New Book – A Practical Guide to Studying the Bible December 6, 2022
Posted by TJ Friend in Uncategorized.Tags: exegesis, hermeneutics, How to study the Bible, practical guide to studying the Bible
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For those of you who have followed this blog for awhile, you know there is a a lot of good information here on how to study the Bible. That is what I am all about. I want people to read the Bible, study it, meditate on it and actually live it out. Because I believe this is so important, I decided to take all this information, simplify it down and put it in a format that is more accessible to people. And so, I wrote a book.
The book is called “A Practical Guide to Studying the Bible“. It is practical in that, as you are reading the Bible, you can use this book as a tool to help you understand what is being said. There are questions to answer and space to fill in the answers. I believe going through this process will take you deeper into the text and get more out of the Bible than just reading it.
I have broken this book into two parts. The first part is a general overview of what to look for when studying the Bible. These are things like who is the author, what is the genre, what historical/cultural issues are there and finally how can you apply this to your life. The second part of the book is the questions to ask as you are studying, with space to write your answers and go through the process of studying the Bible. The first part goes through what you should be looking for with all the questions, so if any question doesn’t make sense, you can go back and look at the corresponding section in the first part of the book.
My hope through this book is that you will gain a better understanding of what the Bible is saying. As we know the Bible more, we will be better prepared to recognize the falsehoods that surround us and combat them with the truth of Scripture. We will better understand our identity in Christ. We will know God more and deepen our relationship with Him as He speaks to us through His word. And, our thoughts will be changed as our minds our transformed by the truth. As we do all this, we can be the light and agents of change in this broken world.
So, if you want to study the Bible, this book will help you out. Go check it out.
Run the Race December 21, 2017
Posted by TJ Friend in Specific Passages.Tags: Hebrews 12
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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” (Hebrews 12:1)
I am writing this at the end of 2017. I like to take the end of the year to reflect on the year and plan for the year ahead. As I have been thinking these past couple weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about who I am and what I am “called” to do in life. I could write a lot on that topic alone, but for now, I want to focus on the general idea of fulfilling your purpose. Hebrews 12:1 encompasses a lot of what I want to say on this topic, so I want to look at it through the lens of calling.
First off, I want to set the context. This verse is in a section (Heb. 12:1-3) that is specifically talking about enduring suffering and overcoming sin. He looks back (“therefore”) to the previous chapter where he had just given a bunch of examples of people who had faith in God even though they didn’t see the fulfillment of God’s promise in their life. The author uses the analogy of a race to talk about how they should live the Christian life. They are to cast off sin and “run with perseverance” the race marked out for them. They need to look to Jesus’ example of enduring suffering, who was able to endure the crucifixion because of the “joy set before him”. By following Jesus’ example they too should “not grow weary and lose heart”.
This is the basic idea of this passage, but I want to look at it from a different angle and draw some applications to our lives, specifically in regards to our purpose. I want to break this verse down and look at it piece by piece to see how it can apply to our calling in life.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,”
The first thing we need to realize is that we are being watched. This idea of “witnesses” is that of a group of spectators watching a sporting event. I don’t want to get into who these “witnesses” are, whether angels or former saints who have died. For me, it is enough to recognize that people are watching my life. My friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, and random people who come across my path are all watching my life. Some of these people are more invested or interested in what I do than others, but nevertheless, there are plenty of people watching.
In looking at this from the perspective of a race, it is like these people are cheering me on. They are watching and hoping that I do well. To take it a step further, there are people whose lives will be impacted as I step into the calling I have on my life. Whatever calling or purpose there is in my life, it is not solely for me. There are other people who will benefit as I step into this calling. On the flip side, there are people who are missing out on what I have to offer, if I don’t move toward my calling.
For example, let’s say someone is called to be a teacher. If this person either doesn’t realize this is their calling or make choices that don’t enable them to fulfill their calling, there will be plenty of people who will miss out on having the specific influence of this teacher in their life. Even the simple act of fulfilling a goal can be inspiring for someone who has unfulfilled goals in their life. By you fulfilling your goal, it can inspire someone else to reach higher and fulfill their goal also.
Whatever calling we have on our lives, will not just be for ourselves. That is too small. As we pursue that calling we should think of those who will be impacted by our lives. There are people watching and they are waiting for us to fulfill our calling.
“let us throw off everything that hinders”
As a runner, it is important to be as unencumbered as possible. For a runner, you want to be carrying as little as possible and not wearing extra layers that are going to hinder your mobility. As such we need to get rid of the things that weigh us down. I could make a huge list of the things that hinder people from their calling, but I want to focus on three categories – negative thoughts, negative habits, and negative people.
First we need to throw off negative thoughts. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, Paul talks about taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ. Our thoughts are one of our biggest enemies. We can move to a place of fear and discouragement simply by thinking negative thoughts.
The great thing about thoughts is that we have control over them. We can choose what we dwell on. Martin Luther said, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”. What he meant was that in the same way birds fly over our head, there are thoughts that come into our minds. We can’t stop that. What we do have control over is what we do with the thought once it is there. If a bird tried to land on your head, or build a nest there, you would naturally shoo it away. We need to be just as vigilant with our thoughts. When a negative thought comes to try and build a nest on our head, we have the right and obligation to swat it away. Don’t let negative thoughts build a nest in your mind. They will cripple you with self doubt, anger and shame.
Second, we are hindered by our habits. We are by nature creatures of habit. Some things we do, not because we want to, but because it is what we have always done. Not all habits are bad, but we need to be aware of those that are keeping us from living out our purpose. The good thing about habits is that they are changeable. You can get in the habit of, say, going to the gym everyday or getting rid of negative thoughts when they come into your mind. We have a choice of what we do.
At the very least it is important to get rid of our bad habits. We need to be aware of the things we run to when we are anxious or bored. What I’m talking about is intentional living. Think about the life you want to live and set up your life so that you do things that move you in that direction. Do some positive things on a regular enough basis that they become habits.
Finally, you need to get rid of negative people. There are some people that will discourage you from moving toward your calling. If you are constantly around people that are negative and dragging you down, you may have to change your environment. You can’t surround yourself with negativity and expect to move forward toward your goals. Find people that will encourage you and push you to excel and let the others go.
“and the sin that so easily entangles”
If you want to know the best way to derail yourself from your calling this is it. Get “entangled” in sin and you are guaranteed to fall short of your calling. If you were running, this would be like tying your shoelaces together. You will end up falling on your face. In the Greek the word here for “entangles” gives the image of a competitor preventing you from running or thwarting all your efforts.
If you are in any ministry position, sin can get you removed. There are countless pastors, worship leaders and youth ministers who have had to step down due to sin issues. This is a big problem. It not only keeps a person from fulfilling their calling, but it also breaks trust with those who the minister was serving. This can be devastating. People can get bitter or cynical or even walk away from the faith based on someone else’s sin problem.
But this isn’t just an issue in the Church. Any leadership position can be derailed by sin. There are plenty of politicians who have lost their position based on sinful behavior, whether lying or sexual misconduct. There have been CEO’s of companies who have stolen from their own company and so ruined the lives of their employees.
We need a revolution of holiness and purity. If you want to fulfill your calling, you need to make integrity a priority. There are some things that you wouldn’t be able to handle right now because your character is lacking. Make getting rid of sin a priority whatever it takes. Get into an accountability group, go to counseling, pray, fast…whatever, just get rid of it.
“And let us run…the race”
When it comes to a calling, or a dream, or even just a goal, we need to run towards it. There are times of rest, but for the most part we should be pursuing our dreams. We need to be running towards them. This isn’t just a casual stroll through the park; this is a race.
There are so many people that never make their dreams a reality. They never enter into their calling. I think a big part of it, is that for a lot of people their dream is just a hobby. They don’t pursue it with intentionality. It is more of a hope or a wish. In order to make it to your calling you actually have to work towards it. Having a strong desire for something to happen isn’t enough if you don’t put some action into it.
In a race, there are people competing to win. We aren’t necessarily competing against other people, but when it comes to our calling we do need to bring a certain amount of competitiveness into our lives. We should try to “win”. This means we need some intensity in what we do. It also entails a drive to fulfill our dream. It’s not just that we are moving toward our goal, but that we are doing it with a sense of urgency.
“with perseverance”
I’ve heard it said that the Christian life isn’t a sprint, but a marathon. This applies to pursuing our calling. Although, we need to pursue our calling with intentionality and urgency, this doesn’t mean that it is necessarily going to be a short process. And it definitely doesn’t mean it will be easy. Whatever calling we have is going to bigger than ourselves. And, for Christians, it will be something that is going to be outside of our natural abilities and talents. If we can accomplish our dream apart from God, then it isn’t big enough.
For a runner, perseverance is running at a steady pace and continuing to do so until you reach the finish line. This is how we should live our lives as well. No matter what happens we just keep on moving forward. On the road to fulfilling any dream there will be obstacles. There will be setbacks and problems. We can’t stop these from happening, but we can choose how to react to them. We can let problems halt us from moving forward or even give up on our dreams altogether, or we can push past the obstacles of life and make our dreams come true. As long as we keep running, we can eventually make it to our goal.
Part of perseverance is finishing what we start. There are things we can learn by starting and finishing a project. There are people out there who can barely finish a book they started reading, let alone fulfill their calling. If we are going to reach our dreams, we need to be able to finish smaller tasks. This is how we build character. If we get too bored or sidetracked by smaller goals, how do we expect to fulfill our larger goals?
“marked out for us”
When running a race, usually everyone runs together all toward the same finish line. As it applies to calling though, we are not all going toward the same goal. God has uniquely gifted each person and set before them a unique “race” for them to run. This is why it is so important to be in communion with God. We need to seek Him and allow Him to reveal what our specific calling is, what our “race” is. If we guess, we might end up in something that God never intended for us. Our goal should be to determine what our calling is, and then spend the rest of our lives pursuing it.
This idea of running our own unique race eliminates jealousy. If we realize that our path is not the same as everyone else’s (or anyone else’s) then we are free to go at our own pace and make decisions based on what we feel called to do. When we enter into jealousy, we end up seeking positions or callings not our own. This will ultimately lead to disappointment. Also, when we are running our own race, we can be happy for others when they succeed, instead of bitter that we didn’t do the same thing they did.
In conclusion, seek God to find out what He would have you do. Work hard to pursue your calling, but work just as hard to live a righteous life, because to the extent that your calling impacts others, is the extent that you need to have the character to handle it. Don’t try and live out someone else’s calling and keep going until your dream becomes a reality.
Let us not settle for average living, but press toward the greatness that God has planned for each of us. If we can make it to our calling we can not only live a more fulfilled life, but greatly impact the lives of people around us.
One Interpretation, Many Applications April 23, 2016
Posted by TJ Friend in General Principles.Tags: exegesis, How to study the Bible, Interpretation, Interpretative Methodolgies
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One of the criticisms of the Bible is that everyone interprets it differently. This a legitimate concern. There are many people that come to different ideas on what parts of the Bible are actually teaching. Some people base their interpretations based on only one or two verses completely overlooking the literary context these verses came from. Picking out isolated verses to prove a point is called “proof-texting”. The problem with proof-texting is that it starts with the individual (their views, beliefs, experiences, etc.) and imposes those ideas onto the text. If you take verses out of their context you can find justification for almost anything you want. People have used the Bible to condone slavery, racism, the Crusades, polygamy, homosexuality, and numerous cults. The teachings on baptisms for the dead and the high status of the Pope both come from Biblical passages. There have been many things that people have wrongly believed simply because they had a misunderstanding of what the Bible actually taught.
The Church today is fractured and schizophrenic in its beliefs. We have hundreds of denominations in the US today. Most of these came about because of differences of opinions on doctrine and practice. We have some churches that put a big emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit, while others see the gifts of miracles and prophecy finished with the completion of the Bible. Some people believe it is a sin to read any other translation other than the KJV. Some churches don’t allow women teachers. Some believe if you are not a Calvinist you are not a Christian. Some of these differences are a matter of tradition, but for the most part we simply disagree on what the Bible teaches.
Some people think the Bible is like an artistic painting or piece of modern art, that you look at and interpret based on how you feel. This is exemplified in the question a lot Bible study groups ask: “What does this passage mean to you?”This version of Bible study a lot of times ends up as just a pooling of ignorance. People say whatever comes to their mind, whether or not it is relevant or even accurate. Studying the Bible takes time and effort. Most people tend to give up too quickly. They think that a cursory reading of the text is sufficient.
In case you were wondering, studying and understanding the Bible is difficult and takes time. It was written in an ancient language (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek). It was written thousands of years in the past in a culture that we are unfamiliar with. It was originally written for a specific audience, and because of this there were things the authors didn’t say because they didn’t have to. Their audience was already familiar with the culture and language. It is our job as faithful readers to attempt to understand what the author’s of the Bible were trying to say to their original audience. Only after we understand what it meant to those people can we make application to our lives today.
People say that since there are so many different views on what the Bible says, we can’t know what the Bible actually teaches. If we have such a diverse range of interpretations, even in the Church and among scholars, how can we know which one is correct? This is the whole reason why we have exegesis and hermeneutics. Even though it is difficult to get at what the author’s original intent was, this should be our goal.
The people who wrote the Bible, had a specific purpose for writing what they did. They had a distinct and deliberate message they were trying to convey to their audience. This is what we should be trying to uncover. This becomes even more important when we realize that these people were inspired by God.The Holy Spirit led these writers to convey a message. This wasn’t some symbolic or hidden message He was trying to convey. God had a specific message He wanted the people to understand and He gave it in a way that the people could comprehend. The more we can put ourselves in the shoes (or sandals) of the audience to which the Bible was originally written, the better we will be able to interpret the message to them. Once we understand what God was trying to say to them, we can make application to our modern context.
No one is perfect in their interpretation. Because of our distance from the original readers, there will inevitably be things we will not be 100% sure about. But, there are also things that the Bible is so clear on that we should be unified in our theology. The way I think about it is that there are two categories of the things the Bible teaches. There are essentials and non-essentials. The essentials include things like the basic Gospel message (Jesus died for our sins, was buried and resurrected), Jesus’ divinity, the trinity, the idea that Christ is coming again, etc. The non-essentials are things like style of worship, speaking in tongues, tattoos, eating pork, issues surrounding the second-coming/end times, etc. Basically, the things that you must believe in order to be saved are essentials, and those things not affecting salvation are non-essentials.
Past interpretations
We are not the first generation to read the Bible. Many people in different cultures and contexts had to make sense of what the Bible was saying for them. This is what is so great about the Bible. Its message transcends time and culture. Throughout history people have had to do the same thing we do today – read the Bible, attempt to understand its original meaning and then apply it to their lives.
I do want to make mention of some alternate interpretive methods, particularly the Jewish interpretation. One of their methods is known as PaRDeS. It is basically an acronym for Pashat, Remez, Drash and Sod. The four levels of interpretation. The Pashat is the “simple” interpretation which is essentially what I have been referring to, getting at the meaning of the author. The other three are increasingly deeper levels of meaning that attempt to find hidden meanings that can be found in the patterns of words and letters of texts. These interpretations range from symbolic (reading an idea like circumcision into a text that doesn’t explicitly talk about it but may have verbal parallels to other passages that do mention circumcision) to more hidden interpretations. These hidden interpretations often would rely on numbers. By assigning numerical values to numbers and words they would make comparisons to other words or phrases with the same numerical value. In this way, they would connect passages together that otherwise wouldn’t be connected. One thing they did believe though was that the simple meaning was the baseline, and so none of the other levels could contradict it.
There are some dangers in these types of interpretive methods. I think a lot of people see the Bible as this mysterious book with all kinds of hidden meanings that once uncovered will unlock some secret message in the text. I’ve noticed this a lot when it comes to word studies. Because most people are unfamiliar with Greek and Hebrew, they think that they can uncover vast meanings hidden in the definitions of certain words. This is not the purpose of word studies. While it is true you can get a more nuanced understanding of a passage by looking both at the grammar and the Greek or Hebrew words used, this is different than trying to get a new meaning from a text by searching through a list of definitions for a word. The words themselves only have meaning because of the sentence they are in. A word doesn’t import all its different definitions to each context it is used in. It is constrained to its chosen usage. In the same way sentences or verses are limited to the context of the paragraph to which they are in.
Whether trying to get at a deeper meaning through improper use of word studies or through some sort of numerological code, we end up missing the message of the author. And this is what is important. Whatever other messages we “find” in the text, if we overlook the message of the author they are worthless. In fact, by looking for these other things instead of what the author is trying to tell us, we hinder ourselves from understanding the original message.
Application
I guess what bothers me in all this is that we aren’t satisfied with the simplicity of the Bible. Why do we think that a deeper meaning is somehow more spiritual than the plain meaning of the author? Earlier I mentioned the difficulties in the interpretive process due to time, context and language, but there are also things that are clear. A lot of the message of the Bible translates easily through all cultures and times. The ideas of love, justice, mercy, righteousness, holiness, and humility don’t need much interpretation to understand them properly. We get so caught up in the intricacies of interpretive method, that we forget to actually do what it says. The Bible isn’t just a book of a bunch of theological ideas, it is handbook for how to live. We follow it best, not when we understand it fully, but when we live out the parts we do understand.
What Would Jesus Do? – Example vs. Mission November 12, 2015
Posted by TJ Friend in Encouragements.Tags: mission, purpose, WWJD
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All my life in Church I’ve heard this message over and over. We are supposed to be like Christ. That is literally what it means to be a “Christian”. There was even that whole WWJD craze back in the 90’s that was supposed to encourage people to follow Christ in their actions and choices. All of this is good stuff. This is probably the core of the faith, that we live our lives as Christ lived his, by loving people and carrying forth the message of hope that he came to bring. What I am saying is that this is an incomplete picture. There is more to following Jesus then simply doing what he did.
I want to pose two answers to the question “What would Jesus do?”. These two ideas answer that question in different ways and so lead to different results. When I think about Jesus’ life and how he lived I see two main categories, which I will call example and mission. Following Jesus’ example means that we live out the same values that he lived out. Jesus lived out the values Christians should live out as well. He embodied all of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:21-22). He lived a sinless life in continuous relationship with the Father. He showed what it means to serve (one example is when he washed his disciples feet) and exemplified true sacrifice by dying on a cross for our sins. He showed us not only what prayer should look like, but set an example of continually going off by himself to commune with God. He taught and lived out many other values that we need to follow today like meekness, justice, finances, relationships, honesty, integrity, and discipline. I don’t want to spend too much time on this aspect, because this is what we commonly think of when we think about following Jesus. Basically, it is living in such a way that people get a picture of what Jesus was like, or at the very least people see the influence of Jesus on your life.
The other side of this though is the idea of mission. Jesus lived a highly focused life based on the purposes God had for him. Jesus had a specific mission for his life. He knew where his life was headed and limited himself to doing things that fit into that mission. There are a lot things that characterize Jesus’ mission, but I want to focus on three things.
First and foremost, Jesus’ mission entailed him going to the cross. Jesus knew this. He even warned his disciples many times that this was going to happen. Because he knew what was ahead, he wasn’t upset when Judas betrayed him. He didn’t call down angels to save him from the cross and he endured it all without accusing people or trying to defend himself. Because of his conviction, when Peter rebuked him, Jesus was able to recognize the attack of the enemy on his mission. He knew he was going to the cross and lived his life accordingly.
Second, his mission was to start a movement. He had a few short years to impart this message of salvation to 12 ordinary men. Because he knew that his time was limited, he focused his efforts on his disciples. He took them around with him on his travels and empowered them to do the things he had been doing, so that the mission would not die with him. He wasn’t interested in a lot of people knowing the basics of what he was teaching. Instead he wanted a few people to catch a hold of the vision and have it burn into their being so that it transformed their entire lives. He went so far as to hide from crowds or give such difficult teachings that only those who were fully invested would stay. He wasn’t interested in popularity or hype. He was focused on those who truly desired to follow him.
Third, Jesus explicitly says that he came for “the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt 15:24). He knew his mission was to Israel. He spent his time going to different cities in Israel so that they could hear the message. The people he healed or cleansed of demons were for the most part Israelites. There were a few exceptions, but that is just what they were exceptions. He wasn’t going out of his way to help those outside of Israel, because he knew that wasn’t what he was called to do. Compare this with Paul who was “the apostle to the Gentiles”. Paul recognized that he had a different mission from those before him. He was to bring the message of salvation outside the people of Israel and offer it to the Gentiles.
What I am saying is that Jesus mission on earth was not something we can simply copy as our own mission. When thinking about the question what would Jesus do, we need to realize that some of the things he did were a part of the specific mission for his life and not necessarily for us. We all have a unique mission that God has for our lives, that is completely different from that of Jesus. We are obviously not all called to minister only to Gentiles, or die on a cross. In the same way, there are things we are called to do that Jesus was not called to do as part of his mission.
There is definitely some overlap. Just as Jesus made disciples, we too are called to make disciples. We need to be proclaiming the message that Jesus came to impart to the world. We need to pray and have faith and surround ourselves with other believers.
My desire is that every Christian would seek to understand their mission in life. Once you know what God is calling you to do with your life, you can align your behaviors and lifestyle to fit with that mission. If you are called to serve in the Church, you can pray to see how you can best serve and encourage those in the Church. If you are called to business, you can focus on exemplifying Christ in the workplace or supporting missionaries. If your mission is just to stay at home and raise your kids you can do it with confidence, knowing that God has you there for a reason. Whatever mission God has for you, do it to the best of your ability and use it as a standard for what you should or shouldn’t be doing. If someone feels called to minister to people in prison, then they should spend time ministering to people in prison, and not trying to be a light in Hollywood, or whatever other random idea that sounds good. Knowing what God has called you to do allows you to say no to things that may be good, but don’t line up with what God wants you to do.
One of the problems in the Church is that people have a vague idea of their mission, or maybe even no idea at all. So, instead of investing in the things God has for them, they either don’t do anything or do a bunch or random things with no focus. The former leads to consumer Christians who don’t contribute anything and are just looking to get fed from the Church. The latter leads to mediocrity or frustration, because you end up doing things just to do them, even if God isn’t in them. When we step into what God is calling us to do with our lives, we can be intentional and God can use us more than we could think or imagine. Jesus’ life was so focused that what he left behind is still going and growing to this day. He wants our lives to leave an impact as well. Even if what you are doing doesn’t seem spiritual, if you are following what God has called you to do, He will use you to impact the lives of those around you. In this light the question isn’t “what would Jesus do?”, but “what does Jesus want to do through me?” WDJWTDTM
What Does it Mean to be a Christian? July 3, 2015
Posted by TJ Friend in Encouragements.Tags: Christianity, How to study the Bible, salvation
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As I’ve been thinking about this topic, I am realizing that “Christianity” is difficult to define. The word itself gives hints to its meaning, but to say that a Christian is a “little Christ” or “Christ-follower” is not specific enough. The main problem is that there are so many different ideas on what it means to be a Christian. For those outside the Church there are a wide variety of stereotypes of Christians. Some see Christianity as a religion of hate and intolerance. Others see it as a crutch for the simple minded to lean on. For others, Christianity is seen as an extension of its activity in society, so that it looks like a social justice institution. For most though, there is at least an idea of what Christianity should be. A lot of people recognize that Christians are not perfect and may not accurately represent Christianity. For these people they would say that Christianity is about love and compassion.
It is no surprise that people outside the Church would have misunderstandings of what it means to be a Christian. We, as the Church, have not done a good job in representing the Gospel to the world, either in word or deed. We have shown the world a lot of hypocrisy and such a watered down message that I am amazed people have any idea what Christianity really is.
What bothers me the most though, is that there are so many different views on what it means to be Christian from people who claim to be Christian. I fear that in a society where we choose our own truths, the idea that there even is a “true Christianity” is heretical. We are in a time where however people want to define Christianity and live it out is their own personal choice. The reason why the world consistently accuses Christians of picking and choosing parts of the Bible they want to follow while ignoring others, is that this is exactly what a lot of people actually do. People live one way on Sunday and live completely different the rest of the week. Because of this, we are in a place now where there are many people who think they are Christian, but are only Christian in name and do not accurately represent what it means to be a Christian.
I realize that in calling out people who are not living by the sort of Christianity I am about to set forth, this puts me in a place of “judging others”. This as we know is the cardinal sin in Christianity…except that it’s not. I believe that the Bible gives clear principles on what it means to be a Christian. I believe that God has clearly revealed, through His word, what it means to be a Christian and this is the standard by which we should strive to line up with. What I am about to set forth, is not some new or idiosyncratic view of what it means to be a Christian. I am simply relaying what God Himself desires in those who claim to represent Him. If you have questions with what I am describing, look at the Scripture for yourself and see if what I am saying is true.
I want to look at three “requirements” I see in the Bible that relate to what it means to be a Christian. I see a doctrinal aspect, a transformational aspect, and a relational aspect. Before getting into these though, it is important to recognize that “salvation” is not a one-time occurrence. Once we accept Jesus we are saved, but that doesn’t mean that we are then free to live however we want. In Philippians, Paul tells us,
12 ”Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Phil 2:12-13)
We have a responsibility to discipline our lives and live and grow as Christians from the moment of salvation till we die.
Doctrine – Do you believe the core elements of the Gospel?
The first aspect of Christianity is doctrinal. We can’t just believe whatever we want and claim to be Christian. One of the biggest issues the New Testament Church had to deal with was false teachers. Paul is continually warning against false teachers. He tells the church in Galatia that even if an angel proclaims to them a different message (like Mormonism proclaims) they are to reject it:
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! (Gal 1:6-9)
There are a lot of doctrines that churches and individuals have established over time. There is no way we will agree on every single point. What we should at least agree on are the essential doctrines of the faith. If someone at least believes the core elements of Christianity, even if they are off on other doctrines, they have the foundation and can grow from there. If people are missing core elements, or have such a skewed understanding of them that they no longer mean what they originally meant, then that person cannot claim to be a Christian. If we don’t have distinguishing doctrines then how can we even know what Christianity is?
The list of the core doctrines could be potentially long, depending on how nuanced one chooses to go. I do not intend to give an exhaustive list here, just some examples of the kind of doctrines that fit in this category. One of the biggest issues is the means of salvation. In Ephesians it says, 8 ”For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph 2:8-9). A lot of clarity can be gained from this simple passage as to what it means to be saved. Anyone who claims that you need to do any type of “work” to earn salvation is proclaiming a false gospel. Salvation is a free gift, not something you can earn. Some other core doctrines are the fact that Jesus was fully God and fully human, that He died, was buried and rose again as a substitutionary atonement for our sins. I would also add to this list a belief that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I don’t see how someone can claim to be a Christian and deny the very book that reveals what that means.
There are a lot of doctrines that are secondary to the core understanding of Christianity. Some of these are as minor as what type of worship music to play, or whether or not Christians should drink alcohol. There have been huge debates over free-will vs. predestination and the Charismatic movement. While there are people who would say that you have to believe one way or the other on these issues in order to be a Christian, I don’t think this is necessarily true. Just because you don’t believe that miracles still happen today doesn’t mean that you aren’t doing your best to follow God and live for Him. What we need to do is have more dialogues about what we believe and use the Bible as our standard of truth. Disagreements in the Church happen, but as long as people are holding to the core doctrines we shouldn’t allow these smaller things to divide churches.
Fruit/Works – Is there evidence of transformation?
The second aspect of Christianity is that of “fruit”. Matthew 12 talks about good trees and bad trees. Each tree is recognized by its fruit.
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt 12:33-37)
When you become a Christian there is a change that takes place inside of you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone the new is here”. It is like a “rebirth” where we begin a new life that is different from our old life. If someone has no evidence of a changed life, they should examine themselves to see if they are actually saved. Here are some examples of what this transformed life should look like:
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. (1 John 2:9)
15 ”Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)
26 ”Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:26-27)
14 ”What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” (James 2:14-24)
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” (1 John 4:19-21)
As we can see there are a lot “evidences” of a transformed life, from loving one another, to watching our words, and not hating people.
Obedience – Do you know God?
This third and final aspect is simply a question of knowing God. Matthew tells us that the way of salvation is difficult to find.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matt 7:13-14)
There are a lot of people who may think they are saved, but according to this verse there are many who will not find it. Just a few verses later we are told that, 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt 7:21-23) The only ones who will make it in are those who “know God”. Doing miracles, or casting out demons does not qualify you to make it into heaven. A Christian is therefore someone who knows God.
The way that we “know God” is by…
Doing what he commands:
“We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:3-6)
Not sinning
6 “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” (1 John 3:6)
Loving one another
7 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)
Conclusion
I want to send out a call to all Christians. I would first of all challenge you to read the Bible and know what it says. It bothers me when those outside the Church know the Bible better than we do. We are way too easily swayed by false doctrines, because we are not familiar enough with the truth. And, I am not talking about knowing all the proof texts for certain doctrines. This type of splintered reading of the Bible creates a false methodology and misses the over-arching themes of the Bible. We need to have an understanding of the “big-picture” of the Bible. This only comes from reading all of it a book at a time. It amazes me, when non-Christians bring up passages that Christians are not even aware are in the Bible. The Bible is our revelation from God on who He is and how we are to live. We can’t limit ourselves to only hearing a few verses on Sunday mornings and then neglect it the rest of the week.
Second, we actually need to live like Christians. If you don’t know where to start, just live out the verses I have shared here. The world needs to see Christians acting like Christians. We are only hindering ourselves when we live by the actions and values of the world around us. Christianity is not a spectator sport. Let God’s spirit lead you and guide you to do the things He has for you.
Finally, we need to stop sinning. This is a hard call, and technically not possible this side of heaven, what we can do though, is eliminate chronic sin patterns from our life and put boundaries in our life so that we don’t fall into big sin issues. God doesn’t want us to be weighed down with addictive behavior. He came to set us free. We need to cultivate an attitude of repentance, so that when we sin, we are quick to move forward and not dwell in condemnation. Of course no one is perfect, but we can’t claim to know God and then live our own way. All that does is show the world a false representation of who God actually is.
All of this comes down to one word – “Love”. God loved us and gave himself up for us to redeem us from the power of sin. Because of God’s love for us, we can know what love is. We start by loving God. If we love God we will love His word, because it is a reflection of who He is. We can then allow God to love us, by changing us from the inside out into the people He made us to be. This love should also stop us from sinning because we don’t want to God. Finally, as we are filled with God’s love it should overflow to those around us to such a degree that they are hungry to know our Source and we can point people to the one who, by definition, is Love.
Apostles in the Bible January 29, 2015
Posted by TJ Friend in Word Studies.Tags: apostle, apostles, How to study the Bible, the gifts of the spirit
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I have been pondering the idea of apostles for the last couple weeks. I have been thinking about how we view apostles today and if that lines up with how Scripture describes apostles. In thinking about and studying this topic I have come to realize that the idea of apostles and apostleship is very confusing. There are many differing ideas of what apostles are today and even the Bible itself does not come to one clear definition of apostles. I want to do my best to describe what I think is the Biblical understanding of an apostle. Hopefully, this will bring some clarity on how we use the term today.
There are some people today who don’t believe there are any apostles left today. That all depends on how you define apostle. I believe there are at least 3 different Biblical understandings of the term “apostolos” (apostle) in the NT. If you combine the qualifications and roles of all three you will end up with conflicting ideas on what an apostle is. My goal in writing this is to break down these three categories and show why there are distinctions between them.
1. Apostle as Messenger
In the Greek the word for Apostle is the word “apostolos”. This word comes from the verb “apostello” which means “to send”. At its most general definition an apostle is one who is sent. This usage is found in John 13 (see also 2 Cor 8:23 and Phil 2:25).
16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him (John 13:16).
This was the common, secular usage of the word at the time. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that it was during the time of the Bible that the more specific usage of the word was coined. Up until that point people used the word apostle for someone who was sent with a message (like a delegate). It had the idea of commissioning someone with a message.
In a way, every Christian fits this category. We are all sent out with a message to proclaim (Matt 28:19-20). So, if we take this as our only definition of apostle then clearly there are still apostles today, since we all fit that category. However, this is not the only way to define apostles.
2. Apostles as the Twelve
The twelve disciples are also called apostles: 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles (Luke 6:13). This is the most common use of the term apostle in the Bible. After the loss of Judas, the eleven remaining disciples wanted to find someone to replace him. They set forth some requirements of what it would take to be one of the Twelve.
21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”
In looking at this passage there seems to be a specific role for these 12 “apostles”. They were to be “witnesses of his resurrection”. This understanding of an apostle is limited to those who had been with Jesus since the beginning and could be a witness of his resurrection. Paul fits into this category because of his encounter with Jesus (Acts 9). He was the last person to see Jesus after the resurrection as shown in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
These apostles are also sent with a message. For Paul, he received a special message that the Gospel, which was primarily for the Jews, was now open to the Gentiles. These apostles were sent out specifically by Jesus to proclaim the message of salvation. In order to validate their message God worked many miracles through them. 12 I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles (1 Cor 12:12). 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles (Acts 2:43).
Some people will take these verses as universal qualifications for apostles. But, this is just the qualifications for this particular type of apostle. If these are the requirements for all types of apostles then there is no way we could have any apostles today, since no one today has seen Jesus or been with him since the beginning of his ministry.
Unfortunately, people will take it one step further saying that since there are no more apostles, then there is no more need to validate their unique role as witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection and therefore signs and wonders have also died with these apostles. I think this only applies if you take this view of apostles as the only view and if you believe the only purpose for signs and wonders was to validate their message. As we have seen their are at least two descriptions of apostles in the NT (and we are about to see the third). Also, the Bible talks about many different reasons for signs and wonders besides validating apostles (one of the most common being Jesus’ compassion on people).
3. Apostles as Gifts
This third understanding of apostles is harder to define. There are only a few passages that talk about the gift of apostleship. One of them is Ephesians 4:11-12:
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
The reason why I label these categories as “gifts” is that it specifically says that they are given to the Church. In this understanding of apostles they are given to equip the people of God for service and build it up so that the Church may be united in faith/knowledge and be mature. As of yet, we as the Church have not attained to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. It is for that reason that we still need apostles (and prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) to help us grow and develop in our faith.
Ephesians 2:20 says that the Church was built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. So, as some would claim, since the foundation has been laid, there is no longer need for apostles or prophets. To some degree this is true. We don’t need to re-lay the foundation that has already been laid. But, if apostles and prophets were necessary for the foundation how much more are they necessary for the building itself.
Another passage that shows this idea of apostleship is in 1 Corinthians:
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. (1 Cor 12:27-31)
This passage first of all separates the gifts of healing from the gift of apostleship. Because they are separate this shows that healings and miracles were not limited to the apostles. This passage is talking about the different gifts that people have. Here Paul lays out a hierarchy of the gifts. He says that first are apostles and then at the end he says to eagerly desire the greater gifts. It seems clear that Paul wants us to desire the gift of an apostle, even more than the other gifts.
Trying to discern what this gift actually is, is a challenge. It must be in someway related to the idea of sending, because it is from the root apostello – to send. Also, it is separated from the gifts of evangelism, pastoring, teaching, and prophecy as we just saw in Ephesians 4:11. From what I can tell, this gift is most similar to that of a missionary. I would say it is someone with a specific message (the Gospel) being sent to a specific group of people. This could also involve church planting.
The Title of Apostle
I want to add one more thought on the idea of apostles. There are some people today who claim the title of an apostle. Although there are some people in the Bible who claimed that title, I believe they were only those in the second category – those who had specifically seen Jesus and were witnesses to his message. For people today to claim status based on a gifting seems prideful. A gift is something that is freely given. It should be used with humility to serve others, not to put yourself on a pedestal.
Preparation and Ministry December 26, 2014
Posted by TJ Friend in Encouragements.Tags: How to study the Bible, preparation and ministry
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I want to talk today about the importance of preparation. Too often our desire is to rush into the ministry God has for us thinking that that is what is important. What we fail to realize though is that if we are not fully ready we are susceptible to all types of attacks from the enemy. James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly”. Those in leadership, teachers, or others in authority over others, will be judged by a higher standard, because they are not only responsible for themselves but all those under them. God’s desire is not that people would fail their area of ministry. Unfortunately, there are many leaders who have lost their position of leadership due to things like hidden sin or burn out. God allows us to go through seasons of preparation so that we will be able to sustain the calling he has for us, so that we don’t fall into these traps. I want to look at two biblical examples of people that God took through seasons of preparation.
Joseph (Gen 37-50)
Joseph’s story is fairly well known, so I don’t want to recap the whole thing. I just want to hit a few highlights. God gave Joseph two dreams when he was younger (Gen 37:5-10) both showing that his family would bow down to him. God was showing Joseph a glimpse of the future he had for him as a ruler in Egypt. It is interesting to see what type of preparation God thinks is important for those who would lead a nation. In Joseph’s case, he was sold into slavery (Gen 37:28) and eventually thrown in jail (Gen 39), before he was made second in command of all Egypt. What strikes me though is Joseph’s faithfulness and integrity in the midst of all he went through. As a slave, he did his duties so well that the master (Potiphar) put him in charge of the whole house. Joseph even resisted the temptation to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, which is what eventually got him thrown in jail.
When he was in jail he remained faithful. The Lord gave him favor and Joseph was placed in charge of other prisoners. Joseph didn’t give up, and he didn’t shrink back from what God had for him in that season. He wasn’t focused on the future so that he saw his current situation as a “stepping stone” to future ministry. He was present and did his duties with excellence. The text never records him complaining on doubting God. He was simply faithfully doing whatever was put in front of him.
I believe God allowed Joseph to go through this time so that when he would eventually be elevated to a place of prominence he would have the character and wisdom to rule justly.
Moses
The main story of Moses is found in Exodus, but there is a recap in Acts 7. According to Acts 7:23-30, Moses was forty years old when he fled to Midian and spent forty years there before he saw the burning bush.
23 “As he was approaching the age of 40, he decided to visit his brothers, the Israelites. 24 When he saw one of them being mistreated, he came to his rescue and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He assumed his brothers would understand that God would give them deliverance through him, but they did not understand. 26 The next day he showed up while they were fighting and tried to reconcile them peacefully, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’
27 “But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed him away, saying:
Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me, the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?
29 “At this disclosure, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons. 30 After 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.
According to this passage Moses had a desire to free his people (v. 25). Apparently God had already spoken something to him about him delivering the Israelites. In trying to do things his own way though, he ended up killing someone, alienating his own people and going on the run for his life.
Moses spent forty years in the desert of Midian. While there he got married and had a family. As a shepherd, he spent most of his time wandering around the countryside looking for food for the sheep. Not much is said about this part of his life. Whatever happened though, brought him to the place where he was willing to follow God’s plan for setting the Israelites free. I think it was this 40 year desert season that formed his character. I think it was because of this that Moses was called the most humble man on the face of the earth (Num 12:3).
When I look at Moses and Joseph, I see two great leaders who God took through long seasons of insignificance before they were placed in positions of prominence. Even Jesus himself didn’t start his ministry until he was 30 (Luke 3:23). Seasons of preparation are usually necessary for us to go through to form our character. James 1 talks about rejoicing in trials because they ultimately form our character.
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
This is where we have missed it in our view of leadership in the Church. People are too anxious to get into positions of leadership before they are ready. Gifting and calling do not trump character. In 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1 Paul gives instruction for selecting the leaders of the churches. What he talks about are character traits. He doesn’t talk about schooling or spiritual gifts or charisma or business savy. What he talks about are people who live holy, righteous lives and are faithful to the truth of the Gospel.
Developing patience
I believe in God. I believe his promises are true and I believe that his timing is perfect. Sometimes (oftentimes) God speaks a promise over someone’s life that is for the distant future. We get ourselves in trouble when we try to make the promise come true by our own efforts. God spoke a huge promise to Abraham (then Abram) that he would be the father of many nations and would inherit a land that he had never been to. But, instead of waiting and allowing God to fulfill the promise his way, Abraham took matters into his own hands. Basically, because his wife was barren, Abraham (taking his wife’s advice) got one of the servant girls pregnant so that his line would continue through their offspring. The consequences of that decision are still being felt to this day. Instead of waiting, Abraham tried to force something that should never have been.
The time between receiving a promise and the fulfillment of that promise is a crucial time. It is in this time where we grow in patience. It allows our faith to grow. Faith is believing something even when we can’t see any evidence that it will happen (Heb 11:1).
Don’t despise small beginnings
Why am I saying all this? I know a lot of people who are anxious to get into ministry. They want to serve God and be used to change people’s lives. This is definitely admirable and for a lot of people this desire is from God. The problem comes when we are dissatisfied with where we are because it is not where we think we should be. We have bought into the lie that some ministries are more important than others, either because they are bigger or more influential. What we fail to realize is that as Christians we are ministers wherever we go and whatever we do. Whatever stage of the journey you are on, God has you there for a reason. If you are a youth leader, for instance, and you feel like God has called you to be a pastor, don’t slack on your duties or blame God that He has not fulfilled His promises. God will allow you to go through seasons of training and development to get you ready for future positions. It all comes back to the principle that whoever is faithful with little will be given much. Take whatever is before you and work at it with all your heart. Look at your role as if it was the most important role you could have been given, because it is. Leading 5 youth is no more important than leading a congregation of 5,000. Success is not based on numbers, but how you impact the people God has put in front of you.
I realize for a lot of us there are things God has called us to that seem impossible based on our current situation. God’s not looking for people who are exceptionally gifted, or talented. He is looking for people who are faithful to where they are at. Even if you are not in any professional ministry at all, do the best wherever you are. Be the best employee at your job. Be the best parent or spouse you can be. Your present situation is your ministry. Even if it’s small or seemingly insignificant it is of utmost importance. Not only do you have the opportunity to deeply impact those around you, but you also are in a place to grow your character. Instead of worrying about the future, focus your energy on the present. How can you best serve those around you right now?
Did Jesus Drink Alcohol? November 11, 2014
Posted by TJ Friend in Uncategorized.Tags: Alcohol, Jesus
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In the Christian community there are two main errors that people make when it comes to alcohol. On one side there is excess, where people drink as much as they want whenever they want. People on this side either think the Bible has nothing relevant to say about drinking alcohol or they don’t care what the Bible says and just want to live their life however they see fit. For them, the sections about drunkenness (i.e. Eph. 5:18) were only relevant to that culture and shouldn’t be applied today. This view has a low view of the Bible and a high view of self.
In response to this, there has arisen a movement of abstinence from all alcohol. People who saw the pain of alcoholism and the potential problems associated with drinking decided that it was better not to drink at all; not only taking a personal vow to not drink, but prohibiting others from doing so as well. In effect they made drinking a sin and condemned those who did it. This view claims to have a high view of Scripture, but in actuality is simply religious legalism. The problem here is a lack of understanding of what the Bible actually teaches on this subject.
As Christians, our goal should be to imitate Christ. The question then becomes, “did Jesus himself drink alcohol?” If so, we can say that the Bible allows at least some degree of drinking, and if not, we can make a case that we shouldn’t drink either. In order to do this, I want to first look at why people might think Jesus didn’t drink any alcohol and then finish with some passages showing that he did actually drink alcohol.
Nazirite Vows
Some people believe that Jesus took a Nazirite vow for his entire life and as part of the requirements to be a Nazirite, he didn’t drink alcohol. This is not to be confused with the term “Nazareth” or “Nazarene”. Jesus was in fact a “Nazarene” a person from “Nazareth”, but this is different than taking a “Nazirite” vow.
A Nazirite vow was a special vow people could make to God to consecrate themselves for a season. For the most part these were temporary vows, but there are examples of people who were to be set apart as Nazirites for their entire lives. The requirements to take on a Nazirite vow are laid out in Numbers 16:
The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite, 3 they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 4 As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
5 “‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.
6 “‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the Lord, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body. 7 Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication to God is on their head. 8 Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord.
Numbers 6:1-8
There are three main requirements for the Nazirite vow.
- Don’t drink wine or eat anything related to grapes.
- Don’t cut your hair.
- Don’t go near dead bodies (this includes both human and animal bodies).
The best Biblical example of someone taking on a Nazirite vow for their whole life is Sampson. In Judges 13 we see God specifically calling him out as a lifelong Nazirite:
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
2 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. 5 You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Judges 13:1-5
Unfortunately, Sampson broke his vow and lost the strength God had given him.
Another example of a lifelong Nazirite is John the Baptist. Although the term “Nazarite” is not used, God tells his parents not to allow him to have any wine or other fermented drink. Because this is one of the 3 main requirements for Nazirites a lot of scholars believe him to be one. This is seen in Luke 1:
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Luke 1:8-17
The thing that both Sampson and John the Baptist have in common is that God spoke to their parents ahead of time, giving them requirements that would set them apart specifically as Nazirites. In reading the account of the angel coming to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38) there is nothing about Jesus not drinking wine or not shaving his head. There isn’t even anything about him being set apart. As we look through the gospels though we do see him doing things that would have broken the Nazirite vow. There is no mention of Jesus cutting his hair or letting it grow, so we can’t take that requirement into account. As for being near dead bodies, there is clear evidence throughout the Gospels that Jesus not only went near them, but even touched them. Jesus went near the tomb of Lazarus to raise him from the dead (John 11), he grabbed the dead hand of Jairus’ daughter to heal her (Luke 8:54), and approached people carrying a dead person to heal him (Luke 7:11-15).
Jesus on the cross
There is another passage which could cause people to think that Jesus didn’t drink alcohol. When Jesus was on the cross he was offered a mixture of wine and myrrh, which he didn’t take.
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but
Mark 15:21-24 (cf. Matt. 27:34)
There is a lot of evidence for the medicinal use of wine in the Bible. Proverbs 31:6 says that alcohol should be used to ease the pain of those who are suffering. The Good Samaritan in Luke 10 uses wine and oil to dress the wounds of the man who was beaten (Luke 10:34). Paul even encourages Timothy to use wine to help with his stomach illness (1 Tim 5:23). In the case of Jesus on the cross, the soldiers were probably giving him the wine to ease his pain. Jesus wasn’t taking a stand against alcohol in general here; he was refusing to limit his suffering by drugging himself. He didn’t want to take the easy way out by numbing himself to the pain.
Jesus and alcohol
When people think about Jesus and alcohol usually they think of Jesus’ first miracle of turning water into wine in John 2:
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
John 2:1-10
At the very least we can say that Jesus did not have an issue being around people who were drinking. He even encourages it by turning the water into wine. Weddings were a time of celebration and drinking wine was a way to celebrate. It is not clear whether or not Jesus drank the wine here, but he did celebrate with the couple and had nothing against them using wine for their celebration.
(On a side note the word used throughout this passage for wine is the common word for wine in the New Testament. It is clear from the context that this is in fact wine and not grape juice. We can see this in verse 10 where he says that usually people bring out the cheap wine at the end of the celebration after people have already drank too much and can’t tell the difference. Grape juice in this context would not make any sense.)
For me one of the clearest examples of drinking alcohol is at the Last Supper. Jesus clearly drinks from the cup and passes it around for his disciples to drink from as well. He even tells them that this is the last time he will be drinking until they meet up again in his Father’s kingdom. (Again, this is wine not grape juice. The term “fruit of the vine” is a metaphor for wine.)
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Matt 26:27-29 (cf. Mark 14:23-25; Luke22:20)
Finally there is this passage in Luke 7 (and Matt 11) where Jesus is compared with John the Baptist:
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
Luke 7:33-34 (Matt 11:18)
As I noted above, John the Baptist was most likely a Nazirite and people said that he was demon possessed. Jesus is doing the very opposite of John the Baptist (another reason to believe that Jesus did not take a Nazirite vow) and eating and drinking with people. The people’s criticism of Jesus was that he was a “drunkard”. This only makes sense if Jesus was actually drinking alcohol. Although the people were condemning Jesus as a drunkard, I don’t believe Jesus was actually getting drunk. The Bible is very clear on not drinking to excess and so I believe their criticism was false, in the same way their criticism of John the Baptist was false. He obviously did not have a demon if he was leading people in repentance toward God.
Jesus spent a lot of time hanging out with “tax collectors” and “sinners”. Part of what made Jesus so unique was that he was willing to spend time with these people. Drinking was a common part of the society back then and there is no reason to think that Jesus would have avoided all alcohol. What we need to understand is his motives for drinking. He was willing to drink with people as part of a social gathering to foster community and unity. He was willing to celebrate with people on their special occasion. What he was not willing to do though was use alcohol as a sedative to numb his pain (either physical or emotional).
Conclusion
My goal through this was not to give a comprehensive look at the Biblical perspective on drinking alcohol. I wanted instead to hone in on Jesus’ view and use that as a standard by which we can judge our own motives. More than the question of whether what we are doing (alcohol or anything else) is wrong, is the question of what is motivating to do what we are doing. For Jesus, his motives were to connect with people and celebrate with them. He wasn’t using alcohol to fix any emotional brokenness or numb his feelings. He didn’t need to drink to have a good time or feel relaxed. It was more about connecting with people.
For us today, we should have a similar view of drinking. Obviously, we don’t want to do anything illegal. But outside of drinking and driving or underage drinking, we should feel free to drink occasionally. (The Bible is clear about not drinking to excess or getting drunk.) It is when we start relying on alcohol to satisfy a need that it was never intended to fill that we get into trouble. On the other hand we shouldn’t be afraid to drink because we might go too far. Know your limits and stay within them.
Should Christians Date Unbelievers August 8, 2014
Posted by TJ Friend in Specific Passages.add a comment
Intro
For those who know me, it should be obvious where I stand on this issue. My goal in writing this though is not to just give my opinion, but to see what the Bible actually says. One of the biggest problems in the Church today is that people do not take the time to search the Scriptures for themselves and see what it actually says. Sermons, teachings and books have replaced Bible study as our source for truth. We would rather eat a pastor’s regurgitated revelation than come to the source directly and put in the time and effort necessary to discover truth for ourselves.
I am going to use a lot of Scripture as I talk about this topic. Some verses I am just going to mention without quoting them directly. I encourage you to grab a Bible so you can look up these passages for yourself. Hopefully, through this you will gain a clear understanding of what the Bible teaches on this subject. Even if you don’t agree with my conclusions, take the time to look at these verses, or any others that may apply, so that you are forming your view from the standard of truth found in the Bible.
Old Testament
Before we get into the New Testament and the key text on this issue (2 Corinthians 6:14-18), I want to start with the Old Testament. Since the writers of the New Testament built a lot of their ideas from the foundation of the Old Testament it is important to understand the background of the OT.
God was clear with the Israelites that He did not want them to intermarry with the peoples from the surrounding nations.
When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.
Deut 7:1-4
Here in Deuteronomy, we can see part of the reason for this. In verse 4, they are warned that foreign wives would turn their children away from following God to serve other gods. This is in direct violation of the first commandment that they should have no other gods before Him. God knew that their hearts would be led astray if they united themselves to the peoples around them. The Israelites were to be to God a holy (set apart) people. The natural result of two people getting married who worship separate gods is compromise.
Again we see, in Nehemiah, the seriousness of this offense.
23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. 25 I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. 27 Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?”
Neh 13:23-27
Nehemiah rebukes some of the men of Judah who had married foreign women. He uses Solomon as an example of how people can be led astray. Solomon was the wisest man who had ever lived and yet, even he, ended up building altars and worshipping foreign deities because his heart was drawn away by his wives. (The account of Solomon’s compromise is found in 1 Kings 11).
One of the strongest men who ever lived was Sampson. (His story is found in Judges 13-17.) Sampson fell in love with a woman (Delilah) from a foreign nation. If you remember the story, she coerced Sampson into giving away the secret of his strength and then exploited that secret for money. She clearly did not have his best interest in mind, but he was blinded by his emotions. She gives us a clear example of the problem with mixed allegiances. Her heart was not to follow after God, and her morals were corrupt. She ended up nagging Sampson so much that he compromised the very source of his strength.
These are two negative examples of people in the OT marrying people who weren’t part of the people of God. For a positive example let’s look at Proverbs 31. At the end of the book of Proverbs is a description of an ideal wife. The description is summed up in verse 31, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”. Having a great personality or looking good is not what is important Biblically. These are superficial characteristics and potentially misleading. What is important in a wife (or husband) is her relationship to God.
New Testament
Now that we have taken a brief look at the Old Testament, let’s look at what the New Testament has to say about this issue. As we look at the New Testament we can see that the idea of dating is completely absent. Dating is a relative new concept. In Biblical times, people simply got married. The idea of short term intimate bonding with a lot of different people to find out who you are compatible with is a foreign one. If you are not even interested in getting married to the person you are dating then it doesn’t matter if you are dating a Christian or an Unbeliever. This type of “trying people on to see if they fit” mentality is completely secular and should be avoided, if nothing else at least to preserve your heart from the cycle of bonding and severing that results from becoming emotionally/physically attached to people. Also, these type of short term relationships train us to be led by our emotions and undermine the values of commitment and faithfulness. When people lose interest or things get hard they simply break up. This type of dating is basically just training for divorce. Don’t get involved with someone unless you would consider marrying them.
The question the Bible answers is if you should marry an unbeliever or not. As we saw in the OT, God did not want the Israelites marrying those who were not part of the people of God. The same is true of the New Testament. I want to look at 2 Corinthians 6:14-18. This is the “unequally yoked” passage. (I have broken it down into phrases to help see the message of the text and so that you can have an example of what I do when studying a passage. I like breaking verses into smaller units to see the conjuctions and transitions more easily.)
14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers;
for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness,
or what fellowship has light with darkness?
15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial,
or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For we are the temple of the living God;
just as God said,
“I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God,
and they shall be My people.
17 “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you.
18 “And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.
Although this is fairly straightforward, I want to comment on a few things. First, I am using the New International Version (NIV) for this text. Their translation of verse 14 has the phrase “bound together”. This is a translation of the Greek – heterozugeo, which is better translated as “unequally yoked together”. You can see the two parts of the word heterozugeo, “hetero” and “zugos”. “Zugos” is the Greek word for “yoke” and “hetero” is the word for “different”. Unfortunately, this word only occurs once in the New Testament. The only other use in the Bible is found in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) in Leviticus 19:19. Here it is used to forbid the mating of two different types of animals. A yoke is used to join two things together, and in the Corinthian passage Paul is using it to forbid the joining of two different people.
Although this is the only NT use of the word heterozugeo, there is another word made from the same word that helps shed some light on what this word means. The word “sunzugeo” has the same root word “zugos” – yoke. In this case it has the prefix “sun” which basically means “together”, so whereas heterozugeo is unequally yoked, sunzugeo is joined together. This is the word used in Mark 10:9 for joined together.
7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh. ’So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (cf. Matt. 19:6)
The context of this Mark passage is clearly about marriage, and because of the similarity of these two words, we can at least say that marriage is in the range of meaning for “heterozugeo”. The question we need to answer is what Paul was referring to by the phrase “unequally yoked”. This contrast between believers and unbelievers (in v. 15) is also found in the first epistle to the Corinthians (1 Cor 7:12-16), where Paul gives instructions to Christians who are already married as to how they should relate to each other. This context shows how the terms “believer” and “unbeliever” are used by Paul in discussions about marriage. So, both the word translated unequally yoked (heterozugeo) and the idea of believers vs. unbelievers both have ties to marriage. Even if Paul has other things in mind, he at least has marriage in mind. In fact, he probably does have other unions in mind. He uses a lot of different terms to emphasize the oppositeness of the union – righteousness and lawlessness; light and darkness; Christ and Belial; believer and unbeliever; temple of God and idols. He is saying that things that are opposite do not go together. Someone who believes in God and someone who does not are opposite, and therefore should be joined together.
Verse 16 of 2 Corinthians 6 gives us a reason why. We are the temple of the living God. God has called us to be holy. He desires for us to be separate from the world around us – “come out from their midst and be separate” (v 17). Holiness is one of the main attributes of God. We cannot house God’s presence while putting our time and energy into someone who doesn’t even believe in God.
Let’s go back to 1 Corinthians 7. In this discussion on marriage Paul states that, “A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord” (1 Cor 7:30). Paul says, if your husband dies you are free to marry again, “only in the Lord”. Someone who does not believe in God can not fit under the category of “in the Lord”. Mark 10:9 says, “What God has joined together let no man separate”. How can someone seek God’s blessing in marriage when they are in a relationship God does not approve of?
In 1 Peter 3:1-7, Peter gives instructions for both husbands and wives on how they should live together. The instructions to the wives does not make sense if the wife is not a believer. Likewise, the instructions to husbands only makes sense in the context of two believers joined in marriage. In verse 7 he says, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” Not only is prayer assumed by husbands, but the husband and wife are coheirs of the gracious gift of life (i.e. salvation).
We need to understand what the purpose of Christian marriage is. It isn’t just to make us happy or meet our emotional needs. (By the way, if you are looking for another person to fill a need that only God can meet you will remain unfulfilled.) Marriage has a few purposes, one of which is to be an example of Christ and the Church. Ephesians 5 lays this out for us.
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:21-32
This passage has a lot to say about marriage and the roles of husbands and wives. I would encourage you to read it and study it (including the context around it) to understand marriage the way God intended it. We misrepresent God when we enter into relationships with unbelievers.
Conclusion
There is a lot more that can be said on this topic. I have tried to just give a brief Biblical basis for abstaining from relationships with unbelievers. This issue comes back to what we believe about the Bible. If the Bible says that this is wrong and we do it anyway, then we have set ourselves above the authority of the Bible. Our own personal happiness is not reason enough to trump Scripture. Following Christ is worth far more than the temporary pleasures of this world. I want to leave you with one final Scripture to meditate on – 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good character”.
A lot of my thoughts on this issue were informed by teachings from Voddie Baucham. Here is what he has to say about Christians dating unbelievers.
Enjoy.
How to Study the Bible 