Weekly Articles

I ate a meal from a local Chinese restaurant last week; included, of course, was a fortune cookie.  The message contained within that simple but delicious folded cookie read “the eyes believe themselves, the ears believe other people.”   At first glance I took that to mean we should follow what we learn through listening to others more than by our own opinions; after I thought about for a few days, my readings in the Bible lead me to a different perspective.

Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant?  Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.  But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze.  This is what you shall receive from my hand:  You will lie down in torment.  (Isaiah 50:10-11 NIV)

How often have we heard someone say “God helps those who help themselves”?  Absolute rubbish!  In fact, Isaiah said exactly the opposite:  those who know they cannot help themselves and so turn to God for help are the ones that God helps.  It is by God’s power and might that we “live and move and have our being,” (Acts 17:28 NIV).  The reality is that all of us are in darkness in this life.  Some try to light their own way and go by their own wisdom; God says that reserved for them is torment.  But for those who trust in God, life awaits.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned … For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  (Isaiah 9:2,6 NIV)

This passage tells us directly the identity of the “great light” that illuminates the way of life for those living in the darkness of this world of death:  Jesus Christ!  It is only by the light of Jesus that we can enter eternal life (hence Jesus is THE way).  Too many Christians soften the message and so cheat others of the chance to enter life from death.  Too many Christians want to appear “open-minded” and sophisticated, able to see the “many paths up the mountain”.  But they forget that treading up the mountain of God is a dangerous thing!

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded:  “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”  The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”  But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.  You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel … Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”  (Hebrews 12:18-24,28-29 NIV)

Those who walk in the darkness trying to light their own way, whether through false religion, corrupt philosophy, or dishonest science, will eventually come to the foot of the mountain of God and will perish in smoke and fire.  But those who put their trust in God will be led up the mountain into that “joyful assembly”.  Let the eyes believe themselves, and let the ears believe others.  But let the mind, heart, and soul believe in God!  And let’s make sure that our path is lit by Jesus.

-Charles Peterson

Recently, at a panel on censorship given to business leaders in China, action super-star Jackie Chan made some comments about freedom and the Chinese people.  “I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not,” and “I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we’re not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want,” (Copyright © 2009 The Press Association).  It is obscenely ironic that a man who has been able to pursue his dreams and reap the benefits of freedom so casually advocates denying a billion people that same freedom.  But then again, why should this concern Christians?  Instead of liberty, shouldn’t I be writing about a spiritual topic?  I am:  freedom is absolutely a spiritual matter.

There is a common myth that the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States gives us rights and defines what rights the government cannot take away.  This is completely wrong.  In fact, those documents do not claim to be establishing rights, because the Founding Fathers did not believe that rights were established by man, but were rather bestowed on us by our Creator and therefore were inalienable by man. 

The Godless in this country believe that man, through the government that he has established, decides who gets what amount of freedom.  It is the same with the arrogant ones who claim that people do not know best how to spend their own money, so the government should take it and spend it as determined by bureaucrats.

The Godly, however, know that it is God who raises up governments in order to carry out his will.  Therefore the government that acts to set itself up as the highest power has set itself up against the Living God!  God has ordained liberty and freedom in the hearts of men precisely so that men will seek him.  Freedom is for everyone!

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.  He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.  He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.  And he stood up to read.  The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”  Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”  (Luke 4:14-21 NIV)

The message of Jesus is one of freedom and hope, not one of oppression and despair!  Too many Christians buy into the fascist line that “freedom is not for everybody,” meaning that what works in America won’t work elsewhere.  They back up their statement by pointing out that democracies around the globe often sink into corruption and poverty.  But you cannot compare those countries to the United States!  The other nations are founded on rule by many people as opposed to rule by a dictator.  The United States was founded on the Sovereignty of God.  Our founding documents clearly cite the authority from which their legitimacy is derived as being the Creator – meaning God!

Freedom is not chaos!  Freedom is the ability to choose, specifically the ability to choose to follow God.  Jackie Chan is wrong.  China is not the model to emulate; they persecute people for attempting to seek God.  But just as a reckoning is ordained for man, so too Governments will answer for their misdeeds; God has shown in the past his willingness to bring low a nation that rejects him.  We need to make sure that we do not mistake the world’s rejection of God as meaning that God’s freedom is not for everyone.  And we need to reject the liberal view that “we the people” is the source of our government’s authority.  God is sovereign – always has been, and always will be.  Let’s treat him as such; in our political choices, in our financial decisions, and most of all in our spiritual walk as we embrace his freedom.

-Charles Peterson

I caught part of a news segment in which a panel of guests were discussing the current economy, especially the causes of its woes and potential cures for its ailments.  One of the guests was a leader/advocate of the socialist party.  His comments were all to the point that individual profit is basically bad and that society’s welfare should be the primary goal for our political and economic policies.  This is a disturbingly common view in our country and, even more unsettling, within the church.  People seem to think that if you personally have something to gain from a given outcome then you are selfish and corrupt.  This view is not only wrong, but is at its core fairly wicked.  The profit motive is not only reasonable but is indeed one of the basic immutable laws instilled into creation by God.

Many would question this statement, and more than a few would be outraged that I could say such a thing; this comes from a basic ignorance of what profit is.  Profit is not the same thing as greed.  Greed is “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/greed).  Some might say, “wait a second – if you sell something for more than you paid, isn’t that a selfish desire for more than is needed?”  Not at all, but rather that is simple participation in the market.  Greed is not born from market interactions but is instead born from a covetous and ungodly heart; put simply, profit is the productive result of honest effort and greed is the destructive result of evil desires and wicked schemes.

This is not a finance issue; while other words may be more often used, profit and greed describe every aspect of our lives. 

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  (Luke 12:33-34 NIV)

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NIV)

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.  In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.  (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV)

If it is wrong to seek profit, then why did Jesus admonish us to build up treasures in heaven?  Why then is the Gospel of Christ compared to treasure?  Why are the rich told to use their wealth in this life in such a way as to build up true wealth in the next?  In fact, looking at the 1^st Timothy passage, Paul implies that all of us have been richly blessed with everything not merely for sustenance but for enjoyment!

Now, there are other passages in the Bible that seem to say that profit is bad.

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.  (2 Corinthians 2:17 NIV)

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  (Philippians 3:7 NIV)

Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.  (Jude 1:11 NIV)

In the 2^nd Corinthians and the Jude passages, profit is referring to money exclusively; an argument can be made that the Apostles did indeed profit from “peddling” the word of God (see above passages in Luke 12 and 2^nd Corinthians 4).  Balaam chose to work against God for money and power – what I would term here as greed.  In the Philippians passage, Paul is simply recording that everything that he valued before coming to Christ he now saw as worthless in his new life.

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?  (Mark 8:36 NIV)

This verse shows that the profit motive is an immutable law.  By analogy, you could ask what profit would there be for a man on a sinking ship to sell his only life-preserver for a million dollars?  People who see profit only as money have fallen into the trap of seeing this life as what is important.  If a man is truly concerned with profiting from his life, he will do everything he can to live as Godly a life as he can, spreading the Gospel and doing as Jesus did.  There is no greater personal investment that can be made, and no greater treasure that can be desired.

-Charles Peterson

I came upon a quote last week from a woman describing why she divorced her husband, in which she said the reason was his “excessive cheating”.  That really had me thinking:  “excessive” cheating?  So, if he had only engaged in a “normal” amount of cheating, she would have been okay with it?  That is completely absurd!

This is fairly indicative of how we have become desensitized to evil:  we do not pay attention without some form of emphasis.  A man kills another man in a bar fight, he gets put on trial for murder; a man shoots another man “execution-style” and it is called a “heinous” crime.  So-called hate crime legislation is just more of this insanity; by making it worse to commit crimes against certain protected classes, the laws indicate that it is more acceptable to commit crimes against those who are not of those classes.  In other words, if it is a hate crime to assault homosexuals, then it is not as bad to assault a heterosexual!  The reason behind these ridiculous hate crime laws is that we do not pay attention to assault, so we have to call it a hate crime assault.

This is how it is with mankind.  We do not really care about evil, unless it is done to us.  We certainly do not view the evil we commit in the same light we shine on the evil committed by others! But God is different.

You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell.  The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.  You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors.  (Psalm 5:4-6 NIV)

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV)

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.  But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.  For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.  For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”  If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.  (James 2:8-11 NIV)

God hates sin.  God hates the excessive sin.  God hates the casual and infrequent sin.  God hates murder as well as adultery, and he hates thievery as well as lying.  God does not view certain sins as harmless or cute.

Man sees the severity of the sin and the impact on others.  God sees imperfection.  And so just as man and God disagree on sin, they also disagree on forgiveness and justification.  Man forgives and justifies based on his own sinful experiences; God forgives and justifies based on absolute truth and clarity.  Man will forgive others what he can accept according to his nature:  for example, we are always more ready to forgive others the transgressions they commit against other people, but are less forgiving when they transgress us.  God, on the other hand, freely offers forgiveness to all mankind the transgressions they have each committed against God.  Man is very quick to judge others and equally quick to justify himself; God has even held back judgment in order to give mankind time to obey the gospel that leads to true justification.

It is common for us to use phrases like “too much adultery” and “too many murders”, but it only serves to illustrate how far off the mark we have become.  God is calling all of us back to his viewpoint, in which not only is murder wrong, but being angry with your brother is wrong.  As we are transformed into having a more Christ like mindset, we will stop worrying about how much wrong we can do before God gets really angry, and we will instead worry about how we can please God more each day.

So then the path is a transformation from an excessive sinfulness to an excellent righteousness.  Remember that path is the straight one that narrows as it goes along.

-Charles Peterson