​After doing my own research, I would like to present what is known (as of the writing of this blog) regarding the allegation of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford regarding Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
 
Dr. Ford can’t recall basic details of a traumatic event in her life.  I have read reports on memory by experts that can explain that.
 
At the time the alleged assault happened she didn’t tell her mother or even her best friend.  Four people she identified as being at the party (including Brett Kavanaugh) all deny being at the gathering in question, including her life-long friend.  “CNN has learned that the committee has reached out to a longtime friend of Ford named Leland Ingham Keyser.  ‘"I understand that you have been identified as an individual who was in attendance at a party that occurred circa 1982 described in a recent Washington Post article,’ a committee staffer wrote Keyser earlier this week.  On Saturday night, her lawyer, Howard Walsh, released a statement to CNN and the Senate Judiciary Committee.  ‘Simply put,’ Walsh said, ‘Ms. Keyser does not know Mr. Kavanaugh and she has no recollection of ever being at a party or gathering where he was present, with, or without, Dr. Ford.’  The lawyer acknowledged to CNN that Keyser is a lifelong friend of Ford's” (CNN.com, Committee contacts Ford's friend about party; 'she has no recollection' of it, lawyer says, 9/22/2018}. Her own immediate family doesn’t appear to be backing her up.  Her mother, father, and two siblings are absent from a letter of support released by relatives, mostly on her husband’s side of the family.  “Family members of Christine Blasey Ford published a letter supporting her character Thursday, five days after she publicly detailed her allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh” (Washington Times, 9/20/2018, Family of Kavanaugh accuser publishes letter of support). Dr. Ford claimed to be upset when Trump won in 2016 because Brett Kavanaugh was mentioned as a Supreme Court potential pick.  However, Kavanaugh was not on the original list of potential picks in 2016.  He was added later, in November, 2017.  “When Donald Trump won his upset presidential victory in 2016, Christine Blasey Ford’s thoughts quickly turned to a name most Americans had never heard of but one that had unsettled her for years: Brett M. Kavanaugh.   “Kavanaugh – a judge on the prestigious U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit – was among those mentioned as a possible replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016.  When Trump nominated Neil M. Gorsuch, Ford was relieved but still uneasy. Then, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced his retirement, and Ford, 51, began fretting again” (Washington Post, Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford moved 3,000 miles to reinvent her life.  It wasn’t far enough, 9/23/2018). The problem with this dramatic telling is that Kavanaugh was not on Trump’s list in 2016.  He didn’t go on the list until 2017.  USA Today gave a list of the potential nominees in 2016.  Kavanaugh is not on the list (USA Today, Trump’s 21 potential court nominees are overwhelmingly white, male and from red states, 12/1/2016).  Kavanaugh did not make the list until November, 2017 (whitehouse.gov., President Donald J. Trump’s Supreme Court List, November 17, 2017), a year after Trump was elected and Ford said she felt uneasy because his name was on the list.

​Instead of reacting to President Trump’s tweet with outrage, let’s look at the facts.  Even CNN is having a hard time nailing down the facts: “Puerto Rico’s true death toll from Hurricane Maria remains elusive as the storm’s one-year anniversary approaches” (CNN.com, 8/29/2018).  “The island government raised the official death toll to 2,975 on Tuesday [8/28/2018] after maintaining for months that 64 people had died as a result of the storm” (CNN.com, 8/29/2018).  “But the higher figure, based on the findings of researchers from George Washington University in a study commissioned by the US commonwealth’s government, is only an approximation, not a concrete list of names, according to Gov. Ricardo Rossello” (CNN.com, 8/29/2018).  “This number can change.  It could be less, it could be more, as time passes” (Rossello, quoted by CNN.com, 8/29/2018).
 
Notice two facts here. 
 
Fact One: Up until last month the official death toll was 64.  It only went up to 2,975 on August 28, 2018.
 
Fact Two: According to the governor of Puerto Rico, this number may still change.
 
Here is CNN’s timeline of how the numbers changed:
 
“In the chaos after the storm, the island’s public safety director, Hector M. Pesquera, said at least six people were killed” (CNN.com, 8/29/2018).
 
“Rossello told CNN two days after the storm hit that 13 people had died in the storm.  That figure was based on reports from mayors on the island, but law enforcement authorities hadn't confirmed the total, the government said” (CNN.com, 8/29/2018).
 
“In December, public safety officials revised the official count to 64, adding some fatalities newly certified as indirect deaths related to the storm” (CNN.com, 8/29/2018).
 
“In a report to Congress, the government said documents show that 1,427 more deaths occurred in the four months after the storm than ‘normal,’ compared with deaths that occurred the previous four years” (CNN.com, 8/29/2018).  “The 1,427 figure also appeared in a draft of the report – ‘Transformation and Innovation in the Wake of Devastation’ – which was published and opened for public comment July 9” (CNN.com, 8/29/2018).
 
The Weather Channel confirmed the source of the 2,975 number.
 
“At the end of August, the official death toll for Hurricane Maria increased from 64 to 2,975, likely the number President Trump refuted in his tweets.  Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello raised the death toll after an independent study from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University found that doctors on the island were not trained properly in how to classify deaths after a disaster” (weather.com, 9/13/2018).
 
At least one politician saw these numbers and blamed the federal government for its response.
 
“The new official death toll, accepted by officials in Puerto Rico, caused some, such as New York Democrat Rep. Nydia Velazquez, to claim the U.S. government failed the people of Puerto Rico.  ‘These numbers are only the latest to underscore that the federal response to the hurricanes was disastrously inadequate and, as a result, thousands of our fellow American citizens lost their lives,’ she said in a statement” (weather.com, 9/13/2018).
 
Keep in mind that this representative’s statement is not “fact”.  It is her opinion.
 
Based on the numbers cited by CNN it can reasonably be concluded that the original official numbers were accurate for lives lost as a direct result of the hurricane.  It can also reasonably be concluded that the newer, larger numbers were accurate for lives lost as an indirect result of the hurricane.  The question then becomes, “Why?”
 
A FORTUNE.com article from 9/12/2018 may help with an answer to this question.  According to this article, “A vast shipment of water bottles that were intended to be delivered to victims of 2017’s destructive Hurricane Maria appear to be still sitting, unused one year later, on a runway in Ceiba, Puerto Rico.”
 
“Abdiel Santana, a member of a Puerto Rican police agency tasked with emergency response, shared photos on Facebook of a vast number of boxes covered in blue tarp on an airport runway.  The boxes, Santana said, were delivered before Maria’s arrival” (FORTUNE.com, 9/12/2018).
 
“A CBS reporter who picked up on the viral photos of the unused water bottles confirmed that they were brought to the island and turned over to Puerto Rico’s central government” (FORTUNE.com, 9/12/2018).
 
“Last month, the New York Times reported that 10 trailers of food and other supplies were found rotting in a parking lot in Puerto Rico, where they were devoured by rats” (FORTUNE.com, 9/12/2018).
 
Based on the FORTUNE.com article, it can reasonably be concluded that the lives lost as an indirect result of the hurricane could have at least been reduced.  Although the Puerto Rican government and the federal government are each blaming the other for the failure in response to the hurricane, the response did, in fact, happen.  Once the food and water was there it could have been disbursed.  The fact that it was not disbursed does not change the fact that it did arrive in Puerto Rico.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

dchisholm.gal.5.1@gmail.com
www.freedomfiles.weebly.com

ISSUE #13

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The more I read the Gospels, the more I see a distance between how and who Jesus reached out to and how and who the church of today is reaching.  A reading of the book of John will reveal that Jesus did not have a specific “demographic” that he targeted. 

In John 3 we see Jesus meeting with Nicodemus.  This was a man who was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council (John 3:1).  The first thing that I notice in this encounter is that Jesus is not the initiator.  Nicodemus approaches Jesus.  He approaches Jesus because of the things that Jesus had done.  “He came to Jesus at night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God.  For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him’” (John 3:2).  How many of us today, as followers of Christ, are being approached because of the things that we have done?  How many of us have demonstrated the two greatest commands (loving God and loving others) to the extent that we are noticed and approached by non-believers who want to learn about the God we love and serve by loving and serving others.

In John 4 we see Jesus meeting with the “woman at the well”.  In this situation Jesus is resting at the well outside the city of Sychar in Samaria when the woman approaches to get some water from the well.  Jesus engages her in conversation simply by asking for some water.  Jesus quickly steers the conversation toward the spiritual and captures the woman’s attention.

These two examples are here for a reason.  These two individuals could not have been demographically further apart.  He was on the Jewish ruling council.  She was a single woman in a culture that did not value women.  He was a Pharisee (the “in” crowd).  She was a Samaritan outcast.  “The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.  How can you ask me for a drink?’  (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans)” (John 4:9).  Not only was it socially unacceptable for Jesus to talk to her (because she was a woman), it was also socially (racially) unacceptable to speak to her because she was a Samaritan.

I believe the message of the Apostle John in his Gospel is clear.  These events in the life of Jesus are recorded as an example for us to follow.  We are not to have a “target audience” that is smaller than the one that Jesus had.  We are to live our lives in such a way that people will see our actions and know that we belong to Jesus.  We are to have conversations with non-believers where the topic of conversation naturally flows from the physical to the spiritual.  Jesus’ target audience was everyone.  Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).  Peter reminds us in his second letter that Jesus loves everyone.  “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

So, as the title of this article suggests, is it time to start over?  The answer depends on what one wants to start over.  We cannot start the church over.  Jesus started his church and died for it.  We should never be arrogant enough to think that we can improve on that.  However, I believe that we have “broken” his church.  It is no longer a reflection of the founder.  If we are going to be the church that Jesus founded we need to start having the servant mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5).  It is time for us, as individuals, to start over and start living as a reflection of Jesus.  We must stop focusing on the church and started focusing on those that need to see and experience the love of Christ.  We must stop arguing among ourselves and start sharing among our neighbors.  And we must stop meeting in our hideouts we call church buildings and expect the non-believers to drop in on us.  The apostle Paul said it this way: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.  To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.  To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.  To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.  I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).  Notice that Paul did not change the message of the gospel.  In fact, he did “all this for the sake of the gospel”.  What he changed was the method that he used.  Each time he presented the unchangeable gospel, he started over.  With each group that he taught the saving message of Jesus he spoke it on their level, in their terminology, with illustrations that they could relate to, and with the love of Christ.  Jesus and Paul both demonstrate to us that we need to meet people where they are so that we can bring them to where God wants them to be.  Wherever we meet them, God wants them to be in a relationship with him through his son Jesus Christ.  It is for that reason that Christ has set us free.

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Responses from Readers

From a Reader in California:

Don, I am honored and very humbled by this.  It is not often that we hear how something that we did or said or simply the way we lived and our examples may have helped or encouraged someone.  Thank you my friend.  We go way back and I hope one day we get to meet for a cup of coffee.  I’ll buy!

From a Reader in Japan:

I LOVE this!!! You and Kay were always amazing role models for me!!! I am so blessed to have been able to see a healthy marriage and positive influence by y'all! Now my children are looking up to your children. People have no idea the impact, whether good or bad, they have on people. Everyone should be aware and diligent to make the impact and impression a good one. Thank you for being such a good one to me when I needed one the most!!! Love and Miss you TONS!!! :)

From a Reader in California:

Don ... I did not know you have MS. I will pray for you as you struggle with this disease, and pray it progresses slowly, and even goes into remission.

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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me and I will immediately comply with your request.  If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription.  I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.

FREEDOM FILES

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

dchisholm.gal.5.1@gmail.com
www.freedomfiles.weebly.com

ISSUE #12

October 1, 2014

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The Gift of a Good Example

In recent weeks two NFL players have made the news, not because of outstanding plays on the field, but for their alleged criminal behavior off the field.  This is not exclusive to football players.  Yesterday I was made aware of a former Olympic swimmer who was arrested for DUI.  Of course, we all know that these stories probably would not have made the national news if these people were not in the limelight.  For the record, I have never been arrested for DUI, child abuse, or domestic violence.  If I had, however, I’m sure that it would not make the national news.

I have heard some famous athletes, when interviewed, state that it is not their desire to be a role model.  That it is not their responsibility to set a good example for their young fans.  Although they have the right to their opinion, the reality is that everyone sets an example for someone.  When I was a teenager in high school I looked up to a young man, who was a police officer, named Milt.  I looked up to him because in my mind he was the type of adult that I wanted to become.  He was a man of integrity, honesty, and he was a follower of Christ.  When I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps I looked up to NCOs and commissioned officers who set good examples of what a Marine should be like.  As a college student I looked up to older students and professors who set good examples for me to follow.

One of the things that I have learned over the years is that everyone sets an example for someone.  The question that remains is what kind of examples are we going to set for those who are looking at us.

Thomas Morell (1703-1784) said “The first great gift we can bestow on others is a good example.”  As a follower of Christ my first responsibility is to follow the example that was set by Jesus when he walked on Earth.  As Jesus faced his final days on this planet he met with his Apostles for a last meal.  We know this meal as “The Last Supper”.  In preparation for that meal Jesus acted as both host and servant by washing the feet of his disciples.  Although this is a cultural custom, no longer necessary because most of us don’t walk dusty roads with sandaled feet, it was usually reserved for the lowest of household servants.  After Jesus had finished washing his disciples’ feet, he told them, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15).  If Jesus, the leader of the group, could lower himself to serve those who followed him, how much more is it appropriate for us to serve others?

The Apostle Paul understood his responsibility to not only follow the example that Jesus set for him, but also to set an example for those who followed Jesus because of him.  He told a group of Christ followers in the city of Corinth, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).  He told a group of disciples in Ephesus, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1).  Paul did not want clones of himself, however.  He told the believers in Philippi, “Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do” (Philippians 3:17).  Notice that in addition to himself and those with him, he also wanted the Philippian believers to keep their “eyes on those who live as we do”.

As I looked up to people older than me when I was a teen, I’m sure there were younger people looking to me for an example.  Paul told Timothy that even though he was young, he still had a responsibility to set a good example.  “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Regardless of what you do, where you live, or how old you are, you are setting an example to those who observe you.  Politicians set an example.  Athletes set an example.  Preachers and teachers set an example.  If you are an employer you set an example.  If you are an employee you set an example.  If you work in customer service you set an example.  And if you are a customer you set an example.  Again, the question is what kind of example are you going to set; good or bad.  To Titus, Paul said, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good.  In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us” (Titus 2:7-8).

Jesus was a leader who was a servant.  If we want to be effective leaders we also must be servant leaders.  If we want to be respected leaders we must be servant leaders.  There are many “bosses” who are obeyed because they are feared.  There are some “bosses” who manage by pushing people from behind.  But a true leader, an effective leader, leads from the front.  An effective leader does not push; he/she is followed.  The Apostle Peter told first century church leaders something that is not only applicable to church leaders today, but to leaders in any capacity.  He writes, “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1-3).

In the United States of America we are more familiar with cowboys than we are with shepherds.  Cowboys push the cattle to where they want them to go.  In the Middle East people are more familiar with shepherds.  Shepherds lead the sheep to where they want them to go.  Christ was known as the Good Shepherd.  We are challenged by Jesus, Paul, and Peter to lead by example as we follow the example set by Jesus and his Apostles.

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Responses from Readers

From a Reader in Toronto:

Please subscribe me to Freedom Files.

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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me and I will immediately comply with your request.  If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription.  I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.

FREEDOM FILES

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

dchisholm.gal.5.1@gmail.com
www.freedomfiles.weebly.com

ISSUE #11

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Gandhi on Christianity

Mahatmas Gandhi was born October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Kathiawar, India.  He was killed by a fanatic on January 30, 1948, at the age of 78.  He was educated as a lawyer and worked tirelessly for the rights of Indians in South Africa as well as for the freedom of India from British rule.  He is probably best known as “the architect of a form of civil disobedience that would influence the world” (http://www.biography.com/people/mahatma-gandhi-9305898#synopsis).  His style of non-violent non-cooperation would later be duplicated by Martin Luther King, Jr. and others.

Gandhi is credited with a number of quotes.  Here are just a few:

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

“Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.”

“Religions are different roads converging to the same point.  What does it matter that we take different roads, so long as we reach the same goal?  In reality, there are as many religions as there are individuals.”

“The weak can never forgive.  Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman.”

“Truth alone will endure, all the rest will be swept away before the tide of time.”

“A man is but the product of his thoughts.  What he thinks, he becomes.”

“There are many things to do.  Let each one of us choose our task and stick to it through thick and thin.  Let us not think of the vastness.  But let us pick up that portion which we can handle best.”

“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.”

“For one man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department.  Life is one indivisible whole.”

“If we are to reach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with children.”

Some of these thoughts could be considered wise proverbs.  For some, one might even find parallel sayings in the teachings of Jesus or the Apostle Paul.  But the quote that stood out to me and hit me directly between my eyes was this:

“I like your Christ.  I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Even though Gandhi died in 1948, what he said should cause us to pause for self-evaluation today.  In learning about Jesus, Gandhi was able to conclude that our Christ, our Messiah, our Savior, is someone whom he could like.  After all, Jesus and Gandhi both elevated women above where their societies kept them.  They both taught against racial bias and discrimination.  They both taught against class warfare.  In so many ways, even though he never claimed to be a follower of Christ, Gandhi practiced the principals that Jesus taught and lived.  Then Gandhi continues by saying, “I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”  As a follower of Christ I hope that no one will ever say about me, “He is so unlike his Christ”.  And yet, even in the time that Gandhi lived, his observation was, from the outside looking in, that Christians are not living the lives that Christ has called us to live.  How much more can this be said of followers of Christ today?

THE PROBLEM:

The problem is not new.  In fact, it is as old as time.  It is called arrogance.  Some apostles were even guilty.  On one occasion the brothers, James and John, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask” (Mark 10:35).  Jesus responds, “What do you want me to do for you” (Mark 10:36)?  At this point we see their humanity.  Their human nature is to lift themselves up.  They replied to Jesus with their request: “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory” (Mark 10:37).  It is easy for us to look back through the eyes of history and judge these disciples as self-serving, but what about followers of Christ today?  What about you and me?

Arrogance is not always seen in a position or a title.  Sometimes arrogance shows up in proving my position correct.  My version of Christianity is better than your version of Christianity.  My church is better than your church.  I understand this passage of Scripture and you don’t; therefore you are a false teacher.  Pointing out the “errors” of others, the “false doctrine” of others and the differences that make one right and another wrong are all caused by arrogance.  When followers of Christ are so busy fighting among each other that all we see are the differences between us we will never achieve the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17.

THE SOLUTION:

The solution is simple.  It is not easy, but it is simple.

Step One: LOVE GOD.  “Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.  One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’  Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:34-38).

Step Two: LOVE PEOPLE.  “And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).

Step Three: SERVE OTHERS.  “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

These three steps will not only change the way we see ourselves in relation to Jesus, but when we put these steps into practice in our daily lives, they will change the way people on the outside view us as followers of Christ.  Let me conclude with the words of the Apostle Paul as he wrote to the church in Philippi.  “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3-5).

Let’s strive to be more like Jesus by loving God, loving people, and serving others.  May it never be said of us that “Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

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Responses from Readers

From a Reader in California:

Please subscribe me to Freedom Files.

From a Reader in Georgia:

_____ forwarded me your blog post.  Loved it!  Thanks for actually answering the question.  :)

I hope you are well.  I lived in Ventura for 5 years and would always think of you when people talked about Lompoc.

Hope you and your family are thriving.  How do I find your blog?

From a Reader in Alabama:

Don, your gift is amazing, so thankful for it and blessed that you are my family!

From a Reader in Unknown:

Please add me to your mailing list.  Thank you!

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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me and I will immediately comply with your request.  If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription.  I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.

FREEDOM FILES

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

By

Donald Chisholm

dchisholm.gal.5.1@gmail.com

ISSUE #10

September 3, 2014

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God-Given Rights

Occasionally, social media steps beyond the trivial day-to-day minutia and digs a little deeper.  An example of this would be the request presented by a friend of mine on Facebook on August 28th of this year.  The request was real, but I have chosen to honor her privacy by using only her initials.

S.T.M.: Calling all Theologians: please define "God given right." Everyone else: Stop it already.

Without knowing the context of her request, I sense there is some frustration behind it.  It is a common phrase to declare that we have certain rights, given to us by our creator, which no one can take from us.  As our friend A.P. points out in his response to S.T.M.’s request, “The term “God Given Right” is a human construct not found on the Gospel”.  So, that leads me to ask, since the phrase is not found in Scripture, is the principal found in Scripture?  The Founding Fathers of our country believed it to be there.  J.A.T., in response to S.T.M.’s request, posted this comment: “The framers of the US believed there were certain "unalienable rights" -- these are gifts given to us (we are "endowed") by our Creator.  The Declaration of Independence lists three such rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Later, they would introduce a Bill of Rights which was meant to list more of these "God given rights", thus protecting individuals from undue governmental influence.  Central to the rights listed was the freedom of conscience.  I think one could make a biblical argument for what they wrote, but they chose to believe these truths were "self-evident" and could be arrived at by reason alone”.

I personally know both of the respondents and yes, they are both theologians.  But again, I must ask, what does Scripture tell us about our rights?  Are they God given, man given, or government given?  Can our rights change?  Can they be taken away?

As we look at the big picture we can see that the Gospel transcends all cultures.  In the Old Testament God gave the Hebrew nation laws regarding how the Israelites were to treat their slaves.  In first century Corinth there was slavery.  Paul gave instructions to slaves who were followers of Christ to obey their masters.  Would I conclude, therefore, that slavery is okay?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!  The point is that whatever culture we find ourselves in, we can live as a follow of Christ and follow the principals that he lived by while he was here on this earth.  Did Jesus teach that we have “God Given Rights”?  I believe that he did.  But what are these rights?

Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) claims, “The Second Amendment is the one that really protects all of our liberties that we are given by our Lord, and our God-given rights, and are protected under the Constitution” (Paul Broun quoted by Shadee Ashtari, The Huffington Post, July 2, 2014).

Terence Jeffrey states, “The truth is all true rights come from God” (Terence P. Jeffrey, The American Left vs. God-Given Rights, August 6, 2014, cnsnews.com).  Mr. Jeffrey’s point in his article is that if God did not give it to us it is not a “true” right.

So, what rights are “God-Given Rights”?  Here are some from Scripture to consider:

John 1:12-13: “Yet to all who did receive him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Revelation 2:7: “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

Revelation 3:21: “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” 

Revelation 22:14:  “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

I believe we also have some implied rights from the original Ten Commandments that are reiterated in the New Testament by Jesus and the writers of the New Testament books.

1.       We have the right to worship God (Exodus 20:3-6).

2.       We have the right to treat God’s name with respect (Exodus 20:7).

3.       We have the right to set aside one day per week for rest and worship (Exodus 20:8-11).

4.       We have the right, as parents, to control the education of our children, and as children, the right to be taught by our parents, live according to the standards we have been taught, and care for our parents in their old age (Exodus (20:12).

5.       We have the right to live (Exodus 20:13).

6.       We have the right to live in a relationship with our spouse that is free from adultery (Exodus 20:14).

7.       We have the right to own property and not have it taken forcefully from us (Exodus 20:15).

8.       We have the right to be free from slander and perjury (Exodus 20:16).

9.       We have the right to be free from those who would conspire against us (Exodus 20:17).

          (For more on these thoughts see: Gary Ray Branscome, Our God-Given Rights: The Foundation of Freedom, heartoftn.net/users/gary27/liberty.htm)

You may be asking why there are only nine, rather than ten rights listed here.  The simple answer is that the first two of the Ten Commandments are included in the first right mentioned above.

Yes, we do have rights given to us by God.  But we also have responsibilities.  Jesus was asked the question, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law” (Matthew 22:36)?  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

If we will obey these two commandments we will not have to worry about our “God-Given Rights” because these two commandments sum up the entire desire for God in our lives.

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Responses from Readers

From a Reader in Alaska on Facebook:

Thanks Don! Recently I came across something that has made me think of my thoughts and actions and it was that we as Christians should not compare differences among ourselves but focus on that we are all Christ followers/believers. I enjoyed your article very much. Miss you, hope you and the family are well.

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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me and I will immediately comply with your request.  If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription.  I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.

FREEDOM FILES

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

ISSUE #9

August 20, 2014

One of the fun (or annoying, depending on your perspective) trends created by social media is the posting of quotes or sayings from a particular site and blasting them out to all of one’s friends and acquaintances.  Recently my daughter blasted out a quote from the Facebook page, “The Mind Unleashed”.  Here is the post:






















When did we, as members of the human race, decide that everyone must be like us?  My atheist friends have the right to be atheists.  I don’t agree with their conclusions, but I fully support their right to believe as they do and even dialogue and debate their point of view.   When the apostle Paul encountered people who were of a different belief system he didn’t insult them, put them down, boycott them, and call them names.  He reasonably challenged them to think about the alternative point of view.  In Athens Paul was “distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16).  This motivated him to share the message of Jesus.  “He reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17).  Notice that his method was to “reason”, not yell and scream and insult and condemn.  Some of the “Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him” (Acts 17:18).  Paul didn’t shy away from debate, but neither did he use it to verbally assault those with a different perspective.  When Paul was invited to speak he began his address with an observation.  He didn’t condemn or insult.  He simply began with a fact on which they could all agree.  “People of Athens!  I see that in every way you are very religious.  For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.  So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship – and this is what I am going to proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-23).  Pointing out their ignorance, in this case, was not insulting.  It was simply acknowledging their worship of something unknown to them.  This they had already admitted with the inscription on the altar.  When Paul’s audience “heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject’” (Acts 17:32).  Paul didn’t respond to the sneers, he simply left at that point (Acts 17:33).  Followers of Jesus will have a broader hearing when they don’t insist on having the last word.

When I encounter people who claim to follow Christ, but whose words or actions demonstrate that they are chauvinists, racists, homophobes, or haters of another brand, I choose to point them back to the life and ministry of Jesus.  He taught against chauvinism in his personal treatment of women (Luke 10:38-42; John 4:1-26).  He taught against racism in his familiar story that we call the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  He taught against homophobia and other forms of hating by the way he treated the disenfranchised of his culture and society (Luke 19:1-10; John 8:1-11).  The final word from Jesus on this is: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).  He didn’t come to save this group of lost, or that group of lost.  He came to save THE lost.  That means everyone.

The first time I read the quote from “The Mind Unleashed” website that my daughter had posted, I thought the “Reindeer comment was just for humor.  Then I realized that we, as disciples of Jesus, are probably as guilty of this one as either of the other two.  If the other Reindeer are not just like us we insult them and call them names.  If other followers of Christ are not just like us we insult them and call them names.  Several years ago I heard of one of the most blatant forms of this.  A well-known preacher who had been invited to speak at a conference was “un-invited” because it was learned by the organizers of the conference that he was a friend of a “known sinner” and therefore was a “brother in error”.  If this wasn’t so sad I guess it would be funny because EVERYONE is a “known sinner” and EVERYONE is a “brother or sister in error”.  If we weren’t we would not have needed the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins.

So, my thought for this week is this: We all have the freedom to be different.  We may want to persuade people to our point of view, but we should do this with love and patience; not with hate and insults.  After all, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me at dchisholm.gal.5.1@gmail.com and I will immediately comply with your request.  Previous issues can be read at www.freedomfiles.weebly.com.  If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription.  I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.

FREEDOM FILES

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

ISSUE #8

Freedom to Experience Joy

“Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved” (Henri Nouwen).

So, why should we care about a quote by some guy most of us have never heard of?  Let’s first get to know a little about Henri Nouwen.  “The internationally renowned priest and author, respected professor and beloved pastor Henri Nouwen (pronounced Henry Now-win) wrote over 40 books on the spiritual life” (www.henrinouwen.org/About_Henri/About_Henri.aspx).

“Born in Nijkerk, Holland, on January 24, 1932, Nouwen felt called to the priesthood at a very young age. He was ordained in 1957 as a diocesan priest and studied psychology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. In 1964 he moved to the United States to study at the Menninger Clinic. He went on to teach at the University of Notre Dame, and the Divinity Schools of Yale and Harvard. For several months during the 1970s, Nouwen lived and worked with the Trappist monks in the Abbey of the Genesee, and in the early 1980s he lived with the poor in Peru. In 1985 he was called to join L’Arche in Trosly, France, the first of over 100 communities founded by Jean Vanier where people with developmental disabilities live with assistants. A year later Nouwen came to make his home at L’Arche Daybreak near Toronto, Canada. He died suddenly on September 21st, 1996, in Holland and is buried in Richmond Hill, Ontario” (Ibid).

Joyful, I think most, if not all, would agree is a fundamental mark of what a follower of Jesus should be.  But do we really understand what joy is?  Some would equate it with happiness, some with contentment.  Others would equate it with jubilation and celebration.

Merriam Webster defines it this way:

1        a:  the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires

b:  the expression or exhibition of such emotion

2        a state of happiness or felicity

3        a source or cause of delight

(www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joy)

Biblical joy is defined as, “Happiness over an unanticipated or present good” (Walter A. Elwell, ed., Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Baker Books, 1996).

We need to keep in mind that joy is not limited to humans.  The Bible records that the angels in Heaven rejoice (experience joy).  They rejoice when someone chooses to repent and turn to God.  In telling the parable of the lost sheep, he concludes with these encouraging words.  “ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7).  He repeats this idea in the parable of the lost coin that was found.  “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).  In the third parable of chapter 15 there is rejoicing when the son returns home to his family.  “‘Bring the fattened calf and kill it.  Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’  So they began to celebrate” (Luke 15 23-24).  The parallel for us is that there should be rejoicing when a sinner repents and turns to God.

For Jesus, joy did not equate to a “feeling”.  His joy came from knowing that good would prevail.  The writer of Hebrews gives this encouragement to his readers.  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.  For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:1-3).  Jesus was able to look past the suffering and agony of the cross because he was looking forward to the joy that would come as a result.  The joy, for Jesus, was a result of doing the one thing that fulfilled his purpose.  It is the same for his followers.  James writes to his readers, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2).  The joy for the believer is not in the trials, but in the results of those trials: perseverance.

As his followers we are to imitate him.  We are to live a life of joy.  When writing to the church in Philippi, Paul linked the believer’s joy with their faith.  “Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith” (Philippians 1:25).  It is also how we are to relate to other believers.  In referring to the return of Epaphroditus to the Philippian church, Paul writes, “So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him” (Philippians 2:29).  Paul prayed for the Philippian church with joy.  “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy (Philippians 1:4).  Paul’s joy would be made complete when the Philippians lived in unity with one another “Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind (Philippians 2:2).  Finally, in his concluding encouragement, he tells the Philippian church, “Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4)!  Again, joy is not a feeling.  It is not based on how our day is going.  It is not determined by receiving good news or bad news or getting cut off in traffic on the way to work.  It is “happiness over an unanticipated or present good.”  That present good for us as believers is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

God loves unconditionally and that should bring us joy.  There is nothing we can do that will cause God to love us less than he already does.  After all, he loved us so much that he sacrificed his son in order to have a relationship with us as our Heavenly Father.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  Paul explained the love that God has for us as believers to the Roman church by writing, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

The apostle John gives us more reasons to have joy because of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  As long as we are walking in Him, we have forgiveness from all of our sins.

·        “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” (1 John 1:7).

As long as we are walking in Him, we have eternal life.

·        “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11-12).

 

We will never experience joy by trying to achieve salvation or by trying to be good enough.  These will only lead to frustration for the honest, or arrogance for the dishonest.  Those who are honest and realize they cannot be good enough, but are trying to be, will experience the frustration of the elderly lady who told a preacher friend of mine, “I’m just afraid that when I die I won’t make it in to heaven because I wasn’t good enough.”  This preacher’s answer was not what she expected.  He told her, “Well, I can tell you, you aren’t good enough.  But neither am I or anyone else.  If we were we wouldn’t need Jesus.”  Those who are dishonest enough to believe that they can earn God’s favor fall victim to arrogance and self-righteousness.  True joy comes when we admit that we are sinners and we rely on Jesus for our righteousness.  Then, we will be motivated to do good works because we are children of God, not in order to become children of God.  Paul says it this way: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).  Notice here that the good works are not done to earn salvation, but are done after receiving salvation.

CONCLUSION:

Paul reminds the followers of Christ in Galatia that their lives should reflect the life of Christ by demonstrating the fruit of the Spirt.  Notice that the second characteristic mentioned is joy: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).  We have the freedom to experience joy because we have a Heavenly Father that loves us unconditionally.

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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me at dchisholm.gal.5.1@gmail.com and I will immediately comply with your request.  Previous issues can be read at www.freedomfiles.weebly.com.  If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription.  I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.

FREEDOM FILES

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

ISSUE #7

August 6, 2014

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Tolerating the Intolerant

Let’s start with a couple of definitions.

TOLERANCE: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own; the act of allowing something (www.merriam-webster.com/)

·        Synonyms: forbearance, long-suffering, sufferance, patience (ibid)

INTOLERANCE: the quality or state of being intolerant (ibid)

·        Synonyms: dogmatism, illiberalism, illiberality, illiberalness, bigotry, narrow-mindedness, partisanship, sectarianism, small-mindedness (ibid)

Tolerance seems to be a buzz word in today’s society.  It is “politically correct” to be tolerant of people who are different from us, who believe differently than us and who live differently than we do.  So, my question for today is, “How does tolerance and intolerance fit into my freedom in Christ (Galatians 5:1) and my desire for the unity with my spiritual brothers and sisters that Jesus prayed for in John 17?”

THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS:

One of the manifestations of intolerance comes in the form of elitism.  When we think that we are the chosen ones and everyone else is not, when we see ourselves as the only ones who have it right, when we see others as poor imitations of ourselves, then we are afflicted with elitism.  Even the disciples became infected by this common disease.  John, who some scholars say was Jesus’ best friend, brought up to Jesus the fact that they had observed someone “driving out demons in your name” (Mark 9:38).  He adds, as if he expects congratulations, “we told him to stop, because he was not one of us” (Ibid).  Notice that John didn’t say that this person was attempting to drive out demons.  Mark records that John saw this unnamed individual actually driving out demons and he was doing it in the name of Jesus.  Jesus’ reply, and not John’s report, is the example that we need to follow.  He says to John, “Do not stop him” (Mark 9:39).  We need to understand that we do not have a monopoly on Jesus.  Whatever name you may wear, whatever name is on the sign outside the building in which you worship God, all of us who are believers, who put our faith in the death of Christ as payment for our sins, are brothers and sisters in Christ and are children of God.  Jesus goes on to explain to his apostles, “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.  Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward (Mark 9:39-41).  So, the example that Jesus sets for us is to accept those in other faith communities.  Be tolerant of those who worship down the street from you or across town from you.  If we are worshipping the same God and putting our faith in the same Savior, then we are family and should be tolerant of our differences.

Jesus is not one who would have been labeled in his day as politically correct.  He was not trying to maintain the status quo.  During the early part of his earthly ministry he went into Jerusalem.  When he arrived in the temple courts “he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money” (John 2:14).  “The temple tax had to be paid in local currency, so foreigners had to have their money changed.  But the money changers often would charge exorbitant exchange rates” (Life Application Study Bible, pp. 2221-2222).  The cattle, sheep and doves were for the foreigners to use as animal sacrifices.  “Because of the long journey, many could not bring their own animals” (Ibid, p. 2222).  At the sight of this “flea market” in the temple courts Jesus became enraged.  “So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here!  Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!’” (John 2:15-16).  Jesus had no tolerance for people who would dishonor his Father and cheat his people.  There are times when tolerance is not appropriate.  Jesus is intolerant of those who claim to be religious, and yet will take advantage of others.  He is intolerant of those who put profits before people.

Jesus again proves that he is not politically correct when he meets a woman in Samaria.  “His disciples had gone into the town to buy food” (John 4:8).  So Jesus finds himself at Jacob’s well, outside the town of Sychar, and takes a seat (John 4:5-6).  “When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink’” (John 4:7)?  Now, Jesus has just committed three cultural taboos.  “This woman (1) was a Samaritan, a member of the hated mixed race, (2) was known to be living in sin, and (3) was in a public place.  No respectable Jewish man would talk to a woman under such circumstances.  But Jesus did (Life Application Study Bible, p. 2227).  The woman is surprised that Jesus would talk to her.  “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.  How can you ask me for a drink” (John 4:9)?  The example that Jesus sets for us is clear.  There is no racism in a true follower of Christ.  There is no gender bias in a true follower of Christ.  And there is no one who is so sinful that they are beyond the reach of the love and grace of God.

THE TEACHINGS OF THE APOSTLE PAUL

The apostle Paul teaches tolerance in his letter to the church in Rome.  “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters” (Romans 14:1).  We are not to argue over matters of opinion.  The problem we seem to have today is that everyone has their own opinion about what is a matter of opinion.  If I believe it to be truth then it is not a matter of opinion.  If you believe it to be truth and I do not, then it must be a matter of opinion.  Paul goes on to give an example relevant to his day regarding what one of faith may or may not eat.  He writes, “One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.  The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them” (Romans 14:2-3).  Notice that these are not just opinions at play.  It is the “person’s faith” that allows him to eat anything.  The one who has a weaker faith is a vegetarian.  This was not unusual in that day because people were being converted from paganism to following the teachings of Jesus.  Their faith did not allow them to eat meat that possibly could have been offered as a sacrifice to an idle.  A person, who’s faith was stronger, understood that the idles were nothing and therefore the meat was fine to eat.  In this situation Paul tells us who is right.  They both are right.  He tells the one who eats meat to not look down on the vegetarian and he tells the vegetarian to not judge the one who eats meat.  Why?  Because “God has accepted them”.  Paul admonishes the believers in Rome to stop being intolerant of those believers who practice their faith differently than we practice ours.  “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.  Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister (Romans 14:13).  Paul also told the Romans: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7).  Christ accepted us in all our imperfections.  We should do the same for our fellow believers.

Believe it or not, the Apostle Paul also taught intolerance.  When he wrote his letter to the churches in Galatia, he made it very clear that all people and all teachings are not to be tolerated.  “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!  As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse” (Galatians 1:8-9)!  Paul was so emphatic that he said it twice.  This was a serious matter to Paul.  In fact, he will later say that this is a cause for separation from Christ.  In the third chapter of Galatians Paul makes the case that it is not by “works of law” (Galatians 3:2) that we are brought into relationship with God, but it is by God’s grace, through our faith.  “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27).  Then, in chapter 5, Paul explains that trying to be justified by anything other than the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross will separate one from Christ.  “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:4).  There were those who were teaching the Galatian believers that they needed to accomplish “works of law” in addition to accepting the grace of God by faith in Jesus in order to be accepted by God.  Paul could not tolerate a message that distracted from the love of God for all people.  He could not tolerate a message that left the cross of Christ inadequate to save us from the penalty for our sins.

CONCLUSION

The example we see in the life of Christ is that we are to be tolerant of those believers who worship in other places and in other groups.  We are to be tolerant of, and inclusive of, those from other cultures and other races.  We also learn from Jesus’ example to be intolerant of those who profess religion, but do not practice true religion, to be intolerant of those who cheat and take advantage of others, and those who dishonor God with their actions.

The teaching we receive from Paul is to live in harmony with (be tolerant of) believers who understand things differently than we do.  If we don’t have a command from Jesus or an inspired writer in Scripture, then the matter is disputable and we are not to argue about such things, but accept those who believe and practice differently than we do in these matters.  On the other hand, we are to be intolerant of those who are legalistically adding rules and laws that are not in Scripture.  I confess that I used to make excuses for the legalists and wanted to be tolerant of them.  I would rationalize that they are my brothers in Christ and we just disagree on these things.  But when I finally saw the urgency in Paul’s writings I realized that Paul is concerned for the souls of these legalists in Galatia.  He did not want them to be separated from Christ.  In our daily walk, we need to remember this one thing.  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Since God tolerates us in all our imperfections, let us also tolerate those imperfect believers that follow the same savior that we follow.  After all, we want them to tolerate us, as well.

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If you would like to be added to or removed from this mailing list, contact me at dchisholm.gal.5.1@gmail.com and I will immediately comply with your request.  Previous issues can be read at www.freedomfiles.weebly.com.  If you are challenged by these newsletters, then feel free to send them on to others and encourage them to write for a free subscription.  I would also welcome any questions or comments from the readers.

FREEDOM FILES

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

ISSUE #6

July 28, 2014

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Friendly Fire

“Friendly Fire” is a military term that indicates someone is being shot at by an ally, rather than an enemy.  There are a lot of ways that a person can become the victim of friendly fire.  If a military unit is in the wrong place, they may be mistaken for the enemy.  If an airstrike is ordered, but someone miscommunicates the coordinates for the fire mission, the wrong troops can be targeted.  When I was in the Marine Corps we trained to plan our positions and movements in a way that would avoid friendly fire.  We knew where our fellow squad members were.  We knew where the other squads were in our platoon.  And we did everything possible to avoid shooting at them.

In the Old Testament, there is an incident of “friendly fire” from which I believe we can learn a lesson.  It is found in 1 Samuel 17.  The Philistine army and the Israelite army had drawn up their battle lines.  The Philistine army was camped at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah.  The Israelite army was camped in the Valley of Elah.  The two armies faced off, prepared for battle.  Then the Philistine, Goliath, who stood nine feet nine inches tall, stepped up and challenged the Israelites.  His challenge was for one Israelite soldier to step up to fight him one-on-one, winner take all.  His challenge struck fear into the Israelites, from King Saul to the newest recruit.

Jesse had three sons in King Saul’s army.  His youngest son, David, was taking care of his flocks of sheep.  Jesse directed David to take some food to his oldest three brothers out on the battle lines (1 Samuel 17:17-19).  When David arrived at the camp he heard Goliath taunting the Israelite army.  “David asked the men standing near him, ‘What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?  Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God’” (1 Samuel 17:26)?  When David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard what David had said, rather than firing at the enemy, he fired at his own brother.  He attacked him with these words: “Why have you come down here?  And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness?  I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle” (1 Samuel 17:28). 

When word got to King Saul he sent for David.  “David said to Saul, ‘Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him’” (1 Samuel 17:32).  Again, David is the victim of friendly fire.  This time it comes from King Saul.  He says to David, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33).  David was able to persuade King Saul to allow him to fight Goliath.  Not only did he fight him, but he defeated him with one rock shot from his slingshot.  Once Goliath was dead, the Philistines turned and ran.

Today there are still some who prefer to fire at allies, rather than the enemy.  While Satan is attacking the Body of Christ from every direction there are followers of Christ attacking fellow believers.  Today I read one such attack in an article by Roelf L. Ruffner, Sr.  In his review of the movie, “God’s Not Dead” he had positive and negative things to say about the movie.  His victims were not Satan and the evil that prevails in this world, but fellow believers.  His victims were Willie and Korie Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame.

·        “What disappointed me the most was the cameo appearances of Willie and Korie Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame …” (Roelf L. Ruffner, Sr., Deviations From The Truth, Contending For The Faith, Volume XLV, Numbers, 3, 4, March/April – 2014, p. 11).

·        “In their first appearance, Willie appeared in his long hair (cf. 1 Cor. 11:14) and Korie was dressed immodestly (cf. 1 Tim. 2:9, 10).  They were confronted by an atheist reporter and gave a defense of their belief in God.  Later towards the end of the movie Willie appeared on a large screen at a so-called “Christian” pop rock concert and encouraged everyone to text their friends the message ‘God is Alive!’ on their cell phones to support the student who debated the atheist college professor” (Ibid).

First, I think it interesting that Mr. Ruffner points out that Willie appeared “in his long hair.”  How else would he appear?  However, rather than leaving it at that, he throws in a reference to 1 Corinthians 11:14, which reads, “Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?  For long hair is given to her as a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:14-15, NIV).  What about “nature” teaches us that long hair is a disgrace to men?  If I leave it to “nature” my hair will continue to grow just as Willlie’s did.  The “nature” that Paul refers to in his letter to the Corinthians is the cultural normal practice.  “In talking about head coverings and length of hair, Paul is saying that believers should look and behave in ways that are honorable within their own culture.  In many cultures long hair on men is considered appropriate and masculine.  In Corinth, it was thought to be a sign of male prostitution in the pagan temples” (Life Application Study Bible, p. 2466).  Not being satisfied with attacking Willie and the length of his hair (friendly fire), he attacks Korie and the way she is dressed, calling it immodest and referencing 1 Timothy 2:9-10 (again, friendly fire), which reads, “ I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1 Timothy 2:9-10).  Now, I understand that modesty and immodesty are subjective terms and are, in some ways, culture driven, but I saw the movie, “God’s Not Dead” and I didn’t get the idea that Korie was dressed immodestly.  But, just to make sure my memory wasn’t failing me, I googled it and saw the movie trailer on “You Tube”.  Here is the “immodest” way that Korie was dressed.  She was wearing a light blue, high neck, sleeveless dress, a pair of small, simple ear rings, and a bracelet.  Her hair style was not “elaborate”.  It was worn down and slightly wavy.

Next, is a reference to a “so-called ‘Christian’ pop rock concert”.  I can’t read Mr. Ruffner’s mind, so I’m not sure who this is attacking, but I don’t believe it would be too far-fetched to conclude that he is calling into question the Newsboys relationship with God through Christ.  How he presumes to know the hearts of these musicians is beyond me.

Mr. Ruffner continues his “friendly fire” by referring to Mr. and Mrs. Robertson as “this erring brother and sister” (Ibid).  My question for Mr. Ruffner is, “Is there any other kind?  We are all “erring”.  Paul reminded the church in Rome of this fact.

·        “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24). 

I hope it is not a surprise to Mr. Ruffner that the “all” in Romans 3:23 includes him.  We all sin and therefore we are all “erring”.  If not, we would not need Jesus Christ and the righteousness that is “given through faith” in Him.

I, for one, am happy that Willie and Korie, as well as the Newsboys and Kevin Sorbo, participated in the movie, “God’s Not Dead” and took a stand for their faith and belief in God.  I am also happy that someone had the courage to produce such a well-acted movie that had a positive message.

It is time for us, as disciples of Christ and as the Body of Christ, to stop attacking one another and start living like Jesus.  If we would simply follow the example of Jesus and the way that he lived we would love more and judge less.  We would accept more and condemn less.

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Responses from Readers

From a Reader in Texas

Thanks Don! Enjoyed the article.

From a Reader in Tennessee

Don, please add me to your mailing list.  Although 79-years-old, I derive from the same spiritual (or Spirit-less) upbringing as you.  In the early 1970s when my wife and I crossed our Rubicon, it was a lonesome journey.  Family and friends dismissed us as rebels but we were only radicals – rooted in Jesus.  They thought it shameful that we had relinquished the security of our cement trampoline and found our rest in “the spring of living water.”  After 59 years of marriage, we remain in the peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

God bless you and yours.

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