Dumbing Christianity
It doesn't require a long and hard look to realize that Christianity, in comparison to its original setting, has been greatly
dumbed down. This has become particularly evident in the 20th and 21st centuries. Biblical illiteracy is rampant (I myself am guilty of this) and the active pursuit of practical holiness is regularly brushed off by the thought, "Christ made us as holy as we need to be on the Cross." While this is true, as Colossians 2:9-15 explains, believers are still called to
actively pursue living a holy life, that is, a life pleasing to God. There needs to be a balance, indeed, a balance that is often difficult to find. That is not, though, the purpose of this post.
Rather, the purpose of this post is to point towards one who is in a pursuit of holiness . . . practical, living holiness. He is not perfect, still human, and human like you and me, no doubt, but he pursues knowledge and wisdom in Christ. He teaches his students, in effect, to walk away from ignorance and instead learn with diligence the Word of God. In humility he would not stand up and point to himself as a model, so this post will point us to him instead.
Dr. Ishwaran Mudliar is a man of faith, grace, and vigor. Hear a recent message of his
here, listen to the heart of his message.
The message discusses true ministry vs false ministry and is centered on Malachi 2:1-9. Pastors, it is a wise warning for us to heed.
Thank God for men who stand out as an example, men who lead us away from the Dumbing Down of Christianity, yet lead us towards a pursuit of righteousness before God. It helps us to see mature believers, it helps us to see many of the Pauline commands fleshed out in practical life. I'm not "blowing wind up his skirt" as my father often says, just pointing out a good model for younger pastors and believers.
"God Will Never Give You More Than You Can Handle" . . . Oh Really?
The great 4th/5th century Christian church father Augustine once explained that there are men who can superbly quote scripture at will, but lack the understanding it fully deserves. On the other hand, he rightly explained that there are those who only seem to understand scripture, but cannot readily quote it as to give their understanding any validity. His conclusion is this, “Better than either is the man who can
both quote scripture at will
and rightly understand it as it deserves” (Augustine,
Teaching Christianity, Book IV:204). Looking at my own life, I feel that there is a tendency to rely on the good ole line, “I don’t recall exactly where it’s at in scripture, but the Bible says (fill in the blank).” If I grasp what the Great Teacher of Christian doctrine is intending to mean by this quote, then he is claiming that it is a wise thing to have both understanding of the Word and ability to point directly to where scripture states whatever it is I’m claiming. In the margin of my copy of the Augustine’s book, I wrote, “the more of the Bible you know, the more you
can speak it. The less you know, the less you
should speak it.” My thought at the time was something along the lines of “If you don’t know where something is in scripture, how do you really know what your claiming is
actually scriptural?” This was a bit of an epiphany for me.
In all likelihood, many of the misconceptions and falsities that have crept into modern Christian living spring from this way of thinking. Thus we end up having to do more of the “unteaching of what is bad” than the “teaching of what is good.” Take for example the ever so common phrase, “God will never give us more than we can handle.” I cringe upon hearing this. The deception behind this thought is that it essentially denies the Fall of man and his utter depravity. The world is a bad place, no doubt, and because of mankind’s sin, the world is constantly warring against those who profess the name of Jesus Christ as Lord. Being a Christian inherently means that we will face certain opposition that will be more than
we ourselves can handle (but by God’s grace and power alone, we supernaturally gain strength enough to endure!).
Paul’s opening words in his second letter to the Corinthian church echo loudly in my mind like the clash of a gong in a room made completely of corrugated steel walls and concrete floors, “For we were so utterly burdened
beyond our strength that we
despised life itself” (2 Cor 1:8b, italics added). Sounds to me like Paul, great Apostle though he was, was experiencing more than he could physically and emotionally handle. Nowhere in the God’s Word will you find, “God will never give you more than you can handle.” Augustine’s claim, “He who can both quote and understand Scripture is the one who deserves attention,” is worthy of all of our concentration. In other words, if we knew what Scripture actually said and where it says it, maybe Christians would come up with fewer ignorant, self-comforting statements such as, “God’ll never give you more than you can handle!” God’s grace and mercy be on the fool who believes this line!
I really need to add this comment to the end of the post, it completes the idea. Thanks Thomas, he wrote:
"But why would God give us more than we can handle?
"For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." - 2 Cor 1:8-9
We're supposed to be in a state of dependence. That's what God's after -- dependence and trust."
Thoughts about Marriage
Gary Thomas, speaker, professor and prolific author of
Sacred Marriage, has a fantastic word for married couples who profess faith in Christ. He writes,
"Paul answers a lot of questions for us when he says, 'We make it our goal to please him [God]' . . . The first purpose in marriage - beyond happiness, sexual expression, the bearing of children, companionship, mutual care and provision, or anything else -
is to please God."
I've been married for a little more than two and a half years. Now, I have a confession to make . . .
I have sought forgiveness when I've done wrong,
to please my wife.
I wake up most mornings and iron clothes and make lunch and breakfast,
to please my wife.
I make silly jokes and try not to be a jerk (all the time),
to please my wife.
I love my wife,
to please my wife.While I am making no claim that these are inherently bad things, (nor am I saying in any way that I have to
work to earn mutual love and respect from my wife) WHAT I AM SAYING is that my ultimate motivation has been off the mark. It's not my first responsibility to make my wife happy . . . err, what? Yes, that's what I said.
Rather, a right relationship with God the Father causes me to make HIM my first love, that is, He is the one whom I am to
seek to please the most.
As Gary Thomas explains, in doing this, that is, seeking to "please God first," I will naturally do all those things which causes my second love (my fantastically awesome, caring, FORGIVING wife), to know that I love her and will serve her with all I have to offer.
The Lesson:
". . . and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised . . ." 2 Corinthians 5:15
Put your ULTIMATE love first, and serve him. From that relationship will flow a love that your spouse (and yourself) never knew possible!
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all,B
