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Judges 17-18: Religion According to Man
Outline | mp3
1 John 1:5-7: Walking in the Light
And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7).
Having established the authenticity and origin of his message, John moves on to provide the message itself. That message is that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness (1 John 1:5).
The imagery of light and darkness represents one of John's favorites, and he uses it often. The Word is described as the "light of men" in John 1:4, and John makes strong parallels between light and life-- after all, life on earth exists because of the heat given off by the light of the sun. Yet John is not concerned about the sun, trees, or plants. God is the light because God represents all that is life-giving, good, and holy. Sin and the world are darkness because they represent all that is life-draining, wrong, and perverted (John 1:5; 10, 1 John 2:15-17). Life and holiness come from being in the light; sin and death come from reveling in the darkness.
John's message, therefore, is an exhortation to righteousness and a rebuke of sin. This is made evident in the discussion present in verses 6-10, all of which comment on verse 5. John then sets up an appropriate contrast in verses 6 and 7. If we profess to walk in the light (be Christians) and yet walk in the darkness (live sinful lives), we are liars, and "do not" the truth (1 John 1:6). James makes a similar point in James 1:22-25, contrasting those who hear and do the Word and those who merely hear it; how many end up being liars to themselves and others by professing religion without really being obedient to Jesus Christ! Truth is not merely some self-evident axiom, or some mental concept worthy of assent. When Jesus asserts that He "is" the Truth (John 14:6), He indicates that truth is not just a set of beliefs, but the actions that correspond to those beliefs. The truth is something to be believed and lived out. Both John and James make it clear that being a Christian is much more than what one says-- in the end, what one believes is only demonstrated through what one does.
In contrast, if we walk in the light (be Christians) as God is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and we have cleansing from sin in Jesus' blood (1 John 1:7). John makes heavy use of the present tense in this discussion, indicating the continuous nature of our faith. We must continually walk in the light to have continual cleansing from sin. Furthermore, John identifies the nature of the association that exists among Christians: it is based in a joint walk in the light. Christians do not have association with one another merely because they like each other or just so happened to walk into the same church building; their association is based on each person's realization that Christ is the way to salvation and by finding each other on that road (cf. John 14:6). This is why Christians cannot have association with a wayward brother or sister (cf. 1 Corinthians 5): they are no longer on the same road. The basis of their association is removed!
God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. We would do well to heed the words of John, and walk in the light!
Ethan R. Longhenry |
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"Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done."
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10-06-08 12:44am EST
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Greetings, everyone.
Peace, mercy, and grace be with you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It has been quite the weekend. :D
Saturday morning was spent door knocking. We were able to knock on another 200 doors or so. We should be able to finish the northwest sector of Norwalk by early 2009 at the current rate we're going.
After Julianna's soccer game, many of us got together at the reservoir and played a little football.
I can tell that my exercise regimen has done some good; I was able to play for over 40 minutes without collapsing into a quivering mass. That's progress.
I also ended up playing quarterback, and having 4 passing TDs and 1 rushing TD. That also is progress.
It was all in good fun, and it represented a good time.
But more fun was had afterward, after the dinner involving soup and good association.
Amy had come to town with her boyfriend John. Amy, Henry, and others had spoken before with John about spiritual matters, and his interest level was up.
We therefore spent some time around my (slightly cool) porch table and explained the events of the book of Acts (along with Romans 6 and 8).
It finally clicked for John-- he said that for the first time, it all made sense. He decided to be baptized that very evening by Henry.
Therefore, we are pleased to inform you that John Morris put on Christ in baptism. Any of you in the Louisville (KY) area will have a greater chance of encouraging him since that is where he lives.
I am quite happy for him, but the example of his circumstance is quite distressing to me. How many people are there out in the world who are somewhat like John-- they've heard the perversions or deviations from the Gospel, and are hindered from understanding it in its simplicity? How many are confused because of all the differing messages they have received? How many do not feel qualified to just read the New Testament to understand what it says?
A lot of times all we need to do is show how simple the Gospel message is. All we need to do is describe the conversions in the book of Acts, demonstrating how we are to act likewise. We can make some pretty simple applications based on Romans 6 and 8 and provide anyone with enough information upon which to decide whether to be a Christian or not.
But we just need to get that foot in the door, so to speak, so as to be able to have that conversation. And to do that, we must be out there preaching the Word in word and deed.
I'm convinced that there are many like John out there: honestly confused seekers. We cannot expect them to find us; we need to find them (Matthew 28:19-20). That's why our mission is so important.
Today was a decent day. It was mostly spent traveling from Norwalk to Rockford, and we've arrived safely. We'll be here for just over two days, and we will head back on Wednesday. If anyone is interested, the obituary for Sarah's paternal uncle may be found here.
Thanks for your prayers and support.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits.
ELDV |
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For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
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10-02-08 05:35pm EST
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Greetings, everyone.
Peace, mercy, and grace be with you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, I had a plan made out for the next week or so, and then life happens.
I got a call today from Seth. I had known previously that one of Sarah's paternal uncles had emergency surgery yesterday on his back (he lost feeling in his legs, lost bladder control, etc.). He has many difficulties with his back, and he was sent up to Milwaukee for further care.
Regardless, Seth called to inform us that early in the morning, Sarah's uncle unexpectedly passed away. He seemed to be recovering well from the surgery, but for some reason that at least we don't know yet, his condition deteriorated quickly and they were not able to revive him.
He was Catholic, as much of Sarah's father's family is. We'll be heading back for the funeral, which will likely be Monday or Tuesday; we intend to leave sometime on Sunday. Prayers are requested.
As it is written,
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes (James 4:13-14).
Medical update.
I did see the doctor yesterday. I was able to get the flu shot, for better or worse.
In terms of my stomach issues, not much was done. He doesn't think there's much hope of finding a specific problem, but I do have an appointment with a gastroenterologist in a couple of weeks, and we will go from there. The doctor did get me prescriptions for omeraprazole (generic Prilosec) which will allow me to be stomach acid free for, oh, 10% of the cost of Nexium under my prescription plan, and also prescribed dicyclomine for stomach spasm episodes. Hopefully this means that I will suffer discomfort for a maximum of a half hour whenever it happens. This will make life much less unpredictable (assuming it works).
I'm okay with there being no real medically specific issue if that is in fact the case, as long as I can manage it by both diet and by medicine when necessary. It's the unpredictability that truly annoys. :D
Nathaniel also went and is fine. 25th percentile in size, yet 90+ percentile in head circumference. :D
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits.
ELDV |
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Greetings, everyone.
Peace, mercy, and grace be with you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Despite the apparent meltdown of our economic system, we're here, fine, and dandy. :D
I'm feeling some better. I'm probably at about 80-90%, which means that I'm getting the lion's share of the work I need to accomplish done. Nevertheless, it would be nice to be fully functional again.
It's September 30, and I voted today in the general election! Thanks to Ohio's absentee ballot laws, upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday, an Ohio voter can go to his or her Board of Elections office and vote absentee, in person, starting today.
So we did so today. This was not done entirely out of a spirit of novelty, because beforehand I received a phone call from said county Board of Elections. Back during the fair week I put in notice at the Secretary of State's website that I would be willing to serve as a poll worker. Since it's rather late in the season, I figured that my services were unnecessary. No; Huron County is just slow. So apparently I am going to be a poll worker in Lyme Township on Election Day. Apparently I'm getting a packet explaining such things. Hopefully there will be some kind of training. If not, I fear for the election process. :O
So now I can just sit back and watch the fracas. And then be right in the thick of it on November 4.
Apparently I've been tagged again. Were my eight interesting facts that dull?
I will be a lemming in the other direction and post eight blessings.
I. The LORD God. Without Him, there would be nothing.
II. The Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, there would be no salvation from sin.
III. The Holy Spirit. Without Him, we would be bereft of revelation, instruction, and comfort.
IV. My wife. Without her, I would not have known I-III, and would be in a far worse position in many regards.
V. My children. They keep me humble. And laughing.
(Insert Julianna story: we are sitting at dinner, and Maia is being impatient. She is done with dinner and wants dessert. I tell her that she needs to sit down and wait for the rest of us to finish.
Julianna to Maia: "You need to sit down and wait for the rest of us. You need to have patience; it is a fruit of the Spirit. Right dad?"
This comes from the queen of impatience, by the way.)
VI. The church. It is easy to get down on brethren for their faults and foibles, but God was wise in establishing the church. Even if it does include us fallible humans. Brethren are a great blessing.
VII. The creation. We are quite blessed with resources. We are wealthy in more ways than we often consider.
VIII. You people who actually read my blog. You deserve medals for suffering through the dense theological maze that often exists here. :D
Book reading update.
Finally finished A Theology of Christian Counseling by Jay Adams last night.
The author is quite strongly against any and all modern psychiatry. In his estimation, God's word is all that is necessary to counsel people.
This book would have been absolutely fantastic had its author not been so stringently Calvinist. I do find it ironic that when you peel away the mental abstract framework and get to the practical side of things, there is very little disagreement: it's all in how you get there, not in the end result.
I did appreciate the author's emphasis on the revealed Word as the source of God's message, and that we don't really have the justification to invoke God's personal leading direction as is often done ("well, God led me to do x." "God is telling me to do y."). We learn such things from the Word. He also points out well that apology is not necessarily confession and request for forgiveness, and that we need to do more of the latter than the former.
But his Calvinism was just too much in places. God wills all suffering and pain, so he says. You can't counsel an unbeliever because he is unregenerate. Only Christians can really be counseled, because only Christians have the ability to be sanctified. We can't judge the heart, but if someone falls away, we can say that they never really believed in the first place.
In the end, he has a lot of good practical things to say. It's just too bad that he's caught up in Calvinism so strongly.
I also read Thomas Cahill's recent addition to his series on the development of history, Mysteries of the Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern World.
While I've never read his other books, I can understand his popularity. He is a very engaging writer who presents the story quite well. He brings his subjects to life, and you are enriched because of it.
Cahill attempts to resuscitate the reputation of the medieval era by stressing various moments of great forward advancement during the High Middle Ages (roughly 1066-1340). He does this less through historical analysis on a grand scale and more by focusing on specific people and their contributions. He presents continuity from the ancient world by showing how Alexandria and Rome led to the synthesis of the ancient world and the state of the medieval one. From there he describes people and attributes-- Hildegard of Bingen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Francis of Assisi, Peter Abelard and Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon, Giotto, and Dante-- and shows how these people, their actions, thought patterns, and actions led to the modern world and its sensibilities.
The author is a bit too secular and obviously Catholic, but his work is marvelous in opening up a dark period. Quite worth the read.
Next up: Religion in America, a collection of essays about religion in a free society as presented in the late 1950s.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits.
ELDV |
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For wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.
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09-25-08 11:36pm EST
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Greetings, everyone.
Peace, mercy, and grace be with you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It took half the week, but I think I'm finally back to 100%. It's frustrating when you're not and you need to be.
It's been fun going around the gospel meeting circuit. Julianna and I made it to the meeting in Tallmadge tonight, and we hope to get to many others in October.
Tomorrow night is movie night. The Passion of the Christ. Hot diggity.
Apparently I've been "tagged" in the "'new' fad that took place on Pleonast last year".
I'm supposed to inform you of eight random facts about myself.
I. I am completely left dominant. Left-handed, left-eyed, left-footed. That makes me sinister by definition (Latin sinistra, "of the left hand"). :D
II. I hail from northern Illinois and support Chicago teams avidly. Cubs, Bears, Bulls. Illinois is my primary choice in college sports, with Wisconsin coming in at a close second.
III. Contrary to perceived assumptions, I was indeed a child of the 90s. The playlist of alternative music on my mp3 player is quite vast. I also do somewhat keep up with music and entertainment news, and do not live in a pop culture vacuum.
IV. I find maps irresistibly fascinating. I liked watching The Weather Channel when younger (weather plus maps was great), and I have been known to waste hours playing with Google Earth.
The benefit is that I do know my way around. And what to look for weatherwise. :D
V. I was raised nominally Presbyterian for the first few years of my life (I was a convenient scapegoat for the reason why my parents stopped going to church in 1990 or so), and generally raised as a heathen. Sarah brought me here. Blame her. :P
VI. I am thoroughly concrete sequential with a not-so-slight touch of OCD. This is not news to anyone who lives with me or around me.
VII. Apparently I am related on my father's side to Emily Dickinson, and on my mother's side to Thomas Carroll of Carrollton, who signed the Declaration of Independence.
VIII. I know far more useless trivia than is necessary. I have been told that I would probably do well on Jeopardy!, especially by any who have ever suffered watching said television show with me around.
Book reading update.
Still trudging through A Theology of Christian Counseling. Some decent ideas, and a whole lot of Calvinism.
Finished Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs, the book companion to the DVD series we've been using in Norwalk. Fantastic book. Must read for anyone who is married or is intending to get married or needs a new dynamic in the household. The material is well-presented and hard-hitting, and fairly deals with the challenges both genders face in working with each other in terms of relationships.
Get it. You will thank yourself later.
Also finished A Marriage After God's Own Heart by David Clarke. His general concept and principles are quite good: if you're going to have the best marriage, it will have to involve spiritual bonding at a great level. Many of the practical means of accomplishing this are also effective (prayer, Bible readings and study, joint service, etc.).
The problem with the book is in the Evangelical nature of the author and his views on the work of the church, worship (especially "family worship" with the Lord's Supper in a family setting once a month-- no thank you), salvation, and so forth. I also wondered at times regarding his theology of the Spirit (especially in contrast with the book on Christian counseling I'm reading, in which the author holds to a very strict Word-revelation position)-- I can't see in the Scriptures where the Spirit is in the personal message delivery business today. The work of the Spirit, however, is a post unto itself in a time when I'm begging for a long discussion, which is not today. :D
In the end, the general principles/forms of application are good (if not a bit self-evident), but watch the Evangelical nature of the author.
Third up, and quite uncomfortably, there is the book I checked out from the library today, The Irritable Bowel Syndrome & Gastro-intestinal Solutions Handbook. I was hoping that it would shed some light for me on what might be going on with my system. Unfortunately, it really didn't, but it did provide an excellent explanation of exactly what everything does in the gastrointestinal system. I also appreciated the fact that while the author does talk about psychosomatic issues and diet issues, he recognizes that many GI problems go much deeper. It also helped to explain the fact that IBS really doesn't mean anything in and of itself-- it just means that there's a problem that can't be more specifically narrowed down.
From what I've read in the book I am more convinced that the problem isn't really IBS per se, but perhaps a food allergy or something involving stomach spasms that's not quite normal. Maybe I should read something more specific in the library shelves. We'll see.
Still reading A Theology of Christian Counseling. Also reading Mysteries of the Middle Ages and the Beginning of the Modern World by Thomas Cahill.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits.
ELDV |
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