Author: eejoseph

Attention, Stand at Ease, Stand Easy,

eejoseph

The soldier on parade has three elementary stances: standing easy, stand at ease, and attention.  Parade is when military personnel are under scrutiny and a display of skills is on the table. Military attention requires (1) eyes front (2) no movement (3 ) readiness for instructions.  Christian attention has several unending demands.  Here are several things which demand our attention.

Showy righteousness 

Matthew 6:1 (NASB)

1. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

False Prophets

Matthew 7:15 (NASB)

15. “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

People in authority 

Matthew 10:17 (NASB)

17. “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;

Acts 5:35 (NASB)

35. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men.

The yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees

Matthew 16:6 (NASB)

6. And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Matthew 16:11 (NASB)

11. “How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Matthew 16:12 (NASB)

12. Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Luke 12:1 (NASB)

1. Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Wrongs and forgiveness

Luke 17:3 (NASB)

3. “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

Showy Christians 

Luke 20:46 (NASB)

46. “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets,

Unnecessary and dangerous burdens 

Luke 21:34 (NASB)

34. “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;

Sorcerers

Acts 8:6 (NASB)

6. The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.

Acts 8:10 (NASB)

10. and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.”

Acts 8:11 (NASB)

11. And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts.

Paul’s Speeches

Acts 16:14 (NASB)

14. A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

Church members

Acts 20:28 (NASB)

28. “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Myths and genealogies

1 Timothy 1:4 (NASB)

4. nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith.

Titus 1:14 (NASB)

14. not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.

Wine and profits

1 Timothy 3:8 (NASB)

8. Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain,

Seducing spirits and demonic doctrines

1 Timothy 4:1 (NASB)

1. But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

Public Reading

1 Timothy 4:13 (NASB)

13. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.

The things spoken to us

Hebrews 2:1 (NASB)

1. For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.

Priestly duties

Hebrews 7:13 (NASB)

13. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar.

More certain prophetic word

2 Peter 1:19 (NASB)

19. So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Grieve and be relieved because I have a heart

eejoseph,

What would you do if you lost all your possessions?

Not grasping precisely what possessions are included in the ALL in the question, I know that I would grieve and be relieved.  Some losses would be exceedingly grievous, others would cause a sigh of relief because the connection to the possession is no more.   The energy I am accustomed to expending on my property for maintenance and repair can be spent elsewhere.  

Loss of all would bring a new day, and an opportunity to contemplate that having a mind – a heart –  to grasp the seismic movement that loss brings  pointing me in  a new and  hopeful directions would be necessary.

The laying to rest of the layman presbytery

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Not one of the founders of the church organizations of the last three centuries was a biblical scholar.  Not one of them was an eyewitness of the majesty that Peter saw in the mount (2:1:16-18).  The Bible is all they both clergy and laymen have.  That fact stands out with the unique literature each of them claims to be extra-biblical authority.  Neither Peter nor Paul proposed that the average church member should be expected to guide the church to effective productivity.  God will certainly manifest his power, authority and grace through church members of modest intelligence, but prophets, apostles, evangelists and pastor-teachers will never be replaced by ill-equipped members like William Miller or wild-eyed fanatics who seem to be pillars in the Church Christ built.  The presbytery will always be created by ordination and the prophetic word, therefore having all laymen in the presbytery is a demonic fantasy.

Pastoral incompetence and pride

The reason pastors fail is they have no interest in having parishioners who rise to ministry in their footsteps.  They do not impress their congregants with the unique altitude of the biblcal texts. They pander to every sensual whim while pretending to be judges of immorality and paragons of loyalty. The layman is often found racing half-cocked, never sufficiently humble to learn what biblical interpretation entails, and often daring to teach when they themselves have not scratched the surface of the field where the treasures lie.   They have created in their several traditions infallible sources of commentary. The notion that laymen are God’s primary guardians of the mystery of godliness is absurd, because it was the men trained by Yeshua who challenged Judaism, pushed the church beyond the borders of Judea and Samaria, and were the primary contributors to the New Testament. Even among the apostolic college Yeshua appointed and empowered Peter to “strenghten the brothers”, and the task of pastoral care in all churches entails training the saints to do ministry. Laymen may be critical in witnessing to the power of the Risen Christ, but a church built on laymen and guided and guarded by laymen has not yet been recorded.

A precious few elders and pastors

That’s conclude with what Peter saw as the primary witness that creates our witness.  There were three men with Yeshua in the mount when God’s  voice assured them that Yeshua was his VOICE, and a quick look around our 21st century room we can. See him very many are setting themselves up to be a modern version of the voice.  If Yeshua’s voice (as reported by his main eyewitness and their immediate disciples) is not all we want to hear then  the more sure word of prophecy is completely bogus.

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2Pet 1:16 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 2Pet 1:17 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 2Pet 1:18

Take note that we do not have 12 Gospels in the record of what Christ said and did.  Why should we expect Christ to put the transmission of his sayings to this generation into the hands of thousands of biblically illiterate laymen or pastors?  But let us observe our own practice, too often having nothing biblical to put forward.

12)  Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; 13) the beginning of his talking (mouth) is folly and the end of it is wicked madness. (Ecclesiastes 10:12-13, NASB)

Trade your traditions for the timeless

eejoseph

The point of the saying  in the book of Hebrews (13:8)”Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever” is not to address God’s immutability.  The unchanging God is fully defined in the first chapter of the book of Hebrews, where the Word of God is the Creator.

(10). … “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the works of Your hands; (11) They will perish, but You remain; And they all will become old like a garment, (12) And like a mantle You will roll them up; Like a garment they will also be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.” (Hebrews 1:10-12, NASB)

Philosophy and empty deception

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8, NASB)

They will tell us that bodies are important and that spirit is all important, so when we say “Jesus Christ” we ought to be referring to the incarnate Word, who was not present at the creation of the world. Our confession impels us to say that God was seen by angels for the first time when Christ came into the world. So, the saying – the same yesterday today and forever – is affirming the God in whatever form as love, as abounding in goodness, and full of mercy and compassion.

Empty traditions do not cut it

The book of Hebrews is concerned with change, the change from humanity – the ancestors and the prophets – as the channels of God’s interaction with humanity to divinity as the initiator and guarantor of human security.

The book of Hebrews is concerned with change, the change from the shadows and moonlight of the levitical system and Mosaic instruction.  It is not destructive to discard the erotic system of priesthood and all the regulations and ordinances, because Moses himself indicated that he would pass into obscurity.  Jesus of Bethlehem is not the same as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus of Capernaum or Jesus of the Cross or Jesus of the right hand of God in heaven.  Jesus is not interrupting funerals, and pronouncing woes on scribes and Pharisees.  So if we answer the question “Same what?’we realize that Hebrews in 13:8 is not talking about immutability, but eternity.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Heb 13:8

The Hebrew people and very many modern Christians are more interested in empty traditions including those traditions  of the Hebrew people. Tabernacles, observations of days, weeks, months and years, dietary scruples, prohibitions on who to marry, and their books that they have written are truly all hollow pillars.

I suppose that with all the modern talk about law, God’s true this and that,  and the (unlikely) priority of compliance with all that God has ever said, there is no tradition originating with God’s Anointed.  The law is not of faith.  An orange is not an apple. If you are going to be justified by the law you have spurned the grace of God and Christ is of no effect to you, and your life is a Hollywood production, cooked up in the dark caves of Jewish and American rebellion against the truth of the gospel.

Ignoring of truth and elevating tradition

21. Jesus answered them, “I did one deed, and you all marvel. 22. “For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. 23. “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? (John 7:21-23, NASB)

Gotta have a controversy?

If you think you can be radical and extreme I can too: easily and without controversy. You take your law with its shadows, your moon, your ancient traditions, your elementary principles ylour slave economoy offerings, and pretend they are food, and I will have one thing, Christ crucified.