A former Speech and Language Pathologist for nearly 20 years, I began educating our 3 children full-time in 2015 and have cherished every gifted moment (even the challenges). But what is interwoven into all aspects of daily life (as a wife, via motherhood, teaching, friendship, fitness, etc.) is Christian Apologetics (1 Peter 3:15)… which is why this blog exists.
“James the Just” (per Flavius Josephus), was known for having knees like a camel— calloused and tough. He was a man devoted to prayer, and his knees reflected that fervency! James knew the genuine joy of reliance upon Christ (as opposed to a self-reliant heart).
Prior to the Resurrection in AD 30 or 33, James, Jesus’s half-brother, was not a follower of Jesus. But he couldn’t deny the miracle he had witnessed…Jesus had risen bodily from that tomb! James’s life changed dramatically in response to this event! He not only became a leader of the Jerusalem church but he also was martyred for this commitment around AD 62.
“Remarkably, James didn’t believe in his brother during Jesus’ earthly ministry, an embarrassing detail the Gospel writers wouldn’t have made up. In fact, John 7:5 just states, ‘For even his own brothers didn’t believe in him.’ But we also know as a matter of history that James becomes a leader in the early church (Galatians 1, Acts 15), worshiping his brother as messiah and Lord to the point of eventually dying for that belief.” Price, C. 2015. Making Sense of Resurrection Data.Available
James 2
1 My brothers,a show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,”4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7vAre they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what goodb is that?17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”
James
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Footnotes: a 1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 14 b 16 Or benefit
What Leviticus 20:5 refers to as, “Spiritual prostitution,” the American Heritage Dictionary describes as “the reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief.” Spiritual or Religious Syncretism most prominently occurs in domains of philosophy and religion, and typically results in a new/different teaching or belief system. Per GotQuestions, “this cannot be reconciled to biblical Christianity.” GotQuestions continues:
“Religious syncretism is simply not compatible with true Christianity. In fact, any modification to biblical law and principle for the sake of a ‘better’ religion is heresy (Revelation 22:18-19).”
The Enneagram is an excellent example of how synchronization can occur. Please bear with me as I explain…
To summarize briefly, the Enneagram is currently viewed as an ancient, Christian tool used for personality analysis. But is it truly ancient? And most importantly, is it Christian?
The Enneagram, specifically, was initially created by a Russian mystic named, George Gurdjieff, around 1906. Gurdjieff’s nine-pointed shape was constructed with his Law of Three in mind as a way to glean spiritual wisdom from the Cosmos (divination). Approximately 60 years later, Chilean psychiatrist, Claudio Naranjo, claimed in this interview to have contacted Spirit Guides in attempts to formulate personality types which could apply to the 9-points. In light of these factors, we can debunk both claims that the Enneagram is either ancient or Christian.
2 minutes
Regarding its ancient roots, the Enneagram is nearly 40-60 years old in its current (personality) form. However, the component which is legitimately ancient is practice of seeking the help of disobedient spirits. Divination and soothsaying certainly IS ancient. And, sisters, God warns us about these practices in all of the Scriptures. Example passages include Leviticus 19-20, Deuteronomy 18, Acts 19, and Galatians 3:1. The fact that something could be ancient doesn’t automatically mean it’s safe! By no means!
A New Age tool by design, the Enneagram is taught by numerous churches as an ancient tool which can be redeemed for use with hiring, disciplining, marriage health, etc. The problem with this is that the Enneagram isn’t Christian. And even though we are living after the Cross, idols are not redeemed. Only idolators. As Marcia Montenegro articulates, “The Enneagram is not like meat sacrificed to idols. The Enneagram IS the idol.”
“The Enneagram is not like meat sacrificed to idols. The Enneagram IS the idol.”
Marcia Montenegro
Not only is the Enneagram not Christian, but the theology which most often accompanies the Enneagram, is propagated by a plethora of Enneagram books praising the virtues and insights of Friar Richard Rohr. Rohr, while claiming the title of a Christian, equally identifies as Perennial (nearly identical with Universalism). And while Rohr utilizes Christian terminology, he demeans the Book (Bible) which defines them, as well as denies the essential, foundational beliefs (doctrines) of Christianity. Rohr is a textbook example of syncretism…and that should raise majo red flags!🚩
Here are some examples of Rohr’s views :
Jesus is an exalted creation, not God.
The Christ is a separate being who entered Jesus.
Christ is in all things (Panentheism).
All things are made in the image of God.
Christ’s first incarnation was the “Big Bang.”
Sin is our ignorance to never having been separated from God (we’ve always been Divine/“True Self”).
Sin does not need atonement, and therefore Jesus’s crucifixion was needless.
Defines God as a He, She, or It…as a “dynamic motion” or “flow” in all things.
Encourages Spiritual and/or Religious Syncretism.
Friends, if anyone encourages you to integrate other worldviews into Christianity, please prayerfully and gently ask questions regarding his or her Christian beliefs. God’s Word (Scriptures) calls the synchronization of idols as “spiritual prostitution” (Leviticus 20:5). We need to take this statement seriously! The Jewish exorcists documented by Luke in Acts 19 took the sin of synchronization VERY seriously! Instead of incorporating their old magic into their Christian faith, their burned what the ESV Study Bible estimates as $6 million dollars worth of magic materials! They didn’t slap Christian terms upon their old practices (“Gospel-Centered Magic”), they abandoned them and followed Jesus!
Gals, let’s intentionally invest time to dialoguing respectfully with our friends and/or family members, pertaining to the Gospel as presented by God through His Word (Bible). And please know that it’s ok not to have all of the answers. That’s where study, research, prayer, and community comes in! Keep pouring into your friend what your being taught in the Scriptures as well as through apologetics. Resources are shared below for your convenience! Praying alongside you!
Essentials of Christianity
47 minutes with Greg Koukl
47 minutes with Kevin Lewis
60 minutes with Alisa Childers and Krista Bontrager
Enneagram and Richard Rohr
56 minutes with Alisa Childers and Marcia Montenegro
56 minutes with Cultish and Marcia
10 minutes
Leviticus 20
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, 5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring (“spiritual prostitution” NET) after Molech.
6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.
Punishments for Sexual Immorality
10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 12 If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. 14 If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. 15 If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
17 “If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her menstrual period and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for that is to make naked one’s relative; they shall bear their iniquity.20 If a man lies with his uncle’s wife, he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is impurity. He has uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
You Shall Be Holy
22 “You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them. 24 But I have said to you, ‘You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ I am the Lord your God, who has separated you from the peoples. 25 You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. 26 You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.
27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”
Friends, God doesn’t change. This characteristic about God’s steadfastness is termed, “immutability.” And it’s a quality for which we need to be thankful, daily.
James 1:17 also teaches the immutability of God: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning.” The “shadow of turning” refers to our perspective on the sun: it is eclipsed it moves and it casts its shadow. The sun rises and sets, appears and disappears every day; it comes out of one tropic and enters into another at certain seasons of the year. But with God, who, spiritually speaking, is light itself, there is no darkness at all; there is no change with Him, nor anything like it. God is unchangeable in His nature, perfections, purposes, promises, and gifts. He, being holy, cannot turn to that which is evil; nor can He, who is the fountain of light, be the cause of darkness. Since every good and perfect gift comes from Him, evil cannot proceed from Him, nor can He tempt any to it (James 1:13). The Bible is clear that God does not change His mind, His will, or His nature.
There are several logical reasons why God must be immutable, that is, why it is impossible for God to change. First, if anything changes, it must do so in some chronological order. There must be a point in time before the change and a point in time after the change. Therefore, for change to take place it must happen within the constraints of time; however, God is eternal and exists outside of the constraints of time (Psalm 33:11; 41:13; 90:2-4; John 17:5; 2 Timothy 1:9).
Second, the immutability of God is necessary for His perfection. If anything changes, it must change for the better or the worse, because a change that makes no difference is not a change. For change to take place, either something that is needed is added, which is a change for the better; or something that is needed is lost, which is a change for the worse. But, since God is perfect, He does not need anything. Therefore, He cannot change for the better. If God were to lose something, He would no longer be perfect; therefore, He cannot change for the worse.
Third, the immutability of God is related to His omniscience. When someone changes his/her mind, it is often because new information has come to light that was not previously known or because the circumstances have changed and require a different attitude or action. Because God is omniscient, He cannot learn something new that He did not already know. So, when the Bible speaks of God changing His mind, it must be understood that the circumstance or situation has changed, not God. When Exodus 32:14 and 1 Samuel 15:11-29 speak of God changing His mind, it is simply describing a change of dispensation and outward dealings toward man.
Numbers 23:19 clearly presents the immutability of God: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” No, God does not change His mind. These verses affirm the doctrine of God’s immutability: He is unchanging and unchangeable.”
As you and I witness through God’s words to us (Scripture), God’s character is not contingent upon His creation, but stays the same. In other words, His holiness is NOT dependent upon us, but our holiness certainly is dependent upon Him. With this being said,we ought be careful not to change to fit the narrative of the culture around us, by mixing-in what is popular and in vogue, spiritually…But instead, we need to place our complete identity upon the unshakable, unchangeable rock of the Gospel. For God alone is God, and His work upon the cross was something only He could do.
As He (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) has been for all eternity. God’s holiness was represented by the instructions He gave to His people through commands and laws, as written down for us in the Scriptures (not the laws added on by men/Pharisees). To view them as oppressive is to use sin-stained emotionalism as the straight-edge. Therefore, what is provided in Leviticus 19 is still for our good…as it was the day it was written. And by the strength of the Holy Spirit, through the sacrifice of Jesus, we can rest in them. Sisters, let’s rejoice in being His!
“Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself. Have you ever considered the deeper implications of the slightest sin, of the most minute peccadillo? What are we saying to our Creator when we disobey Him at the slightest point? We are saying no to the righteousness of God. We are saying, ‘God, Your law is not good. My judgement is better than Yours. Your authority does not apply to me. I am above and beyond Your jurisdiction. I have the right to do what I want to do, not what You command me to do.’”
R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God
The Lord Is Holy
19 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.
5 “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten the same day you offer it or on the day after, and anything left over until the third day shall be burned up with fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it is tainted; it will not be accepted, 8 and everyone who eats it shall bear his iniquity, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life[a] of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
You Shall Keep My Statutes
19 “You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.
20 “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; 21 but he shall bring his compensation to the Lord, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed.
23 “When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden.[b] Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. 24 And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am the Lord your God.
26 “You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes.27 You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. 28 You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
29 “Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, lest the land fall into prostitution and the land become full of depravity. 30 You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
31 “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.
32 “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. 34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
35 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin:[c] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
Resources:
3 minutes with Mary Jo Sharp
Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 18 apply to avoiding the synchronization of of spiritual experiences, as these are not from God.
70 minutes w/ Steven Bancarz
10 minutes regarding the Enneagram. Please remember that God redeems His creation, not our idols. He saves and sanctifies the Sinner, not the sin; the Adulterer, not the adultery; the Magician, not the magic; and the Psychic, not the divination. Test all things (1 John 4:1), and hold fast to what is good (1 Thess 5:21)…putting aside any tool which seeks the advice of other spirits!
When defining Christian terms, the Christian dictionary is necessary (Scriptures).
Friends, be careful not to readily accept any claim made about Jesus without checking the Scriptures first. Even if it’s someone with a popular podcast, a New York Bestseller, or a place up on stage preaching. Check to see what God says.
We can’t mold Jesus into a likeness which fits our preferences. He is who He is. Therefore, let’s read His words.
Professor Walt Russell’s free, online courses pertaining to Bible Study.
Alan Shlemon introduces us to Hermeneutics.
2 Timothy 3
But know this: Hard times will come in the last days. 2 For people will be lovers of self,lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, 4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power.Avoid these people.
6 For among them are those who worm their way into households and deceive gullible women overwhelmed by sins and led astray by a variety of passions, 7 always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth. They are men who are corrupt in mind and worthless in regard to the faith. 9 But they will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be clear to all, as was the foolishness of Jannes and Jambres.
Struggles in the Christian Life
10 But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, 11 along with the persecutions and sufferings that came to me in Antioch,Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured—and yet the Lord rescued me from them all. 12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 Evil people and impostors will become worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. You know those who taught you, 15 and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work
It’s not about what we do or have done. It’s all about what Jesus has done.
Galatians 2
1Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8(for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
Paul Opposes Peter
11But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.a13And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Justified by Faith
15We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16yet we know that a person is not justifiedb by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!18For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousnessc were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Footnotes: a 12 Or fearing those of the circumcision b 16 Or counted righteous (three times in verse 16); also verse 17 c 21 Or justification
Apologist Nancy Pearcey, in her book Finding Truth, describes a worldview as an “explanation of those inescapable, unavoidable facts of experience accessible to all people, in all cultures, across all periods of history.” The Christian worldview explains that God has chosen to make himself known to humanity through all he has made. “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).
The gravity that holds us to the earth isn’t a social construct. The sun, which gives us light and warms our faces, is not an illusion. And the desire for wrongs to be made right isn’t derived from a test tube. The purposeful design of creation points to an intentional creator. And the implication is that the Creator is our moral authority as well. As Pearcey notes, “No matter how hard people work to suppress their knowledge of God, creation itself keeps challenging them.”
One worldview that suppresses the knowledge of God’s authority is secular humanism. Secular humanists view issues of morality and justice as problems to be solved apart from God’s intervention. Such people are predominately unified in their belief that the critical intelligence of humanity is enough, without seeking any aid from God or the Scriptures. “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Rom. 1:22).
“The tragedy of the last hundred years has been due to the fallacy of imagining that you could shed Christian doctrine but hold on to Christian ethics.”
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Pastor Martyn Lloyd-Jones summarizes it this way: “The tragedy of the last hundred years has been due to the fallacy of imagining that you could shed Christian doctrine but hold on to Christian ethics.” As seen in human secularism, borrowing from God entails just that: the dismissal of God and a denial of biblical authority. Foregoing God’s authority means abandoning his leadership. And neglecting God’s leadership equates to choosing a counterfeit option of justice and freedom.
15 minutes with Nancy Pearcey about the numerous “God substitutes” which exist in various worldviews.
Romans 1
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Longing to Go to Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
While the word, “Trinity,” is not found in the Bible, the reality that God is one WHAT, represented as three WHO, is found within both the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. You could also say that the Trinity is one God existing in three Persons.
It’s imperative to understand that when we talk about the Trinity, we are in no way suggesting three Gods. Dr. James White, author of The Forgotten Trinity, has provided another helpful definition of the Trinity: “Within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
Below is an incredible teaching from “The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy: Studies and Expositions of the Messiah in the Old Testament,” which examines how Jesus, the Messiah, and the Angel of the Lord are connected (pages 151-153).
Friends, God has spoken to us through the Scriptures in a way that’s both accessible and understandable, especially with the help of the Holy Spirit. We just need to be diligent to read what each book or letter of the Bible is intending to say (Exegesis), not what we want them to say (Eisegesis). For more on the “clarity of Scripture,” here is a wonderful article from The Gospel Coalition (click here). With the clarity of God’s Word in mind, it’s unmistakable that Jesus claimed to be the only promised Messiah, as well as God incarnate.
Now, let’s dig in!
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14
The Angel of the Lord
“The incarnation of the second person of the Trinity was not the first time that God came into the world He created. God walked in the garden of Eden (Ge 3:8). Enoch(Gn 5:22) and Noah (Gn 6:9) walked with God. God appeared to Abraham and had lunch and an extended conversation with him (Gn 18). There are many more examples. A particularly intriguing category is those stories in which a figure, identified as the Angel of the Lord, appears on earth and engages with a human. Who is this figure? Is He merely an angelic messenger or is He God Himself?” (p.151)
There are more examples pertaining to “the Angel of the LORD identifying Himself as God” on page 152, such as to Hagar (Gn 16 and 21) and to Jacob in (Gn 28 and 31), but we will continue to page 153 for more scriptural attestation of the Trinity in the Old Testament:
“Goldberg surely overstates the case when he asserts: ‘The connection between the angel of the LORD and the appearance of the Messiah cannot be denied.’ Many have, in fact denied such a connection. But the testimony of the early church is compelling. Norwood explains: The early church ‘Fathers exhibit a consensus exhibit a consensus that Yahweh is manifested through all of the Old Testament theophanies (Anel of Yahweh, burning bush, cloud and fire, Sn of Man, and others) by the preincarnate Word, just as God is made visible in the New Testament through the incarnate Word (Jn 1:1, 14).’ For example, Justin Martyr insisted, ‘Neither Abraham, nor Isaac, nor Jacob, nor any other man, saw the Father and ineffable Lord of all, and also of Christ, but [saw] Him who was according to His will His Son, being God, and the Angel because He ministered to His will; whom also it pleased Him to be born man by the Virgin.’”
“The Angel of the LORD is called ‘wonderful’ in Jdg 13:18, the same designation the Messiah received in Isa 9:6. Further, the Angel and the Messiah are linked in Zch 12:8: ‘On that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD, before them.’ Two verses late, the speak is identified, ‘Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced’ (Zch 12:10). Only the Messiah the second person of the Trinity, could be in view here.”
“The Angel of the LORD is a Messenger who has come from the Lord who is the Lord Himself. The differentiation between the Lord and the Angel implies plural in the Godhead, early evidence of the Trinity. That the Angel is the second person is further indicated when Jesus the Messiah explicitly identified Himself as one sent from the Father (Jn 13:20; 17:18; 20:21). The Lord sent the Angel; the Lord sent Jesus.”
God is so good.
“O Lord God almighty . . . I bless you and glorify you through the eternal and heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be glory to you, with Him and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever”
Please note that the earliest Christians acknowledged the Triune Godhead. This fact therefore *debunks* the premise asserted by the Divinci Code that the doctrine of the Trinity began at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 (video resource here). Instead, the Triune Godhead has been true from eternity past.
Another important note: The fact that Jesus is the only Messiah (Christ) spoken of by Jesus Himself, as documented in the Scriptures (Lk 24:44), also debunks the proclamation by Richard Rohr and New Age authors (i.e., Deepak Chopra) that Jesus is merely human, with the Christ as a separate being, inherently in all things (Panentheism). This heretical teaching put forth by Rohr and others is termed either the Universal Christ or Christ Consciousness.
Zechariah 12
A pronouncement:
The word of the Lord concerning Israel. A declaration of the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him.
Mourning for the Pierced One
10 “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan’s house by itself and their women by themselves; 13 the family of Levi’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself and their women by themselves; 14 all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.
2 “Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her. 4 On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. 5 Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the Lord of Armies, their God. 6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord, before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
When we read not to follow the “desires of the flesh” in Galatians 5:16-26, it’s incredibly necessary to understand that Paul is not blaming the physical body. We were made human, by God, as a body and soul (Genesis 1). Both are important!
To quote Christian Apologist, Francis Schaeffer, from his book “Escape from Reason:”
“The soul is not more important than the body. God made the whole man & the whole man is important. The doctrine of bodily resurrection of the dead is not an old fashion thing. It tells us that God loves the whole man & the whole man is important.”
Francis Schaeffer
Paul isn’t blaming our bodies as the source of our sinful nature, but instead points out that our bodies and thoughts either follow the direction of the Holy Spirit, or we choose the old sinful nature by which we, as Believers and new creations in Jesus, are no longer controlled. With this in view, the flesh in this chapter most often refers to “sinful desires,” not the body. Please check this out for yourself.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine powerto demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Friends, God wants to renew our minds, not bypass them. This is critical! Our feelings shouldn’t lead our thinking, but should rather follow right thinking about God and relation to Him. We are not to lean upon our own understanding (Proverbs 3), nor are we to follow our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9). We are to walk by the guidance of God through His Holy Spirit. And friends, the Holy Spirit will never contradict God’s Word (Scriptures). If you have a vision or experience which is emotionally significant…Check it alongside the Scriptures (1 John 1:4; 1 Thes 5:21). Emotions are fickle and the heart is a deep, deep well. Please don’t build your life upon the shifting sands of fickle,…following every whim, and appeasing every desire. Slow down. Pray. And bathe your mind in Truth (Scripture). What you know to be true is the One Who is True (John 14:6). Follow Him… His Word points to Him, and is all about Him (Luke 24:44-47).
Galatians 5
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Keep in Step with the Spirit
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Proverbs 31:25-30 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” …
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Isaiah 66:13 As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.
Proverbs 23:22-25 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
2 Timothy 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
Leviticus 19:3 Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
Psalm 139:13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
Proverbs 1:8-9 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.
Proverbs 31:28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.”
2 Kings 4:30 Then the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her.
Proverbs 17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.
Psalm 113:9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!
Luke 1:46-48 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
Proverbs 31:10-12 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
Luke 2:51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
Titus 2:3-5 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Proverbs 14:1 The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
1 Peter 3:4 But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
Proverbs 31:25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
Proverbs 15:20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Matthew 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Proverbs 6:20-22 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.
Psalm 127:3-5 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
1 Timothy 5:2 Older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.
Proverbs 6:20-21 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.
1 Timothy 5:1-2 Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Matthew 19:19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
1 Samuel 1:26-28 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Joshua 24:15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Proverbs 19:14 House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
Proverbs 31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
1 Corinthians 13:13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Proverbs 31:10-31 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. …
Titus 2:4-5 And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Titus 2:1-15 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. …
Titus 2:4 And so train the young women to love their husbands and children,
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Genesis 3:20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
Will our pastors make mistakes? Indeed! They are human, after-all.
And we will error as well, Sisters!
So what do we do when a fellow brother or sister in Christ needs correction? Galatians 2 really speaks to this important inquiry for all of us.
You see, if Peter, a man who walked and talked with God in the flesh (Jesus), would need corrected by another brother (Paul),…we most certainly will too at various times in our lives.
As demonstrated for us in Galatians 2, Peter needed a lovingly bold correction. It’s necessary to reiterate that this will be the case for all of us…whether providing the correction respectfully, or receiving it, as Peter did, humbly.
How should we correct one another?
Jesus viewed the Scriptures as the Word of God, assigning authority to the Scriptures (Mt 5:17-18; 22:29; Lk 24:44; Jn 545-47). And therefore as Christians, we need to have the same view of the Scriptures. To downplay the authority of Scripture is placing too much authority into human hands, allowing for the heart tendency to pleasing man to supersede the preaching of the Word (2 Tim 4:2).
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Without Correction and Repentance…
Without providing loving correction when needed, with repentance as a fruitful response, both syncretism of other worldview practices could gain prominence. Holding fast to the teachings of Jesus as shared through all of the Scriptures is Paul’s plea in Galatians 2, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, and 1 Thessalonians 5:21. If we don’t hold fast to God’s Words to us, we will hold fast to…and prioritize…the words of the culture.
To quote pastor Grant Castleberry: “The world is secularizing so quickly. The churches and religious institutions that feel the need to also secularize in order to win the world and “meet the needs of the day” will actually do the opposite. They will become theologically and morally irreverent. They will become spiritual wastelands, from which Christ removes His lamp stand. They will become religious shadows from which only God’s judgment echoes.
The world doesn’t need a Christianized version of itself. It needs an authentic Christianity that proclaims the truth without apology. An Unashamed Gospel. A Christ that loves sinners and calls them to repentance. A community of saints who are willing to follow Christ despite the world’s reproach. That’s the Christianity the world needs. Because it is true Christianity.”
Both giving and receiving correction is an inevitable part of our walk as Christians. We are all sinners saved by the Grace of God alone… to hold fast to this reality is important (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Galatians 2
Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain. 3 But not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you.
6 Now from those recognized as important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism)—they added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised, 8 since the one at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles. 9 When James, Cephas, and John—those recognized as pillars—acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor,which I had made every effort to do.
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.”
Paul (v 2:20-21)
Freedom from the Law
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. 13 Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to livelike Jews?” 15 We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” 16 and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the lawbut by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. 17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker.19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.”
1 John 4:1
The 10-minute video below was shared by Pastor Justin Peters on Twitter this week as to provide Christians with a succinct, and yet incredibly informative, resource! Please consider watching this…as well possibly sharing it with your pastors and elders! Sitting down and discussing these matters is important (1 Thes 5:21; 2 Tim 3:16-17).
“Going to church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car.”
G.K. Chesterton
Chesterton’s sound logic can be applied to the Enneagram…as labeling an occult tool “Gospel-centered” does not remove the occultist design, nor does using Christian terms make it Christian.
Let’s hold fast to God’s Word, sisters!
Praying alongside you!
10 minutes
For more additional information pertaining to the Enneagram, please consider prayerfully perusing the research compiled in the post: The Enneagram Family Tree.
What Does Scripture Say?
Acts 19
And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inlandcountry and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
The Sons of Sceva
11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
A Riot at Ephesus
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs,who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd.34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Deuteronomy 18
“The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the Lord’s food offerings as their inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them. 3 And this shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. 5 For the Lordyour God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time.
6 “And if a Levite comes from any of your towns out of all Israel, where he lives—and he may come when he desires—to the place that the Lord will choose, 7 and ministers in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand to minister there before the Lord, 8 then he may have equal portions to eat, besides what he receives from the sale of his patrimony.Abominable Practices
9 “When you come into the land that the Lordyour God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.A New Prophet like Moses
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lordmy God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, orwho speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
The gospel according to Mark was composed by Peter’s attendant and writer, John Mark, around the mid-to-late 50’s A.D., only 30 years after Jesus’s resurrection.
When we study chapter 12, we witness a rich, young man approaching Jesus and addressing Jesus as, “Good Teacher.” Per the ESV Study Bible, Jesus makes it clear that only God is good…and determines to make sure that young man is ready to acknowledge Jesus as God. This message of God alone being “good “boldly opposes the cry of our culture which claims that we alone are enough, as well as undermines the heretical teaching by some that humans are inherently divine. But since Jesus clearly agrees with Scripture (OT) that only God is good we should heed his words!
Fact: God alone is good…and Jesus is God (2nd Person of the Triune Godhead)…then the young man is correct in saying that Jesus is a “Good Teacher.” This certainly sets the stage for what is to come next.
After Jesus defines only God as good, Jesus lovingly peers into the heart of the young man and surgically brings to the surface an idol: the young man’s reliance upon his wealth. Notice that Jesus knew the heart of the man and that Jesus confronted him lovingly. Jesus made a right judgement about the man’s heart and then addressed it directly. Friends, we all have idols needing called to the surface by the Holy Spirit (Psalm 139:23-14). Let’s humbly remember how much we need the His help each and every day. The work Jesus did through the cross and His resurrection was and will always be enough.
“Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”
10 And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.
2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5 And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,[a]8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Let the Children Come to Me
13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.
The Rich Young Man
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is[b] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,[c] “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
The Request of James and John
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[d]44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave[e] of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus
46 And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.
Footnotes
Mark 10:7 Some manuscripts omit and hold fast to his wife
Mark 10:24 Some manuscripts add for those who trust in riches
