It’s because our leaders are stupid. They never asked God for counsel, and so nothing worked right. The people are scattered all over.

God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherd-leaders of Israel. Yes, prophesy! Tell those shepherds, ‘God, the Master, says: Doom to you shepherds of Israel, feeding your own mouths! Aren’t shepherds supposed to feed sheep? You drink the milk, you make clothes from the wool, you roast the lambs, but you don’t feed the sheep. You don’t build up the weak ones, don’t heal the sick, don’t doctor the injured, don’t go after the strays, don’t look for the lost. You bully and badger them. And now they’re scattered every which way because there was no shepherd—scattered and easy pickings for wolves and coyotes. Scattered—my sheep!—exposed and vulnerable across mountains and hills. My sheep scattered all over the world, and no one out looking for them!

Doom to the shepherd-leaders who butcher and scatter my sheep!” God’s Decree. “So here is what I, God, Israel’s God, say to the shepherd-leaders who misled my people: ‘You’ve scattered my sheep. You’ve driven them off. You haven’t kept your eye on them. Well, let me tell you, I’m keeping my eye on you, keeping track of your criminal behavior. I’ll take over and gather what’s left of my sheep, gather them in from all the lands where I’ve driven them. I’ll bring them back where they belong, and they’ll recover and flourish. I’ll set shepherd-leaders over them who will take good care of them. They won’t live in fear or panic anymore. All the lost sheep rounded up!’ God’s Decree.

Quit your worship charades. I can’t stand your trivial religious games: Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings— meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more! Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them! You’ve worn me out!

I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion, while you go right on sinning. When you put on your next prayer-performance, I’ll be looking the other way. No matter how long or loud or often you pray, I’ll not be listening.

And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing people to pieces, and your hands are bloody. Go home and wash up. Clean up your act. Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings so I don’t have to look at them any longer.

Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless.

Well, think again, you idiots, fools—how long before you get smart? Do you think Ear-Maker doesn’t hear, Eye-Shaper doesn’t see? Do you think the trainer of nations doesn’t correct, the teacher of Adam doesn’t know? God knows, all right— knows your stupidity, sees your shallowness.

Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.

Exploit or abuse your family, and end up with a fistful of air; common sense tells you it’s a stupid way to live.

I’m after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings.

And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.

I’ve had it with you! You’re hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God’s kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won’t let anyone else in either.

You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You go halfway around the world to make a convert, but once you get him you make him into a replica of yourselves, double-damned.

You’re hopeless! What arrogant stupidity! You say, ‘If someone makes a promise with his fingers crossed, that’s nothing; but if he swears with his hand on the Bible, that’s serious.’ What ignorance! Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands? And what about this piece of trivia: ‘If you shake hands on a promise, that’s nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that’s serious’? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise. What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless.

You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?

You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something.

You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.

You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You build granite tombs for your prophets and marble monuments for your saints. And you say that if you had lived in the days of your ancestors, no blood would have been on your hands. You protest too much! You’re cut from the same cloth as those murderers, and daily add to the death count.

Snakes! Reptilian sneaks! Do you think you can worm your way out of this? Never have to pay the piper? It’s on account of people like you that I send prophets and wise guides and scholars generation after generation—and generation after generation you treat them like dirt, greeting them with lynch mobs, hounding them with abuse.

You can’t squirm out of this: Every drop of righteous blood ever spilled on this earth, beginning with the blood of that good man Abel right down to the blood of Zechariah, Barachiah’s son, whom you murdered at his prayers, is on your head. All this, I’m telling you, is coming down on you, on your generation.

Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Murderer of prophets! Killer of the ones who brought you God’s news! How often I’ve ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn’t let me. And now you’re so desolate, nothing but a ghost town. What is there left to say? Only this: I’m out of here soon. The next time you see me you’ll say, ‘Oh, God has blessed him! He’s come, bringing God’s rule!’

Ok I feel better now.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jeremiah%2010:21&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2034:2%20&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?earch=Jeremiah%2023:1%20&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%201:13-14&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+94:8&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:38-40&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+11:29&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+6:4&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%205:33-37&version=MSG

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2023&version=MSG

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

1 John 3:20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Yet ubf directors deem it necessary to SKIP some of the most critical teachings that would be most helpful to their staff. Instead, they continue to emphasize that your ONLY calling is to be a bible teacher. The titles of the two 1 John lectures say it all.

“Our Fellowship” (or UBF IS GREAT)

The staff conference lectures starting tomorrow will proclaim yet again the importance of OUR FELLOWSHIP, how ubf is the BEST WAYS of eternal life coming directly from God and established eons ago as God’s ways. Probably ubf will claim that Adam had 1:1 with Eve :)

“He will Forgive us” (or FORGET THE PAST)

The staff conference lectures will also attempt to re-enforce the forgiveness of God. The focus will actually be on “forgetting” rather than “forgiving”. The idea emphasized yet again will be that God forgave ubf all their sins in the past, so we should not talk about the sins of the past any more, because they are not sins anymore. The line of thought goes like this: Any abuse or criticism against ubf should be fogotten because Jesus “paid it all” on the cross.

The real titles ought to be something like “GOD IS LIGHT” and “LET’S CONFESS OUR SINS”.

Why in the world would you study 1 John 1 and SKIP the best parts? Why would you skip verses 5, 6 and 10!?!

1 John 1 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete. 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

That is what the upcoming ubf staff conference will be doing.

My Version of the Program

Here is what I hear from the staff conference program:

1. Since the beginning of time our UBF fellowship, which we have seen and heard with our own eyes and ears, has been God’s witness of the work of God. We want everyone to have fellowship with us and participate in God’s best ways for eternal life, which are UBF ways. Oh and by the way, notice how the Holy Spirit is not mentioned in 1 John 1:3, so see, it is proper to have a gnostic/binary view of God. Our fellowship in UBF is only with the Father and the Son. You don’t need to listen to the Holy Spirit. We are the directors of your life.
2. By doing UBF work, you will be filled with the fullness of God.
3. Even though we ignore the suffering and questions of sheep, former members and anyone who is critical of us, God will still forgive us.
4. None of that matters though. Just keep decreeing, obeying and teaching the bible as God’s marine soldiers like Ezra did.

2 Corinthians 7:8-16
The Message (MSG)

8-9 I know I distressed you greatly with my letter. Although I felt awful at the time, I don’t feel at all bad now that I see how it turned out. The letter upset you, but only for a while. Now I’m glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss.

10 Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.

11-13 And now, isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you’ve come out of this with purity of heart. And that is what I was hoping for in the first place when I wrote the letter. My primary concern was not for the one who did the wrong or even the one wronged, but for you—that you would realize and act upon the deep, deep ties between us before God. That’s what happened—and we felt just great.

13-16 And then, when we saw how Titus felt—his exuberance over your response—our joy doubled. It was wonderful to see how revived and refreshed he was by everything you did. If I went out on a limb in telling Titus how great I thought you were, you didn’t cut off that limb. As it turned out, I hadn’t exaggerated one bit. Titus saw for himself that everything I had said about you was true. He can’t quit talking about it, going over again and again the story of your prompt obedience, and the dignity and sensitivity of your hospitality. He was quite overwhelmed by it all! And I couldn’t be more pleased—I’m so confident and proud of you.

Here is mine, which I entitled my “personal gospel mandate”.

Personal gospel mandate. Brian Karcher. November 2012. Scripture sourced from The Message.

1. Embrace humanity. (gospel of peace-Ephesians 6:15)

John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” By embracing my humanity, as weeping Jesus did, peace can be ushered into our lives.

2. Meet Jesus in a profound way by going outside the gate of Christendom. (gospel of salvation-Ephesians 1:13)

Hebrews 13: 13-15 “So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.” By leaving the religious world and befriending sinners, I will be following Jesus’ way of salvation.

3. Proclaim the gospel Jesus proclaimed–freedom, forgiveness and fulfillment. (gospel of grace-Acts 20:24)

Galatians 2:15-16 “We Jews know that we have no advantage of birth over “non-Jewish sinners.” We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried it—and we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good.” By proclaiming freedom, forgiveness and fulfillment with my words, thoughts, prayers and actions, the grace of God will be able to permeate my life and flow to those around me.

4. Live as a citizen of God’s kingdom showing love toward all people. (gospel of the kingdom-Matthew 24:14)

1 Corinthians 6:5-11 “I say this as bluntly as I can to wake you up to the stupidity of what you’re doing. Is it possible that there isn’t one levelheaded person among you who can make fair decisions when disagreements and disputes come up? I don’t believe it. And here you are taking each other to court before people who don’t even believe in God! How can they render justice if they don’t believe in the God of justice? These court cases are an ugly blot on your community. Wouldn’t it be far better to just take it, to let yourselves be wronged and forget it? All you’re doing is providing fuel for more wrong, more injustice, bringing more hurt to the people of your own spiritual family. Don’t you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don’t care about God will not be joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don’t qualify as citizens in God’s kingdom. A number of you know from experience what I’m talking about, for not so long ago you were on that list. Since then, you’ve been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit.” By welcoming sinners with love and purity instead of condemning them about right and wrong actions, the people in my life may be able to find a fresh start in Jesus.

5. Seek the all-surpassing, robust righteousness of God by knowing Jesus. (gospel of Christ’s glory-2 Corinthians 4:4)

(My life keyverse) Philippians 3:7-11 The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness. I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.” By knowing Jesus Christ, my righteousness will surpass that of the Pharisees, giving me a sure hope to be clothed in Christ’s glory one day.

To see the UBF presentation that I am reviewing, please see part 1. This review covers section 7:

1. Introduction: Why? (slides 5 – 6)    2 slides
2. Definition (slides 8 – 9)      2 slides
3. Origin (slides 11 – 14)      4 slides
4. Importance (slides 16 – 18)     3 slides
5. Advantages & Potential (slides 20 – 26)    7 slides
6. Obstacles vs. Motivation (slides 28 – 31)     4 slides
7. Practical Application (slides 33 – 39)     7 slides
8. Conclusion: God’s hope! (slides 41 – 44)     4 slides

Slide 33 introduces this section with a question: How should we practically do 1:1 bible study? This appears to me to be the “meat” of the presentation; what UBF really wants to get you to learn and accept, without much thinking.

Slide 34 – Practical Application

Four things are mentioned here: Observation, Interpretation, Application, In UBF: question sheets, testimony writing.

Apparently this is talking about a Bible study approach. I know that as a UBF insider. UBF 1:1 is all about studying the Bible with question sheets and then writing your testimony. In fact, such things are the essence of the UBF lifestyle. If you do this, you are highly praised. But you must do it faithfully every week, 52 weeks a year.

My questions: Is it possible to form “lasting friendships” and overcome fears and hesitation just by answering question sheets and writing a testimony? Maybe to a point. But this approach is fraught with failure. Relationships built this way become icy-cold, transactional acquaintances that almost always do not stand the test of time unless something else happens in the relationship.

Slide 35 asks us “What is important when you do 1:1 bible study?” Many things are presented in the next several slides:

• Gospel must be the central focus
• Present the whole picture
• Emphasize personal application of God’s word
• Be an example
• Lead people to God!
• 1:1 is a life time mission
• Do your very best!
• Know what your bible student believes
• Pray!!!
• Be a friend
• Share your strengths AND your weaknesses
• Don’t lost focus
• Help bible student to focus on God’s word
• Keep time, smile, eye contact, remember important dates
• Listen.

These are basically good ideas. But what are we trying to do through UBF 1:1? In my experience for 25 years, the goal is to create a “junzi man”, that is, a super-apostle type person (preferrably male) who can inherit the UBF heritage. In the end, UBF directors care almost nothing about the good ideas above, if only UBF heritage is preserved and passed on– that is the goal of 1:1.

Shouldn’t we be leading people to Jesus and making an environment for the Holy Spirit to make disciples of Jesus?

The first half of this presentation tells us that UBF 1:1 is God’s way and is necessary in order to pass on the UBF legacy to future generations.

(see Hardcore 1:1 – Part 1 for the actual UBF presentation)

The second half of the presentation gives us motivation to participate in 1:1. So the entire presentations comes down to: “God said do UBF 1:1, now go do it!”

This part 2 of my review covers section 5:

5. Advantages & Potential (slides 20 – 26)    7 slides
6. Obstacles vs. Motivation (slides 28 – 31)     4 slides
7. Practical Application (slides 33 – 39)     7 slides
8. Conclusion: God’s hope! (slides 41 – 44)     4 slides

Slide 20

The “Advantages & Potential” section begins with two questions: “What are the advantages of 1:1 bible study compared to other ways of studying or teaching the bible?” and “What potential does 1:1 bible study have?”

Slide 21

Instead of presenting any other way of bible study, the next slide immediately tells us some supposed advantages of 1:1. While there are some advantages of a one-to-one approach to bible study, those reasons are not listed in the presentation. The six advantages given are rather weak and lamely thought out. Here they are:

“You can focus to help one person.”   This can also be done in a group setting and is not unique to UBF 1:1.

“It’s a personal encounter.”   Such personal encounters can happen in a group setting. Isn’t the point of study to encounter God?

“EVERYONE can do 1:1.”   Well, not everyone can do UBF 1:1 for very long. But most people can do group study just as well. Why is EVERYONE required to do this? Are all teachers? Are all shepherds?

“You can do 1:1 with EVERYONE.”   Not sure what this means…some people are not open to such a relationship.

“You can do 1:1 EVERYWHERE.”   The last time I checked, group study can also be done in most places.

“1:1 brings the church to the people.”   This is an extremely troubling statement. It reveals to me a very skewed theological thought. Aren’t people themselves the church? What is it we are bringing to people in the case of 1:1?

Slide 22 

Now we get into some wild statements. Slide 22 changes gears without shifting and tells us: “1:1 has the potential to raise global leaders!” Six pictures are presented. Who are they? Did they go through UBF 1:1? Are they proponents of 1:1? Are they indeed global leaders? If so, were they raised through UBF 1:1?

Slide 23

Now we switch back to advantages… Not only is “raising global leaders” a potential of UBF 1:1, it is an advantage of UBF 1:1.

Slide 24 – LINEAR GROWTH!

Again, we jump back to Potential… “1:1 has the potential to double our ministry!” Ah now we get to the infamous “double ministry” line. UBF leaders always talk about double ministry, usually based on Elisha’s request to Elijah for a double portion of his spirit. Slide 24 presents a pyramid that is supposed to show linear growth of everybody raising one student: somehow 1 person raises 10, after 1 year we still have 10, then after 10 years we are supposed to have 100 bible students. Indeed, this is linear growth.

The problem? The “linear growth” model assumes 100% success. Every year, every UBF shepherd successfully raises 1 bible student, and that bible student sucessfully remains in UBF for the rest of his/her life (or in this model for 10 years).

This “linear growth” model is full of built-in failure points. First, the success rate is not 100%. Second, not every person is called by God to teach the Bible. Third, most UBF bible students leave within 1 year of study. Many leave after 10 years, so the likelihood of all 100 bible students remaining is rather low.

Zero Success Rate

How many UBF chapters have patterned this “linear growth model”? My claim is that ZERO chapters have done this. No one in UBF over the past 50 years has successfully met the goals of “linear growth”. Zero. None. Nada. It is a failed approach.

Slide 25 – EXPONENTIAL GROWTH!

UBF clearly is not satisfied with “linear growth”. They want “exponential growth”. Their ideal is not that everyone raise just 1 student, but that everyone should raise 2 students. And even 2 is a low standard– many in UBF say you must raise 12 students or even 120!

The amount of guilt, self-loathing and emotional punishment created by these concepts is astronomical.

Slide 25 claims that after 10 years UBF should not only have 100 students, but should really have 1,024… if all those shepherds just weren’t so lazy… And after just 20 years UBF should have 1,040,000 students.

Nothing Strange?

This is the classic “penny a day” problem. Ever hear of the worker who agreed to work for a penny a day in service to a king? The only request is that his pay double every day. After a couple weeks, the king’s entire treasury did not have enough money to pay him!

Such ludicrous bullshit is behind the “UBF 1:1” paradigm. It just won’t work. The math doesn’t add up. People are getting hurt. Slide 26 says it all… and I share this with tears of repentance for believing such lies:

The most helpful series has been on Job earlier in the year, where I learned the furious love of God. Also helpful has been the new series on Ezekiel. Today I share some of Ezekiel and a few quotes from the devotion that have impacted me. And I recall some wise words from a friend yet again.

Ezekiel 3:1-3

3 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

Ezekiel 3:7-9

⁷ But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. ⁸ Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.⁹ Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”

A Challenge

“This chapter contains a call to utter warnings and to be careful (Ezek. 3:16-27). The theme of the watchman (Ezek. 3:16-21) recurs in the book (chap. 33), and can be explored later. But in the closing verses Ezekiel is forbidden to say anything—courtesies, greetings, political speeches, whatever—except for what God gives him to say. This state of affairs endures until the fall of Jerusalem, about six years away (Ezek. 33:21-22), when his tongue is loosed. This restriction adds weight to the times he does speak. It is also a challenge to everyone who speaks for God. All of our talk and our silences should be so calibrated that when we convey God’s words our credibility is enhanced and not diminished.

A Place to Meet the Lord

In Moses’ time, anyone who wanted to inquire of the LORD would have to go outside the camp. “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. (Exodus 33:7)

A Place of Offal

Outside the camp is the place where the “flesh and offal” of the Jewish sacrifices were burned up. “But the bull with its hide and its flesh and its offal he burned up outside the camp, as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Leviticus 8:17)

A Place of Uncleanliness

“As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:46)

“1 The LORD said to Moses,  2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body.  3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”  4 The Israelites did this; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.” (Numbers 5:1-4)

A Place of Death

“Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.” (1 Kings 21:13)

“17 But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.”  18 Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’  19 He will have the burial of a donkey– dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.” (Jermiah 22:17-19)

A Place where Jesus Went

“And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” (Hebrews 13:12)

A Place where Christians should go

“Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.” (Hebrews 13:13)

I found, over the years, that I had to keep redefining my answer to this question because my “neighborhood” kept getting smaller. When I asked “Who is my neighbor”, I sent myself and others down a path that led to having fewer and fewer neighbors–those who agreed with me or supported my style of Christianity or those who needed to be taught the Bible.

This week I realized someone else asked this same question. And someone rather important to the Christian faith answered it in a remarkable way.

Here is the question:

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

²⁷ He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b]”

²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

We know the answer. In reply, Jesus told the famous parable of the good Samaritan. We know that story  (Luke 10:25-37). But Jesus’ ending question struck me as I read this story again. I hadn’t noticed how Jesus’ question ties back to the expert Bible teacher’s question in verse 29. Compare Luke 10:29 with Luke 10:36.

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

Notice the contrast! Jesus categorically refused to answer the “expert’s” question. Jesus’ question turns the entire religious view of the expert Bible teacher upside-down. Instead of looking for neighbors to love by teaching the Bible to, Jesus says be a neighbor who shows mercy to the person who comes into your life–whomever that may be and even if it is one of “those people”.

In place of the question “Who is my neighbor?” from the expert Bible teacher, Jesus’ question now rings out in my heart and mind: “Who can I be a neighbor to?”

Here is the public link to the message, delivered in Toledo UBF on July 1st, 2012:

http://www.utchristians.com/index.php/resources/biblestudymaterials/doc_download/140-gal-48-31-msg-july-2012/Gal-4.8-31_qst-L_July_2012.docx

Here is the link to a PDF of the message, in case the link above disappears:

http://www.priestlynation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Gal_4.8-31_msg_July_2012.pdf

The Background

Toledo UBF (a ministry of about 75 in 2010) went through a disastrous 2011, watching 7 or 8 leader’s families either leave the ministry or dis-engage from the ministry almost entirely. That’s about 40 people. The recent Toledo UBF conference photo confirms that the ministry has been cut in half in the last couple years.

A visiting messenger is asked to deliver a message on Galatians, which somehow ends up being a chopped up passage from Galatians 4:8-31. This visiting messenger is the highest-ranked, official authority in UBF outside the Korean missionaries, Ron Ward. So when Ron gives a message, people in Toledo UBF are going to listen. When Toledo UBF is in trouble, this is often the solution: to invite some authority from Chicago UBF to deliver a message. That has happened many times the past 25 years.

The ministry leadership in Toledo UBF is currently a Leadership Council. For the most part, this has been a good move. The 22-year-term Moses-style director may be stepping down soon and the plurality of leadership concept is really starting to take hold.

There is much more context here which I won’t share publicly. But the people involved know what I’m talking about.

The Message Structure

Here is how the message is structured with the main points:

I. Paul’s zeal for Christ to be formed in the Galatians (8-20)

• First, Paul rebuked them for returning to slavery (8-11).
• Second, Paul pleaded to restore their love relationship (12-16).
• Third, Paul’s zeal to win them over to Christ (17-20).

II. “We are children of the free woman” (21-31)

Problem 1: Dictating what to learn

The UBF mindset is to tell you what you will learn. This message is no different. In the last sentences of the introduction, we find what we “need to learn”:

“Today let’s realize that though we are saved by faith in Christ alone, we need to grow to maturity. And let’s learn from Paul how to care for God’s children.”

The introduction sets an ominous tone for anyone hearing this message who knows what just happened the past 11 months. Immediately, thoughts of “Who is immature?”, “What does it mean to be mature?”, “How should we care for God’s children?” and “Who is caring for God’s children?” come to mind. Is Galatians 4 about growing in maturity, as if that is something greater than faith in the gospel? No. But that is the kind of thing we are called to learn even though we haven’t even learned anything yet!

Problem 2: Using a trigger word “rebuke”

The word “rebuke” is used a lot in UBF. It has special meaning but I won’t go into that here. The messenger quotes verses 8 to 11, claiming that these verses are Paul’s rebuke to the Galatians. When we look at the various Bible translations and the titles they insert above this section, we can learn that the Bible translators understood these verses correctly. The verses here are Apostle Paul’s concern, questioning and his love for the people. But rebuke? That’s very strong language. But in UBF, all negative words are automatically a “rebuke”! They normally make no distinction between correction or discipline or encouragement: it’s all “rebuke” and usually with a harsh tone. And Apostle Paul’s rebuke? That was in Galatians 3.

Problem 3: False appeal to American author

Normally, you’ll find a jab at America or American churches in UBF messages. This one is no different. But it also has an appeal to a popular American preacher/author, Tim Keller.

“While most Americans do not bow before statues and figures,we still find rampant idolatry in our nation. Dr. Tim Keller, in his book, “Counterfeit Gods,” has exposed them: money, sex, power, and success. Moreover, many have created gods in their own imaginations by mixing various elements from many religions and new age ideas. In fact people are in bondage to forces that make them miserable. Though idols may seem to be nothing, behind them is Satan’s power.”

I would agree that idolatry is a key problem in America. But what “false gods” did Tim Keller refer to in his book? I personally have not read this book, but I did read the excerpt from Tim Keller’s website. Ron says the idols in America are four: money, sex, power, success. (Note: if you don’t know these are four key “sins” UBF often fights against. If you are free of these, you are considered “pure”, which seems to me to be very Eastern-thought oriented.)

Tim Keller says there are far more than these four… “anything can be an idol” (Introduction, page xv). Keller also mentions many things that can become idols: beauty, money, family, sex, power, glory, success, military discipline, fame, marriage, etc. In fact, this Keller quote from “Counterfeit Gods” would have been far more appropriate for this message:

“The biblical concept of idolatry is an extremely sophisticated idea, integrating intellectual, psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual categories. there are personal idols, such as romantic love and family; or money, power, and achievement; or access to particular social circles; or the emotional dependence of others on you; or health, fitness, and physical beauty. Many look to these things for the hope, meaning, and fulfillment that only God can provide.”
Counterfeit Gods, Introduction, page xix

Problem 4: Thinly veiled attack of ex-UBF members

One favorite game UBF messengers like to play is “attack the R-Group”. The pulpit in UBF often turns ugly, but such “messages” are only picked up on by certain people. After some brief words on Galatians 4:9-11, this messenger quickly implores emotional control and takes a jab at those who just left Toledo UBF in protest last year.

“Sometimes we feel like Paul did. We work hard to serve God‟s sheep with the word of God, prayers, counseling, delicious food, and so on, so they can grow in Christ. Then, through a false teacher or a bad influence, they suddenly change, becoming crazy. They have become slaves of Satan. By the time we recover from shock, we realize that we are powerless and don‟t know how to help them. It is easy to give up. What did Paul do?”

This is utterly out of context with Apostle Paul’s thoughts here in the text. But Ron W. sticks it in anyway. Who is this “false teacher” in Toledo UBF? Why it is me of course! Well, me and my friends who left. But of course such thoughts won’t be expressed in writing.

Problem 5: Preaching UBF ideology

What is Ron’s conclusion from verses 12-16? Here is verses 12-16:

“12 I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?”  Galatians 4:12-16

Here is the conclusion from this part:

“Here we learn that our attitude toward shepherds or mentors in Christ can be a barometer of our spiritual condition. When we have the gospel in our hearts, we love God‟s servants even if they have a serious weakness. But if we lose the gospel, our relationship with our shepherds can become very burdensome. Then we become critical; we can even treat them like enemies. At such times, we must stop struggling with people, come back to Christ, and restore our gospel faith. Then our relationships with God‟s servants will also be restored and we can have peace.”

He could have preached some teaching about brotherly love, or a pastor’s love, or bearing one another in love when someone is sick, or even something like “wounds from a friend” as in Proverbs 27:6.

Instead, what does he preach from Galatians 4:12-16? Well first of all he leaves out the first part of verse 12 and all of verse 16. Then he teaches that the only way to have “peace” and “restoration” is to stop struggling with people and have a “good” (meaning totally submissive) attitude toward UBF shepherds. This is twisting Scripture text to preach the UBF ideology of shepherd-sheep relationships. This means, for the un-indoctrinated, “no criticism of shepherds or missionaries; listen and obey what you are told to learn.”

Summing it all up

There is much more I could criticize here in this message. However, the main point is the conclusion. The summary paragraph drives home the teaching we “must” learn from this:

“In conclusion, let’s read the key verse, verse 19: “My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you…” In truth, this is God‟s heart for sinners. God’s love never fails and God never abandons his children. In his mercy, God gave his one and only Son Jesus Christ as our Savior. Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16). Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered more than the pain of childbirth on the cross to save us from the power of sin and Satan. Though we betray him, Jesus has mercy on us. Jesus faithfully forgives and restores us, and helps us grow in his image. As we trust in his love alone, Christ is formed in us. We grow in his love toward his dear children. We are willing to suffer the pains of childbirth to save lost souls and raise them until Christ is formed in them. Let‟s pray to be mature in the love of God so that we may pray with tears, even for those who act like enemies. Amen!”

We learn here that it is not Apostle Paul or God, but Ron W. and UBF leadership who “rebuked them (8-11), pleaded with them (12-16), and decided to go through the pains of childbirth all over again until [UBF] Christ was formed in them (17-20).”

The message here to Toledo UBF is: stop struggling with people, fall in line with UBF ideology and begin rebuilding the UBF heritage in Toledo.

Paul’s premise from verse 17 is: “The righteous will live by faith”. He begins by explaining why the righteous need to live by faith. In fact, it’s the only way. Paul goes back, way back, to the creation of the world. Paul is painting a big picture here, so we need to step back to understand.

God has made it plain (18-19)

Paul began by saying God’s wrath is being revealed. Who is God so angry at? and why? Paul tells us that God is against all the godlessness and wickedness of liars, people who suppress the truth. God has spoken plainly, but people have covered up and hidden the plain truth about God.  The invisible qualities of God, such as power and divinity, can be clearly seen in nature. We can see God’s nature in the anatomy of the human eye and the vast expanse of stars in galaxies. We can see God’s nature in the function of ant and the mighty power of an elephant. We can see God’s nature in the division of cells and the death of a star. God has made the truth about Him plain.

Inexcusable Irreverence And Ingratitude (20)

That’s how the prince of preachers, Spurgeon, titled Romans 1. Spurgeon’s words here are helpful: “Men who never heard the gospel can see God in his works if they open their eyes. There is written upon the face of nature enough to condemn men if they do not turn to God. There is a gospel of the sea, and of the heavens, of the stars, and of the sun; and if men will not read it, they are guilty, for they are wilfully ignorant of what they might know, and ought to know.”

Idolatry leads to a landslide of wickedness (21)

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Have you ever studied Exodus 20 and learned the Ten Commandments? What did God say before the commandments? God said, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2). Some numbering schemes of the Ten Commandments rightly include this in the first commandment. But the common scheme leaves this out. From God’s point of view in Romans, this appears to be the critical part of the whole list. In fact, that is what Jesus confirmed.

I often wonder what God wants from me. What do you want from me, O God?! That is often our cry. Paul says plainly that God wants first of all, for us to love Him as God and walk humbly with Him. God wants us to know Him, glorify Him as God and give thanks to Him. God can put up with a lot of crap, but He doesn’t put up with holding down the truth about Him.

Next Paul explains what happens when we make something into an idol, replacing God. God then gives people over to themselves. Paul shows us three dark exchanges and four levels of the landslide; a series of dark exchanges that leads to further degradation. When God is not in our heart, wickedness spirals out of control. How might we stem such wickedness? It begins with facing the truth about God in our heart.

First level – Sexual Impurity (22-24)

Exchange 1 – glory of God for images of man and nature

²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

Idolaters become fools, resulting in impurity in their hearts and degradation of their bodies. The first exchange is to swap the glory of God for images of man and nature. Do we do this? Most would say no, we don’t carve stone idols any more! But wait… we create millions of digital images. Our generation has exchanged the glory of God for brilliant, multi-million pixel images of men, women, and all things in nature, expressing all manners of sinful desires and sexual impurity.

Second level – Worshiping Created Things (25)

Exchange 2 – truth of God for a lie

²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

The first exchange quickly leads to a second dark exchange. We start to believe lies about God. We start to wonder, “Did God really say…?” Our hearts become fixated on created things rather than the Creator. We love the blessings of God more than God who is the source of blessing.  We begin to crave our own safety and start protecting our stuff. We put ourselves on the throne of our life, sacrificing and working hard, not for God or His glory, but for our own.

Third level – Shameful Lusts (26-27)

Exchange 3 – natural relations for unnatural 

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

What is this third exchange? A plain reading of these verses is the natural law argument: Idolaters exchange natural (heterosexual) relations for unnatural (homosexual) relations. In these verses, unlike in other verses, Paul clearly uses the common Greek word for homosexuality.

The plain teaching here is that it is shameful for a heterosexual man or women to suddenly choose to explore homosexual activity. The text plainly says these people chose to abandon natural relations and chose to commit indecent acts. They could make such choices because they already made the first two exchanges.

It is also clear here that promiscuity of any kind is shameful and a perversion, since all the activity listed here in Romans 1 of a sexual nature is occurring outside a monogamous marriage relationship.

What about LGBT?

Although the text here does not warrant a distracting discussion on all the LGBT issues, I will say a few words because this passage has been taken out of context and used to slam the LGBT community unfairly in our generation, and in a way that has not been experienced in ancient generations.

Restraint and Caution

These verses ought to be taught plainly and boldly to restrain those who would casually experiment with homosexual activity. Choosing to do so is clearly sinful in God’s mind. But what do these verses say to someone who is born with a homosexual orientation? What value do these verses have in the same-sex marriage debate of our generation? The only value I see in such things is that these verses serve as a constraint and a warning. We all should be cautious and patient when addressing homosexuality, and not be quick to judge or condemn (which by the way is Paul’s point in Romans 2…)

The Christian Church cannot just throw off all restraint and celebrate homosexual activity. I hope (and think) many in the LGBT community would understand that. At the same time, the Christian Church must remain “Christ-like” even in dealing with the LGBT community. I would say especially when dealing with the LGBT community. To quote Romans 1 and say that all homosexuality we see in our generation is the result of the dark exchanges in this passage is not being truthful to the text and is not showing the love of God for people; people He created. And on a basic level, to say that Romans 1 is God’s condemnation for homosexual people is simply wrong. I question the faith of anyone who does so.

Fourth level – Every kind of wickedness (28-32)

²⁸ Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Idolaters did not retain the knowledge of God (Scripture, Spirit teaching, dialogue with fellow Christians, etc), resulting in every kind of wickedness. All the exchanges lead to a landslide of wickedness.

Reversing the Exchange

The text in Romans 1 doesn’t say how to reverse, slow down or change the exchanges that people make. Perhaps we could set our eyes on the glory of God, seeing His beauty, His majesty, His joy, His peace, His love and His grace.  Perhaps we need to experience the furious love of God who says to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” (Job 1:12) Perhaps we should study the truth of God, reading what God actually did and did not say, learning what God did and did not do, and listening to the voice of God.

However, before we jump into how to prevent this landslide of wickedness (if that were even possible?), I suggest we “keep reading”. Paul presents God’s amazing solution to these problems, so we shouldn’t stop the ride just yet. Instead, I think we should ponder what is going on, understand the process and ultimately accept that the exchanges in Romans have happened and will continue to happen.

Who is “they”?

In chapter 1, Paul doesn’t take a breathe to conclude anything. So we should be careful not to draw too many conclusions just yet. Paul keeps right on going to chapter 2. Before we start making all kinds of applications or going off on a rabid inquisition to purge our church or society from wicked people, I suggest we turn the page in our Bibles and read Romans 2:1-4, and realize that the “they” in chapter 1 is the “you” in chapter 2.

A Servant of Christ Jesus (1-7)

Romans 1 begins with a humble reminder of identity. Before lifting his hand to conduct one of the most intense and beautiful symphonies of Christian truth ever composed, Paul remembers his identity. He is a servant. A servant of Christ Jesus.

Furthermore, Paul remembers his calling– called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.  He recalls briefly all that has happened in God’s redemptive history– the promises given of old, the messages of the prophets and the Holy Scriptures, the kingship of David and most importantly, Jesus Himself. Jesus through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. Jesus is our Lord. His grace, His love, His calling, His peace and His Lordship is what we are called to embrace. In any issue, we are to share God’s good news.

As we approach any issue confronting the Church, I call for us to pause and remember our identity and our calling. Who is in charge here? Christ Jesus is in charge. Whose purpose are we called to? Our purpose belongs to Christ Jesus. How are we to treat other people? We see them as loved by God, especially the saints.

I Thank My God (8-13)

Why did God inspire Paul to write the Epistle to the Romans? There are many reasons to be sure, but first Paul says he writes because he is thankful. “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.” (8) Gratitude for their faith. Paul kept gratitude in his heart as he was about to unleash a letter that begins with the wrath of God. Paul was thankful for the Roman Christians and longed to see them to be mutually encouraged. As we dialogue about various issues, should we not be thankful and seek to be mutually encouraged?

The Righteous Will Live By Faith (14-17)

Paul declares that he is not ashamed of the gospel. He had no problem discussing issues and praying with and for Greeks, non-Greeks, wise, foolish- and the Romans. I think it is highly interesting that Paul does not mention “Romans” in verse 14, but says “non-Greeks”, which is like calling Americans “non-British” :) I think Paul wants those who hear his letter to the Romans to cast aside all pride and humbly listen to what God has to say through his letter.

Paul is not ashamed of the gospel of grace, for such good news reveals a righteousness from God, that can only be received by faith from the beginning to the end of our journey. In fact, faith will be the life of the righteous.

Just before his thunderous overture that is Romans, Paul quietly sets down the premise of the entire letter, a premise that God gave to Habakkuk long ago:

“The righteous will live by faith.”

Do we understand that? Paul’s reason for writing Romans is to demonstrate the truth of this statement. Paul’s writing begins with some inviting, pleasing music and then draws quiet, perhaps with a single flute calling us to humbly bow before Jesus our King and to cleanse our hearts to receive what good news God would have for us.

For example, the great reformer, Martin Luther, nearly threw James out of the Bible.

“Therefore St James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it.”
Luther’s Works 35, 362

“We should throw the epistle of James out of this school [i.e. Wittenburg], for it doesn’t amount to much. It contains not a syllable about Christ. Not once does it mention Christ, except at the beginning. I maintain that some Jew wrote it who probably heard about Christian people but never encountered any. Since he heard that Christians place great weight on faith in Christ, he thought, ‘Wait a moment! I’ll oppose them and urge works alone.’ This he did.”
Luther’s Works 54, 424

(source 1)
(source 2)

A Faith That Works

Today I share from what we learned in our men’s James Bible study. I am thankful for those who see the Bible purely, as a child, through the lens of grace!

I am finding that many of the “either/or” contradictions supposedly in the Bible are merely lack of understanding. The power of understanding the Bible comes from the Spirit Himself, from logic (such as the power of “and”), and from the lens of grace.

Two Paradigms

I contend that James and Paul are not contradictory, but complimentary. They are speaking about different issues and approaching faith from two different angles.

• Paul exhorts against legalism; James exhorts against idleness.
• Paul addresses works enslaved by the law; James addresses works after salvation.
• Paul looks at the root of salvation; James looks at the fruit of salvation.
• Paul asks, How do we come to have faith?; James asks, How do we know we have faith?
• Paul demonstrates how to become a Christian; James demonstrates how to behave as a Christian.

The two paradigms are thus not contradicting each other. The Scriptures compliment each other in this case. Apostle Paul’s great Epistles teach us the manifold nature of having faith in Jesus. The Book of James, though short in length, is a super-packed discourse on acceptable living for those who claim to have faith in Jesus.

I see this very similar to Jesus, who taught the Sermon on the Mount (much like Apostle Paul’s Epistles), but then immediately after, touched and healed a leper (much like what the Book of James teaches).

Faith Is Something We Do

To summarize what I’ve learned from the Book of James, I would say that faith is something we do. Faith is not just words (but includes words). Faith is not just feelings (but includes feelings). Faith is not just thoughts (but includes thoughts). Faith is not just belief (but includes belief). Faith is not only avoiding sin, but it is also doing good.

Luther Got It

Fortunately, the Christian giants were great because they eventually found rest in the grace and truth of God, letting God be true, and every man a liar (Romans 3:4). In the end, Luther did not reject the Book of James. God led Luther to this conclusion.

“Still, he [Luther] did not go so far as to reject the canonicity of James. Indeed, he himself at times attempted to reconcile Paul and James: “Faith is a living, restless thing. It cannot be inoperative. We are not saved by works; but if there be no works, there must be something amiss with faith”
Bainton 259 

For over 30 years, nothing has disturbed me more than Jesus’ haunting words in Luke 12:10, “anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”

8 “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.  9 But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.  10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
— Luke 12:8-10 (NIV84)

What does it mean to “disown Jesus” and to “blaspheme against the Holy Spirit”? My response to this has always been, “I don’t know, but I sure hope I didn’t do it!” Like most tough questions in the Bible, I simply chalked this up to something we can never understand this side of Heaven, and counted it all covered by grace.

I’ve since discovered how wrong that attitude is. Based on Jesus’ stern warning, we had better figure it out this side of Heaven!

What does God want? 

We might just get mad at God and say with exasperation: What do you want from me, God!? Fortunately, Jesus gives us a clue to what He wants, and I believe it is related to this unpardonable sin. Jesus tells us what He wants in Matthew 6:15 (also John 20:21-24)

In the middle of the Sermon of Sermons, Jesus teaches us how to pray, and reveals what He really wants from us:

9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,  10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  11 Give us today our daily bread.  12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’  14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
— Matthew 6:9-15 (NIV84)

Jesus gives a similarly stern warning here: If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Jesus really wants us to forgive other people, all people in fact. It is clear to me that this is so grievous to Jesus, more so than any moral failure, because the gospel is forgiveness! The gospel is that God has forgiven you of all your sins on the cross of Christ. To repent is to change your mind and accept this amazing grace.

That is what the criminal on the cross next to Jesus did. Remember him? (Luke 23:42-43). Any definition of the gospel must include this criminal. He did not change even a single moral problem in his heart. He paid back no one he had wronged. He simply cried out “Jesus, remember me!” That is the gospel cry. If that man had time before he died, he would certainly have been motivated by the forgiveness in his heart to make amends as best he could for his prior life (after he got out of prison :)

God wants people who accept His forgiveness. Such people with forgiveness in their heart will then forgive their family, their friends, their spouses, their children, their enemies, and anyone who has wronged them. The reason is because those who accept God’s forgiveness realize that they have been forgiven an unpayable debt (like $3 million) and other people’s sins against them, in comparison, are like $3.

The Unpardonable Sin

Last year I came across an amazing chapter in the Bible, and a chapter that answered my long-sought after question. The passage? Deuteronomy 29. Now before anyone gets in a tizzy… Yes I believe all 613 commands of the written code were nailed to the cross, abolished and made unreadable in Jesus’ body on the cross (Galatians 2, Ephesians 2, Colossians 2). That does not mean the Law of God has been abolished (just the incomplete expression given to Moses that foreshadowed Jesus.)

The unpardonable sin that will not be forgiven is clearly stated like this: “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my way.” The result? God will never forgive such a person. God will single that person out for disaster and all the curses of the law will be upon that person:

18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.  19 When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way.” This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.  20 The LORD will never be willing to forgive him; his wrath and zeal will burn against that man. All the curses written in this book will fall upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.  21 The LORD will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.
— Deuteronomy 29:18-21 (NIV84)

The entire book of Hebrews backs up Deuteronomy 29. The gospel is to change my mind, foregoing whatever way I may have to find God and enter into God’s rest by accepting His way, Jesus (Hebrews 4:7-11).

Even in the Old Covenant, God expressed clearly that perfect obedience to all 613 commands could not be accomplished by any human being. Those who did not seek God through the law and the prophet’s message would incur a curse, rather than a blessing, no matter how many of the commands they obeyed (unless someone could in fact obey all 613).

Righteousness is by faith from beginning to end. Idolatry is the thing that gets God really angry (Romans 1:16-21).

Why was God so angry with the Israelites?

It was because they did not accept God as God, which was the whole point of the covenant! They went their own way and did not learn God’s ways (the way of forgiveness, grace, justice, love). They held onto the letter of the law in some form or another, relying on their human effort instead of seeking God (Galatians 3).

We may study the commands of God (which are good) but if we try to invoke a blessing by such obedience, we find we are cursed (Galatians 3:10). The purpose of the law was to lead them to God until Jesus came (the seed of the promises in the law), not to the law itself (Galatians 3:19).

24 All the nations will ask: “Why has the LORD done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?”  25 And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt.  26 They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them.  27 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.  28 In furious anger and in great wrath the LORD uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.”
— Deuteronomy 29:24-28 (NIV84)

Only One Way

This is only one way to enter into God’s rest, to open the door and let Christ into your heart, and that one way is to repent. Change your mind and accept God’s free, amazing grace of forgiveness of all your sins at the foot of the cross of Christ– every sin you erver committed or ever will commit. Grace is the narrow gate. Grace is the only way. And therefore the only way not to be forgiven is to not accept this grace and come up with your own way to follow God or to live a Christian life.

God wants you

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied.  10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.  11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”  12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
— Job 1:9-12 (NIV84)

God gave us control over one thing: our mind. And He wants us to change our mind and accept Him. God wants you. God says, take everything, but “on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

And on this I will stake my life.

God’s Reward

Matthew 6:1 “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

Jesus said “be careful”. But I could not reconcile this with the expectations others had of me as a fellowship leader. I had to do all my acts of righteousness before people, how else would they know? In fact, I documented my acts every week! How else would I escape rebuke for not doing enough deeds? Oh how I used to love the praise of men and women for my good deeds!

Plain teaching in light of grace: Do my good deeds in secret. Let other people get angry or stand on their head if they want. Let them send angry emails instead of praising me. That’s nothing compared to my Father’s reward in heaven! That’s nothing to bear compared to knowing Jesus my Lord!

God’s Gifts

James 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

What?! Not many Christians should become teachers? I nearly thought this verse to be heresy. Everyone must teach the Bible, I thought. Everyone has a priestly duty and that duty is to teach others, I thought.

Plain teaching in light of grace: The Holy Spirit gives different gifts to different people. God never intended uniformity to replace unity. God intended to build up a spiritual house, made up of all kinds of people. The body of Christ is truly remarkable!

God’s Calling

Romans 11:29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 

I heard this verse a lot in the past. When I took this verse out of context, I understood “God’s gifts” to only mean “God’s blessings” (i.e. material possessions, human talents, ministry, etc.). God’s calling, I thought, meant only the calling to be a Bible teacher. So I became arrogant, thinking nothing I had could be taken away. I proudly thought I was a Bible teacher established by God for life.

Plain teaching in light of grace: Romans 11 demonstrates clearly that it is possible to be blessed by God, and then live as an enemy of Jesus. Instead of invoking pride in me, this verse should have pointed me to the grace of God, if I had studied Romans properly instead of taking this one verse out of context. While it is true that God will not revoke His promise of grace, this should in no way give me confidence that my ministry or family or position here on earth is irrevocable. God’s clear lesson to Job is that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away (Job 1:20-22) and that God Himself is our treasure (Job 38:1-41).

There are many, many more such verses. I’ll share as they come to mind. My main point is that the lens you see the Bible through makes a huge difference in the meaning you find. Here are some changes I’ve made to my approach to the Bible:

1. Always read entire chapters and books of the Bible.

2. Rarely quote one verse by itself.

3. Accept that grace is God’s last word and the key to understand all Scripture.

4. Use the Bible to interpret the Bible.

5. Read, read, read…understand something of Spurgeon, Augustine, Calvin, etc. and present day preachers such as Piper, Keller, Ludy, etc.

6. Use apparent contradictions in the Bible as an opportunity to learn.

7. Consider myself a Bible learner, not a Bible teacher.

8. Acknowledge that God’s ways are vastly higher than my ways.

9. Know that God will violate my human wisdom, but will never violate logic.

10. Understand that the Bible is a redemptive story with a redemptive purpose.

In Genesis 18:20-21 we read that not only was the sin of Sodom great, it was grievous and had caused an outcry to reach Heaven: “20 Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

What could be so grievous to the Lord? Anyone who has had any Bible study knows the common answer: homosexuality. Tonight I write to demonstrate clearly that this is utterly false. As you might expect, the Bible declares many sins of Sodom.

Sodom’s Sin: Homosexual Gang Rape

The rumor that Sodom’s sin was homosexuality probably came from the description of the actions of some of the men toward Lot and his angel guests: Genesis 19:4-5 “4 Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom–both young and old–surrounded the house. 5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” Clearly this was not just a same-sex encounter; but far beyond that and into the realm of abusive harm. That is detestable.

Sodom’s Sin: Adultery and Lying

Through the prophet Jeremiah we see Israel’s sins compared to Sodom and Gomorrah; the sins of adultery and lying. “And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.” Jeremiah 23:14 (NIV84)

Sodom’s Sin: Arrogance and Selfishness

The primary sin that seemed to anger God the most was arrogance and selfishness. The Sodomites didn’t care abut the poor and the needy. They only concerned themselves with their own wealth and food: Ezekiel 16:49-50 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.”

Sodom’s Sin: Immorality and Perversion

Jude makes a brief statement about Sodom and Gomorrah: Jude 1:7 “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” The gang rape request in Genesis 19 is certainly a perversion, and adultery is sexual immorality. I suspect many of the actions considered sinful by the letter of the law in Leviticus 18 were in Sodom. By the letter of the law, homosexuality was considered a sin and was part of the problem because there was no restraint for homosexuality nor any of the other sins.

Sodom’s Sin: Not as bad as Israel’s Sin

People seem so bitterly disgusted by Sodom. Yet what did God think? Ezekiel 16:48 says: “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done.” Ezekiel 16:51-52 says: “Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You have done more detestable things than they, and have made your sisters seem righteous by all these things you have done. 52 Bear your disgrace, for you have furnished some justification for your sisters. Because your sins were more vile than theirs, they appear more righteous than you. So then, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

A Sobering Thought from Jesus

Luke 10:12 “I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.”

First of all, understand that “To be a disciple-maker” is a UBFism. It is a phrase that means “live as a UBF loyalist every week and reproduce that obedience in someone else, preferably a college student.” The answer to this question, is no, I do not believe I am called to be a UBF disciple-maker.

However, I don’t believe the person asking this question meant it as a UBFism. No one else on the planet defines “be a disciple-maker” like UBF does. I believe that the person asked sincerely, and honestly based on Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples of all nations” as in Matthew 28:16-20:

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Here is my answer: No.

I do not believe I am called to be a disciple-maker as my personal task. In fact, I contend that no person ever was given the task of making disciples. What? Someone will say, what about the verse you just quoted? Bear with me and I will explain.

To whom was the command “to go” given? It was given to the Eleven. It was given collectively and publicly; it was given at least once when only the Eleven were gathered; it was given other times when other disciples besides the Eleven would have heard the command. At least one time when Jesus gave this command, it was on the mountain, according to Matthew.

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.  17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. — Matthew 28:16-17

And “make disciples” is not mentioned by Luke. But even Luke’s words in Luke 24:46-49 were given to “the Eleven and those with them, assembled together.” (Luke 24:33-34).

Therefore, I contend that Jesus’ command to make disciples is primarily a community command, not to be understood as a personal mission, but as a community mission. I believe God will give various gifts to individuals and then wants to use those individual believers for a collective purpose, in addition to their personal purpose from God:

27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.  29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?  30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret?  31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. — 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

What is our witness to the world as a community of believers? I believe that one person is not called to the task of making disciples. That is something we are directed to do together. The old saying fits well then: “It takes a village to raise a child.” I contend that “It takes the body of Christ to raise a disciple.”

Clearly, God gave the “go and make disciples” command corporately, so that the whole body of Christ would be a witness. God uses the community of believers to make disciples, as we see all throughout the book of Acts.

No amount of human effort or ambition will ever make even one disciple of Jesus. Only by the Holy Spirit will anyone believe (1 Corinthians 12:3). I believe this community witness to the gospel is something sorely lacking in Western Christianity. And it is something wonderful that I believe Korean Christianity can contribute to the body of Christ.

Is there, then, any personal calling related to making disciples? Yes! The best example of the personal direction Jesus gave is found in John 21: “Feed my sheep.” This command was indeed given personally to Peter, and in a private session.  Only some of the Eleven were present when Jesus said “Feed my sheep”. John records that in fact only seven were on that boat fishing that day (John 21:1-3). And it is likely, by observing the sequence of events in John 21, that only Peter heard all of Jesus’ words, though some others must have heard something of what Jesus said.

“Feed my sheep” was in direct relation to Jesus’ words earlier to Peter in regard to denying Jesus three times. This breakfast on the beach after a night of failure was an intensely personal moment between Jesus and Peter.

The command “Feed my sheep” is not equivalent to “go and make disciples”. The commands are different, they were given in different contexts, and they were given to different audiences for different reasons. Personally, Jesus’ direction is to take care of His lambs. Each believer does have a task of showing love to fellow human beings. When I understand “feed my sheep” without the UBFism “feed my sheep”, I see things quite clearly.

The command “go and make disciples” then refers to the work of the Holy Spirit among the body of indwelt believers who are feeding Jesus’ sheep.

The command “feed my sheep” then refers to the personal direction each believer has, that is to obey Jesus’ new command to “love one another”.

We learn to love; God makes disciples among us. There is but one Overseer and Shepherd of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).

I have gotten to know four ordained pastors lately, all of whom show evidence of being indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and all of whom have demonstrated a vibrant faith and love for God’s word and for people. All of them approach “making disciples” as the Lord’s work, something our Lord does. By watching them, I have learned that we are mere facilitators of our Lord’s work. We are important partners with Christ in this evangelistic work, but we are not called to individually “make disciples”.

What happens if we do enforce an individual disciple-making effort? The logical conclusion is that we then make disciples of ourselves, disciples of our program, disciples of our church or disciples of our philosophy. No matter how noble our starting intentions are, an individual view of disciple-making inevitably leads to propagating an ideology that we desperately want others to conform to. And we end up like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time: we necessarily redefine our neighbor as “God’s people” or only as “those nearby”. We end up loving ourselves.

Thoughts, concerns, questions?

I posted this already, but as I review this year, it is very much worth reading through these verses again. And I need to add one verse. The last verse in the Bible is about the grace of God. Part of my prayer for the new year will include learning about this all-important last word:

Revelation 22:21 “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

Leviticus 5:1 “‘If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.
>>> Not speaking up when we hear a public charge is a sin before the Lord.

Numbers 15:28 “The priest is to make atonement before the LORD for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.
>>> Unintentional sin is mentioned many times in the Law, and is just as serious as intentional sin.

Numbers 22:21-33 “21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” 29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” 30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32 The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her.”
>>> Even a donkey can be used by the Lord to hold God’s servant accountable when God is angry with God’s servant. If the donkey had not turned away three times, God’s angel certainly would have killed Balaam, but spared the donkey.

1 Samuel 15:34-35 “34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.”
>>> There are times when we should not meet with God’s appointed servant.

Proverbs 26:17-19 “18 Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death 19 is one who deceives their neighbor and says, ‘I was only joking!’”
>>> Don’t be a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death!

Proverbs 27:4-6 “4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? 5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
>>> Anger, jealousy, hidden love, flattering kisses: things that disrupt unity in the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 7:14-22 “14 When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future. 15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. 16 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise– why destroy yourself? 17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool– why die before your time? 18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes. 19 Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city. 20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. 21 Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you– 22 for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.”
>>> Avoid all extremes and do not pay attention to every word people say.

Isaiah 55:6-11 “6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
>>> God’s thoughts and God’s ways are higher than mine, as high as the heavens are above the earth.

Matthew 5:13-16 “13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
>>> Be salt and light. Walk and talk openly, before people and before my Father in heaven.

Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
>>> Treasure up “all these things” and ponder them in your heart, and God will show you what to do.

Luke 18:6-8 “6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?””
>>> Even an unjust judge grants justice.

Acts 7:51-55 “51 “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him– 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.” 54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
>>> Stephen delivered God’s message to those who resisted the Holy Spirit. Their response was anger. Yet Stephen looked to heaven, saw Jesus and forgave them.

1 Corinthians 12:3 “Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”
>>> Salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:27-31 “27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.”
>>> Not everyone is called to be a teacher.

2 Corinthians 11:19-20 “19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face.”
>>> Why do people put up with those who enslave or push or slap?

Galatians 2:11-16 “11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 15 “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”
>>> Should Gentiles be forced to follow Jewish customs, even though Jewish customs are based on God’s law?

Ephesians 4:1-7 “1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to one hope when you were called– 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
>>> Unity, not uniformity

Ephesians 4:25-28 “25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”
>>> The devil is the real enemy. Falsehood, anger and selfishness give the devil a foothold in our lives and our ministries.

1 Timothy 4:11-16 “11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
>>> Command and teach the things Scripture tells us to. Watch my life and doctrine closely.

1 Timothy 5:17-20 “17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.”
>>> Treat elders with double honor. But when they sin, take two or three witnesses and rebuke them publicly.

Revelation 1:5-6 “…To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father–to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
>>> To Jesus, who loves us and freed us by his blood, be glory and power forever. Amen.

How did Peter and John react to being put in jail for talking about Jesus and obeying the direction of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:1-22)? What did they do when the religious leaders threatened them and commanded them to stop talking about Jesus? Peter and John’s reaction is described in Acts 4:23-31. They were commanded to stop talking about Jesus and threatened to stop obeying the Holy Spirit. They said no.

Acts 4:23-31 (NIV)

“23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.’

27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

And today’s sermon will be soon posted here:

http://www.gracewired.com/Grow/All-Sermons.aspx

“29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”

Pre-reading for this lesson is Genesis 1 and 2, Psalm 65 and Chapter 15 (part b) of “Systematic Theology” by Wayne Grudem: “Creation is Distinct from God Yet Always Dependent on God”. Also pre-reading is Psalm 103:19-22, Matthew 4:1-12, Revelation 15 and “Jesus: Infinitely Superior to Angels” by John Piper.

The Bible begins with these words:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

God must have existed prior to His creation to be its Creator. The Psalms have much to say about God’s creative power bringing everything into existence. The heavens and the earth testify that God is Sovereign and has all power and authority over His creation.

God not only created the visible world, but many things that are unseen. God is the sovereign ruler of both the seen and the unseen worlds.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.” Psalm 103:19-22

One important part of the unseen creation is the created beings called angels. We often may try to help someone or we may feel helpless in certain life situations. Have we forgotten that angels are everywhere? Do we realize God’s angels serve and minister to believers?

“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14

Christian Doctrine Series:
Lesson 1: Scripture – Be Armed! Lesson #1
Lesson 2: God – Be Armed! Lesson #2
Lesson 3: Jesus – Be Armed! Lesson #3
Lesson 4: Holy Spirit – Be Armed! Lesson #4

I had such a hard time in the past with studying the Holy Spirit because 1) pneumatology was not highly regarded by my church (and even despised) and 2) we always asked the wrong question. We normally asked “What is the Holy Spirit?”. So we didn’t really get the correct answers. We should have been asking “Who is the Holy Spirit?” and “What does the Holy Spirit do?”.

The pre-reading for this lesson was John 14:15-21 and John 16:1-15, as well as chapter 1 of “The Mystery of the Holy Spirit” by R. C. Sproul. The discussions centered around the names for the Holy Spirit, the nature of the Person of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit.

The memory verse for this lesson is John 15:26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”

This lesson 4 supplemented my own study of the Holy Spirit, which has been ongoing for several months now. I am convinced that a church body must introduce Jesus to people who don’t know him. And just as important, if not more, a church body must introduce the Holy Spirit to people who know Jesus. Yes, the Spirit is present the moment we believe, “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13-14) Yet it is possible to live many years as a Christian without meeting the Spirit face to face. We can keep the Spirit in the background of our lives, resisting (Acts 7:51), quenching (1 Thessalonians 5:19), grieving (Ephesians 4:30), insulting (Hebrews 10:29) or even blaspheming (Matthew 12:31-32) the Holy Spirit.

Christians can live (but don’t have to) like wounded soldiers, dwelling in the sacrifice and suffering of our Christian life, missing the greater joy, power, peace, purpose and hope our Lord wants us to have. When we hinder the work of the Spirit in our Christian lives, we are like Apollos in Acts 18 who was well-versed in Scripture, but only knew John’s baptism. It is clear to me that Priscilla and Aquila introduced Apollos to the Holy Spirit (or at least he met the Holy Spirit through their help).

Acts 18:24-28 “24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. 27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”

When a Christian realizes the Holy Spirit is present, waiting to do amazing work, he or she is able to go beyond “speaking boldly in the synagogue”. A person who submits to the Holy Spirit is able to powerfully understand the Scriptures and prove that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person becomes a “great help to those who by grace had believed”. In other words, Christians can only be effective evangelists and disciple-makers when they submit to the Holy Spirit.

R.C. Sproul’s description of his intense prayer and vow to God to win his unbelieving fiancé to Christ is a similar story. R.C. tried so hard to introduce Christ to his unbelieving girlfriend. He wrote: “I locked myself in my room and entered into a vigil of intercessory prayer. I made the pleas of the importunate widow in Jesus’ parable seem mild by comparison.” He loved this woman so much! He had already proposed to her and she was now his fiancé. He desperately tried everything he could to make her believe before they were married so that they would not be “unequally yoked”. In fact he envisioned that he would write her name in the Book of Life himself! He reminded himself of Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” Yet she did not believe. Only when this woman went to a prayer meeting and met God herself did she believe. At that prayer meeting she said, “Now I know who the Holy Spirit is.” R.C. noted that these were not the words of a trained theologian, but the observation of a fresh convert to the Christian faith.

In looking back on this event, R.C. Sproul expounded on the Holy Spirit’s person and work in light of 1 Corinthians 2:9-14:

“9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”– 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

Names

The names of the Holy Spirit are fascinating. Just as Jesus has many names, so does the Holy Spirit: Names of the Holy Spirit

Person

The Holy Spirit is a person, the third Person of the Trinity (Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 9:6; Acts 5:3-4). The Spirit is not a “force” nor an “energy” (though power does come from the Spirit). In the Scripture, the Spirit is not referred to as an “it” or inanimate object, but as a person. We can lie to the Spirit (Acts 5:3) and we can grieve the Spirit by our actions (Ephesians 4:30).

The Holy Spirit indwells those who have trusted in Christ for their salvation (1 Corinthians 6:19). When people believe in Christ as Lord and Savior, they receive God’s Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), with whom they are sealed. This is a guarantee of the hope of eternal life (Ephesians 1:13-14). Jesus taught his followers that the Holy Spirit would be in them (John 14:17).

Works

Here is a summary of the work of the Holy Spirit (this is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive list):

1. To empower: The Spirit gives life, giving and sustainging human and animal life (Psalm 104:30), new life in regeneration for those who are saved (John 3:6-7), empowerment for service (Deuteronomy 34:9), power to witness (Acts 1:8) and grace distributed in gifts (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4).

2. To purify: The Spirit purifies through convicting (John 16:8-11), sanctification (1 Corinthians 6:11) and bearing fruit (Galatians 5:22-26).

3. To reveal: In the Old Testament, the prophets were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). The New Testament apostles were guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). The Spirit reveals and glorifies Jesus (John 16:14) and bears witness to Jesus (1 John 4:2). The Spirit guides (Galatians 5:16-26), manifests (Romans 5:5; Romans 14:17) and teaches (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:12).

4. To unify: The Spirit does not bring about uniformity but unity in the Lord (Acts 2:44-47; Philippians 2:1-2). When we put the Spirit’s gifts into our Lord’s service, we allow this unifying work to happen (1 Corinthians 12:7) in answer to Jesus’ high priestly prayer (John 17:1-26).

5. To testify: The Holy Spirit gives stronger or weaker evidence of the presence and blessing of God, according to our response to Him. The Spirit can be grieved. We are to set our minds on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:4-6) and walk according to His guidance (Romans 8:12-16).

Romans 8:12-17 is a fitting conclusion. Our obligation as Christians is to live according to the Holy Spirit (the wonderful guarantee and deposit and gift God has given!). This obligation is not just to overcome impure sins, but it is also to overcome religious sins. Why do we think we need to let the Spirit purify us, but don’t need to let the Spirit do ministry work? Why do we demand so much control over religious piety, insisting on knowing exactly what will happen through our programs?

“12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation–but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Christian Doctrine Series:
Lesson 1: Scripture – Be Armed! Lesson #1
Lesson 2: God – Be Armed! Lesson #2
Lesson 3: Jesus – Be Armed! Lesson #3

Ezekiel was a priest living with the Jewish exiles in Babylon after the taking of Judah and Jerusalem by Babylon, around 580-600 B.C. Ezekiel has visions of God appearing like a Man, yet glowing and dazzling with fire; and, of angelic beings with four faces, wings, hands, and WHEELS within WHEELS that contained all-seeing eyes (Ezekiel 1 and 10; also 8). Like other prophets, Ezekiel says that God is very dismayed by worship of idols and “gods” and at “false prophets” and hypocrites (for example, Eziekiel 7:3; 14:10). (source)

During the time of the Jewish exile to Babylon, God raised up Ezekiel to speak to the righteous, to the people of Israel.

Ezekiel 3:16-19 (NIV) “16 At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me: 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.”

God appointed Ezekiel to be a watchman for God’s people, Israel. If Ezekiel failed to warn Israel, he would be held accountable.

Ezekiel 3:20-21 (NIV) “20 Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 21 But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

One of Ezekiel’s famous visions was that of the “dry bones”. This reminds me of the vision God gave to me to see UBF as a skeleton that could once again be covered in flesh and be a living testimony to God’s grace and truth once again.

Valley of the Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37):

In a vision, Ezekiel was carried to a valley of old, dry bones, and Ezekiel spoke the Words of the Lord, whereby the bones came together, became covered with skin, and became alive again. This was a symbol of the Hebrews, with all hope seeming to be gone, returning once again to their own land and thriving. (source)

These are the verses that have come to me through my personal devotion, discussion with dozens of friends all over the world and Bible study at Grace Community Church. I have been reacting to these verses as they came to me from other people. Instead of directing others based on the Bible, I’ve been struggling to allow the Bible to direct me.

Some have asked me “Why did you do that?” or “Why did you say that?” Some incorrectly assumed I was following some principles. Others incorrectly concluded that I was just bitter or wounded or hurt in some way. But the reality is that I have been submitting my life to the Holy Spirit, allowing the Spirit to teach and direct me through Scripture. It has felt like an “amazing race”. It has been a journey that has been, at times, confusing and painful. But this journey has opened hundreds of dialogues and led me to abundant peace, joy, faith, truth, hope, love, power and grace. Most importantly, these verses have led me to Jesus my Lord in a new and fascinating way.

Hebrews 4:12 states: “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Perhaps you have been confused by my actions lately. Some have written me expressing their confusion about the things I’ve done. To some extent, I explained what I’ve been doing. But this morning I realized I need to compile the word of God that has spoken to me and has been directing my decisions and actions this year (well it was more like God was screaming at me at times, and whispering at other times!)

I’ve not fully understood what the Holy Spirit was doing all the time this year. Sometimes all I could do was hold on for the ride. I don’t know where the Spirit will lead me next in God’s word, but much has been made clear. I hope and pray that all these things may be clear to you as well.

Leviticus 5:1 “‘If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.
>>> Not speaking up when we hear a public charge is a sin before the Lord.

Numbers 15:28 “The priest is to make atonement before the LORD for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.
>>> Unintentional sin is mentioned many times in the Law, and is just as serious as intentional sin.

Numbers 22:21-33 “21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” 29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” 30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32 The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her.”
>>> Even a donkey can be used by the Lord to hold God’s servant accountable when God is angry with God’s servant. If the donkey had not turned away three times, God’s angel certainly would have killed Balaam, but spared the donkey.

1 Samuel 15:34-35 “34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.”
>>> There are times when we should not meet with God’s appointed servant.

Proverbs 26:17-19 “18 Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death 19 is one who deceives their neighbor and says, ‘I was only joking!’”
>>> Don’t be a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death!

Proverbs 27:4-6 “4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? 5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
>>> Anger, jealousy, hidden love, flattering kisses: things that disrupt unity in the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 7:14-22 “14 When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future. 15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. 16 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise– why destroy yourself? 17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool– why die before your time? 18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes. 19 Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city. 20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. 21 Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you– 22 for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.”
>>> Avoid all extremes and do not pay attention to every word people say.

Isaiah 55:6-11 “6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
>>> God’s thoughts and God’s ways are higher than mine, as high as the heavens are above the earth.

Matthew 5:13-16 “13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
>>> Be salt and light. Walk and talk openly, before people and before my Father in heaven.

Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
>>> Treasure up “all these things” and ponder them in your heart, and God will show you what to do.

Luke 18:6-8 “6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?””
>>> Even an unjust judge grants justice.

Acts 7:51-55 “51 “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him– 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.” 54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
>>> Stephen delivered God’s message to those who resisted the Holy Spirit. Their response was anger. Yet Stephen looked to heaven, saw Jesus and forgave them.

1 Corinthians 12:3 “Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”
>>> Salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:27-31 “27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.”
>>> Not everyone is called to be a teacher.

2 Corinthians 11:19-20 “19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face.”
>>> Why do people put up with those who enslave or push or slap?

Galatians 2:11-16 “11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 15 “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”
>>> Should Gentiles be forced to follow Jewish customs, even though Jewish customs are based on God’s law?

Ephesians 4:1-7 “1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to one hope when you were called– 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
>>> Unity, not uniformity

Ephesians 4:25-28 “25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”
>>> The devil is the real enemy. Falsehood, anger and selfishness give the devil a foothold in our lives and our ministries.

1 Timothy 4:11-16 “11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
>>> Command and teach the things Scripture tells us to. Watch my life and doctrine closely.

1 Timothy 5:17-20 “17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.” 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.”
>>> Treat elders with double honor. But when they sin, take two or three witnesses and rebuke them publicly.

Revelation 1:5-6 “…To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father–to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
>>> To Jesus, who loves us and freed us by his blood, be glory and power forever. Amen.

I think it would be healthy for UBF people to ask this “blasphemous” question: What is the Scriptural attitude toward beer and wine? For example, I wonder how this verse will be handled (or even discussed) in the upcoming 1 Timothy workshop? It was missing from the diagram…

1 Timothy 5:23 “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.”

Scripture warns against getting drunk or having much wine.

Ephesians 5:18 “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,”

1 Timothy 3:8 “In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.”

I do not advocate an eat, drink and be merry attitude. I do not think we should drown our sorrows in alcohol. I am sure that we need to be aware of our brothers and sisters who struggle with addictions or have a sinful past of partying too much.

But I think some people should just chill out a bit with some alcohol! None of us is really that holy. We are not really so pure. Our righteousness is filthy rags. We can only really depend on God’s righteousness, and that does not depend on whether we drink wine occasionally.

We should not drink out of sorrow. But Scripture seems to indicate we are allowed to drink wine out of joy:

Psalm 104:14,15 “He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: 15 wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.”

And we could learn from the wisdom God gave Solomon. His proverbs warn against the dangers of wine and beer, but even Solomon wrote:

Ecclesiastes 9:7 “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.”

As I already shared, I learned today about what kinds of questions we should be asking during Bible study discussions. We should be asking discovery and learning-type questions which allow someone to find the truth about Jesus. In contrast, my approach to Bible study for as long as I can remember, was to dictate truth about Jesus. This kind of approach might help me, but is quite ineffective for leading others to a correct understanding of God’s messages.

The pre-reading for today’s lesson is: Colossians 1:15-23, Hebrews 9:11-28, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and John 15:1-17, as well as chapters 8, 9 and 10of the book “In Christ Alone” by Sinclair B. Ferguson.

The Biblical identity of Jesus is that he is the Son of God. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, prophets like Isaiah foretold Jesus’ identity, purpose and work. Jesus was fully God and fully human. His incarnation was not the beginning of his life. Jesus exists in all eternity and by Him all things were created. Jesus came to be the Messiah, to do the work of saving sinners. Jesus paid the price for sin required due to the Fall of man.

Genesis 15 was shared by Pastor Wayne before the table discussions. This intrigued me greatly, and revealed a wonderful truth about Jesus from Abraham’s covenant with God:

1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars–if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” 8 But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates– 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” Genesis 15:1-21

The covenant in this passage is similar to when a strong nation makes a covenant with a weaker nation. In ancient times, they would seal a covenant with the arrangement of animals cut in two pieces, and a trough of blood down the middle. The two parties would walk through the blood as a sign that “May I become like these animals if I break this covenant.”

The key point about Abraham’s covenant with God is that Abraham did not walk through the trough of blood. Only God went through (shown by the smoking firepot with a blazing torch). Abraham had fallen into a deep sleep! God was the one who went through the trough of blood, demonstrating the taking on the role of both parties. So if the covenant would be broken, God would pay the price. The covenant with Abraham’s descendants was, of course, broken by Abraham and his descendants. Mankind’s sin broke the covenant. And God paid the price as he promised, through Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice once and for all on the cross. Jesus is God who became broken to pay the price for our transgressions and to heal our wounds.

Christian Doctrine Series:
Lesson 1: Scripture – Be Armed! Lesson #1
Lesson 2: God – Be Armed! Lesson #2

The question the sparked my mind today is this: “Was Jesus created or a Creator?” From a Scripture standpoint, it is impossible to conclude that Jesus is a created being. Jesus is God who incarnated into a human body, but Jesus is Lord of Lords and has existed throughout eternity.

I thought that if something is not true, why bother asking the question? Shouldn’t we be preaching the truth? Through the ensuing discussions however, I realized this question was asked in order to discover the truth, not to dictate truth. Then I instantly realized that the thousands of questions I had asked (in making hundreds of Bible study question sheets) were asked with the intention of dictating truth. I realized today that after doing this for many years, I had ended up dictating ideals and opinions. I started out with the good intention of telling the truth to others, but ended up binding their lives to a system of pious actions. I had lost the joy of discovery and investigative learning!

So I wonder, why do you ask questions? Are you telling the Bible what you want it to say? Are you telling others to follow your church’s programs?

A LinkedIn discussion reveals some really good reasons why people ask questions. When we study the Bible and preach Christ, we must take utmost care to know these things. Otherwise, we can use the sword of the Bible as a weapon.

Here is my favorite list of the purpose of questions from the LinkedIn discussion:

* To obtain an answer
* To open a dialogue
* To show interest
* To signal your presence
* To encourage someone else to express themselves
* To demonstrate knowledge
* To lead someone to think or respond in a particular way
* To obtain the corresponding action implied
* To trigger a debate
* To commence a joke

When I left UBF, I took 5 months to do it. I asked many questions and raised many issues in order to open a dialogue. And I am now embarking on a new phase of my spiritual journey toward Heaven. I am seeking the joy of discovering the truth!

This workshop is already giving me good ideas of how not to study the Bible. These are not new ideas to me however. I can see them in every conference and most Bible studies I’ve attended the past 24 years.

A) Command/promise switching. The title of this workshop is “Be a good minister of Christ Jesus”. This title is phrased as a command. But does Scripture state this as a command? No. The verse says “If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.” 1 Timothy 4:6 NIV. The words “you will be” indicate a promise or a fruit or a result of a command. The command is to “point these things out”. The exhortation is to “Command and teach these things.” (v. 11) But the title of the workshop sets a mantra that switches out the promise or effect with a command.

B) Location baiting. Often I was excited about some new change for a conference, only to find that the “new change” got switched back to something else at the last minute. It is no different for this workshop. Those who registered early were told the conference would be at a Salvation Army campground called Camp Wonderland. I have heard that this is a very good place to have a workshop or retreat or conference. But a few days before registration closes for this workshop, the location was canceled and switched back to the local church building.

C) Subjective selection process. You might think that the public links for this workshop would indicate an open enrollment with objective standards for who could attend. The reason given for the location switch was that there were a “large number” of interested candidates. But the behind-the-scenes emails state: “Only about 45 leaders will be accepted to this workshop.” If this information was made public, it would not be a big deal. But the perception of a large, open enrollment process is contradicted by the hidden selection-by-your-leader process. This selection process is entirely subjective, with no evidence of an objective evaluation criteria. Members are left to wonder why some where chosen and others were not.

D) Missing role of the Holy Spirit. The prayer given for this workshop in an email to directors was this: “We pray that key UBF leaders serving throughout the USA and Canada, primarily those serving in the capacity of a fellowship leader, may be strengthened by meeting God our Savior and having a broader view of his church, and may learn to serve more effectively in God’s household as good ministers of Christ Jesus.” Again, there is only mention of a binary god: 1) God our Savior and 2) Christ Jesus. The four question sheets sent as material for this workshop do not mention the Holy Spirit even once. How can anyone minister the gospel without the Holy Spirit?

E) Telling the Bible what to say. UBF idealism has many values, but four important values are: 1) the acceptance of salvation in two gods 2) the family of God 3) growth or development and 4) servantship. The question sheets given for this workshop are carefully constructed to emphasize these values, prooftexting them from 1 Timothy chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The key verse chosen should have prompted an immediate question for those who would want to be ministers of Christ Jesus: what things should we be pointing out to our brothers and sisters? The passages in 1 Timothy are ripe with things we should be pointing out.

F) Incoherent arranging of Scripture. If the workshop studied 1 Timothy in some logical way, such as the way it is presented in the Bible, people would be able to grasp the truths God wants to convey through Apostle Paul to Timothy and to us. Unfortunately below is how the verses are arranged in four lessons. My head was spinning as I tried to follow the verses and questions. Notice how the verses are carefully selected and arranged in an attempt to support four themes important to UBF idealism. The arrangement is so noisy that I’m not really sure if they do support the themes, but I’m guessing there is some sort of wisdom that says they do.

1. GOD OUR SAVIOR (who God is and who Jesus is) ***
1 Timothy 2:3–6a; 4:3–4 (1:1,12–17; 3:16; 4:10; 6:13–17)
Key Verses: 2:3–4

2. GOD’S HOUSEHOLD: THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD
1 Timothy 2:1–2,8–15; 3:1–16
Key Verse: 3:15

3. HOW TO GROW AS A GOOD MINISTER OF CHRIST JESUS
1 Timothy 4:6–16; 6:11–12
Key Verse: 4:7b

4.HOW TO SERVE AS A GOOD MINISTER IN GOD’S HOUSEHOLD
1 Timothy 4:13; 5:1–25
Key Verse: 4:13

*** Note that the Holy Spirit (who has a critical role in ministry) is mentioned by Apostle Paul twice in these passages, but not once in any of the workshop lessons:

1 Timothy 3:16 “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”

1 Timothy 4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”

Do we have a healthy expectation for the Holy Spirit to work? Or do we insist we know exactly what our Lord wants to do? Are we willing to submit to the Spirit’s prompting and walk out into the unknown? Peter did just that. He walked on the water, and met his Lord.

In April 2011, I decided to follow the Spirit into the unknown. I began to see my sin of telling God what to do, and telling the Bible what I wanted the Bible to say. I have met my Lord in a far more personal and significant way than I have in the past. It is not an easy thing to do, for sure. We start sinking like Peter did. But we have our Lord Jesus to cry out to. His hand is always there to catch us.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Matthew 14:25-33 NIV

A quick search finds two more verses in Scripture that mention love covering wrongs and offenses:

Proverbs 10:12 “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” (NIV)

Proverbs 17:9 “Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” (NIV)

Because these verses do warn about bringing up matters of sin and wrongdoings repeatedly, I will not keep discussing specific sins of other people on this blog. However, I have no regret over revealing various wrongdoings the first time. Scripture does implore us to refrain from repeated regurgitations of the same sins. But Scripture does not implore us to “cover up every sin and never talk about past problems”. I see no evidence that Scripture wants us to prevent sins from being exposed. Nor do I see any evidence in Scripture that I am only allowed to speak in positive terms in regard to God’s servants or toward other people.

UBF has a rather dangerous (in my opinion) and undocumented interpretation of the verses above. When you become a leader in UBF or if you express concern over a leader’s sin or if you even question whether a leader did something wrong, you quickly discover this unwritten teaching called “covering over sin”.

This covering principle is very important to UBF leaders (especially the Korean missionaries). The teaching really should be documented as one of UBF’s major doctrines. The UBF teaching goes beyond what Scripture intended, and teaches that we must always present UBF and God’s servants in a positive light, even if the leaders made serious mistakes. The teaching goes even further, teaching that no one should say anything negative about UBF or leaders in UBF, because “love covers over a multitude of sins”. The teaching also includes a clause that allows a leader to say all kinds of negative things about people who left UBF, or about a Bible student who is disobedient.

In order to get the correct teaching and see through the duplicity of the UBF teaching, we need to “go back to the Bible”. Scripture does indeed call for balance when dealing with sins. Leaders who teach the Bible are indeed worthy of “double honor”. We are directed by Scripture to avoid gossip (Proverbs 11:13, Proverbs 16:28, 2 Corinthians 12:20). We need to be cautious about repeatedly raising mistakes leaders in the church have made.

At the same time, leaders who sin are to be reproved before everyone with the testimony of two or three witnesses. “17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18 For Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The worker deserves his wages.’ 19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. 20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning. 21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.” (1 Timothy 5:17-21 NIV)

Scripture clearly implores us to walk in the light. The verses that warn against stirring up conflict do not negate these verses, for example: “6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:6-8 NIV)

I am looking to Proverbs and many other passages in Scripture to find the Lord’s wisdom. I pray that this wisdom may guide and correct me as I work with a few friends, seek and follow the Spirit’s promptings, and embark on a massive project to explain, expose and examine the UBF belief system, both the documented and undocumented teachings.

“1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.

2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth;
an outsider, and not your own lips.

3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.

6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.”

Proverbs 27:1-6 (NIV)

Please read all of Proverbs 27. this is one of my favorite Proverbs passages! Especially verse 14: “If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.”

Lesson 1 is entitled “Bibliology: Regarding the Scripture”. Required pre-reading for the study was Psalm 119:1-176, Isaiah 55:8-11, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and two short publications: “Survey of Bible Doctrine” by Sid Litke and “Leading Even When You Don’t Feel It” by Perry Noble. Today’s post is a sharing of what I learned.

First of all, I learned some new vocabulary. I am not a fan of big words (just ask my wife!), but I see the importance of knowing and using correct words and meanings. The word “eisegesis” is “the interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one’s own ideas” (what someone says the Bible says). The word “exegesis is an “an explanation or critical interpretation of a text” (what the Bible teaches). For more than 20 years, I have had an eisegesis study of the Bible. As such, my Christian life became filled with contradictions. Yet I could not see those contradictions (though I could always sense a dark cloud of confusion and angst caused by the contradictions). Now, as I step back and start to listen to what the Bible teaches about the Bible (exegesis), I can see those contradictions more and more clearly. And the dark cloud is gone! The angst has turned into peace and confidence in the Lord.

Here are some things I wrote down during the discussions at this first lesson Bible study: The Bible is the truth and the complete and final truth. The Bible is our Christian canon. The Bible is the rule and standard I must measure up my beliefs and actions to. Study the Bible for transformation, not information. Let the Bible teach us. Righteousness is being right with God and right with people. Interpret the Bible with the Bible. Teaching, rebuking, correcting and training are good, but not in and of themselves (What good is a boxer who is well-trained but never enters the ring to fight?).

1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all. 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. — Acts 19:1-10

What was the point of the messenger at Grace church here in Detroit? The point was the work of the Holy Spirit, which leads to group repentance and to the name of the Lord Jesus being held in high honor. The messenger gave a good overview of how the Spirit works. He mentioned the key times the Spirit worked significantly in Scripture. He mentioned how several things in Acts 19, especially the verses after verse 10, make all of us uncomfortable, but that is okay. The Spirit works to bring us out of our comfort zone. His request to us is to stop resisting the Spirit and start seeking the Spirit. He mentioned how he believed the Spirit would do great work this fall, but that no one knows what that would look like. He planted an expectation and a hope to submit to the Spirit’s leading.

I was prompted to make this post on my blog when I noticed a UBF message on Acts 19 that was given recently at the dedication of a new Bible house in Venezuela (Merdia). What was the point of the UBF message?

On Aug. 21 at 11 am, we had the inauguration ceremony with 12 people. M. Juan delivered a powerful message titled, “The work of God in Tyrannus,” based on Acts 19:1-10. From this message, we could receive much grace of God and the clear direction to establish our house church like a Bible center where disciples of Jesus will be raised up through Bible study. In his message, M. Juan focused on the importance of one person who repents of his sins and how God works through him.

The UBF messenger found a verse in the Bible that mentioned daily discussions in a lecture hall. Then he springboarded into talking about one person who repents and how to establish a Bible house to have Bible studies for college students. This somehow planted vision in those listening to raise up many disciples of Jesus through Bible study.

Perhaps the UBF messenger should have kept reading the next verses in Acts 19 to see how God’s word actually spread widely and grew in power. Those who use Scripture to springboard into some sort of idealism are in danger of becoming like the seven sons of Sceva.

11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. 13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. — Acts 19:11-20

“Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”

In simple terms, prooftexting is the practice of using quotations from a document in order to support your idea. When that document is the Bible, those ideas can become tools to bind and isolate other people’s consciences in harmful ways. As I look back on Bible messages I have written, I see that I have become a master prooftexter, unfortunately.

Here are some ways people have defined prooftexting using the Bible (did I just use prooftexting to make my point about prooftexting?)

“A proof-text is a verse or short passage from the Bible used by someone as part of his proof for a doctrinal belief he wishes to substantiate to others. However, since verses and passages may rely extensively on the context in which they appear for correct interpretation, pulling these out of their context and having them stand alone in a “proof” can, at times, be very misleading. In addition, a set of such proof-texts can completely ignore other passages which, if added to the mix, might well lead to an entirely different conclusion. Someone who relies strongly only on a list of proof-texts in order to make a doctrinal argument may have a very weak case for his argument.” source

What is the danger of prooftexting an idea with the Bible? The danger is first of all that we may (and probably will) miss the author’s intended point. We may then in fact miss God’s message entirely! An even greater danger is that we may end up telling God what we want Him to believe about us. We may end up building a worldwide network of people who think, act and believe the same incorrect fallicies. Ultimately, prooftexting will lead to destroying our chances of unity in the Lord. The splintered state of Christianity in 2011 is proof of the discord such a method causes. We end up building walls around our proof-texted ideas, yet claim to be “one in the Lord.”

How can we avoid prooftexting? I would think the most important solution would be to submit to the Holy Spirit. When we are indwelled with Him, our mind will be open to think clearly. Our heart will be full of the things of God which unite: grace, truth, faith, hope and love. Practically, I have found some ways to avoid prooftexting my own idea. First, always make an effort to quote multiple verses. One verse by itself is dangerous. Read the entire passage, the entire book if necessary. Second, get multiple sources of input. Unity is broken when we only listen to our own church’s teachers. Read the ancient men and women of faith! Learn from other people, other books, other blogs, other people who think differently than you do.

(more about prooftexting)

Reason #1: The first reason is because staying a member of UBF in my situation means supporting single-family church-planting (called pioneering in UBF terms). My leaving is a rejection of the lone housechurch pioneering idea.

Living as a single-family housechurch in America causes severe dis-unity. It is an arrogant way to live. It presumptuously tells other Christians that I am God’s gift to this city. Perhaps there have been times in history where single families could be a blessing, such as in jungle or remote communities of unreached people. I reject this method as a viable way to serve God in America because it adds to the mutlitude of splintered factions of Christian denominations.

Certainly someone will ask, well why did you go to Detroit in a single family pioneering effort? In 2003, after much prayer and discussion, I was willing to leave Toledo and go to Detroit to pioneer a new church. I did not want to go out alone however. I requested help from a committee of fellow believers. I was willing to wait until someone could be sent to join us. In the end we did indeed leave by ourselves, in hopes that someone would come soon. And by that time, my speaking up had shown me clearly that group communication and group pioneering efforts would not be tolerated in UBF.

Someone did come to Detroit that first year. A missionary I had never met before was introduced to us. He said his name was Matthew. After one year, he suddenly disappeared. I found out later his name was Paul. He himself was in the process of leaving UBF. Also one Bible student from Toledo came to Detroit because of her job. She and her family have become dear friends to us. But neither of these people’s coming to Detroit constitutes an intentional, motivated, organizational effort by UBF to plant a church in Detroit. Nothing was done in 8 years to purposefully build a community of faith.

Personally I am a hermit-type person, one who naturally likes being by myself. But even I know that I need healthy relationships with other people: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the one who falls and has no one to help him up!” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

As a Christian, I and my family need a place where we can use our gifts: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you…” – 1 Timothy 4:14

We all need a place where we can grow: “They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the breaking of bread and prayer.” – Acts 2:42

And we need to belong to something bigger than ourself: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” – Romans 12:4-5

Why is my leaving UBF for the sake of Apostolic unity in 1 Corinthians 12?

Reason #2: The second reason is because staying a member of UBF in my situation means supporting a director-style leadership model. My leaving is a rejection of the benevolent dictator leadership model.

Most people love power. Imagine having the power and authority to build any kind of church you wanted! As the Director of Detroit UBF, I had almost no accountability. Once a year someone would email me to make sure all my numbers were reported for weekly Sunday service and Bible study attendance. Once a year someone would remind me that we had not sent any offerings to the central chapter. As long as I attended two or three staff conferences a year, I was deemed to be fit for service.

As a director I was expected to build my church by ambition. Numerous times I was encouraged to be ambitious, to go to a campus and find some students. I was directed to pray for and identify 12 families to join us. Yes, I knew how to get coworkers: I had to ask. I had to demonstrate personal ambition by publishing good things about my city. I had to do something to attract missionaries, making them want to come to us. The thing is, I am in Detroit. It is rare to find someone wants to come to Detroit, often named the most miserable city and the most dangerous city in America (Note: I have come to love Detroit and its people. It is truly an amazing and friendly city!). I also found that Koreans (and Asians in general) would rather do just about anything besides come to live in an African-American city like Detroit and build a church where it would most likely be filled with African-American students. I now want to stay in Detroit as long as possible because I love the African-American community.

I resigned as Director of Detroit UBF mainly because I do not have the selfish ambition required to be successful at such a leadership model. Apostle Paul once rejoiced even if some do preach Christ out of selfish ambition: “15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” Philippians 1:15-18 (NIV)

Yet in the very next chapter, Apostle Paul also warned: “3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:2-4 (NIV)

I am willing to be a pastor, shepherd, missionary, coach or mentor, but I will never be a director.

Why is my leaving UBF for the sake of Apostolic unity in 1 Corinthians 12?

Reason #3: The third reason is because staying a member of UBF in my situation means supporting the idea that the Holy Spirit is an energy source as well as further grieving of the Holy Spirit. My leaving is a submission to the Holy Spirit, who is the Third Person of the Triune God and an act of repentance for resisting and grieving Him.

I truly belive the Reformed idea that the church can teach and exhort, but the matters of faith and practice are matters of individual conscience before God. No church governing body can compel or bind a person’s conscience.

As I look back on my Christian life, I see that I have resisted and even grieved the Holy Spirit by my actions. My leaving UBF is an act of repentance, a decision to submit to the Spirit and strive to no longer resist Him.

The following Bible study about the work of the Spirt and the sins against the Spirit continue to be most helpful to me. (http://executableoutlines.com/hs/hs_12.htm)

The Holy Spirit works in the following ways:
a. Revealing and confirming the Word of Truth – He 2:3-4
b. Convicting hearts of sin through the Word – Jn 16:7
c. Regenerating those who respond to the gospel – Jn 3:5
d. Indwelling those who obey the gospel – Ac 2:38; 1Co 6:19
e. Leading those who walk in the Spirit – Ga 5:16-18,25
f. Producing the fruit of the Spirit in those so led – Ga 5:22-23
g. Strengthening those seeking to please God – Ep 3:16
h. Serving as a seal, marking Christians as God’s own – Ep 1:13
i. Serving as an earnest (guarantee) of our inheritance – Ep 1:14

It is possible for us to sin against the Spirit:
a. We can resist the Spirit – Ac 7:51
b. We can quench the Spirit – 1Th 5:19
c. We can grieve the Spirit – Ep 4:30
d. We can insult the Spirit – He 10:29
e. We can blaspheme the Spirit – Mt 12:31-32

The Toledo UBF messenger does not discuss Jesus’ love and sacrifice to give his people spiritual rest from the heavy burdens of this world. The Toledo UBF messenger does not even discuss Jesus giving us rest for our souls through his death of the cross for our sins and resurrection from the grave. In fact, the messenger’s focus is that people must find spiritual rest through works rather than Jesus. The messenger writes “Practically, we can find rest through Christian fellowship that reflect the real presence of Christ Jesus.”

It seems that the Toledo author uses the Bible passage just to pick an idea to get his/her thinking rolling. In this case, the Toledo author picks “rest”. But after s/he picks an idea, “rest”, his/her thinkig takes off like an unrestrained wild roller-coaster ride. Once s/he picks the idea of “rest” from the passage, the rest of his/her thinking or analysis of “rest” has nothing to do with the Bible passage. The Toledo author is thinking very hard about “rest” but his/her thinking lacks biblical foundation.

I actually taught that rest in Jesus is to do more work! I even implied that the more “spiritual” you are, the more work you will do, and thus the more rest you will find.

For this I am deeply sorry. I publicly repent of such horrid teachings. I am so thankful for those who were willing to speak honest words regarding what I was doing.

The original critique of my message from 2006 is here: http://rsqubf.livejournal.com/86003.html

And here are some honest observations that someone made after reading my message:

Here are some examples of UBF’s “true rest” and its “therapeutic” effects from a previous discussion:

* Andrew and his elder brother Ivan were down with influenza and temperature above 39C. Yet, they were commanded to attend a meeting. Ivan did not attend the meeting, therefore his wedding was postponed. Andrew – being younger and not so courageous to decline – attended the meeting that lasted after midnight when there was scarce public transport. After that, he got a sever pneumonia and later bronchitis, which healed completely only after leaving UBF, because in UBF he had never enough time to rest and recover.

* Before conferences, they had 15 different meetings a week in Kiev (in Heidelberg, it was similar, by the way) where they had to come to the center

* Those who wanted to visit their parents in the summer holidays were publicly dispraised

* Those members who attended other churches in Kiev were considered “lost sheep” [must not be “true rest” if you “keep the Sabbath holy” in a different church]

* You could not be in a good standing with UBF without attending *all* meetings

* One shepherdess was told to come to a meeting, although she had fever and her infant at home

* When the wife of the leader left the hospital in order to attend a UBF meeting, though she was on a drip, this was presented as exemplary behavior

* If you leave Kiev and visit another church in another town, you are denounced by the leader [Again, the “true Sabbath rest” must only be in UBF.]

Only after you leave UBF do you learn that “rest” in the Bible may actually means rest and “freedom” may actually mean freedom.

A reputable teacher knows and teaches that Jesus himself is a Christians’ true Sabbath rest. But in UBF, with the holy importance given to the Sunday meeting(s) and equating it (and only it) with “keeping the Sabbath holy,” I did not once hear that Jesus is our true Sabbath rest, in my decades spent there. UBF effectively turned Jesus’ teaching on its head and made Sunday my least favorite day: Man was made for the Sabbath, not the Sabbath for Man.

1. Be renewed by attending Grace Community Church together. We cannot sit in a pit of spiritual darkness with no outside dialogue or support, just living our lives and upholding the perception of faith and obedience. We acknowledge that the nine members of our house church have nine vastly different needs for fellowship. We will continue attending the Grace worship service and seek ways to contribute to this wonderful part of the body of Christ.

2. Continue Bible study through these two series: “What is a house church?”, followed by “A Study of Galatians”. These series were developed by the Bible Study Committee in University Bible Fellowship. We are loosely following this study, but we do not use any question sheets and we do not use the messages. I personally read the messages beforehand and prepare a one page summary of some key points. We have studied two lessons and learned that a house church begins with a husband and a wife who love God, love each other and love their children. When I read Andy Stumpf’s sermon from Canada on Hosea 2, I included this as the second house church lesson.

3. Find our role if possible in University Bible Fellowship. Some in UBF have said their good-byes, and some seem confused asking me: Are you in UBF or not? This is an odd question to me, but still it is valid. I am in UBF, for what it matters. In other words, I am willing to serve God in the context of UBF. I do appreciate the many years of Bible study in UBF. Yet, it seems that I have little to learn from those who emphasize authority, discipline and obedience. I have learned those things and need to move on to the greater things of God. I have doubts as to whether the UBF community will continue to accept me, but I pray it may be possible. I pray the wind of the Spirit of Truth may sweep over us and kindle a new passion to find and enable the gifts Christ has distributed to people in UBF. May the Holy Spirit be our Director.