Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Don’t add or subtract

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 “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2, ESV)

We are told that we are not to add or subtract from what God commanded of the Nation of Israel through Moses.

Jesus gives us his viewpoint on the Old Testament when he said,

“For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” (Matthew 5:18, ESV)

From these statements, it should be obvious that we should not add or subtract from what is written in Scripture. Do we add and subtract? I think that we do.

Adding to Scripture

Add or subtract

We add to Scripture when we make some sins worse than others. For example, the church has a history of elevating sexual sin to be worse than more common sins like pride. I have met many prideful Christians who find excuse for their pride while condemning others.

We add to Scripture when we call sin what the Bible does not prohibit. For example, some churches condemn all alcohol use as sin. I understand that alcohol has had devastating effects on families and individuals and that some are prone to addiction, but we must be careful in saying more than Scripture says.

We add to Scripture when we take a hard stance of issues that are unclear in Scripture under the guise of denominational “distinctives.” For example, Scripture gives hints about the events surrounding Jesus’ return, but we are not given a timeline or order of events. It it OK to make guesses about the events, but they remain guesses. To stand on one interpretation as the only possible correct interpretation is divisive and unwise.

Subtracting from Scripture

We subtract from Scripture when we explain away clear statements in the Bible. One example is the current debate over the definition of marriage. There are some in the church who have felt the freedom to deviate from the definition of marriage that God gave us in Scripture under the guise of “inclusiveness.” We should be loving to everyone, but we do not have the freedom to revise what God has proscribed.

We also subtract from Scripture when we ignore its teaching. For example, Paul tells us to be angry but do not sin (Eph 4:26). Those who justify their inappropriate anger by saying, “that’s just the way I’m wired” or “that’s just how my family was” are subtracting from Scripture.

We subtract from Scripture when we ignore or forget the promises that are made to us. Jesus tells us “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Yet, I often find myself stressing over the details of life. Remembering that Jesus is with me should change my behavior.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that we add in the area of external sins by adding rules above and beyond Scripture. We subtract in the areas of internal sins by making excuses for our own behavior. We like to declare what others are doing is sin while excusing our own failures. I see this tendency in myself and my observation of others seems to prove that this is a universal tendency.

The goal is not external conformity to a set of rules. The goal is to have a heart yielded to God and willing to do what he commands.

I find great comfort in my favorite prayer in Scripture, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

Chesterton on original sin

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G. K. Chesterton“Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion were quite equally impressed with that necessity. They began with the fact of sin – a fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or no man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing. But certain religious leaders in London, not mere materialists, have begun in our day not to deny the highly disputable water, but to deny the indisputable dirt. Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved. Some followers of the Reverend R. J. Campbell, in their almost too fastidious spirituality, admit divine sinlessness, which they cannot see even in their dreams. But they essentially deny human sin, which they can see in the street. The strongest saints and the strongest sceptics alike took positive evil as the starting-point of their argument. If it be true (as it certainly is) that a man can feel exquisite happiness in skinning a cat, then the religious philospher can only draw one of two deductions. He must either deny the existence of God, as all atheists do; or must deny the present union between God and man, as all Christians do. The new theologians seem to think it a highly rationalistic solution to deny the cat.”

G. K. Chesterton in Orthodoxy

Judging the judge: You cannot have it both ways

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JudgeOne of the objections raised against Christianity is that the God of the Bible is a vengeful deity who commanded Israel to practice genocide as they conquered the land of Canaan.

As a Christian, I would be the first to admit that some of what I read in the Old Testament (OT) makes me uncomfortable. There are things in the Bible that offend my 20th Century sensibilities. Yet we must look at the context of that command and understand it in its historical setting.

In the instances where Israel was commanded to wipe out an entire population, that command resulted from the evil that was being practiced by the soon to be conquered people. One of the most detestable practices was that of child sacrifice. God chose to eradicate the people to contain the evil.

On the other hand, another argument against belief in God is based on God’s apparent inability to contain or eliminate evil. People struggle with seeing the love of God when bad things have happened in their own lives or in the lives of others. The question is framed something like this: “how do you expect me to believe in a God that would allow the Holocaust to take place?”

But we cannot have it both ways. We cannot on the one hand complain when God steps in to eliminate evil and then complain when he does not. We cannot be the final arbiter of determining the justice (or lack thereof) of God.

The original attack on God’s credibility came in Genesis 3 when Satan asked the question of Eve, “did God really say?” There is always a danger when we assume the authority to stand in judgment of God.

God created humans as moral agents with the ability to choose well or choose badly. That ability to choose has not been rescinded and we get it wrong much of the time. If God changed the world so that none of us could choose to do wrong, we would all then become automatons.

The fact is that I choose badly every day. There is not a day that goes by where I do not have an inappropriate thought, say something that is hurtful to others or fail in some other way.

This does not eliminate the so-called “problem of evil.” We will never fully understand how the justice and love of God can be simultaneously if effect. Depending on our point of view, we will often be uncomfortable with what God allows or doesn’t allow.

So the question then becomes, am I willing to allow God to vanquish the evil in my own heart? Am I willing to admit my own finitude? Am I willing to worship a God who sometimes makes me uncomfortable? Am I willing to allow God to be the judge and trust that he will get it right?

Are you?

Let’s maintain some perspective

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Tantrum

While I support the Biblical definition of marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman for life. I also think that we need to maintain some perspective when debating this issue.

Homosexuality is a symptom and not the disease. It is a symptom of unbelief as is every other sin that the rest of us commit. We all, Christian or non-Christian, gay or straight, sin. There are no exceptions to this according to St. John (1 John 1:8). Paul tells us in Romans 1:18 that apart from Christ, we suppress the truth in unrighteousness. We hold down the truth under the surface of unrighteousness in order to drown it.

Does homosexual marriage have negative consequences? I believe it does. But so does a marriage with an alcoholic spouse. We have abusive marriages. We have marriages that are so geared toward financial success that the children are neglected. There are many ways to make marriage less than it ought to be. Some “Christian” marriages are as dysfunctional as homosexual unions. This understanding does not justify homosexual marriage, but it should give us reason to clean up our own mess before we start throwing stones at others.

The solution to the ills of our society will never be a political one. Politics seeks to change people’s behavior, not their hearts. Politics and government may achieve external conformity, but it will never bring unity.

It is the business of the Church to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. That good news tells the story of how Jesus can free us from bondage to all sin, sexual or otherwise. We are all in need of that freedom. If we start living in that freedom and lovingly reach out to those who desperately need it, then we have the beginnings of real change in our society.

But this change comes at a cost. The cost is that we have to acknowledge our own unbelief and pride, humble ourselves and admit that we have the same need of a Savior as those on whom we look down. If God has the power to save a ragged lot like us, then he can reach into society and change anyone.

We should stand on our convictions and unapologetically teach what the Bible teaches on every issue, including that of homosexuality. But we need to do this in humility. We need to let those to whom we teach know that we have not got this all worked out and that God has a lot of work left to do in us, reclaiming the damage done by the fall of Adam.

Instead of pointing at others as the cause of societies ills, we need to first come to terms with our own contribution to the chaos.

If we do this, we will earn the right to be heard.

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