On Following

Most religions of the world have a book to follow. Or some meditations to follow. Or some rules to follow....

Is Christianity any different?

• Do we follow a book?
• Do we follow some creed?
• Is it about agreeing to some catechism, some list of beliefs?
• Is there a list of rules to follow?

Or is it different because it is a person we are following?

There are many verses that speak to following Jesus. All the references to Jesus being a shepherd come to mind. Here are a few:

John 10:14 (NIV)

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—

Matthew 4:19 (NIV)

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

John 8:12 (NIV)

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 10:27 (NIV)

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me"

It seems that divisions are created and maintained when we follow someone or something other than Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:11-13 (NIV)

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas[a]”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?"

OK. But how can we follow Jesus today? Did Jesus leave us with a book to follow? How did He expect us to carry on?

John 14:15-21 (NIV)

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

John 14:26 (NIV)

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

What do you think? Is there a difference between following Christ and following a religion?

Should Pastors be paid a Salary

I recognize the divisive nature of this question. And I struggle with even asking it. But I want to highlight this question as it relates to my 7th point in my 95 Thesis series - the use of the Bible as a magic 8 ball. We don't look to the Bible to debate if workers at Christian radio stations, bookstores, or publishing companies should receive wages. So maybe we can discuss whether paying pastors a salary is good practice using other sources to guide the discussion?

What concerns me here is how people attempt to prove a position by finding a few verses yet overlook context and and skip other related passages.

Let's look at some verses used to support the position that pastors should be paid a salary. For example this link here uses two passages to support their 'yes' position to this question:
http://www.gotquestions.org/pastors-paid-salary.html

1 Timothy 5:17-18

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages." (NIV)

I first note that Paul is talking about elders here. I'm not certain elder means pastor, and I haven't been in a 'church' where all elders where paid a salary.

My 95 Thesis - Point 7 - Magic 8 Ball

Here's my 7th Point in My 95 Theses.

Does the Bible give clear answers on all issues?

There is a tendency in Christian circles to try to find answers to every question in the pages of Scripture. We often cut and paste snippets from here and there and string them together into a proof for whatever point we need to make. It is amazingly easy to do, see my Washing Hands post.

I've heard Bible based arguments for Yes and No sides the following issues:

• Gambling
• Drinking alcohol
• Dancing
• Mixed gender swimming
• Females wearing pants
• Playing cards
  
• Females without head coverings in church
• Females in leadership roles at church
• Symbols like Christmas trees used in church
• Use of drums in church
• Use of musical instruments in church
• Going to movie theaters
• Listening to secular music
• Birth control
• Polygamy
  
• Participating in Halloween
• Participating in armed conflict
• Being protestant
• Being catholic
• Being ______

Playdough Scripture Hebrews 11:1-2

Now faith is being sure of our systematic theology what we hope for and certain that our Biblical worldview is truth of what we do not see. This is what theologians in recent centuries have worked hard to figure out for us the ancients were commended for.

Hebrews 11:1 - 2 (Playdough Version)


What do you think? Have we re-defined what faith is?

Is our faith more like a box of answers or like an unfinished puzzle?

Slow down Jon

Slow down Jon, what's the rush... do you need to figure everything out right now? Do you need to question everything?

No.

So I may slow down on this blog for awhile. I thank God for giving me some peace on some matters recently... and it would likely be best if some of them were applied to my life before I go much further.

During recent months I've discovered that I question a number of things:

• Do Christians 'go to' church... isn't that how we show we are Christians?
• Do protestant evangelicals have the best doctrine/thinking - and is having the best doctrine/thinking of utmost importance?
• Is it OK to judge others who are obviously wrong because they disagree with me on a few things?
• Calvinism?
• Does the good news message emphasize God punishing people in Hell for ever and ever?
• Does the good news message emphasize God punishing Jesus instead of me, Penal Substitutionary Atonement?
  
• Does the Bible give clear answers on all issues, should it be use it like a magic 8 ball?
• Does 'Romans Road' best describe the gospel message?
  

Ok, so there's a few questions I've grappled with. But what positive things have I learned:

• God loves everyone and desires a restored relationship with all of us
• To follow Christ means to live in His love, and be His love to everyone
• I need to love and respect everyone, including those who don't agree with me (which is actually a relief - otherwise I'd be a lone duck)
• I see the good news message going something like this... Jesus came and died so I can live under His authority instead of being in bondage to sin. In some mysterious way Jesus took my sin to the cross. My sin is dead. His love is alive in me.
• The Holy Spirit is trustworthy, and can be relied upon to lead and guide us.
  

So now I need to practice living this way. There are people and situations out there that I need to learn to respond to in Christ's love. I can't learn it all in blogger-land. More learning needs to happen in real life.

So my passion for blogger-land is fading for now... I may not have any new thoughts to share for awhile...

...But who knows... I have no idea what lies around the next curve of this journey I'm on...

Washing Hands

This post goes out to my wife and kids. :)

Mark 7:1-16 (NIV)

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?"
He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "

So what do the Scriptures teach us here:

• Some of Jesus disciples did not wash their hands before eating
• The religious Pharisees and Jews always washed their hands before eating. They even went as far as washing cups, pitchers, and kettles - what legalism!
  
• Jesus saw no problem with his disciples ignoring these traditions
  
• Jesus goes on to show how empty rituals like washing your hands before eating can distract from the more important aspects of our faith.

Should we be like the religious Pharisees and Jews, or like the disciples of Christ?

I think the Bible clearly states that I don't have to wash my hands before eating. :)

Or maybe the Scriptures shouldn't be used like a Magic 8 ball to find answers to all issues. :)

Does the Bible Give Clear Asnwers on all Issues

The Bible gets used to give support for many topics.

Is there a problem with using the Bible like a magic 8 ball? Can we look to it to find answers to all issues?

Throughout my years in a variety of church circles I have heard Bible based arguments for each of the following issues. Some have used the Bible to claim these issues are clearly sin. Others conclude they are not.

• Gambling
• Drinking alcohol
• Dancing
• Mixed gender swimming
• Females wearing pants
• Females without head coverings in church
• Females in leadership roles at church
• Symbols like Christmas trees used in church
• Use of drums in church
• Use of musical instruments in church
• Going to movie theaters
• Listening to secular music
• Birth control
• Polygamy
  
• Participating in Halloween
• Participating in armed conflict
• Being protestant
• Being catholic
• Being ______
  

I'm sure you could add a few more to this list.

Here are some bigger past issues that people had used the Bible to support:

• Slavery
• Crusades
• Inquisitions
• Apartheid
• Hitler's actions against Jews
• Condemning interracial marriage
• Ku Klux Klan
• Many harmful cults
  

William Shakespeare recognized the problem:

"The devil can site scripture for his own purpose! An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek." [Merchant Of Venice]

So why do some people feel the need to say the Bible has clear answers to every issue?

Is the bible black and white on all issues?

How many of these issues need to be central to our faith?

Should we use the Bible like a magic 8 ball to find answers to all issues?

We can learn from history that there are some obvious dangers to using scripture to promote a position that is not part of the central message of the Bible.

I propose one of the biggest dangers is the divisions in Christ's church that have been created by holding too tightly to these non-essential positions.

When Christ's body is not One, the world will not recognize us as His.

I think it is wise to look to scripture and study what it has to say on all issues. But if it is outside the central message of scripture, let's not get too dogmatic about it.

Can we agree to disagree on issues that have less scriptural support than our essential belief of Christian Unity?



Related Posts:

• Washing hands
  
• Stay at home dads
• Should pastors be paid a salary