7.18.2007 | Orthodox study "Bible"

I am a big fan of study bibles; they're a necessary complement to anyone who wishes to delve into Scripture. My personal favorite is the Reformation Study Bible, edited by R.C. Sproul. This study bible uses the English Standard Version, which has become my favorite word-for-word translation.

Not that the Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible, using the NIV thought-for-thought translation and edited by Richard Pratt, is not also worthy. In fact, I'd recommend any serious student to have both, simply to gain the breadth of seeing particular verses in both an accurate word-for-word version (ESV), and in perhaps the best thought-for-thought version (NIV).

Now comes a study bible down the pike that will not darken my bookshelf -- ever. It is the so called Orthodox Study Bible, which was apparently rushed into print, since they seem to have left out some rather important parts of Scripture. Specifically, this study "bible" has only the Psalms and the New Testament.

Where to begin? Let's start with the fact that Jesus' ministry on earth, the incarnation of God, was based on the Hebrew Scriptures. That the creation, the Fall of Man, the entire notion of God's selection of His people and the coming of the Messiah simply can not be understood without the Hebrew Scriptures.

The best interpretation a Protestant can have? These folks were more concerned with publishing quickly than with fidelity to God's word. This appears all too typical of some denominations; a failure to appreciate the Jewish roots of their faith. Roots best expressed in and by Scripture.

All of it. This is not optional, people.

7.17.2007 | Conformity

Something that we must keep in mind whenever someone suggests doing something to make our church services more "relevant" or "youth-oriented." Or whatever seems to be the flavor of the month.

It's very simple: there are eternal truths. There is one very large eternal Truth, with a capital "T" -- Jesus Christ is Lord, and he has overcome the world (John 16:33). He has overcome the world, so that we don't have to.

But we must live in the world. While we do, here is some time-tested, nay, eternal advice from Paul in his letter to the church at Rome. Romans 12:2:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The world has many temptations; it's oh so easy to succumb. I have, and do. Just that, now I feel guilty.

Guilt is only a start, brothers and sisters. With God's help, guilt, not useful by itself, can lead to renewal: stopping the sins before they are even born. How to keep on that path towards renewal?

Let's all take the a advice that God gave to Joshua, when Joshua, a mere youth, was instructed to take on the mantle that had been Moses'. Joshua 1-9:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Remember this whenever you are tempted by the world, or believe yourself too weak to withstand the temptations.

7.07.2007 | Legalism and eternity

Just thinking about a book that probably doesn't get read much by most Christians: Leviticus. This is the "how to" manual for priests, of the tribe of Levi. Details, details; it's all in the details.

Leviticus also, of course, contains much wisdom for how we should organize our societies and what is good in the eyes of the Lord, and what is not good. Or, in the text, an "abomination" unto the Lord. Most of us simply don't bother with Leviticus, and when it comes to morality, we prefer to take it directly from the Gospels or Paul's letters.

But from whence do we think Jesus got his standards? Or, for that matter, Paul? There's only one source; it is the word of God, as given to Moses at Sinai, and in the incarnation of the Word, Jesus Christ. This is what is eternal -- the Word of God: Book and Savior.

True, Jesus simplified matters, telling us that we should not let legalisms deny meeting the second great commandment of loving our neighbor. But in no way shape or form did Jesus excuse us from meeting God's commandments. This raises another problem. One may hear, in many if not most churches, that Leviticus was fine for the ancient Israelites, living in the Near East of 3,500 or so years ago. Those rules just can't apply to our modern, post-Enlightenment society.

True, there's no longer temple worship, and the details of a priest's ephod, or, for that matter, specifications of the ark of the Lord, don't seem to have much relevance for the problems we face today.

What is eternal is the singular precept expressed by Jesus in the first great commandment. From Mark 12:30:

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

The eternal nature of this commandment should be self-evident: it was true in the beginning; it was true for the Israelites at the time of Sinai; it is true for us.

From perhaps the greatest preacher of all times, C.H. Spurgeon, some words on this most important commandment:

Our Saviour said, "This is the first and great commandment." It is "the first" commandment—the first for antiquity, for this is older than even the ten commandments of the written law. Before God said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal," this law was one of the commands of his universe; for this was binding upon the angels when man was not created.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and forever shall be. God is eternal; His Word likewise. What changes is only our limited perception of that word. And what we fail sometimes to acknowledge is that the Lord knows how to communicate with His audience; hence the form may change.

But never the substance.

7.04.2007 | Let your words be few

This is always good advice; advice that I sometimes don't heed. From the Preacher, as recorded in Ecclesiastes chapter 5:

1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. 3For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words.

It's clear what God expects of us; it is a theme that is repeated over and over by the prophets, and by our Lord, who expressed the same concept in Matthew 5:37:

Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.

This isn't just a rule for right living; it is what God expects of us. It is among the lessons we take from Scripture, which our faith must encourage us to take to heart.

6.12.2007 | Great is Thy Faitfulness

The hymn is one of the all-time favorites, and anyone who isn't move to stand and deliver when it is sung just should avoid church.

Beside being a great hymn, its message, from Lamentations chapter 3, is that our God is a God of renewal. That every day we can start anew, and that God's mercy is not just infinite, but a renewable resource.

From Lamentations:

22It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

24The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

25The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

26It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

The Lord's mercies are new every morning. Think on this, every morning, when you awaken.

5.29.2007 | I will bless them that bless thee...

It is always useful to consult Scripture whenever there is a question. One in particular that has vexed the Christian church since its very beginnings has been how to treat the Jews. The simplest answer is to be found in the beginning; in the Book of Genesis, chapter 12:

1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew. His parents were both Jews. All of the apostles were Jews, as were virtually all of those who were called to be disciples of Jesus.

St. Paul taught us to distinguish between being a slave of the law, assuming righteousness, yet with an unclean heart (e.g. Romans 2). Was this a rejection of the Jews qua Jews? Some Christians have made this claim, the notion that Paul was rejecting the Jewish people.

Not at all. Paul was rejecting, as we too must reject, the legalism that can too readily become a substitute for the love of God and of our neighbor. This isn't what being a faithful Jew, or Christian for that matter, is about; it is only an imagined vision of Jews who observe as many of the 613 commandments from Torah as they are able to.

The faithful Jew is no more a legalistic automaton than is the Catholic who prays the Rosary and attends daily Mass, each with its formulaic prayers, seemingly repeated endlessly and without the Spirit. The same may be said for fundamentalist Protestants who insist on the literal word-for-word truth of selected passages of Scripture, but who lack Christian love.

Legalism comes in many forms; it is hardly a Jewish disease. It is a human failing. The point is that the Jews remain blessed by God, Who does not lie or change His mind. There are not two covenants or testaments; there is but a single God, triune in nature, who reveals Himself to us throughout history. His promises remain true.

First to the Jews; then to all. Will the Jews "come around" as they say? I think so, although it may take until the end times when all knees will bow at the name of Jesus. Until then, our job is to love all men, but take especially care to preserve Israel, and the Jews.

It's what our Lord expects of us.