisted that they must humble themselves like a young child in order to be in His kingdom at all. Instead of seeking personal greatness and glory, they needed to seek to learn and to help and to serve.
Then Jesus said in verses 5-7, “And whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offense must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!”
Since Jesus taught that every believer must become like a little child in such matters as humility and willingness to be taught, it is likely that He was figuratively speaking of any believer when He warned against offending “these little ones who believe.” Certainly, it is a serious matter to drive a young person away from Christ. It is no less serious to drive away an older person. Each of these “little ones” or humble ones is precious in His sight.
And, by the way, we do need to understand that the Greek word translated “offend” is a word that primarily means to cause a person to stumble or fall into sin. Though, of course, we should never intentionally hurt someone’s feelings, Jesus is speaking of something far more serious than that. Some people seem to wear their feelings on their sleeves, and it is virtually impossible to even live around them without sometimes unintentionally hurting their feelings. But what Jesus warned against was conducting our lives in such a way as to put a stumbling block in the path of a person who is trying to live righteously -- and causing that person to stumble or fall into sin. “Woe to the world because of offenses” -- that is, because of enticements to sin. Let us never entice others to sin.
We get insight into how well Jesus understood human nature in the next line. He knew many would automatically reason, “enticements to sin will come no matter what I do, so it doesn’t make any difference whether I do it, or someone else does it.” Jesus’ answer: “Offenses [enticements to sin] must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” Maybe someone will entice this humble believer to sin -- but I must take every precaution to see that I am not the one who does the enticing. It would be better to die young or to die a painful, frightful death than to live long enough to lead a humble brother in Christ into sin. This, of course, suggests that there is a fate worse than death.
--CRJ