Prudence

Quote for the day

"Prudence means practical common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it. Nowadays most people hardly think of Prudence as one of the ‘virtues’. In fact, because Christ said we could only get into His world by being like children, many Christians have the idea that, provided you are ‘good’, it does not matter being a fool. But that is a misunderstanding.

In the first place, most children show plenty of ‘prudence’ about doing the things they are really interested in, and think them out quite sensibly. In the second place, as the apostle Paul pointed out, Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence: on the contrary. He told us to be not only ‘as harmless as doves’, but also ‘as wise as serpents’. He wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim.

The fact that you are giving money to a charity does not mean that you need not try to find out whether that charity is a fraud or not. The fact that what you are thinking about is God Himself (for example, when you are praying) does not mean that you can be content with the same babyish ideas which you had when you were a five-year-old."

-CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

In Vain Do They Worship Me - Part 2

As we conclude this brief look at the effects of the commandments of men, we recognize our natural temptation to build and maintain various fences outside of the Scriptures; this thinking is central to rabbinic Judaism and Roman Catholicism, but we do not find it among the early Protestants or early Anabaptists from whom we receive so much of our background.  While human commandments are generally accepted today in conservative Anabaptist groups, this is a departure from their historic foundation. 

If we take them at their word, the earliest Anabaptist leaders leaned toward sola Scriptura and the sufficiency of Scripture in order to reject the commandments of men.  Conrad Grebel promoted this principle when he said,“Everything must be tested by the New Testament, and what is not found therein as the teaching of Christ and the apostles or as an apostolic practice must be abandoned.” 

Similarly, Menno Simons protested against extra-Biblical standards and applications: “I dare not go higher nor lower, more stringent nor more lenient than the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit teach me; and that out of great fear and anxiety of my conscience, lest I again burden the God-fearing hearts who now have renounced the commandments of men, with those commandments.  Self-conceit and human opinions I hate, nor do I desire them; for I know what tribulation and affliction they have caused me for many years.”  Another one of the early and primary Anabaptist leaders was Dirk Philips, who wrote, “The holy divine Scripture teaches us everywhere that we should neither accept nor believe nor observe anything except God’s Word and command alone, and that we should neither add to nor subtract from God’s Word.” 

Even the late Brethren author and minister Peter Nead (1796-1877) also addressed this concept in his book, A Vindication of Primitive Christianity.  He said, “That church which will from her members require something or tolerate something that is not according to the word of God (let it come from her Conference or Synodical meetings) is not the true church, and hence should not be heard.  We are solemnly bound to hear the church as long as she keeps house according to the Word of God, and no longer.”  While his perspective of legislative church authority, and also what he perceived as a falling away in the Church during his day, led him to endorse a certain level of extra-Biblical applications, his stated premise remains sound.  While it may be seem beneficial to establish agreements or forms and justify them by basing them upon specific Scriptural principles, if their usage causes us to contradict another part of the Scriptures, we are in error so long as we continue in them and we ought not to base our fellowship with other Christians upon them.

In summary, the Torah was never man’s prerogative to “fence”, nor are the teachings of the New Testament ours to supplement, however sincere our intent.  We need to be wary of embracing the commandments of men for four reasons.  First and foremost, Jesus forbade it, no matter how good and sincere someone’s intentions are to build a “fence around the Torah” in their lives and churches.  In fact, He specifically said that to do so promoted “leaving the commandments of God” (Mark 7:1-8, Deut. 4:2).  A second reason to be discerning of the commandments of men and their institution is because they will lead us back into bondage, and divide believers from each other over things the Lord never intended to see enforced or ignored (Col. 2:20-23, Gal 4:1-11).

Equally important is our ongoing need to recognize that the commandments of men (as opposed to Biblical teachings and applications) can create stumbling blocks which can hinder other people from entering the kingdom (Matthew 23:4, 13; Titus 1:14).  Jesus recognized this too, and said that “Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matt. 18:6).  And finally, to add commands beyond those given in the Scriptures is antithetical to the faith that has been once for all delivered to the saints, to the sufficiency of Scripture, and even to the wisdom of our King, Jesus Christ (Jude 1:3; II Tim. 3:15-17).  May we never be found guilty of worshipping our Heavenly Father in vain, but to take instead the lesson that we should teach for doctrine simply the commandments that He has given, so that He might be glorified in all that we do!  Let us not run ahead of Him as King Saul once did, but to remember that simple obedience is better than any extra sacrifice we might bring.

In Vain Do They Worship Me

The following is adapted from a recent message I listened to. Just some good warning and food for thought for those of us in church fellowships that historically make group decisions regarding practical applications in connection with Biblical teachings.
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In Vain Do They Worship Me

 The Church consists of men and women, and men and women have a tendency to fall into extremes.  One of our greatest temptations lies in the error of presuming that we have the authority to decide which of God’s commandments are to be obeyed; this premise finds its passage into the church through arguments of cultural relativism, suggesting that certain commands in the Scriptures were only intended for certain eras, and any that were intended (or are still relevant) for us may be freely reshaped to suit the preferences of the cultures in which we live. 

As a result of this worldly “wisdom”, well-meaning Christians sometimes divide Biblical teachings into “essentials”and “non-essentials,” often depending upon the currently prevailing cultural expectations of the world around them; teachings on subjects such as nonresistance, adultery, jewelry and fashion, modesty, the practice of the headship veiling, and many more are dismissed as having been directed primarily to the first century churches, or only ever intended to be consistently kept in principle.  When God’s people stumble in this way, they hand a tremendous amount of influence over to the world, not only regarding church doctrine and practice, but over the hearts and minds of future generations as well.

At the other extreme, we find a less common but equally detrimental situation which occurs when God’s people lean on their own wisdom and fears, willfully creating additions to God’s commands.  History shows us that this sort of practice flourished among Jewish leaders, especially during the intertestamental period; it came to be known as siyagot laTorah, or placing a “fence around the Torah” (the Law).  Their well-meant desire was to avoid breaking the commands of the Torah, but they attempted to accomplish this by creating extra laws and applications intended to keep them from even getting close to breaking a particular law in the Torah. 

One example of this can be seen in how observant Jews today still will not eat meat and dairy in the same meal; this practice was initially based on Deuteronomy 14:21, where they were commanded not to boil young goats in their mothers’ milk.  Rabbinic teaching currently states that meat and milk should not be consumed in the same meal, even if they were from different animals;  some rabbis expanded the “fence” even further by specifying how many hours should pass between meals in order to avoid any chance of meat and milk being “cooked” together in somebody’s digestive tract.  Still other rabbis command that specific dishes must be reserved separately for meat and dairy products.

The idea of “fencing the Torah” may seem strange to people outside of Judaism, but similar practices do occur among various Christian groups when particular details of practice or articles of clothing (which are not actually commanded in Scripture) come to be taught as doctrines and practices which “fence in” or safeguard the keeping of actual Scriptural teachings such as modesty, separation, or simplicity.  Nevertheless, few of these Christian groups would ever think of such things as being modern forms of “fencing the Torah,” and certainly not see them in the same light as those Pharisaical practices which Jesus condemned.

Mark 7:1-8 gives us the following account: Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.  And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.  And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brazen vessels, and of tables.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?  He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.” (Mark 7:1-8)

Washings were part of the Old Testament priestly practice (see Ex. 29:4, Lev. 16:4, 24), but the Pharisees began to command that these specific acts of washing had to be done before all meals for allpeople.  Jesus’ responded with a harsh rebuke against them for this unnecessary command which actually caused their adherents to lay aside the commandment of God.  Judging from Jesus’ response, and even His later warning in Rev. 22:19, adding or subtracting from God’s commands is something to be taken very, very seriously!  And in light of this, the Scriptures give at least four reasons for the Church to not add human commandments to the precepts in God’s Word. 

1. Scripture affirms that either adding or subtracting to the Lord’s commandments hinders Biblical obedience: “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2);“Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Prov. 30:6).  We do well to note that eitheradding or taking away hinders keeping the commandments of the Lord, hence the first reason to avoid adding to the commandments of the God is that it hinders obedience.

2. The commandments of men represent a form of slavery: Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (touch not; taste not; handle not; which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh” (Colossians 2:20-23).  Do we recognize that adding extra-Biblical commandments in the nature of “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch” are in fact associated with the spirit of the world.

When we consider our own lives and our church fellowships, are we defined more by what we don't do, or by what we do?  Without question, Biblical Christianity is a moral religion, with clear moral boundaries and Biblical teaching, but at its very foundation, Christianity is a religion of positive action.  When restrictions are continually added and enforced to avoid violating other restrictions, the creation of a chain is begun which represents a form of slavery, and the adding of these additional commandments ultimately opposes the spiritual unity to which we are called in the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. The commandments of men become stumbling blocks which hinder others from entering the kingdom of God.  Jesus also denounced the Pharisees for hypocritically binding other people to heavy burdens: “For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers…But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matt. 23:4, 13).  Jesus said that the commandments of men become a burden that causes sincere seekers to stumble, and we can see that they also move the focus of a church from weightier matters to spiritually trivial issues.  The Apostle Paul also spoke of such men, saying,“Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth” (Titus 1:13-14).

4. The commandments of men undermine the common faith, the sufficiency of Scripture, and the wisdom of the Lord.  “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints”(Jude 1:3).  Notice that the faith was already delivered (past tense), implying the lack of need for men to layer it or protect it with their own novel commands.  We take the New Testament as our only creed, and in light of this, if the Lord desired any other particular commands than those given in His Word, would He not have already given them? 

It is pride that suggests to fallen men the idea that they have liberty tocommand where God has not; as we have seen, numerous Scriptures reinforce this principle (Deut. 12:32; Prov. 30:5-6; Rev. 22:18-19).  Further, the faith and salvation is a “common” one; the faith that a believer in Judea held should be the same as the faith held in China or Peru or Mozambique, and when additional commands and fences around the teachings of God’s Word begin to perturb the commonality of the true Christian faith, too often they divide those who are supposed to be one in it. 

...to be continued....
See "Part Two"

The Insanity Of God film

Watched Nik and Ruth Ripken's documentary last night - The Insanity Of God. Two quotes are still ringing in my ears:

"We pray more for our military than we do for the suffering church."

"There is no such thing as a persecuted church and a free church. There is only the church!"

Homeward Bound

Today another one of my friends went to rest in Wood Colony Cemetery. Most of you never knew him, but John Wolf was an inspiration whenever you did get to know him. From his faithful selfless devotion to "Ginny" and the countless patient hours of card games he played with her through her Alzheimer journey to his quiet, unassuming attitude about life, his joy at the joy of others, and his repeated embarrassment that we would actually stop to talk to him when we had others around, I hope to be more like him.

Another "Well done!" rolls down from the courts of Heaven, calling another son to glory, and the little truck and hard hat will be seen no more on the country roads of Stanislaus County. And so we wait, we weep a little, and we rejoice in return at his newfound joy.

Tradition!

“Tradition! Tradition!"
Never did this script ring with with such meaning and poignancy as it did one hot summer evening in 2009 when Amy and I went to the Sonora playhouse for an evening, recently bereft of church membership and with no clue what traditions might come along on our journey and what would be left behind. It was my first experience with Fiddler On The Roof, and I spent the evening shaking my head at the parallels to our own little world. Nearly a decade later, I have come to realize Tevya will raise his head no matter where you go...

“Because of our traditions, we’ve kept our balance for many, many years. Here in Anatevka we have traditions for everything: how to sleep, how to eat, how to work, how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered and always wear a little prayer shawl. This shows our constant devotion to God. You may ask: How did this tradition get started? I’ll tell you: I don’t know. But it’s a tradition. And because of our traditions, every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.” 
-Tevya

So... How do YOU know what God expects you to do?

Mark Twain on Patriotism & Christianity

"A man can be a Christian or a patriot, but he can't legally be a Christian and a patriot -- except in the usual way: one of the two with the mouth, the other with the heart. The spirit of Christianity proclaims the brotherhood of the race and the meaning of that strong word has not been left to guesswork, but made tremendously definite -- the Christian must forgive his brother man all crimes he can imagine and commit, and all insults he can conceive and utter- forgive these injuries how many times? -- seventy times seven -- another way of saying there shall be no limit to this forgiveness. That is the spirit and the law of Christianity.

Well -- Patriotism has its laws. And it also is a perfectly definite one, there are not vaguenesses about it. It commands that the brother over the border shall be sharply watched and brought to book every time he does us a hurt or offends us with an insult. Word it as softly as you please, the spirit of patriotism is the spirit of the dog and wolf. The moment there is a misunderstanding about a boundary line or a hamper of fish or some other squalid matter, see patriotism rise, and hear him split the universe with his war-whoop. The spirit of patriotism being in its nature jealous and selfish, is just in man's line, it comes natural to him -- he can live up to all its requirements to the letter; but the spirit of Christianity is not in its entirety possible to him.

The prayers concealed in what I have been saying is, not that patriotism should cease and not that the talk about universal brotherhood should cease, but that the incongruous firm be dissolved and each limb of it be required to transact business by itself, for the future."

- Mark Twain's Notebook

Until the day dawn...

The inauguration came and went. The marches and fear mongering followed. And life goes on anyway.

In other news, Amy's Aunt Martha died today. 60 years old, down syndrome, her condition exacerbated by seizures/ministrokes. Her death will have little effect on most of the people I know. We, on the other hand, are going to miss her. No more coloring books. No more "Hi, Sweetie!" No more laughs. No more cheek pats and hugs. Tuesday we go down to lay her beside Grandma and Grandpa for awhile. But she's free now, and that's better than any memories we have of her. Next time we meet, I expect a hug, a "Hi, Sweetie!", and the first of many clear, lucid conversations getting to truly know her at last.

To Be Understood

Every get the feeling people just don't get it? Found this CS Lewis quote this morning, and he absolutely gets it. Unfortunately, he's dead.

"Writing is like a 'lust,' or like 'scratching when you itch.' Writing comes as a result of a very strong impulse, and when it does come, I, for one, must get it out."

Post Number 1

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."  Perhaps it would have been better to begin with a Scripture passage or inspirational verse, but the above quote from the Lothlorien elf Haldir from Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of The Ring” seems to aptly capture the essence of our past year. 

For those of you who have asked, I'm taking a Facebook break, other than some picture posting for the out of state family. I'll re-evaluate in a couple months. This first post will not be a long one; just a little reflection on 2016. What was 2016 like for you?  

Our 2016 found us living in southern Pennsylvania, a place I never imagined in a million years that we might live, surrounded by more plain people than you can count.  So much has happened in so little a time.  A new house, a new job, a new church family, a new baby, etc, etc.  Getting 3 feet of snow in a day and being unable to get up and out our farm lane to go see our baby boy laying in the NICU while doctors talked about possibly transporting him to Hershey or York for a transfusion (thank God for amazing neighbors with 4x4 trucks).  Getting used to a more independent, hurried and less friendly Yankee culture (as opposed to Virginia and the rest of the South).  Making new friends, trying to stay in touch with old ones. 

Watching my 4 and 2 year old playing together, and the almost 1 year old (our first kid NOT in the 10^th percentile of everything) trying to keep up.  Trying to answer all of the 4 year old’s questions and learning again and again that I don’t always have all the answers.  Being patient with the 2 year old and discovering the good intentions underneath his stubborn will. 

Trying to ignore the insanity of the Clinton vs Trump election debacle.  Witnessing international upheavals.  Monitoring Christian persecution and often wondering at my responsibilities.  Watching friends make major life changes, some positive, some not so much. 

A few quick trips to Virginia, a long weekend in GA at Tom and Betty’s Georgia cabin with friends, a wedding and conference in Indiana.  Months of house hunting with Harold Burkholder.  Changing occupations again.  Unexpectedly parting with a necrotic gallbladder, with a few days in the hospital.  Nearing completion on my book.

Getting two different night time calls from a husband and then a dad that two close friends had died unexpectedly (separate occasions), one a wife and mom, and the other a son and brother.  Helping to bury those friends and watching as others stepped up and reached out to their families.  Starting to text those friends and then having to remind myself that there’s nobody on the other end now.  Watching two other kind, gentle, and godly older men pass away from cancer (apparently I’ve hit the stage of life where old people become just as dear of friends as do those our own age).

Buying and moving into a new house, and having friends step up to help above and beyond.  Going to California for Christmas (too rushed as always), spending time with family.  And so much more…

Of all the years, I really think 2016 possibly been the most trying.  Many of the highlights seem to be challenges or difficulties, and yet it was not a bad year, just a tough one.  Difficult and emotional at times, nerve wracking and exhausting at others (but really, who sleeps when your kids are 4, 2, and 1 yrs old anyway?). In some ways, 2016 was a year of tears more than of laughter, but without tears could we ever truly appreciate joy?  Psalm 30 says that joy comes in the morning - in between some of the tough highlights are all those beautiful moments of friendship and family and learning and new experiences, and yes, joy.  We are blessed. 

And now we have been given another year.  What it may hold, we can only imagine, but God is still faithful.  And we trust Him.  Until next time, a blessed New Year to each one.