How to Disobey the Whole Bible and Still Claim to be a Bible-Believing Christian
Having had many opportunities to interact with other Christians over the years, I’ve found that some who claim to love the Bible have very clever ways of denying its teachings. I’m not just referring to the more liberal types of Christians either. Many who would call themselves “Bible-believing, conservative Christians” have come up with various reasons why certain parts of God’s word can be ignored. If I were to compile all of those reasons together, one could literally disobey everything God has told us to do.
The following excuses are real, meaning I have heard them expressed by those who profess to love and obey God’s word.
1. That’s the Old Testament!
This one is the most common. If there is anything in the first ¾ of the Bible (the OT) that you don’t like, all you have to do to get out of obeying God is say, “That’s the OT. That was only for ancient Israel. I don’t have to obey that!”
Voila, problem solved!
2. Jesus was speaking to Jews, so I don’t have to obey what Jesus said!
Yes, I’ve heard this one too. In fact, I’ve even heard professors from Reformed seminaries use this excuse. They say that anything Jesus said while on earth can be ignored because when He spoke the words recorded in the Gospels, He was speaking to Jews who were under the old covenant. Therefore, since we aren’t under the old covenant, we don’t have to obey most of what Jesus said in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
3. Paul was speaking to Greeks, and we’re not Greeks!
If a “New-Testament Christian” isn’t obligated to obey the OT or Jesus (since He was speaking to people under the old covenant), then surely we have to obey the writings of Paul and the other apostles, right? I mean, they were writing letters to Gentile believers so we should obey them, shouldn’t we?
Some would say, “Not so fast!” Paul, the theory goes, was writing to first-century churches that were largely influenced by Greek thought and culture. So, Paul was giving instruction to an ancient culture that we are not a part of. Therefore, his instructions really don’t apply to us in the modern world. We don’t have to obey the NT letters either!
If we add all of these excuses together – it looks like we don’t have to obey anything the Bible tells us to do! All that instruction was for other people in past millennia, not us.
But are these excuses valid? I hope anyone can see that added together, these ideas destroy the idea that God’s word must be obeyed. But clearly, He wants us to obey (Deut. 28:1-2, 15; 1 John 5:3; Rev. 22:14; etc).
And while many can see that adding these excuses together will lead to problems, some may still think that one or two of these by themselves are still valid.
That, however, is not the case. Let’s examine these three excuses.
1. That’s the Old Testament!
While it is true that the NT does show us that some OT laws are not to be practiced any more, the NT writers clearly taught that the OT was still to be a guide for Christians. While the NT writers did at times quote Jesus directly (see 1 Cor. 11:23-25; 1 Tim 5:18; etc), they more often quoted the OT when giving instruction to NT believers (Rom. 12:1-20; Jam. 2:8; and many more).
We need to keep in mind that Jesus is God. Therefore, the OT was written by Jesus!
If the NT tells us an OT command is no longer to be practiced, then, yes, of course, we don’t have to obey it. But don’t think that the whole OT has been set aside; Jesus and His apostles certainly didn’t have that view. We should assume OT commands still apply, unless the NT shows us otherwise.
2. Jesus was speaking to Jews, so I don’t have to obey what Jesus said!
Just because Jesus was speaking to Jews under the old covenant doesn’t mean His instructions have no authority over us.
Jesus did sometimes hint to His Jewish audience that the new covenant would change some things (for example, worship; see John 4:21). But Jesus often affirmed the OT, and again, so did His apostles. The apostles never taught that Jesus’ words to the Jews didn’t apply to Gentile believers.
To be a Christian means you follow Jesus’ teachings. How can anyone say that Christians don’t have to obey what Jesus said? And yet, that is what some say.
3. Paul was speaking to Greeks, and we’re not Greeks!
Both the OT and the NT were written to a particular group of people, who lived in particular cultural circumstances. While many use that fact as an excuse to disobey, that’s a mistaken conclusion.
While Paul was writing to deal with specific problems in specific NT churches, the underlying principles of the instructions he gave apply in all cultures.
One example is Paul’s instructions on braided hair (1 Tim. 2:9). The hairstyles he was referring to were very elaborate, showy, and often cost the equivalent of thousands of dollars.
It’s unlikely that the women in your church are wearing these ancient hairstyles Paul was addressing. But the principles of modesty and not drawing attention to one’s self apply in all times, and in all cultures. So yes, Paul’s instruction to the first-century Gentiles applies to us as well.
Many have invented clever ways to ignore the parts of Scripture they don’t like. True believers will not have this attitude. We may not know how each and every command applies in our day, but we should assume they do, unless other places in the Bible tell us otherwise.
Building Christian Civilization in Your Church
The idea of a Christian civilization is something most modern Christians don’t talk about unless they’re giving a history lesson. But the idea of a Christian civilization (also called “Christendom”), isn’t a concept that only belongs in the past, it’s important to the future as well.
Our commission from Christ says we are to teach the nations everything that Jesus commanded (Matt. 28:18-20). We tend to think that Jesus really meant, “teach some of the people in those nations some of My commands.” But that’s not what He said. The command is to teach whole nations to obey everything that Jesus commanded. Since Jesus is God, this means that the “commands” we are to teach the nations include all the commands in Scripture. Of course, a handful of OT commands are repealed in the NT (such as sacrificing animals), but they should still be taught since they are in our Bibles, even if we are not bound to keep them anymore.
While the commission isn’t an explicit command to build Christian civilizations, that’s exactly what obeying this commission would produce. There are commands and principles in Scripture that pertain to every area of life: art, dress, music, business, health, the family, worship, education, etc. A Christian civilization is one where all of these areas of life (and more) are conformed to God’s word.
The goal of “Christianizing” our nation is a large one. But for a nation to be discipled (Christianized), we must work from the local level to the national level. How “local” does this process start? Really local, like in your heart. But from there, it will work its way out to others as you obey God’s word and teach others to do the same.
While one person can be a “city on a hill” (Matt. 5:14) in some sense, a “city” implies more than one person. A “Christianized” church would be a better example of a city on a hill than an individual would (as would a family or a literal town that was Christianized).
To start building a Christian civilization in a local church, this concept must be taught from the pulpit. Preaching that teaches people how be saved from their sins is good. Only teaching people how to be saved is not good. Again, the goal of the commission is to see all of God’s commands being lived out. A church’s preaching must reflect this.
Of course, the people in the congregation also have responsibilities in this area: they must desire preaching that applies God’s word to everything.
It’s easy to pick on pastors for not teaching the whole Bible, but often the people in the congregation don’t want to hear it! They’re fine with the preacher telling them how to get to heaven when they die, but they don’t like being told that they have to obey God in every area of their lives. Many don’t like to hear that they have to follow God’s rules for their job, money, entertainment, who they vote for, etc.
Nevertheless, every Christian should be one who is willing to learn about (and do!) what the Bible says about every aspect of their life and the society in which they live. So, the pastors and teachers of a church must learn what the Bible says about every area of life and society, and teach the congregation those things.
While the pastors/teachers are responsible to know what the Bible says about all areas of life, it is impossible for them to be an expert in everything. This is why God gifts every Christian with certain knowledge and skills. As 1 Corinthians 12 says, God does this “for the profit of all” (v. 7).
Every Christian needs to know the Bible, and since the Bible has something to say about every area of life, every Christian should know a little bit about every area of life. But again, it is impossible for anyone to know everything. This is one reason you need others. Also remember, the pastors/teachers are not to do all the work of ministry; they are to equip others to do that work (Eph. 4:11-12).
We should seek to find out what skills and knowledge those in our congregation have. Of course, this can be done simply by talking to them, but pastors may find it helpful to have those in the congregation write out their jobs, hobbies, and interests. After these skills are known, encourage people to teach others in the congregation.
For example, if someone works as a doctor, have them learn all they can about medicine from a biblical perspective. Then, have them teach the rest of the congregation about health.
If someone has an interest in economics, have them learn all they can about economics from a biblical perspective. Then, have them teach others.
If someone is skilled in gardening, have them learn all they can about gardening from a biblical perspective. Then, have them teach everyone else.
If someone has an interest in fashion, have them learn all they can about clothing from a biblical perspective. Then, have them teach others in the congregation.
When a congregation begins to learn and do what the Bible says in all areas of life, a mini Christian civilization will begin to form. We cannot build a larger, nation-wide Christian civilization until the churches can model it to the rest of the nation. We must start local.
One final note: if you aren’t sure about where to get information about what the Bible says about a certain topic, feel free to contact me. I’ve been blessed to meet authors, speakers, teachers, etc. who are knowledgable on a wide variety of topics (including all the ones I mentioned in this article). I’d love to pass on the name of a book or a sermon on those topics and others.
You can email me at:
mike@5thKingdomMinistries.com
Missionaries Focus Too Much on Planting Churches
Christians in America, and missionaries overseas, need to stop focusing so much on planting churches. Please notice I didn’t say, “stop planting churches.” Church planting is necessary, but sometimes people overemphasize this aspect of our mission. It’s good to plant churches, but if that is seen as the primary goal of missions, our understanding of the Great Commission is lacking.
I’ve had the privilege of knowing and speaking with many missionaries over the years. I admire their courage and diligence to minister in areas where many people wouldn’t want to live. But in my observation, there’s a short-sightedness in most mission endeavors. The goal of missions is often seen as getting enough people saved to plant a church. Let me be clear, starting churches and seeing people saved are great things. But this is not an adequate view of the Great Commission.
In Matthew’s version of the Great Commission, Jesus says to disciple whole nations. He also says to teach those nations “to observe everything [He] has commanded” (Matt. 28:18-20). Since Jesus is God, and God has given us commands that pertain to family, business, education, economics, worship, law, charity, government, etc., the Great Commission involves teaching the nations how to obey God in all of those areas (and more!). When all of these things are taught, it leads, not just to people being transformed, it leads to whole societies being transformed! In other words, it’s not just churches that will spring up, but a Christian civilization. If that’s not the goal of missions, the goal is too small.
Also notice, the Commission doesn’t just say to teach God’s commands, but to teach the nations to “observe [obey] God’s commands.” The best way to teach others how to apply the Bible to all of life is for you to apply the Bible to all of life. It’s one thing to tell someone what to do, it’s another to show them.
God’s method of teaching incorporates this principle. In Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Israelite parents were to teach their children the word of God, not only by talking about God’s commands, but also by having their children accompany them as they sat in their homes and when they were out and about. Their children would learn by listening to what the parents said, but also by watching what they did (see also Prov. 23:26; John 5:19-20). This method of teaching was how Jesus taught His disciples: they lived with Him for about three years and in that time they not only heard Him teach, but they also observed His life.
So, how then can a single missionary show unbelievers how to raise a godly family, or show how a community should function, or form a civil government, etc.? How can a lone missionary show unbelievers what Christian civilization looks like? He can’t. At least, not by himself. An individual can’t teach those things very well, at least not by example.
This is why Christians used to send groups of believers into a land as missionaries, not just a couple of them. In times past, ten or twelve Christian men, and their families, would go to a foreign land and settle there. They would build a Christian community, a small Christian civilization. They would form a “city on a hill,” so to speak, and be a light to those who observed them (Matt. 5:14-15).
This was actually God’s plan for His OT people as well. He put Israel at the intersection of three continents (Asia, Europe, and Africa) and in the path of several trade routes. People from many nations would be traveling through Israel. When they did, they would see what a godly society looks like and would praise Israel’s God (Deut. 4:5-8).
While many unbelievers will hate the “light” (John 3:20), our example is often used by God to bring the lost to Himself (1 Pet. 2:12).
Those in church history who used the “city on a hill” method of missions often had great success (as God blessed their efforts). Societies that haven’t been affected by the gospel are not pleasant places to live in. And, when unbelievers saw what a community built on the Bible was like, they often wanted to learn more. A society built on God’s instruction will always be superior in every respect to any other society.
One of the best examples of a “city on a hill” missionary endeavor is the nation you’re living in now. While the modern U.S.A. isn’t quite the godly example it once was, it was built by those who wanted to be a city on a hill, a light to the rest of the world. In 1630, the Puritan John Winthrop preached a sermon to a group of Christians headed from England to America. He said that the community they would establish would be seen as “a city on a hill.” Also, in speaking of the Pilgrim colony, their governor William Bradford said, “as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea, in some sort to our whole nation.”
Planting churches is a part of the Great Commission, but it isn’t the whole mission. A vision of missions that sees the goal as only saving people and starting churches denies that God has given instruction for all of society, and that our job is teach the nations all that God has instructed. It’s time for a bigger vision for missions.
The Family: An Antidote to Tyranny
There are basically three options for a society. One option is tyranny. This option is not a pleasant one. In a tyranny, the people are oppressed by an overly powerful government.
A second option is anarchy. The word anarchy basically means “no ruler” or “no government.” The problem with anarchy is that it leads to tyranny. When everyone can do whatever they want, some people will want to oppress others. Those who are bigger, stronger, or smarter will begin to use and abuse others. So really, option one and two eventually lead to the same dark place.
The third option is a biblical society. God knows what the perfect balance of rules and liberty is. He knows human nature, and He knows how society functions best. Thankfully, He shared this knowledge with us in the Bible.
A well-ordered society is made up of individuals, families, local churches, and civil governments. God has given roles and responsibilities to each of these. All of these institutions are important, and all of them were ordained by God.
While we can’t say that the family is the only important institution, it is clear from Scripture that the family is foundational to society. The family goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 2 (even chapter 1 hints at it; see 1:26-28).
So it should not surprise us that the Bible teaches that the family is of extreme importance. But many may not realize that the antidote to both anarchy and tyranny is godly families.
Adam & Eve’s task was to “have dominion” (Gen. 1:28). Dominion isn’t oppression, but rather management and stewardship. They were to build a godly civilization. After sin came into the world, they were also engaged in a fight (Gen. 3:15). This fight was between the godly line and the ungodly line of humanity.
Soon, the ungodly line strikes out against the godly line as Cain kills Abel. Murder, a tool of tyrants, is introduced into the world (Gen. 4:8). Soon, other immorality is introduced (Gen. 4:19). Moral anarchy and tyranny go hand in hand.
After depicting the sorry state of society, the Bible then zooms in and focuses on a family. The picture shifts from the turmoil of the larger society to the smallest institution in society: the family (a man, his wife, and their children; Gen. 4:25).
A while later, society has grown even more corrupt (Gen. 6:5, 11). After depicting the corruption in the larger society, the Bible again zooms in and focuses on a family (Noah, his wife, and their children; Gen. 6:18).
After the flood, humanity again becomes corrupt. A tyrant named Nimrod begins to unite humanity against God and His people (Gen. 10:8-10; 11:1-6). The Lord puts a stop to their plan (Gen. 11:8-9), but that isn’t the end of the story. The Bible again focuses on a man, his wife, and their child (that they will have; Gen. 11:29-30; 12:7). Do you see a pattern?
Oh, but wait, there’s more!
In Exodus 1:8-16, a tyrant is oppressing the Hebrews. As tyrants love to do, he is attacking the family (Exo. 1:16). After describing this horrible tyranny, the story then focuses on a man who gets married and starts a family (Exo. 2:1-2).
During the time of the Judges, God’s people often went from being oppressed by tyrants (often foreign ones; Judg. 3:12-14; 4:1-3; etc.) to anarchy (Judg. 21:25). In the midst of all this societal turmoil, the Bible again zooms in to focus on a man, his wife, and their child (as in the story of Samson; Judg. 13:1-3).
The book of Ruth also takes place during the time of the Judges (Ruth 1:1). But the focus of the book isn’t on Israel’s judges, it’s on a marriage and the start of a family (Ruth 4:13).
The beginning of the book of 1 Samuel also takes place during the time of the Judges. Samuel was Israel’s last judge before they had a king (1 Sam. 7:15; 8:4-5). The book of 1 Samuel begins with a man, his wife, and their child (1 Sam. 1:1-20).
Some of you who are reading this may be thinking: “Those passages are meant to point us to Christ.” You are absolutely right! These passages do point us to another man (Joseph), his wife (Mary) and their child (Jesus)! These passages, just like all of Scripture, ultimately point to Christ.
But it isn’t a stretch to say that these passages also reinforce the idea that godly families are an important antidote against tyranny.
Do you see any tyranny in your society? If so, do what the Bible does: shift your focus from dysfunctional governments to the family. While we Christians should not abandon other aspects of the society we find ourselves in, we won’t be much of a force for good without building strong, godly families first.
How to Attract the “Right” People to Your Nation
Every nation discriminates. Every nation has its idea of who they want as citizens. Every nation will therefore seek to discourage certain types of people from coming into its borders. So, how do we make sure the “right” people immigrate to America?
The answer is not to give the government more control. When governments become socialist (like ours), they will try to attract people who also want socialism. The more control the government has over immigration, the more effective they will be at ensuring that only socialism-loving people will be allowed in.
This is something that Conservatives don’t seem to understand. They want to give more and more power to our socialist government to enforce who comes into our country and who doesn’t. For example, most Conservatives are in favor of the Clinton-Obama border wall. I call it the Clinton-Obama border wall, because Hillary and Barack both voted to fund the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border when they were senators. Sure, they pretended to be against the wall when President Trump was building it, but they’re not as opposed to it as they let on. Like other Communists, they want to have tight control over who comes and goes. Karl Marx even included the idea of strict government control over emigration in his Ten Planks of Communism (“immigration” refers to those coming into your country, “emigration” refers to those leaving your country). It’s no wonder, then, that the communist East Germans built the Berlin Wall to keep people from leaving.
America’s Founders, on the other hand, didn’t give the national government a lot of power over immigration. They wanted limited government in all areas, including in relation to people’s migrations. The Kentucky Resolves of 1798 (drafted by Thomas Jefferson) warned that governments often pass laws directed at “the friendless alien” first, but will eventually use similar laws against its citizens (see Resolve IX). Heed his warning: the laws that pertain to immigrants will likely be used against you one day. Be very careful in giving governments power in any area, including immigration and emigration.
As I’m writing this, a Canadian pastor who was arrested for holding a church service was prevented from leaving his country to speak at a conference that I was attending. Why? The ultimate reason was that he didn’t bow down to their tyranny. Our government isn’t much friendlier to Christians than Canada’s is. Soon, we will be held hostage by our own country simply for not bowing down to our tyrants. At that point, there will be no escape.
All of this is to say that more government control is not a good way to make sure the right people come to America. I’m not saying that the government should have no laws concerning immigration, but there are others ways of encouraging the “right” people to come here. Here’s a couple of ideas for attracting the “right” people to our shores, while still maintaining some freedoms:
1. Get rid of socialism. People complain that immigrants who come to America mooch off of “the system” (getting free stuff from the government). This is a valid complaint. However, the solution isn’t giving more power to the government. The solution is getting rid of the “system” that many immigrants mooch off of. In the Bible, it’s not the government’s role to provide free stuff to the people (citizens or foreigners).
If Americans would stop voting for socialist politicians (which includes all Democrats and about 99% of Republicans), immigrants couldn’t mooch off of the system. If there is no system to mooch off of, the moochers wouldn’t want to come to America. The only immigrants who would want to come would be the ones who just wanted a chance to work hard to provide for their families. Those are the “right” kind of people. Having a more biblical government would solve the mooching problem.
2. Have Bible-based laws. While we do want to maintain freedoms, the freedom to do violence to others is not the kind of freedom I’m referring to. Another complaint I hear about immigrants is that there are murderers, rapists, and sex traffickers coming across the border. This is also true (though the majority aren’t violent criminals).
But again, the solution isn’t giving the government more power to control people’s migrations. The solution is to have a more biblical government. While there are some immigrants who are involved in murder, rape, and sex trafficking, so are some Americans! Even if no foreigner was allowed in our country, these crimes would still happen. The answer then is to adequately punish those who commit these crimes. It is true that some immigrants who commit these crimes are let go with little or no punishment. However, the same often happens to American citizens who do these evil things.
In the Bible, the main job of the government is to punish evildoers (Rom. 13:1-4). The punishment for murder and rape is the death penalty (Exo. 21:12; Deut. 22:25-26). Furthermore, anyone who kidnaps someone and sells them into slavery (including sex-slavery) would also get the death penalty (Exo. 21:16).
If God’s laws were enforced against these crimes, immigrants who want to commit them would stay as far away from America as they could! So again, the only people who would want to come to America would be those who wanted to behave, and those are the people we want to come to our shores.
I realize there’s more to the immigration debate than can be covered in this short article (like terrorists coming over the border, etc). But when it comes to many of our immigration problems, the main fault is that our nation doesn’t obey the Bible. If there was no socialist system to take advantage of, we wouldn’t have immigrants taking advantage it! If we had laws that were in line with the Bible, those guilty of heinous crimes would actually be punished!
In short, a country that disobeys the Bible will attract immigrants who disobey the Bible. A country that reveres and obeys God will attract immigrants that are willing to do the same.
How to Attract the “Right” People to Your Church
Some forms of discrimination are sinful, but some are not. Churches should be discriminating against certain people. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t want everyone to come to our churches. By the way, everyone believes this.
If a fire-breathing conservative Christian were attending a very liberal church, and that Christian stood up in every Sunday service and read aloud verses in the Bible which talk of stoning those who practice homosexuality (Lev. 20:13), wouldn’t that person be asked to stop attending that church? And likewise, if a liberal “Christian” were attending a more conservative church and would not stop spreading blasphemous heresies, wouldn’t they be asked to leave as well? So really, every church discriminates.
How then do we get the “right” kind of people to come to our church? First, we must define who the right people are. The Bible does not divide humanity primarily by race or ethnicity, or economic status, etc. It does divide humanity by a person’s standing in Christ. A person is either in Christ or in Adam; saved or lost; a believer or an unbeliever; a sheep or a goat; elect or non-elect.
The true church (i.e., all true Christians) is made up of only those who have been regenerated (born again). Our local churches should ideally be made up of those same people. Of course, since we can’t see into the hearts of people, we can’t know for certain who is truly a believer and who is not.
We also need to take into consideration that even a true member of God’s elect may not yet be converted. God’s electing of people happens even before they are born (Eph. 1:4), so even while the apostle Paul was unconverted, he was one of the elect.
How then do we attract the right people (the elect) to our churches if we can’t even be certain about who the elect are?
Simple: do what God has told you to do. God knows everything. He knows the hearts of people and He knows the future, so He knows how attract the “right” people. If a church does what God has told it to do, no less and no more, it will mainly attract the elect. Of course, no church will be totally pure; even the best churches will have a mixture of believers and unbelievers amongst its members. But following the Bible will do much to weed out the pretenders. Generally speaking, the more closely a church follows the Bible, the higher the ratio of true Christians to false Christians will be.
The subject of what the Bible tells a local church to do is a large one, but here are a few ideas that will help your church attract the right people (i.e., the elect):
1. The preaching.
The preaching of the word of God is the most foundational aspect of a church. It is here where most churches have problems. If you are preaching sermons that are carefully crafted to not offend the unbeliever, then you will attract mostly unbelievers. This means, your church will soon be filled with people who are not true Christians (but who think they are). This is what happens when your preaching gives people the impression that they are “all right” in God’s eyes.
While preaching doesn’t have to be rude for rudeness sake, it does have to incorporate the whole Bible, and many of the Bible’s teachings are quite offensive to unbelievers! And yet, if an unconverted person is one of the elect, even bold preaching won’t scare him away (Acts 2:36-37).
Many churches today are filled with people who think that they are not in need of grace. These people often make up their own rules and think that because they obey their own rules, somehow that means they are right with God. Preaching that salvation is totally a work of God, and not us, will do much to drive these pretenders away.
On the other hand, in many churches there are people that live sinful lives, and yet they think they are right with God because they’ve been told that following God’s law isn’t that important. So, teaching that true salvation is always accompanied by good works (Eph. 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 5:3) will drive away those who believe that obedience to God’s commands is optional.
2. Church music.
Rick Warren once said that a church’s music will have a big impact on the type of people that come to your church. While most of what Warren says about church music is wrong, he is right on this point. Churches which worship God with music that mimics the music produced by a godless culture will mostly attract “worldly” people. These people aren’t true Christians (Jam. 4:4). And, just as truly biblical preaching will offend the non-elect, songs that are rooted in Scripture (and not just the “happy” verses) will not be preferred by unbelievers either. Even a quick perusal of inspired songs shows that God’s songs aren’t exactly “seeker-friendly” (Ps. 5:5-6; 7:11; 9:5, 17; etc).
3. Church discipline.
Not many unbelievers would want to be members of a church that practices biblical discipline. While we ought have grace, love, and humility toward our fellow church members, a true church will discipline members who continue in unrepentant sin.
4. Christian fellowship.
Even though close, loving fellowship can be attractive to unbelievers, many fake Christians prefer to attend churches that don’t have close fellowship. Many people want to belong to a community, but not many unbelievers want to have people asking about how their walk with the Lord is going.
Sharing meals together is great fellowship. But if everyone at the table is talking about the things of the Lord, that will tend to make a false Christian a little uncomfortable. Many false Christians attend megachurches because they don’t want fellowship! They’re there to check off their “went to church” box, not to actually invest their time caring for others.
Following the Bible won’t guarantee that a church will have no fakers in its midst. But not adhering to what the Scriptures say about church practice will generally attract mostly false Christians. Those who are numbered among the elect will be drawn to a biblical church; the non-elect will not be. A church should discriminate, but that discrimination should be organic, not forced. Just do what God has told you to do, and the good kind of discrimination will follow.
Think There’s Any Hope in National Politics? Think Again.
Are you still hoping that maybe, just maybe, it’s possible to “save America” by voting for good politicians? I hate to burst your bubble, but there are no signs of political hope at the national level. How did I come to this conclusion? By looking at what politicians do, as opposed to what they say.
There is a handy website that ranks the votes of every U.S. Senator and Representative according to the Constitution (thenewamerican.com/freedom-index/). If all of a politician’s votes are in line with the Constitution, then they get a score of 100 (%). If half of their votes are Constitutional, then their score will be 50, and so on. After looking at the scores of every Senator and Representative, I have come to the conclusion that we are doomed. I actually came to that conclusion before I did this little survey that I’m going to tell you about, but this confirms it.
I looked at every state’s legislators and calculated the average score for that state. As would be expected, some of the lowest scores came from places like New Hampshire and Connecticut. These two states actually had the lowest scores; they both scored a 10. This means that their average legislator violated the Constitution with 90% of their votes!
Surely, the rest of the country was much higher, right? Nope. When I looked at the scores from the legislators of all fifty states, the average state scored a 32.75! That’s right, the score of the average legislator at the national level is 32.75. That means over 2/3 of the votes cast in the U.S. Congress are unconstitutional, which means they are illegal. Congress can only vote according to the power given to them by the Constitution. If they go beyond that, they’re acting illegally.
Were there any good states? Nope, not one. Some were better than others, of course, but none of them were good. The more conservative states like Texas and Oklahoma only scored a 39.5 and 45.8 respectively. In fact, there was only one state which had legislators that averaged over 50%. That state was Louisiana, which scored a 53.3. Think about that! Only one state out of fifty obeyed the Constitution more than half the time! And they scored just barely over 50%. The best state’s legislators violated the Constitution with almost half of their votes.
But the Republicans will save us!
Do you really think that? Well, let’s take a look. As I looked at the voting records of Republicans, I noticed an interesting phenomenon: Republicans in liberal states often had higher scores than the ones in more conservative states. For example, Colorado had an overall score of 35. But the Republicans in CO (all two of them) had an average score of 75. Virginia had a total score of 27.5, but their Republicans (all three of them) averaged a 70.
While those numbers look good, the rest of the Republicans didn’t do nearly as well. Remember, Republicans are generally considered “conservative” and conservatives claim to follow the Constitution (though that is debatable). So, you’d think that the average for America’s Republican legislators would be fairly high, say above 66% (2/3). You’d be mistaken however; the average for Republicans in all states was 46.8. Less than half! Again, these are the guys (and gals) that claim to love the Constitution. Their score was higher than the Democrats, of course, but still nothing to write home about. Sorry, but the Republicans aren’t giving us much hope either as far “saving America” is concerned.
The conservatives will save us!
I’ve written in the past about some of the failings of the conservative movement, so I won’t rehash them here. But when you look at the politicians that conservatives end up supporting, I’m not sure they have the wisdom to be of much help, at least as far as helping Americans know which politicians will obey the Constitution.
Of course, some of the legislators that are favorably spoken of by conservatives are not too horrible. Guys like Louie Gohmert (70), Mike Lee (75), and Rand Paul (80) are much better than the average, and most conservatives speak favorably of them. As a side note, the only one with a perfect score (100) is Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
But many of the legislators that conservatives champion are downright liberal! In my state (Florida), our two Senators are Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. They scored a 20 and a 40 respectively, and yet I’ve heard some conservatives speak favorably of these guys! It’s the same with Lindsey Graham, who also scored a 20. To be fair, not every conservative likes Rubio, Scott, and Graham. But there are other legislators that most conservatives support, which are almost as bad. For example, many have labeled Marsha Blackburn (TN) as “the most conservative” Senator, yet her score is a 40. Apparently, violating the Constitution 60% of the time makes you a great conservative! I could cite many more examples, but you get the picture.
So, do we just give up?
Yes, and no. I’m not saying that we Christians should stop working for a more biblical government (which the Constitution represents to some extent). But I do believe most efforts at the national level will be fruitless for the most part. It would be much better to focus on the state and local level. We need to vote for local officials who understand good government and have the courage to stand up to the national government. Local leaders have the right, in fact the duty, to defy any unconstitutional acts of the national government.
Of course, God can do anything, but as it looks right now, there isn’t much hope for the nation as a whole. It would be better to work to preserve (and regain) our liberties at the local level, rather than waste time and energy with what looks to be a hopeless national cause.
Money “Printing” and the Bible
The phrase “money printing” is sometimes used as a nickname for the process of creating money out of a worthless material (or thin air). Even when money creation is done by typing digits into a computer, it’s still sometimes called money “printing.” This issue is especially important because, in the U. S. and around the world, a whole bunch of money printing is going on.
You won’t find the phrase “money printing” in the Bible, and you certainly won’t find talk of creating money with a computer, but the concept is right there in Scripture. This concept can be a bit complicated, but hang with me because this is super important.
God actually hates money printing! He hates it so bad, He calls it an abomination! Again, this issue can be a little hard to explain, but I’ll try to do it in three points.
Point #1: Dishonest scales. Deuteronomy 25:13-16 says that anyone who uses a dishonest (unjust) weight or measure –that person is an abomination.
What does that have to do with money printing? Well, in those days, money was measured by weight. It was made out of gold, silver, or copper, and each coin had a weight to it. Today, we use ounces (oz.), so that’s the term I’m going to use. So, if I wanted to buy some wheat, I would go to the store and ask for a pound of wheat. The cashier tells me that it will cost me one oz. of silver.
I agree that’s a fair price, so she measures out a pound of wheat and puts it on a scale (picture a balance scale). She would then put a one-pound weight on one side of the scale and the wheat on the other, in order to make sure it was really a pound of wheat.
Now, what if she wanted to cheat me? One of the ways she could do that was to make a weight that weighed 1/2 a pound and stamp the words “one pound” on it. So, when she measured out a 1/2 pound of wheat, it would look like it weighed a whole pound, because it weighed the same (on the scale) as the “one pound” weight (that really weighed 1/2 pound). And so, she could make me think I was buying onepound, when in reality, I was only buying a 1/2 pound.
Now, let’s say I wanted to cheat her. She has the wheat and the scale, so I can’t tamper with those, but I can cheat her by tampering with the money. After she weighs out the wheat, she’s going to weigh my coin to make sure I’m giving her a full oz. of silver. (remember, the price of a pound of wheat is one oz. of silver).
But, let’s say I took my one oz. silver coin, and melted it down. Then I added one oz. of a worthlessmetal to the melting pot. Now I can make two coins that weigh one oz. each. But each coin is only half silver and half worthless metal. So, each one oz. coin only has a 1/2 oz. of silver in it.
When I go to the store and give my coin to the cashier, she thinks it’s an oz. of silver. But it’s not. It’s only 1/2 an oz. So, I get a whole pound of wheat for 1/2 an oz. of silver, when I was supposed to give her a whole oz. of silver. By making money out of a worthless metal, I can cheat people.
Point #2: Making money worth less. When you make money out of a worthless metal, you are stealing from others. First, you are stealing by giving people the false impression that your one-oz. coins have one oz. of silver in them, when they only have 1/2 oz.
But you’re not just stealing from the wheat store. You’re stealing from everyone in your town, even if they don’t do business with you!
Here’s why: the more of something there is, the less that thing is worth. Why is paper so cheap? Because there’s a whole bunch of it. Why are big diamonds so expensive? Because they’re rare! If big diamonds grew on trees, no one would pay millions of dollars for a big diamond.
It’s the same with dollars. The more of them there are, the less those dollars are worth. So, if I’m printing lots of money (or making it out of worthless metal), the value of everyone else’s money goes down because there’s now more dollars in my town (or nation). So, money printing makes everyone’s money lose value.
But if I’m printing money, do I care if my money loses value? No! I’ll just print more money! But, of course, this will make other people’s money lose even more value.
Now it may seem like this isn’t a big deal. After all, if more money is being added to a community, won’t everyone be getting richer? The answer is, no.
Let’s say I print a bunch of money in the year 2021, when the price of a car is $30k. I basically get the car for free, because I’m the one making money out of a worthless material (paper). That $30k goes to the car dealer. He saves some of that money in his bank for 5 years because he wants to buy a boat. After he buys the boat, the boat dealer saves some of that money for 5 years because he wants to go on a month-long road trip. On that trip, he spends some of that money at a fancy hotel. The hotel uses some of that money to pay their workers. One of the hotel workers saves some of that money for about 5 years to buy a car.
Only now, the year is 2036, and a car doesn’t cost $30k. That same car now costs $40k. So, even though the money I printed eventually gets to the hotel worker, by the time it does, her money is worth less than when I first printed it in 2021 (because I keep printing money every year). So, she ends up having to use more dollars to buy a car. By printing money, I made her costs go up. But I don’t care about rising costs, because I can just print more money!
I’m getting rich, while everyone else gets poorer (because their money is worth less). This is why God hates money printing. The ones who print money are stealing from everyone else, and it happens in a way that the people being stolen from don’t know it’s happening.
Point #3: Destruction. When people do what God hates, He will always put a stop to it eventually. Isaiah 1:22-25 tells us what God will do to money printers. Some people in Israel were making coins with worthless metals (“dross”; v. 22). In that day, the government (the “princes”) had a deal with the “thieves” (the ones making money with worthless metal; v. 23). The government was protecting the thieves. But God wasn’t going to let this go on; He would soon take vengeance on those money printers (v. 24).
In the United States today, the ones who print money are at the Federal Reserve. They are not really “federal” in that they aren’t part of the government. It’s a private “bank,” and it’s stealing from us all. The government does help the thieves, however; they make sure the Federal Reserve can continue to print money with no accountability. This is very similar to the situation in Isaiah’s day! When will God take vengeance on the “princes and thieves” of America like He did to the ones in Israel? I don’t know. But every nation in history that has had this “abomination” money system has suffered economic calamity.
What you can do about it:
1. Stop voting for “princes” who help out the money printing thieves.
2. Get some money that isn’t “dross.” As more money gets printed, your fake money (dollars) will lose value. Real money (gold & silver) will hold their value better than printed money. It would be good to have some.
3. Prepare for hard times as God brings down this thieving economic system. And work with others in planning for hard times.
4. Learn more about how this evil money system works. And then, teach others in your family and church.
What Does the Bible Say About Bible Versions?
The Bible has something to say about every area of life. The subject of which English Bible version we should be using is an important issue. Since it is an important issue, you would think the Bible would have something to say about it. Guess what? It does.
Of course, you’re not going to find the names of common Bible versions in the text of Scripture. You won’t see “Thou shalt use such and such a version…” But you will find principles in Scripture that give us guidance in the area of choosing a Bible version. The two main questions to consider when choosing a Bible version are: 1) how is it translated? And, 2) which ancient manuscripts was that version translated from?
The first issue we are faced with when choosing a Bible version is how that version was translated. There are two main ways this is done. There is the “word for word” method, and the “thought for thought” method.
A translator who uses the word for word method will read the text of Scripture in the original language. They take the first word they read, and then translate that word into English. Then, they come to the next word, and translate that word into English, and so on. Because word for word translations are more accurate, they are often somewhat harder to read.
A thought for thought translator translates the Bible by reading portion of Scripture and then asking himself “What is the idea (or thought) contained in this verse?” He then writes down, in English, the thought or idea that he thinks is expressed in that verse. Thought for thought translations are easier to read, but aren’t as accurate.
In reality, there isn’t a purely word for word or thought for thought translation. But every translator will lean toward one method or the other.
So, which translation method does the Bible suggest to be the best? I would argue the word for word method. True, the Bible contains the “thoughts” of God, but those thoughts come to us in words. When God had something to say to His people, He inspired men to write down that message. God didn’t merely give those writers ideas, He gave them the words that He wanted them to say (Jer. 1:9; Rev. 22:18-19, etc.). So, the word for word method of translating would be more in line with what the Bible says about itself, because that method recognizes that every word which God inspired is important.
The second issue we must look at when choosing a Bible version is which ancient manuscripts that version was translated from. We have many old manuscripts of the Bible in the original languages (Hebrew & Greek). But there are some differences in some of these manuscripts. This can be a complicated issue, so I’ll be oversimplifying a bit.
Most of the debate over which manuscripts to use for the basis of our English versions is centered around certain groups of New Testament Greek manuscripts. Most of the more recent English Bible versions are translated from an older group of manuscripts that weren’t used by most Christians until more recent times. These manuscripts make up what’s known as the Modern Critical Text.
The other group of manuscripts that some of our Bibles are translated from is known as the Received Text. These manuscripts are younger, but have been in use by the church for a longer period of time. There also is another group of manuscripts known as the Majority Text. The Majority Text and the Received Text are fairly similar to one another, so I’ll mostly be comparing the Received Text and the Modern Critical Text.
Again, you won’t find the Bible telling us explicitly which ones are the better manuscripts, but it does give us guidance. So, if we were to use the Bible to build our view as to which group of manuscripts to translate from, which would it be?
The argument for the Modern Critical Text goes like this: because it is older and closer to the source, it is more accurate (again, I’m oversimplifying). With any other book, the more times it is copied, the more chance there is for mistakes to happen. It’s kind of like the game “Telephone”; the message gets changed as it is whispered from person to person. So, the argument goes, the older manuscripts will be closer to the source, and therefore, more accurate. While that sounds like a good argument, it’s not an argument based on the Bible.
God’s word is clear: the Bible is not just another book! God wants His people to have and know His word (Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 2:15; etc.). Furthermore, God will keep His word pure throughout the generations (Ps. 12:6-7). The manuscripts that have been in use by the church throughout the centuries would seem to be the ones that are approved by God. The manuscripts that were not in use throughout most of church history (The Modern Critical Text), would not be the ones that God providentially preserved for His people to use. Please note that I’m not saying that the church gets to determine which manuscripts are best; I’m only saying that the manuscripts which have been in use by the church are the ones that God has preserved for His people to use. The Received Text is the group of manuscripts that best fits the biblical principle that God will make sure His people will have His inerrant word throughout the generations.
So, which Bible versions would be the most in line with what the Bible teaches about itself? As far as modern versions go, the only one that would qualify is the New King James Version. The old King James (aka the Authorized Version) would fit these criteria as well. While I’m not a “KJV Onlyist,” it is probably the most accurate English version. The Geneva Bible (1599) is the one that the Pilgrims brought with them on the Mayflower, and that one would fit these criteria too.
God has taught me a lot through Bible versions that I now know are inferior translations. And if a person has trouble reading English, a lesser version might suffice for a time, though they should be encouraged to use a better translation if they can. Of course, if you want the most accurate version, learn Greek and Hebrew. Then you can read the Scriptures in the language that God inspired them to be written in.
Running from the Police, Breaking Out of Jail, Lying to the Government, and Other Godly Activities.
So many Christians today see disobeying the government as a sin. To be sure, in many cases it is a sin. But, if the Bible teaches submission to the government in all or almost all situations, why do tyrant governments ban Bibles studies? You’d think that evil rulers would require Bible reading, if that’s what the Bible taught.
The reason bad governments don’t like the Bible is that it doesn’t teach unlimited submission to the government. In fact, it teaches us to defy tyranny. Here are some examples:
1. Running from the police.
The job of the police is to enforce the law. If the laws are good, that’s not a problem. But, if the laws are bad that can become a big problem. Sometimes, the police are used by tyrants to enforce, not the law, but the will of that tyrant. Either way, it is the job of the police to arrest those who defy the will of the government.
One day Paul got into some trouble. He made the government mad, and they sent the police to arrest him. Did Paul submit? Did he let them arrest him? Nope. He ran.
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul is reluctantly “boasting” about some of his qualifications for being an apostle. After mentioning some of the things he suffered (vv. 23-28), he then goes on to “boast” about the time he escaped from the authorities that were sent to arrest him (vv. 32-33). He even enlisted the help of other disciples to escape the police (Acts 9:24-25).
2. Breaking out of jail.
Peter also made the government angry, and they sent the police after him. Peter, however, was unable to escape the police like Paul did. Peter was arrested and put in jail (Acts 12:4). While he was in jail, God sent an angel to break him out. (vv. 6-10). At first, Peter thought he was seeing a vision, but after realizing that he really had escaped the jail, he praised God for his deliverance (v. 11).
While it is rather unusual for an angel to break people out of jail, the point is that God doesn’t consider escaping from jail to be immoral (assuming one is jailed for unjust reasons, of course).
3. “Lying” to the government.
Generally speaking, God is opposed to taking another person’s life. However, there are exceptions (Exo. 22:2; Deut. 20:12-13; etc.). Generally speaking, God is opposed to saying things that aren’t true. But again, there are exceptions. There are many times in Scripture where God approves of people being deceitful, and in every such case (that I know of), that person is lying to the government.
In Exodus 1, the Hebrew midwives were told by the government to kill babies (vv. 15-16). The midwives defied the government. When asked why they weren’t obeying orders, the midwives lied, and said that the Hebrew mothers were giving birth before the midwives could get there (v. 19). However, this wasn’t true, it was merely an excuse. The real reason the midwives disobeyed was that they feared God, not because they couldn’t get there in time (v. 17). God approved of their disobeying and deceiving the government, and He blessed them for it (vv. 20-21).
In Joshua 2, Rahab hides the Israelite spies that the government is trying to arrest (vv. 1-4). When the government asks her to turn the spies over to them, she lies to the police and says that the spies escaped through the city gate (v. 5). This wasn’t true, and Rahab knew it. The spies were hiding on her roof and she was the one who put them there (v. 6)! Did God approve of Rahab’s deceit? You bet He did! In fact, Rahab’s lying is what God considers as proof of her faith (Heb. 11:31; Jam. 2:25)!
Some may say that God approved of hiding the spies, but not of the lying. However, the deception was part and parcel to the hiding of the spies. The government wanted her to give the spies over to them. If she had told the truth (or even just said nothing), the police would have known the spies were there, and would have searched Rahab’s house instead of leaving. Rahab sent the spies out “another way” (Jam. 2:25). She did that in order to deceive the authorities. In fact, the very act of hiding something is a form of deception.
There are many more examples of God blessing His people when they disobey, deceive, and run from ungodly governments. That being said, I need to remind you that these examples which I have cited are all dealing with life and death situations. In each case, someone’s life was in danger. I’m not saying that is the only time to disobey (see Acts 5:27-29), but we should do our best to live at peace with all men, including the government (Rom. 12:18). However, when governments are a threat to life, gospel proclamation, or a godly living, we don’t have to bow down to them. God is not only okay with disobeying the government in those cases, He actually blesses that disobedience.
I’ll leave you with a quote that represents what Christians from the past have thought about defying the government (“princes”) when they are behaving in an ungodly way:
“For earthly princes lay aside their power when they rise up against God, and are unworthy to be reckoned among the number of mankind. We ought, rather, to spit upon their heads than to obey them.” – John Calvin (1509-1564)