Tag: theology

PUTTING OUT FIRES

Neal Pollard

The last few years have brought heightened fire danger to Colorado.  Our forest fires have made the national news several times during that span.  They seem to start spontaneously and spread, well, “like wildfire.”  Untold property damage, millions of charred acres, and even loss of life have followed the paths of these fires.  The cause of the fires are sundry, from human carelessness to beetle infestation mixed with drought and high winds.  The cost to fight these fires is exorbitant, but ignoring the fires is not a wise option.  Time, resources, and manpower are diverted to these fires, and this naturally occurs at the expense of other pursuits.

I have noticed that there have been quite a few fires popping up among God’s people in the last few years, too.  There’s the push for instrumental music in worship.  Akin to this is the push to fellowship the Christian Church.  One of the largest conflagrations involves the push for woman to assume leadership roles from worship to roles like deacons and preaching ministers.  Of course, certain fires had been previously burning that are not yet contained–a looser view on marriage, divorce, and remarriage, denying the inspiration of the Bible, and such.  There are even areas we could consider tinderboxes, poised for combustion. How far are we from having to combat the spreading idea that those in committed, homosexual relationships should be part of our spiritual fellowship.

Please do not misunderstand me.  I am not being fatalistic or giving up hope.  I believe we have the time, resources, and manpower to fight these fires.  Not only that, but we must be engaged in this business.  Ignoring these fires is not an acceptable option.

Yet, putting out such fires comes at an expense.  There is a lost world to be won to Christ.  There are so many opportunities to be proactive and serve the benevolent needs of our communities.  There are needed programs to build our fellowship, Bible school, singles, young adults and college students, and more.  There is the need to solicit greater involvement from members.  There are projects to take on, from media ministries to mission works.  These require our interest and effort.  Let us man the firebreaks, but let us not be wholly consumed with just putting out the fires.  Neither let us be afraid to equip ourselves to battle those flames.  Such will require balance, wisdom, courage, and love.  May God help us have a double portion of them all.

A Head Transplant?!

Neal Pollard

An Italian Neuroscientist, Sergio Canavero, announced this week that human head transplants are now possible!  I will spare you the gory details except to say it could happen within two years and should involve, in his opinion, someone who has a fully-functioning brain but who suffers from a severe bodily malady like progressive muscular dystrophies or genetic and metabolic disorders (“The Independent,” via Times Of India, 7/3/13).

We could debate the ethics of this, ponder whether Italian neuroscientists just have too much time on their hands, or discuss how realistic the possibility of this is.  We might also ask whether or not we should do something just because we have figured out how.  While the news out of Italy may seem like science fiction, there is a spiritual need for us to change our “head.”

Too many are riddled with guilt and beset by negative thinking and pessimism.  Christians ought not be fatalists.  That is a worldly point of view.  We have hope (Rom. 5:2) as well as the power of God (cf. Eph. 1:19) to help us cope.

Too many are consumed with lust and fleshly desires.  Christians should not be enslaved to such passions.  This is deadly and destructive.  God can help us, as we will it, to have a clean heart and new spirit within us (Ps. 51:10).

Too many are weighted down with jealousy and envy.  They cannot trust, even when they have no reason to suspect and distrust.  God can help us cope with these feelings and whatever drives them (cf. Gal. 5:24-26).

Too many are eaten up with anger, hatred, and bitterness.  The reverses of life, both real and imagined, can ruin our character.  We can feed our grudges until they become a gargantuan monster that turns on us and devours us.  God can help us cultivate a forgiving mind, letting go of resentment and allowing Him to transform us (Eph. 4:31-32).

You get the idea.  In our own individual ways, we are all “head cases.”  We have spiritual struggles in our hearts and minds, things that need changed into the image of Christ. Thank God that He is the Great Physician who has been successfully doing His superior kind of “head transplants” since the beginning of time!

CONVENIENT CONFESSION

Neal Pollard

Lance Armstrong went on Oprah Winfrey to confess his doping, but he has refused to testify under oath about the cheating.  The World Anti-Doping Agency director, David Howman, said of the TV interview, “What he is doing is for his own personal gratification. He’s welcome to do that, no one is going to criticize that component, but if anyone thinks that in his wildest dreams that it is going to have any effect on his life ban then they are in the same fairyland” (Steve Keating, Reuters, 1/18/13).   It is reminiscent of baseball power-hitter Mark McGuire’s famous, tearful confession to MLB Network of using steroids.  He said it was wrong, but maintained he only did it (cheated) to help mend or prevent his injuries, not enhance his power.  But, as journalist Larry Stone wrote, “He confessed because he had to confess” (Seattle Times, 1/11/10).  I remember being at a congregation which supported a missionary in Africa. The missionary was repeatedly asked by the elders if he taught polygamists that they could keep their wives when becoming a Christian so long as he did not accumulate more.  Other missionaries in the region reported that he did, that they confronted him, but that he refused to change his teaching.  But, the missionary vehemently, repeatedly denied teaching that.  Several years later upon retiring from that mission work, he saw one of the men who had served as an elder. The now former elder asked him if he had told polygamists they could keep their wives.  He answered, “Of course, but ‘everybody’ did it.”  His confession was convenient at that time because telling the truth would not cost him financial support.

Christians are told in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  James adds, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (5:16).  This is a confession driven by a conviction to please and obey God and make things right with those we have offended.

“Convenient confession” is not convicted confession.  Confessing if and only if we are caught is convenient rather than convicted confession.  Confession meant to conceal or control the discovery of other and even greater sins is not convicted confession.  Pharaoh confessed to get relief from God’s punishment (Ex. 9:27; 10:16). Balaam went from cursing to confessing only when he could see the angel of the Lord (Num. 22:34). Achan only confessed when God picked him out of the crowd (Josh. 7:20). Saul confessed when his back, spiritually, was against the wall (1 Sam. 15:24, 30; 26:21).  Time and testing proved the insincerity of these confessions.

Everyone will confess Jesus at the Judgment, when doubt will have died (Ph. 2:11).  Each of us are confronted with a sin problem, and at best we will wrestle with it (Rom. 7:14ff).  For confession to be effective, the Bible urges honesty and sacrifice.  Self-serving, self-preserving confession is convenient confession.  “Convenient confession” is not convicted confession.

GLORIFYING THE PERVERSE WHILE REJECTING THE PROPER

Neal Pollard

On the front page of today’s Section C (Colorado Style) in the Denver Post, there is what is undoubtedly meant to be a heartwarming story of love between Ned and Sara.  Except that Ned is now Koko, a man who contends he identifies himself as a woman.  Ned also is attracted to women, so he considers himself a lesbian.  The piece subtly contains the barb that if he had an operation, he and Sara could “only have a civil union.” As it is, they can be legally married and all because of anatomy.  The clear implication is that our current laws unfairly exclude homosexuals and discriminate against them.  With complete sympathy, writer Claire Martin gushes at this “unconventional trip to the altar” that will culminate in their July wedding–both of whom will be brides wearing bridal gowns (C1,C8).

Speaking against such thinking and behavior as this is increasingly unpopular.  In a “live and let live” world, whose inhabits decry and detest judging behavior as right or wrong, calling scenarios like the one presented in the article perverse is considered unacceptable. An agenda-driven media, as well as other, like-minded institutions, continue to foist homosexuality and perversity upon the “consumer.”  Not only is it promoted, it is normalized, dignified, and even glamorized.  Through such relentless publicity, so many are becoming desensitized and callused to what is advocated.  Interestingly, people get more comfortable with perversion but get quite uncomfortable with any denouncement or disapproval of perversion.

Consider Paul’s warning to the church at Ephesus (Eph. 4:17-24).  Nonbelievers can be found “walking” (manner of life) with a mind set on valueless and useless things.  The result of such thinking and living is moral darkness, spiritual death, ignorance, hardness of heart, shamelessness, an insatiable desire for pleasure, and a craving for what is wicked and lewd.  Paul contrasts the thinking of the world with those who have “learned Christ.” We are not to be corrupted by deceptive desires.  We are taught the truth, which leads to a new mind, a new man, and a new morality.

That means we should be able to distinguish between the normal and the perverse, the proper and the improper.  This will be more important as the world continues to lose its grip on such distinctions. We must keep our bearings!

CORN DOGS, SAUERKRAUT, AND COTTAGE CHEESE

Neal Pollard

The food items above have one sure thing in common–they are all items I cannot even choke down.  Each of them are undesirable to me for different reasons, but they are all checked off in my gross column.  You may love them all, and if so, in the words of the great philosopher Briscoe Darling, “more power to you.”  I just do not.

Culinary tastes differ.  I enjoy mixing peanut butter and table syrup, using homemade biscuits to sop up this fine, tasty blend, but I realize I may not have a lot of company in that proclivity of mine.  Some things are healthier and more suitable to eat than others, but much of that is simply a matter of taste.

Sadly, there are people who have tried to lean on their human reasoning and experience, determining what they will and will not do and believe based on personal preference and taste.  They do not see Scripture as authoritative.  In our postmodern age, people have tried to make our culture–with its peculiar tastes, desires, and leanings–preeminent over God’s revealed truth.  When this is the case, a society can put sins like abortion, homosexuality, adultery, living together, modern dancing, immodesty, and greed into the palatable and even desirable category.  The same group may put godly traits of character like honesty, courtesy, commitment, conviction, faithfulness, and the like into the distasteful category.

I remember my dad preaching a sermon about “Cafeteria-Style Religion.”  Back in those days, cafeteria-style restaurants were more common and popular.  You walk in the restaurant, walk past meats, vegetables, breads, and desserts, putting only what you wanted on your tray while rejecting the rest.  The spiritual application of that, that people pick and choose what commands of God to obey and what to ignore, is even truer today than it was then.  Today, it is not just doctrinal matters but also moral matters.

We need to remember this.  Scripture itself speaks of a way that seems right to a man that leads to death (Prov. 16:25).  It is not in man to direct his own steops (Jer. 10:23). Paul had been responsible for Christians’ deaths, yet could say in Acts 23:1 that he had lived with a clean conscience before God to that very day.  God has left a complete revelation that has been preserved, despite what agenda-driven skeptics say.  Our task is to swallow that, but to spit out any alternative authority.

THE STRUGGLE OF SUBMISSION

 

Neal Pollard

I confess to not knowing all the reasons behind some of the rules and protocol onboard the airplane.  Why do you have to power off your electronics?  Why must you have a seat when the plane is taxiing to the gate after landing?  I know what I am told, but that does not mean I necessarily see the logic as sound in every situation.  Having said that, nothing aggravates me as much as seeing fellow passengers flaunting the express command to cut off their phones.  I have seen people finishing texts even as the plane is leaving the ground.  Perhaps my feelings make me biased, reading the news story about the “rowdy” high school seniors from the Yeshiva in Flatbush in Brooklyn who were kicked off their 6 A.M. AirTran flight from LaGuardia  to Atlanta. According to an AP report, “Southwest Airlines, said in a statement that flight attendants asked passengers several times to take their seats and put their mobile devices away. The airline said that when some didn’t comply, the captain repeated the request. When that didn’t work either, the whole group of students was ordered to disembark for safety reasons” (David B. Caruso, 6/4/13).

Why do so many of us struggle with following the rules?  Children don’t want to obey parents.  Students don’t want to obey teachers and administrators.  Employees don’t want to obey employers.  Church members don’t want to obey elders.  Mankind doesn’t want to obey God.  This tendency is not only widespread, but has been timeless.

If we will honestly assess this problem, we will find that our biggest threat in this matter is internal rather than external.  Our biggest enemy in this is ourselves.  Certainly, James 1:14 applies to this struggle. We get carried away and enticed by our own lust.  With this, that ugly monster of pride swells within us, causing us to think, “Nobody can tell me what to do!” Let us remember Proverbs 16:18!  What a dangerous mentality.

Our perfect, innocent Lord faced a painful death on the cross at the hands of wicked men.  He did not complain of unfairness or decry His loss of rights.  He tearfully, humbly prayed, “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Lk. 22:42).  May we humble ourselves and follow His example in the areas of life that require us to submit to the rules.