Christ the Truth - John 14:6
By Brian Franco, used with permission
A while back I came across an article where the writer elaborated on his distaste for the “worship” industry, and how it muddies what “true Christian worship” is for him. Now, despite some of the more Catholic-y bits scattered about, the author’s main points felt pretty spot on, and more importantly it got me to revisit a topic that has troubled me for most of my Christian life: “what is worship”?
The foundation of our Christian faith is Jesus Christ the son of God. He is the author & finisher of our faith :
looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
There can be no Gospel message or preaching without the story of the sacrifice of Christ as the Redeemer of mankind. But something has happened to the integrity of the Gospel of Christ over time, it has become diluted, twisted, contaminated, etc.
We will find the true gospel in the Scriptures. The following verse is called the ‘Gospel in a nutshell’:
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
We see today a constant attack against Christ’s doctrine. A growing number of people, especially among proponents of the ecumenical movement & emergent church movement, are now saying: “Doctrine divides, experience unites” or “Doctrine is not important. Let’s lay aside our doctrinal differences and let’s unite.” It sounds nice but sadly is not biblical.
Is sound doctrine important? Is truth important? Of course it is!
For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand. Mark 13:22-23
“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. . . .For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying (G2205 = Jealousy), and strife (G2054= contentions ), and divisions (G1370= dissension, division, sedition ), are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? . . . Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s. 1 Corinthians. 3:1-23
This bible verse is often misinterpreted. When reading it, at simple view, it may seem to some that Paul is saying division among Christian denominations is carnal. Some go as far as to accuse their brethren of being carnal just because they expose false doctrines or false teachers, not realizing they are the ones acting in a carnal way. Others even say that Peter (Cephas) is the founder of the Catholic church & for that reason we should accept this denomination as part of the body, otherwise it would mean we are carnal or divisive.
We are going to use the same 4 steps mentioned previously, to study PSALM 23:
1/ Setting the context: (abc’s)
A) – Author — The Holy Spirit inspired King David to write this psalm.
B) – Background — When did the author live? In what culture? Born in 907 BC, he reigned as king of Israel for 40 years, dying at age 70 in 837 BC. He was a farm boy, a shepherd & a musician, then became a warrior & a king. David had a heart for the Lord.
C) – Context — Book of Psalm, Chapter 23:1-6 The Christian sees in this Psalm a wonderful foreshadowing of “The Good Shepherd” Jesus Christ, (John 10) who gave His life for His sheep & watches over them even now.
For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if ye will hear his voice, do not harden your heart” Psalm 95:7-8
John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
Luke 11:28 “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”
Not all Bible versions are the same and the version we choose is critical for sound doctrine. When studying the Scriptures is always good to compare the version we are reading with other good translation, that will give us more understanding on some words, or you can also use a bible dictionary.
A proper understanding of the real meaning of spiritual authority is greatly needed. We in these posts make no attempt to deal exhaustively with this topic, but we just look to give some examples. At the end of the post we mention some good readings on the subject for those that need more information.
When we became Christians many years ago and started this blog (in Spanish), a Catholic priest wrote requesting from us the gift of silence or as he said: an ‘obsequious silence’ to the mistakes of the leaders of the Catholic Church, according to him the only true church etc . This misunderstanding of spiritual authority (looking to serve man or organization rather than God) is the reason many keep silence & tolerate spiritual abuse in this large denomination, as well in many others.
It’s that time of year again when the controversy of whether or not Christians should participate in Halloween begins to pop up. I found that some evangelical pastors, evangelist, singers, etc. are recommending Christians to not be afraid of participating in this holiday and some even say Halloween is really a ‘Christian’ holiday.
We should ask ourselves first, what is the origin of Halloween ? – As innocent as Halloween may seem to some, it is not something to be taken lightly. The Word of God give us some principles on which we can make a decision. 1 Cor. 10:31 says: ” Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God“. Do we glorify God by celebrating or participating in this holiday?
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