Scripture Interpreting Scripture

There is a sort of habit in Scripture of attaching symbolic meaning to historical events. Israel in Egypt is compared to being enslaved in sin. The crossing of the Red Sea is a picture of baptism, of being freed from the enslavement of Egypt -- sin. Jesus is referred to as "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) in connection to the Old Testament sacrificial lambs. And on and on.

One of these interesting examples is found in Malachi.

"I have loved you," says YHWH. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?” declares YHWH. "Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert." (Mal 1:2-3)

God assures Israel that He has loved them. Picking up the real sons of Isaac, Jacob and Esau, He assures them that He loved Jacob ... the brother that was later named Israel ... the father of the people of Israel. He also assures them that He "hated" Esau. Now, that's kind of harsh, isn't it? No ... because it's God who says it. But Paul picks up this very text in his letter to Rome. Explaining that not all the children of the flesh are children of God (Rom 9:8), he uses Isaac and Rebekah as his example. Rebekah was told that the older would serve the younger (Rom 9:12). Then Paul draws from Malachi. "As it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated'" (Rom 9:13). What is Paul talking about here? Some conflict between Jacob and Esau? Something about Israel and Edom? No. Paul is using these two as an example of ... election (Rom 9:11). Yep. In the ancient historical Jacob and Esau, God pointed in Malachi to how God loved Israel over other humans, and Paul carried it to the next level, where God chooses whom He will save without regard to birth or works (Rom 9:14-18).

Like the tricky "Out of Egypt" quote from Hosea that changed meaning in Matthew (Hos 11:1 vs Matt 2:15), this one seems to change, too. But ... not. In both cases it is about God's choice. In both cases it is about God's unconditional love (Jacob/Israel/the Elect). And in both cases it is also about God's wrath (Esau/Edom/unbelievers). God says He loved Israel ... by choosing to. (God says, "I have loved you" and they say, "How?" He says, "I have loved Jacob.") Can't get much better than that.

The Total Perspective Vortex

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams posits a device called "the Total Perspective Vortex." It's an extreme punishment for criminals. The criminal is put in the device and it shows him the vast universe and his place in it. It drives them all mad, realizing they're meaningless in the broad view of reality.

David apparently visited the Total Perspective Vortex.

When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? (Psa 8:3-4)

The Psalm begins "YHWH, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens" (Psa 8:1). That is, the heavens declare the glory of God. Wait ... I've heard that somewhere (Psa 19:1) And in the vastness and expanse and complexity and simplicity of Creation, we find ourselves, tiny, miniscule, apparently nothing much at all. And we say, "Look at me! I'm pretty important." And creation laughs.

Paul warned that we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, but to think with sober judgment" (Rom 12:3). We do it every day. We think we're big and important and demand our rights. Maybe among humans we might be, but in the grand scheme of God, we must ask, "What is man that You are mindful of him?" And we ought to fall on our faces and worship, thanking Him that He does think of us. You know, as opposed to the shaking of fists in His direction because He didn't do or be what we wanted.

News Weakly - 3/1/2025

Gender Confusion
Nikki Hiltz made the news by winning five consecutive 1,500-meter titles in women's track. We're first introduced to Nikki as "transgender" and "non-binary," so it may raise some hackles that "they" (her pronoun of choice) were ("were"? "was"? How do we manage English plural verb tenses when we're using plural pronouns for single people?) even allowed to compete. But ... it turns out that Nikki Hiltz was born female and is competing in women's sports and there's no harm and no foul. Except ... this biological female identifies as "trans" and "non-binary" while competing as a biological female, and now we're all ... gender confused.

Paying for Extras
Denny's has joined the Waffle House in charging extra ... if you order just about anything on their breakfast menu. You can go for breakfast, but if you want eggs it's gonna cost you. "Come for breakfast. Stay for indebtedness." Eggs aren't good for you ... financially.

The Price of Pain
An Arizona woman has been awarded $7.25 million for a spine injury received while exiting a ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. I've always wondered how they arrive at these numbers. The sum included $250,000 for medical expenses and $7 million for pain and suffering. How is that calculated? It's not for lost wages or any other definable metric. (One website I looked at said with treatment the pain could last 3 to 5 months.) What it really seems to be is, "Universal has money, so we should take it."

For All Those Scared People
I know. Trump is scaring a lot of people. it's the end of the world as we know it. All that. But ... a federal judge blocked Trump's plan to fire probationary federal employees. So? The system is still working. The badly broken justice system and the nearly disabled legislative system are still balancing the very scary executive branch. Besides, you know Who is really in control, right?

Your Most Trusted Source for Fake News
Trump and Zelensky met in Washington (true story), prompting the Bee to report on Zelensky's bold new strategy of insulting the people he's begging for money. Elsewhere, Trump met with the UK's PM (actual story), and the Bee wrote how Trump assured him that England is still his favorite Muslim country. In unrelated news, biblical scholars are now saying that Paul's thorn in the side was likely his neighbor's leaf blower. I think we might all be able to sympathize.

Must be true; I read it on the Internet.

Not What We Expected

In Isaiah, God calls the prophet to a mission. The mission was to tell them, "Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive" (Isa 6:9). Kind of a strange mission. John understood it a bit differently. He quotes it in John 12 as an intention. "Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 'He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.'" (John 12:39-40) Notice the cause assigned in John 12 that wasn't listed in Isaiah's version. "He has blinded ..." The goal or expectation was that they would not see or hear. Not quite what we might have expected.

Of course, that's because we have this simplified view that "God wants everyone to be saved" with the sense of "And, by golly, He's desperately hoping it happens." But a plain reading of Scripture would require a different view. For instance, Paul writes that it's God's will to demonstrate His power and wrath on vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (Rom 9:22). Jesus told His disciples He taught in parables so that "seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand" (Matt 13:13). (He quotes Isaiah on that (Matt 13:14-17)). So clearly John's interpretation in John 12 was simply what Jesus told them. It was not, from the very beginning, God's plan to save everyone. Indeed, God has insured that those whom He intended to save are saved and those He did not are not (Rom 9:14-18).

Letting Scripture speak for God, the conclusion is unavoidable. But is it bad? I don't think so. First, it's God, so whatever He does is good. But there is another consideration. Scripture refers to the Church as the Bride of Christ. Paul says marriage is God's symbolic representation of Christ's relationship to the Church (Eph 5:31-32). The reason, Scripture says, that "all things work together for good" is precisely that we are being conformed to the image of Christ to be His "many brothers" (Rom 8:28-29). That is, God is saving "few" (Matt 7:13-14) for the special purpose of being His own. If His purpose was to save everyone, that special nature of His choice would be diluted, and He would be a failure because not all are saved. So, while, from a human perspective, it might seem unfair that He doesn't save all, I would argue that we should let God be God and side with His choices instead of our own. Like Mary, we should say, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to Your word" (Luke 1:28).

The Dilemma of Love

Liberal voices are up in arms because Elon Musk cut off foreign aid. The Christian Left is shouting that it's not ... Christian. One writer (who said, "If there is a god, surely this isn't right.") said "If I were to sum up the life and teachings of Christ, it would be three words: love your neighbor." Now, the truth is Jesus did teach that very thing. I think the suggestion that this was all or even primarily what Jesus taught is way off, starting with "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment" (Matt 22:37-38). Clearly Jesus taught first to love God. But, that aside, we're stuck with a dilemma. "Love your neighbor" is a central issue (as in, "By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).). The question, though, is "What is this thing called love?"

Liberals and social justice warriors see "love" as a function of wealth, it seems. If you have a lot, you're supposed to give it. "Love your neighbor" means no one should have more than anyone else. But is that love? Our simplistic thinking says, "Making people more comfortable is love." Is it? Scripture argues that God is love, and He offers wrath where needed. Jesus said, "You always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have Me" (Mark 14:7). If helping the poor is a definition of love, what was wrong with Jesus? He could feed 5000; couldn't He feed the world? Conversely, Job was quite clear. "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10). And Joseph considered his brothers' mistreatment of him as intended by God for good (Gen 50:20). If love is defined as seeking the best for others, it appears that "make them feel better" isn't always the best. So we take our babies into the doctor to be jabbed by needles ... in their best interest, because sometimes pain is necessary for love. Hebrews argues, "The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives" (Heb 12:6). Pain is sometimes necessary for love.

The whole political climate in Washington is not my point here. It was simply the catalyst for my thinking. We are commanded to love our neighbors. Sometimes that's doing good to them. Sometimes we know there's such a thing as "tough love." Ultimately love is defined by God, and we should be diligent to do that version rather than our warm and fuzzy "feel good" version today. Sometimes that's not love at all.

The I of the Storm

The world is full of interpersonal problems, large and small. Maybe it's two kids who won't share a toy. Maybe it's two world leaders who want to annihilate each other. Much of it still boils down to interpersonal problems. Regardless of your perspective on divorce, it is unavoidably true that the cause of all divorces is ... interpersonal problems. And most of our tensions and conflicts today are, at their core, this very same problem. Why? What's the deal here?

It's not really a mystery. We are, at our core, selfish human beings. Maybe it's because we were made in God's image. God is fundamentally selfish, but for good cause. We think of ourselves as the center of the universe, but we're not. He thinks of Himself as the center of the universe, but He's absolutely correct. I don't know if that's it. I just know that we worship the creature rather than the Creator (Rom 1:25), with "the creature" most often defined as "me."

The call on every follower of Christ is to die to self (Col 3:5; Luke 9:23; Rom 6:11). We are called to love God and love one another, keeping in mind that love "does not seek its own" (1 Cor 13:5). Perhaps we weren't made for this selfish "I" at the center. Maybe we were made ... to love, to give of ourselves. Perhaps if everything was not about "me," these storms of life would be greatly diminished.

Whole Heart

In 1 Chronicles, David gives his son, Solomon, a charge to build the temple for God. He begins, "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for YHWH searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever" (1 Chron 28:9). There's a lot there, but the thing that caught my eye this time was the phrase, "whole heart." Apparently, David was concerned that Solomon would only use the left ventricle. Well, no, of course that's not what he meant. So ... what does it mean to love and serve God with your "whole heart"?

We have an expression. "Don't do it halfheartedly." Obviously that's the converse of "wholeheartedly." God commanded His people, "Love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deut 6:5). "All your heart." We're told to love Him with all our heart, serve Him with all our heart (Deut 10:12), seek Him with all our heart (Deut 4:29; Jer 29:13), trust Him with all our heart (Prov 3:5), and more. What does that mean? It means without distraction, without mixed allegiance. It means with all of self. We know that the human heart is deceptive (Jer 17:9), so we need to garner our hearts, guarding them with the truth, and we need to hand over all of self to Him. This, we are told, is the greatest commandment: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart" (Deut 6:5; Matt 22:37). Without mixing. Without mixed allegiances. Without distraction.

We're humans with defective hearts that need mending, even replacement. And He promises to do that (Ezek 11:19; 36:26). But we are also told, "Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit" (Ezek 18:31). So, it's a gift that we wear, as it were. A gift we put on and tend to. What is the diversion, the mixed allegiance that is the problem? "All your transgressions." It's a lifelong process and it won't end this side of heaven, but it's not something we can ignore or be lackadaisical about. Love the Lord your God with all your heart ... starting now.

In His Arms

Hosea, the prophet, wrote,

When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. The more they called them, The more they went from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals And burning incense to idols. Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them. (Hos 11:1-4)

That first verse is actually quoted in Matthew, and, interestingly enough, with an entirely different meaning. Matthew writes of Jesus as a baby in Egypt and quotes this text as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. But the text is quite meaningful beyond that. God is talking about Israel in Egypt and refers to them as "My son." He called them, He went with them, and they ignored Him. He taught them to walk and took them in His arms, and "they did not know that I healed them." Imagine that. All He did for them and they didn't know.

Some things never change. Most humans never notice that all things consist in Him (Col 1:17). But even believers fail to recognize that we can do nothing without Him (John 15:5). We are, in essence, semi-deists. We live, we breathe, we brush our teeth and earn a living, we feed ourselves ... all on our own ... never realizing it's all Him. So it's actually comforting to read, after all our failure to recognize Him in our lives, He "led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them." We fail. We do. Even believers. We fail to see His hand in everything. And He? He leads and loves and frees and feeds us. He just ... keeps ... taking care of us. We don't often recognize His hand, but we are always ... in His arms.

Nothing to Fear

Christian singer Zach Williams has an uplifting song called Fear Is a Liar. It's about how the father of lies lies to us in our fears. "Fear, he is a liar," the chorus begins. There is a bridge in this song. It, essentially, repeats, "Let your fire fall and cast out all my fears. Let your fire fall, your love is all I feel." A prayer, then. And it's, essentially, biblical, right? It sure sounds like it. The text is found in John's first epistle. You probably can quote it.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. (1 John 4:18)

So ... "perfect love casts out fear" and Mr. Williams is, basically, quoting Scripture. But ... there is a problem.

You'll note that the basic text is ambiguous. "Perfect love casts out fear." Whose love are we talking about? Well, the first thought that most of us have, most of us have been taught, and certainly that Zach had, is God's love for us. God's love is perfect. His love is the only perfect love. So it must be. There is another possibility, isn't there? It's possible that it's our love for God that's in view. John could be saying, "When we love God perfectly, fear is cast out." So, is there any way to clarify it? I think so. John doesn't leave the "perfect love" in question. He describes it further. He says, "fear involves punishment." "So," we say, "because God loves me perfectly, and I'm saved, there is no fear of punishment." Yes, okay, but ... doesn't God love everyone perfectly? So shouldn't everyone conclude that there is no punishment because God loves everyone perfectly? Well, logically, yes. Biblically, no. Biblically we know there will be judgment ... punishment. So ... it can't be that God's love means no punishment. So it can't be referring to God's love.

It must be, therefore, that John is referring to our love for God. He's saying when we love God perfectly, there is no fear of punishment. Is there anything that could corroborate that? I think so. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). A cause-and-effect clause. "If you love ... you will ..." So loving Christ causes obedience. It stands to reason, then, that loving Christ perfectly causes perfect obedience. So when we love Him perfectly, there is no fear of punishment. In fact, John argues "the one who fears is not perfected in love." That's a helpful observation. You fear rightly when you don't love perfectly, so if you fear, check your love for Him ... because none of us will love Him perfectly this side of heaven.

News Weakly - 2/22/25

Unclear On The Concept
A Florida man shot two Israeli tourists in Florida because ... he thought they were Palestinians. Now, that's crazy on its own. He thought he killed them, but both survived. He shot them while driving. Nuts. But the most outlandish part of this story was ... the outlet connected it to "antisemitism." Now, antisemitism is against Jews, and, although the victims were Israeli, the criminal acted out of hate for the Palestinians. Not the same thing. Apparently the reporter is having the same problem the shooter did.

Heartbreaking
In 2 Tim. 3:3, Paul warns in the end times people will be "unloving," among other things. That word is a specific kind of love -- natural family affection. And he says it will fail. In Michigan authorities discovered three children, ages 12 to 15, abandoned by their mother and living in "absolute squalor." She left them "years ago." It's a heartbreaking story. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev 22:20).

Silly RFK Jr, Science is for Kids
That crazy RFK Jr. thinks that science matters. He's trying to restore the concept of the biological truth that there are only two sexes. Nutjob. Hater. Well, I mean, he's right but, come on, when did that matter? (To the doubters, there are only two sexes. If you want to battle over gender expression, you can, but there are only two sexes.)

Right ... Got It
An Alabama grand jury has recommended the entire Hanceville police department be abolished. Yes, abolished. It is a "rampant culture of corruption," so the solution is to eliminate ... law enforcement. Because getting rid of police has recently proved to be very effective ... or ... not.

Pro-Palestinian?
This week Hamas kept part of their bargain by sending home four hostages ... who were dead. The handover was deemed "macabre" by CNN. In a stunning reversal, one of the bodies was supposed to be that of Shiri Bibas, while 2 more were her two babies. Hamas lied ... odd, because Hamas is known for its honest and kind dealings. The bodies of the babies were there (and Oded Lifshitz), but the fourth body was not Bibas. In fact, it wasn't any of the known hostages. Netanyahu has vowed "revenge."

Fake News You Can Trust
The U.S. and Russia have been discussing how to end the war in Ukraine ... without involving Ukraine. Putin has reportedly declared he doesn't want to occupy Ukraine anymore. It has too many holes in it now. In an unrelated story, records from ancient Nineveh have been uncovered, explaining about the Jonah story that they actually repented when that odd prophet that smelled like whale barf left town. Finally, a Texas man cringed when he logged into Facebook and the Facebook Memories feature brought up images of his earlier libertarian phase. How embarrassing! Thanks, Facebook.

Must be true; I read it on the Internet.

The Italian Prophet

You know the Italian prophet. He wrote the last book in the Old Testament. Malachi. Okay, not Italian, but ... I bet you not too many of us know what's in that little, 4-chapter book. Take a look sometime. It's quite interesting. The book is full of a dialog between God and His people. The repeated motif is "... says YHWH, but you say how ..?" It's the ultimate "he said, she said," except in this case "He" is God and "she" is the people, so we know who is right. Still, it's a fascinating study in how God thinks as opposed to how we think. In the first chapter alone, we find God saying, "I have loved you" (Mal 1:2-5), "You have disrespected Me" (Mal 1:6), and "You are presenting defiled food" (Mal 1:7-12). Each time they ask, "How? How do you love us? How are we doing what You say we are?" And each answer is ... a surprise.

The one that caught my attention, however, was this one.

"You also say, 'My, how tiresome it is!' And you disdainfully sniff at it," says YHWH of hosts, "and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?" says YHWH. (Mal 1:13)

Isn't that us? "It's so tiring trying to do what God wants. He has so many rules. Silly rules ... beneath our better sensibilities. We'll give Him what we feel like, and He'll like it." We don't actually say that (I would hope), but we feel it. And our actions show it. We hold back on full obedience because "that command seems a bit too much" or, honestly, we want what we're forbidden rather than what He wants. We give Him "worship" and "His due," but ... second, not first. With our leftovers, either in resources like money or time, or in effort. The things we love we really work hard at, but obeying? Not as much.

The prophet Malachi, quoting God, suggested (is that too mild of a word?) that God was not pleased. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Notice it's a cause-and-effect: if this, then that. When we complain about God's demands on us, if we consider them tiresome or with disdain, we aren't simply being disobedient. We are failing to love the God we say we love. As believers, that should cause an alarm bell to ring in our heads. "These things should not be."

What Do You Care?

A mother is on her knees by her daughter's hospital bed. She is praying, desperately. She's begging God to save her, spiritually and physically. She's praying that He watches over her. She prays for her very best. Why? Why is she praying? Well, obviously, because she cares. What do our prayers say about us?

The truth is we pray about what we care about. We don't pray about what we don't care about. Seems obvious. And ... biblical.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

Yeah, yeah, that's the King James. And King James is probably the only one that translates it that way. All the others all say "casting all your anxieties on Him." Anxieties, not cares. But, what are anxieties? The Greek word means the parts, the distractions, the things that take our attention. So the King James translates it "cares." Maybe "anxieties" is better, but you get the idea. It's the red flags in life. The things that we care about. The same basic word Paul uses in his letter to Philippi.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Php 4:6-7)

So, we are to pray about what we are anxious about ... what we care about. It's a command, but it's also what we do. And here's my question. What do your prayers say about what you care about? Some of us don't pray much. That suggests we don't care much, doesn't it? James warns, "You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions" (James 4:2-3). Too many don't pray enough. Too many of us pray about selfish things. What do you pray about? What does it tell you about your highest concerns? Hmmm ... maybe that's something to pray about?

Dress Code

Do Christians have a dress code? Well, no! Of course not. Except ... well ... yes, we do.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. (Col 3:12-14)

You see it there, right? Because we are chosen of God, holy, and beloved, "put on ...", and it lists the "clothing" we are to wear.

It's a pretty extensive list. It begins with "compassion" and ends with "love." And that "love" is the full-on, agape type. Unconditional, selfless, giving ... that love. It's listed as "beyond all." There's a lengthy section about "forgiving each other" because we're required to forgive. Jesus said if we don't, we won't be forgiven (Matt 6:14-15). (Which, by the way, suggests that true believers will forgive because it is part of their new nature to do so.) One that I've recently found interesting is that "kindness" one. Paul wrote for us to be kind to one another. What did he really say? The word is chrēstos. It means, interestingly enough, "useful." That is, the biblical idea of "kindness" is being useful to others. According to Paul, it's a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). How are we -- you and I -- doing at being "useful" to others? (You can see how "kindness" is an outward-looking trait, as opposed to so many things we treasure that look inward.)

Christians are supposed to be known for their love for one another (John 13:35). We're supposed to be "kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you" (Eph 4:32). These things are not a "to-do list." They're our dress code. We're supposed to wear them, put them on, have them with us at all times. They are both Spirit-provided and our choice. Put them on. You (and I) ... put them on. I hope you're going out dressed appropriately.

Self-Righteous Hypocrites

If I refer to "self-righteous hypocrites," what comes to mind? Well, for many, it's "Those darn Pharisees!", and it's not inaccurate. But ... I think more will think, "Christians." And, let's be fair. There are more than a few self-righteous hypocrites in churches ... and out. But the suggestion is that all Christians -- at least, church people -- are self-righteous hypocrites ... and that just ain't so.

Consider, first, the term, "hypocrite." Let's be clear. A hypocrite is not someone who does the same thing they're decrying. That's not a hypocrite. "Hypocrite," at least originally, was defined as those who pretend to be more virtuous than they are. The term actually comes from the Greek stage where actors wore masks to play various characters. Hypocrisy is a mask people wear to come across as someone they're not. But to be a Christian requires that we confess our sins (1 John 1:8-10). The first act of any believer is to admit their sin condition -- a tacit "I'm a sinner." That's an admission of guilt, not a dismissal. It's a claim of "unrighteous" rather than "self-righteous." For this person to agree that "X" is bad and admit they've done "X" is ... honesty, not hypocrisy. We (humans in general or Christians in particular) are only hypocrites when we say "X" is bad, do it ourselves, and deny it. The other term -- self-righteous -- is a sheer fabrication in the Christian faith. The astounding claim of Scripture is, "[God] made [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21). By definition our only righteousness is applied righteousness, not self-righteousness. Now, sometimes we may lose sight of it, but the truth is none of us have righteousness of our own.

Christians are accused of things they are sometimes guilty of. "Your religion is a crutch." You'd better believe it. Without Christ we are without hope. "You're all hypocrites." Well, probably too many do sometimes claim to be better than they are, but "all" isn't valid. "Christians are so self-righteous." If they are, they're violating their own beliefs, and if they're violating their beliefs, you can't assign that to Christianity. That's a sinner at work ... which, of course, is the thing we're trying to stop being.

The Scriptures

We talk of "God's Word" when we refer to our Bibles. Jesus referred to "God's Word" in John 17:17 when He said, "Your word is truth." And we connect the two -- "God's Word" and "our Bibles." But is that accurate? They tell me, "You know, Jesus didn't know about the New Testament. He was referring to The Old Testament. And when Paul referred to 'All Scripture is God breathed,' he was referring to the Old Testament because that's all he knew." And most of us will nod and admit that's true. But ... is it?

John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John here claims that "God's Word" was a being, not a writing. The text claims that Jesus was God's self-expression. So when Jesus claimed, "I am the truth" (John 14:6), He was agreeing with John's claim in the first chapter. Jesus was and is the expression of God -- God's Word. If that's true, then Jesus, as God the Son, knew of the Old Testament and the New Testament, even before that was written. That is, the "word" that Jesus said was truth in John 17:17 was Him and all that was transmitted in our Scriptures, before and after. So, it's not true that Jesus didn't know, and it's not true that the New Testament is not as much true as the Old.

It doesn't stop there. The argument is that the Bible wasn't made canon until the 4th century. True. But ... that doesn't mean it wasn't Scripture. Peter called Paul's writings Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16). And Paul refers to Luke's Gospel as Scripture (1 Tim 5:18). (Note: In this text Paul quotes Deut. 25:4 and Luke 10:7, both listed as "Scripture.") So the claim that the only Scripture the New Testament writers knew was the Old Testament is false, and the claim that the only "Word of God" Jesus knew was the Old Testament. Unfortunately, that won't deter the skeptics ... but no truth will.

Celebration of Life

When someone dies, we will typically have a funeral. Or a memorial service. Or a celebration of life. They're all basically the same, but you can see, by their terms, the differences. A funeral is "goodbye." A memorial is "remember." And a celebration is "yippee!" Except ... we don't often actually celebrate the death of a loved one, do we? We just attended a Celebration of Life service for a man who passed away. I've checked with his wife for a few weeks: "How are you doing?" She has always answered, "As good as I can." Which is not "good," but "just trying." Because even in a Celebration of Life we're mourning. Why? Well, obviously, for unbelievers, they "have no hope" (1 Thess 4:13). Sadness is appropriate. But what about believers?

Believers still mourn the loss of a loved one. Why? Sometimes because the loved one wasn't saved. Very sad. But what if they were saved? Well, we're still sad because, well, it's our loss. We'll acknowledge that they're "in a better place," but ... we're not. They're not with us. Okay, I get that. But ... isn't that simple ... selfishness? Look, Scripture says love "does not seek its own" (1 Cor 13:5). Or, to put it another way, love is not selfish. Love isn't primarily concerned with "me." It's about "you." If I love someone biblically, it only seems like I'd want to rejoice in their joy, not wallow in my losses.

Well, of course, we're all imperfect and we're all concerned about "self" to some degree, so we'll all suffer sadness at the loss of a loved one. I'm not complaining about that. But if it is a long-term, life-altering sadness, I suspect it's not love we're talking about; it's selfishness. When Paul wrote that husbands were to love their wives, he described it "as Christ loved the church" and gave self up (Eph 5:25). Genuine love is fundamentally not about me. And if a believer loses a loved one who was a believer, it seems to me, after the initial shock, the feeling would be joy. Celebration. There's a poem that says,

If tears could build a stairway
And memories a lane,
I'd walk right up to Heaven
And bring you home again.

Let me just say that if I die and go to Heaven, please ... please ... don't do that. Don't drag me back to this temporary home away from my forever home with Jesus. Because, remember, Jesus said, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26). We (rightly) understand that doesn't mean to actually "hate," but to "love less", and every genuine believer will absolutely love less his or her own family in comparison to Christ. Can't we celebrate their home-going for them without complaining about our temporary losses? At least, I would hope that when my beloved wife dies, I will rejoice in her great, permanent blessing and minimize my minor, temporary loss.

News Weakly - 2/15/2025

Extortion
At the highest level of governance, Senator Andy Kim is willing to shut down our government in order to stop Trump from doing what he's doing. His plan is to stop the government from being able to function ... to give us better government. Wait ... he might have something there. At this point, anarchy is sounding better and better. Ok, no, but ... a government officer who advocates stopping government if the government doesn't do what he wants sounds a lot like extortion ... without regard to the consequences for the governed.

Anti-Science
Kansas's governor vetoed a ban on gender-affirming care for "transgender minors." Much of Europe and more than 26 states have such bans in place because ... science. Male is male and female is female and permanently changing the body of a child in opposition to science isn't fair or kind. They claim that it decreases suicidal tendencies, but, again, science doesn't know. But, hey, the Dems know what's best for those kids, so we should just submit to our kind and benevolent masters who are willing to mutilate children on a whim.

It Figures
CNN, that powerhouse for unbiased news, has hired ex-Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, to be a political commentator. You remember him. He's the one that told Chick-fil-a, "You can't come to Chicago because we're inclusive here." That guy who apparently defines "inclusive" as "excluding those we don't like." He's the political commentator I know I want to hear.

The Real American
The headline reads "Americans' credit card debt reaches new record high." The story is that American credit card debt is up in the $1.2 trillion range. That's because they're using the government's method of paying ... credit. That's because Americans are not so keen on delayed gratification and wise economics. Actually, it's because Americans, as a group, believe they should have whatever they want whenever they want it and no one should suggest otherwise. Not like those stupid boomers who tried to pay their own way.

The Vote Is In
Did they really confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services? I mean, everyone knows he's a crackpot ... specifically in the area of health. Well ... apparently not everyone. Your government disagrees.

Your Best Source for Fake News
Filed under "Is the pope Catholic?", the Bee has the story of Pope Francis declaring, "God agrees with whatever it is Democrats want to do right now." Makes sense. (And as for the question, it's really up in the air right now.) In other news, as states sue over Elon Musk and DOGE (actual story), Congress announces a new oversight committee to oversee government oversight committees. Underlying it all, Democrats are furious that Republicans are trying to control the government just because they won the election. The nerve!

Must be true; I read it on the Internet.

A Glass Darkly

Paul wrote,

When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:11-13)

We get the difference between childish thinking and mature. And many of us can quote the "see in a mirror dimly" text. But do we think about it?

Paul is writing about love ... biblical love (as opposed to today's version). This is a rare and powerful love, and it is a chosen love rather than merely felt. And it is ... the best (1 Cor 12:31). We currently live with the imperfect (1 Cor 13:9-10), but the perfect will come. We "see in a mirror dimly." It's true. We don't really understand a lot of things. We don't know why God does what He does. We don't understand our universe or ourselves. We see in a mirror dimly. So why should we expect more?

It's okay to ask. It's okay to wonder. We will never know everything, and that's okay. But perhaps we should pay attention to more important things. "But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor 13:13). Focus there.

What Is Truth?

Pilate famously spoke that question when he had the Son of God on trial. You know, the One who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). That is, Pilate asked, "What is truth?" of the One who claimed to be truth. The question, though, has always been at issue. It was Satan's first attack: "Did God say ...?" (Gen 3:2). It is at the heart of God's wrath toward sinful Man (Rom 1:18). And, frankly, it is the fundamental question in everything we do. What is truth? The question has been on our minds since the beginning of time. Unfortunately, in the Fall, Adam "arranged" to have us blinded (2 Cor 4:4) and left us with deceptive hearts (Jer 17:9). Sin rots the brain (Rom 1:21-23), and we're in real trouble ... on this fundamental question. So we muddle about trying to figure things out. But ... as it turns out, it's not as hard as it seems.

Consider. We're Christians. And our Lord and Savior said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). It's an interesting claim, because Jesus doesn't say, "I'm truthful." He doesn't claim to have the truth. He claims to be the truth. And, as "the truth," He prays to the Father, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth" (John 17:17). "Sanctify them in the truth." We are set apart by God by the truth. "Your word is truth." What does that mean? Well, every word that comes from the mouth of God is truth. No question. No falsehood. No error. Truth. Now, the Bible claims that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16-17). So when Jesus referred to "Your word," it would mean every word He spoke (including Jesus (John 1:1)) as well as every word He "breathed out." So, we actually have a supernaturally conferred document that is God's word and is, therefore, truth.

Truth can be elusive. Lots of truth claims are contradictory and we have to muddle about finding out which is false and ... which corresponds to that which is real -- truth. But our job isn't as hard as it sounds at first. We have the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth (John 16:13). We have Jesus, the embodiment of truth. We have God's word, superintended and guarded by God for our enlightenment. If we can just pay attention to these sources of certain truth, I think we can go a long way to answering Pilates sarcastic but significant question, "What is truth?"

The Big News

The Gospel, as we all know, is that Christ died for our sins and rose again so we can be saved. Woohoo! Except ... that's not all. That's barely scratching the surface. The Gospel is far bigger than most of us realize

Given our sin condition, our hostility to God, our blindness, our spiritually dead condition, the simple fact that faith in Christ saves us is truly, astoundingly good news. But it's only a part. We have forgiveness. We have justification. We have righteousness not our own (2 Cor 5:21). We have eternal life. And that's just the beginning. We have the Holy Spirit, Christ's life in us. We have the promise of being supplied all that we need (Php 4:19). We know that if God didn't keep His Son from us, He won't keep anything from us (Rom 8:32). We know that we are more than conquerors. We know we have peace with God (Rom 5:1). We are adopted into the family of God (Eph 1:5). We have the truth (John 16:13). We have supernatural peace (Php 4:7) and strength (Php 4:13). In trial and trouble we are more than conquerors (Rom 8:35-37). And more.

The Gospel is good news. Sometimes it's helpful to remember that it's more than the amazing news of becoming right with God. It is so much bigger. And when we see how very big it is, perhaps we'll be more willing to share it with others.

Bad Breaks

Our Bibles are made up of books and chapters and verses. The books are inspired but the chapters and verses aren't. I recently read Acts 21 which ends with "And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:" (Acts 21:40) Talk about a cliffhanger. "Saying? Saying what??" Bad break. A particularly bad break is in Ephesians where Paul writes that we are to be "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Eph 5:21). Paul goes on to give examples of "submitting to one another." Wives, to their husbands; husbands to their wives (Eph 5:22-33). It's easy to miss that he continues the subject of mutual submission in the next chapter (Eph 6:1-9) ... because it's a bad break.

One of those bad breaks is in Romans. In chapter 1, Paul lays out the problem: "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth" (Rom 1:18). From there it gets worse. God continues to "give them up" to increasing sin. (Interesting, isn't it? Apparently, God is the one keeping our sin in check.) Finally it culminates in "a debased mind" (Rom 1:28) which results in a whole 3 verses of evil Mankind commits, ending with, "Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them" (Rom 1:32). End of the chapter. And we all nod and say, "Yep, that's how it works. Those sure are a lot of sinners." We only get away with that because ... of a bad chapter break. Because chapter 2 begins,

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? (Rom 2:1-3)

You see, that chapter break gave us a break; Paul didn't. If you can see the evil that chapter one talks about, chapter 2 warns that you practice them and you are condemned because you can see it's sin. "Oops! That didn't come out like I planned it."

Our sin problem is worse than we realize. The Bible isn't unclear on that. And the solution is Christ alone. The Bible isn't unclear on that. But we need to be careful. It's too easy to miss the important truths by failing to take into account the whole counsel of God. It's too easy to yank a verse out of context and run with it. Don't let bad chapter breaks or favorite ideas or laziness stop you from reading it all, applying it all. God's Word is sufficient (2 Tim 3:16-17), but we need it all.

Contingent

A contingency is a possible outcome. It depends. For something to be contingent, it would have to depend on what other things will happen. So, if God is omniscient, He knows all contingencies. But if He is sovereign, He knows nothing contingently. He knows all the "what ifs" and He knows what will actually happen.

It's interesting to see this played out in Acts. Paul is being ferried to Rome. They run into bad weather. Really bad weather. So bad the crew fears for their lives. Paul, however, assures them there would be no loss of life. God had assured him (Acts 27:22-26). Woohoo! The outcome was already known. It's strange, then, that later, when the sailors tried to sneak off the ship, Paul warned, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved" (Acts 27:31). Well, now, hang on. How is that possible? Didn't God promise Paul that no one would die? How can he say they might all die "if"? That is a contingency. The story highlights the concept of the contingent without any contingencies. The outcome was known. If a certain option was exercised, that outcome would not occur. What then? That option would not be exercised, and God knew it. In fact, the warning of the contingency prevented it from happening.

This is the same thing we see in the question of losing one's salvation. Lots of Scriptures suggest that if we do certain things, we can lose our salvation. On the other hand, Scripture is abundantly clear that God always wins, that God always saves His own, that not one will be lost. That would seem to say that the warnings we see serve to prevent us from following the wrong paths, just like those sailors trying to escape the ship. "If" you fail to persevere, you could lose it. But ... God will see to it that you don't fail. He knows all contingencies, but He knows nothing contingently.

Trusty

(Yes, "trusty" is a word. It means "having served for a long time and regarded as reliable or faithful:")

Solomon wrote the famous, "Trust in YHWH with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths" (Pro 3:5-6). I bet some of you could quote it. And we like it. I mean "Trust in God" is a great message. But ... are we listening to it?

In Ephesians Paul told husbands to "love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her..." (Eph 5:25) and we husbands hear "love your wives" without looking at the explanations. "Wait? What does he mean, 'gave Himself up'?" (let alone the texts I left out) (Eph 5:25-27). In this text, we get "Trust God" and forget the entire rest of the text. Like ... "with all your heart." All? Wait ... that is extreme. Isn't "mostly" okay? "Do not lean on your own understanding." That is, in the process of trusting, don't require you understand it. Just trust. "How can a loving God create calamity? " (Isa 45:7) Don't wait to understand it. Believe it. "My God shall supply all your need" (Php 4:19). Don't wait to figure it out before you believe it. "In all your ways acknowledge Him." Do we even come close? Do we acknowledge Him when we dress in the morning? When we address friends, family, coworkers? Really, how much of our ways do we actually acknowledge Him, because I know if I think about it it's painfully small. And, really, are we really expecting Him to make our paths straight? "Don't worry, God. I got this."

We have a really big God. He is completely Sovereign and completely trustworthy. And we question Him. We give Him grief over His actions. We question His claims. Trust Him. Trust Him with all your heart. Trust Him without requiring you grasp it. Instead, trust Him by acknowledging Him at all times in all things. Let Him take care of things. Can you do that? We are a people of faith, but sometimes it seems more of the "little faith" variety.

News Weakly - 2/8/2025

When Sports Rule the World
DiJonai Carrington is a guard for the Connecticut Sun, a WNBA team. She is expecting the WNBA to take a "clear and serious stance" against the new (democratically elected) president. What specifically she's expecting isn't clear, but it's not a pat on the back for Trump. Always classy, DiJonai.

Extortion Note Writ Large
In a brilliant attempt to make their message known, a large crowd shut down the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles for hours, protesting the deportation of illegal immigrants. There's nothing like an "in your face" "We don't care how much trouble we cause! We're going to make you knuckle under" protest (read "extortion") to win the hearts and minds of the people. Well, okay, you're right. Let's discard the rule of law and the universal notion of national borders and just open 'em up. We'll see how that works for you. Just stop destroying our Sundays.

Obstructionist
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz said he would block Senate votes on Trump's nominees in protest over closing the USAID ... because everyone knows that diplomats don't deserve to be considered if you don't like the guy nominating them. It's not on merits; it's on political disagreement. It's stupid. It's obstructionist.

Hate Speeches
Angry protesters descended on Washington D.C. to demonstrate against Elon Musk. They're battle cry: "Nobody elected Elon." The truth is no one elected a single member of Trump's cabinet. No one ever has elected any cabinet member for any president. But it's only Elon they're irate about. Because "We hate billionaires!" Cabinet members have been doing what cabinet members have always done and no one has argued "We have to stop the destruction of our democracy!" Until now. Please ... stop ... you're embarrassing yourselves. You have to know that American democracy is not predicated on giving foreign aid, right?

Trump Derangement Syndrome
Democrats have filed for impeachment of Trump because they didn't like what he said about Gaza. I can't even ...

A Breaking Story
Here's a breaking story. On the cutting edge of research, scientists have found the recipe for boiling eggs. While we're in an egg crisis. Because no one has ever figured out how to boil eggs before. Your research dollars at work. Sigh. (And, no, that's not a story from the Bee.)

In Other Fake News ...
The WHO is warning that Trump's funding cuts may delay the release of the newest pandemic. Elsewhere, liberals are outraged that Trump won't let men punch women in the face for sport. And then there's the sad news that with USAID shut down, Ecuadorian children may never discover their true gender.

Must be true; I read it on the Internet.

Glory Be

The other day I referenced 2 Corinthians 4:4. "in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." We got the "blinded" and we got the source -- "the god of this world." Did we get the target? Satan blinds people for a specific reason: "so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." Now, maybe, like me, you might tend to focus on a shorter version -- Satan blinds them to the gospel. True enough. But not complete enough.

We know the gospel. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve" (1 Cor 15:3-5).The gospel: Christ died that we might live. The gospel: saved by faith apart from works. All true. All ... part. In that 2 Corinthians text, Paul adds a specific component of the gospel that we often miss. The gospel specifically is about "the glory of Christ." Satan doesn't want you to see that.

Moses asked to see God's glory, and God had to shield him from it. God said, "I am YHWH, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images" (Isa 42:8) In Romans sin is defined as falling short of God's glory (Rom 3:23). God's glory, it seems, is very important to God ... so it makes sense that God's opponents would seek to obscure His glory. Keep that in mind when you encounter people opposed to God ... even if it's you. The point is to hide His glory. That's not small or insignificant. And when we sin, we do just that.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. (Psa 57:5)