SUPER BOWL LII

SUPER BOWL LII

As I sit down to pen this article, Super Bowl LII is but a few days away. This was made all too sadly and tragically apparent by the sign outside of the large, local, denominational church building which I passed by just yesterday. It read:

Youth outreach, couples outreach, financial outreach, Super Bowl out reach... had enough yet?

Youth outreach, couples outreach, financial outreach, Seniors outreach, Super Bowl outreach… had enough outreach yet?  How about worship and service as we are drawn by God?

How sad is that? If that isn’t sacrilegious to say the least, then I don’t know what is. By the way, the fourth edition of Webster’s New World College Dictionary (© 1999 by Macmillan USA), defines the word ‘sacrilege,’ in part as:

Temple robber… 1 the act of appropriating to oneself or to secular use, or of violating, what is consecrated to God or religion 2 the intentional desecration, or disrespectful treatment of a person, place, thing, or idea held sacred.

 SYN. – sacrilege implies a violation of something sacred, as by appropriating to oneself or to a secular use something that has been dedicated to a religious purpose; profanation suggests a lack of reverence or a positive contempt for things regarded as sacred; desecration implies a removal of the sacredness of some object or place, as by defiling or polluting it.

And so, here is a congregation of the man-made Protestant denomination born of men in 1607, appearing at least to me, to be sacrilegiously ‘taking a page out of the pre-medieval Catholic Church’s playbook’ (the Catholic Church which this denomination was later, supposedly formed in protestation of), when they confiscated, sought to re-make, and absconded with the pagan celebration of Estra, the false goddess of fertility, seeking to take advantage of and capitalize on its popularity amongst the masses by re-forming it into something that might supposedly help their particular brand of ‘Christianity’ to become more popular, appealing, and/or widespread as well. How so? Here’s how…

Apparently, the grace-laden, life-giving, soul-saving gospel of the living God and the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer good enough, pure enough, or powerful enough in the eyes of many of the man-made denominations all around us, to attract the lost and sin-ravaged souls of the masses any longer anyway. Some now appear to believe that they have to resort to the partial replacing or perhaps supposedly ‘enhancing’ or ‘improving’ of its sacred attractiveness – with such things as a sporting event?!? INCREDIBLE! But certainly not unbelievable… Tragically, it’s all too believable. After all, it is this particular man-made division or denomination (1 Cor. 1:10) which also routinely hosts rodeo-style events in the arenas on their premises in yet another sacrilegious and foreign to scripture event, known as “Cowboy Church”; once again appealing far, far more to the fleeting and adrenalin-driven entertainment mentality of the fickle and misled masses, than to the divinely-inspired and all-authoritative directives of almighty God (Psa. 19:7-11;Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Tim. 3:12-4:4).

But what else should one expect? After all, did not Jesus indicate that if anyone truly loves Him, they would then submit themselves to His will – the will and word of almighty God (Jn. 14:15)? And if anyone really does that, then they could not refer to themselves by any name or term foreign to or not found in God’s word; nor would they preach, teach, or practice any other doctrine than that which is found in the New Testament in places like Acts 2:38-41, 22:16; Eph. 4:4-6; Gal. 3:26-27, 5:4; 1 Peter 3:21; and/or many others to begin with, would they?

But, back to the whole Super Bowl/gospel ‘attractiveness/enhancement’ thing… Do you remember almighty God’s fiery revulsion for, and utter and complete rejection and condemnation of, all of the idols, idolatry, and idolatrous worship practices which the people repeatedly resorted back to, instead of worshipping Him in spirit and truth as He commanded in the Scriptures? It was constant, consistent, continual, and catastrophic! Condemning idolatry (or the worship of false gods) and idolatrous worship was the first, top, and utmost priority of the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:6-11), as well as the Apostle Paul’s top priority to address in his oratories to the pagans in places like Athens (Acts 17:16-31).

And yet, here we are today, with at least one group of religious people – and God forbid that it should ever be joined by one of the congregations of His Son’s one, New Testament church as seen in the Scriptures – still idolatrously seeking to superimpose the ‘worship’ of the ‘false gods’ and ‘idols’ of sports entertainment, over and above (or at the very least, to somehow, at least in their minds, ‘enhance’ or improve the attractiveness of) even any half-informed attempt to perhaps try to practice some semblance of first-century, scripturally-demanded, spirit and truth worship! What a shame.

Now; for anyone who might possibly wish to judge me and/or this article for being too ‘judgmental’ or ‘unloving,’ might I humbly and lovingly suggest that they first go back and read the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in Jn. 7:24; and then look up what John, the so-called ‘apostle of love’ had to say as it relates to this article’s contents in 1 Jn. 2:15-17 & 4:1-6?

And so, in conclusion… do you know what God’s faithful people will be doing on the Sunday of the so-called Super Bowl?  The same thing they’ve been doing every Sunday since the first century church of Christ (Rom. 16:16) came into existence! Gathering to worship God in spirit and truth at each and every opportunity of course – and not needing any extra or added incentive from sports idols and/or worldly sporting events to spark or enhance their worship service’s attractiveness, attendance, or their worship service experience. God is still enough and more for them – and that is exactly what makes them the kind of worshippers the scriptures clearly tell us that the Father is still seeking (Jn. 4:23-24)! After all, that is what makes every Sunday ‘super’ to them!

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His Glory if Full of Grace

His Glory if Full of Grace

John said that when the Word became flesh we beheld His glory and that His glory was full of grace (John 1:14). There is no way to separate God’s glory from His eternal grace and mercy. To look at the events in the life of Jesus is to see a mirror of heaven’s grace as revealed throughout the divine history of God’s dealing with man.

You can see God's grace in your life.

You can see God’s grace in your life.

Moses Saw God’s Glory

I remember as a child the story of Moses asking God to show Him His glory. The Lord told Moses that no one could see His face and live, but Moses would see His glory the next day. I read the rest of the book of Exodus hoping that Moses would reveal what the backside of God looked like. It was only as an adult I read the story about the events on that day and fully understood what Moses saw.

Read Moses’ Description of God’s Glory

Hear Moses’ description of what God’s glory looks like. “Then The Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations’” (Ex. 34:6-7). Read these words carefully. The true glory of God is not seen with physical eyes of humans, but with the eyes of faith. God’s glory is seen in His mercy, grace, compassion, longsuffering, abounding goodness, keeping mercy for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin!

We Beheld the Word’s Glory—Full of Grace

Paul said that the fullness of deity dwelt in bodily form in Jesus (Col. 2:9). When those disciples saw Jesus’ glorious grace, what did they see? Stand at the foot of the cross and see the fullness of God’s grace manifested in Jesus. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Ask Peter about fullness of grace bestowed upon him. Less than two months after He denied the Lord, Peter proclaimed the Lord’s grace on Pentecost. Read the gospel accounts. In story after story, you see Divine glory and grace.

See the Fullness of Divine Grace in Your Life

Take time to reflect on seeing the Word’s glory and grace in your life. When we were sinners, He died for us. He wept over Jerusalem, and He wept over us when we were rebellious. Read the word of John slowly and thank God that you can see what John said. “The Word became flesh and we beheld His glory, full of grace…” He longs for us to be in heaven. Thank the Lord for His glorious grace we have seen in our lives!

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¿QUIEN ESCRIBIO EL HEBREOS?

¿QUIEN ESCRIBIO EL HEBREOS?

Es fácil reconocer en primer plano, que esta bella epístola es obra de Dios y que su canonicidad no está en tela de duda. La epístola a los Hebreos está dentro de la categoría de “epístolas generales” llamadas así simplemente porque no hay una audiencia especifica. El contenido de la carta está bellamente diseñado para tratar con un aspecto especifico y eso es la supremacia de Cristo. Estas lineas seguramente fueron más que un aliento a su fe para los cristianos del primer siglo que por el ambiente en el que se encontraban estaban forzados a escuchar filosofías falsas y con el gnosticismo en el aire negando la deidad del Señor, debió de haber herido mucho a estos falsos maestros y presentó uno excelente defensa en contra de estas doctrinas erradas. Es más que claro, Cristo es superior a todo lo conocido en el sistema judío y a todos en la historia Judía.

¿QUIEN ESCRIBIO EL HEBREOS?

¿QUIEN ESCRIBIO EL HEBREOS?

¿Quién escribió Hebreos? No es una pregunta que se contesta de buenas a primeras. Muy frecuentemente escuchamos durante clases bíblicas que Pablo es el autor de estos escritos, como si fuera tan fácil, sin mostrar ninguna evidencia solamente citar su nombre. Algunos han pensado que Pablo es el escritor que más movió su pluma en el nuevo testamento, sin embargo no lo es. Lucas, el médico amado (quién no fue apóstol) es quién se lleva el crédito de haber aportado más  material en la formación del N.T y por lo tanto señalan a él como el posible autor de Hebreos. Por otra parte algunos observan a Bernabé como una una poderosa opción de autoría. El estuvo viajando con Pablo y conoció personas a las que Pablo también conoció, es él; Bernabé, quién perfectamente pudo referirse a Timoteo en el capitulo 13 de Hebreos como: “el hermano Timoteo”, y también es el quién, perfectamente conocía la ley de Dios en el Antiguo Testamento lo suficiente como para utilizar el lenguaje antiguo-testamentario del que hace uso Hebreos. Recordemos que Bernabé intercedió por Pablo poco después de su conversión, ante el concilio y esto lo pone dentro de la lista de apologistas del N.T y por lo tanto no es extraño que presente su apología a favor de la superioridad de Cristo.

Personalmente me inclino a pensar mucho más que este hermano sea quien haya escrito la epístola por las razones de peso anteriormente mencionadas, sin embargo sigue siendo solo una opinión más. Hay quienes también aluden a Apolos como posible escritor ya que se menciona en Hechos 18:24 que era un varón poderoso en las escrituras y es parte de lo que logramos ver en Hebreos, un varón con un basto conocimiento del A.T que es de lo que por supuesto hace referencia la frase “escrituras” en ese capítulo. En 1Co.1:12 Pablo hace una mención de Apolos en la exhortación a estos hermanos que tenían en muy alta estima el tremendo trabajo que hacía para el Señor, pero que ellos lo estaban malinterpretando. Me atrevo a pensar que perfectamente puede ser una razón valida por parte del Espíritu Santo al haber dejado la epístola sin el nombre del escritor visible. La balanza se inclina  favorablemente también para que Apolos haya sido el escritor. Sin embargo ¿cuales son los argumentos utilizados para quienes apelan por el nombre de Pablo detrás de la pluma de Hebreos? quizás pueda ser más fácil solamente mencionar los argumentos a favor y los argumentos en contra y dejar que usted decida por si mismo,  pero la evidencia simplemente no es lo suficientemente fuerte a favor de que Pablo haya sido el escritor y vemos porque:

 A FAVOR 

  1. En Hebreos vemos la superioridad del Cristianismo sobre el Judaísmo que aparece también en las cartas de Pablo (2Co.3:6-18; Gal. 4:1-9, Gal. 4:21-31; Gal. 3:23-25). El mismo tema de estos versículos es el tema en Hebreos. (No creo en lo absoluto que este tema sea el punto central en los escritos de Pablo, lo vemos también reflejados en los escritos de Juan y de Pedro y casi, casi de todo el N.T, así que el argumento pierde fuerza).
  2. Pablo escribió sobre la divinidad de Jesús al igual que Hebreos lo hace (Heb.1:3). (Una vez más Juan también dedicó un evangelio completo para específicamente  establecer la divinidad de Cristo, entonces ¿Puede ser Juan el autor de Hebreos? Obviamente que la carta no obedece a su estilo, el argumento también queda sin fuerza.)
  3. Pablo  y solamente él, utiliza la representación de la vida Cristiana como una carrera y el autor de los Hebreos también la usa (1Co 9:24 comparado a Hebreos 12:1). Por lo tanto Pablo es el autor. (No necesariamente. Es cierto que el lenguaje es el mismo sin embargo cabe la enorme posibilidad de que el autor de los Hebreos haya tenido acceso a los escritos de Pablo.  Sabemos que este fue el caso cuando el Apóstol Pedro tomó palabras de Pablo y las mencionó en su epístola (2 Pd.3:15) por lo tanto también el argumento queda aislado.
  4. Hay por lo menos unos 15-20 argumentos más a favor pero del mismo patrón de los 3  anteriores  se repite consecutivamente, por ende las misma respuesta a cada uno de ellos.

EN CONTRA 

  1. Uno de los argumentos más fuerte en contra de la autoría de Pablo se encuentra en Hebreos 2:3-4 donde el autor se refiere a “los” que oyeron y “los” que confirmaron con señales, prodigios y diversos milagros.  Claramente el autor se excluye de los que oyeron y de los que confirmaron y más bien se incluye en grupo de los que les fue confirmada esta salvación tan grande. Usted recordará en Marcos 16:17-18 Cristo promete a sus discípulos que a ellos se les iba a dar este poder de lo alto para que la palabra fuera confirmada con milagros, prodigios y demás. En Hechos 2:43 la Biblia enseña que muchas maravillas, prodigios y señales eran hechas por mano de los apóstoles únicamente. Obviamente después de su conversión el que llega a ser el Apóstol Pablo tuvo el mismo poder para confirmar la palabra que predicaba (Ejemplo Hechos 13, y como Elimas, Pablo lo deja ciego par haber interferido entre la verdad y el procónsul). Es evidente entonces que Pablo no pudo ser el escritor de Hebreos ya que él( el escritor) se excluye de ese grupo (los apóstoles), cual Pablo parte, con todos los mismos derechos y poderes de un apóstol verdadero de Jesucristo.
  2. Todas las epístolas de Pablo comienzan con su nombre en el primer versículo o el segundo  (desde Romanos hasta Filemón) y algunas veces al final. Todas todas excepto Hebreos, ¿será que a Pablo se le haya olvidado?, ¿habiendo seguido el mismo patrón sin excepción alguna más que Hebreos?
  3. Las cartas de Pablo llevaban un “signo” o  como dice la Biblia de las Américas “una señal distintiva” (2Tes 3:17) y esta señal era escrita por mano propia del apóstol Pablo, que por cierto Hebreos no lleva. Si llevara la salutación de Pablo (su signo) la discusión hubiera muerto hace muchos años atrás.
  4. Pablo se refiere a Timoteo como su amado hijo en la fe (2Tim 1:2) una vez y otra vez en (1Co 4:17).  Sin embargo al llegar a Hebreos 13: 23 a Pablo se le olvida como es que se refería cuando hablaba de su hijo Timoteo, y por accidente le llama “hermano”. No lo creo amigo lector, sino más bien con los 3 puntos anteriormente presentados suena a un hermano diferente refiriéndose con respeto al “hermano Timoteo”.
  5. Mientras en la carta encontramos lenguaje muy parecido al de Pablo, el estilo en sí no parece obedecer al del apóstol.  La hipérbole y el sarcasmo son claras figuras literarias utilizadas por Pablo muy frecuentemente que se encuentran prácticamente ausentes en la epístola a los Hebreos.

Es Probable que existan algunas razones más en contra de la autoría de Pablo pero las anteriores aquí presentadas son suficientes para creer fuertemente que el apóstol no estuvo detrás de está epístola. Cualquiera que haya sido el escritor el autor intelectual sigue siendo el mismo… El Espíritu Santo. Alguien puede decir: “Bueno, en realidad la discusión es vacía porque no es relevante saber el nombre del escritor” mientras que es absolutamente cierto de que no conocemos con exactitud el nombre el escritor, también es trascendental de que no nada más digamos: “Pablo es el autor”. Porque aunque no sepamos el nombre del escritor, de algo si estamos seguros (al menos por parte de este servidor) y es de que Pablo no pudo haber escrito Hebreos. Un día cuando lleguemos al cielo podremos conocer realmente al escritor y tal vez, nos llevemos una tremenda sorpresa.

 

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Empowered Daughter? No Thanks!

No, I don’t want an empowered daughter

My daughter has always held a very special place in my heart.  Within the walls of our house she is known by a variety of endearing nicknames. Today, she stands on the precipice between girlhood and womanhood. The transformation is both extremely exciting but also terrifying—for I am the guy who feels like age 55 would be too soon for her to start courting. As I told her recently in a letter, she will always be my baby girl—my little princess.

However, there is a crusade sweeping across our country that I believe threatens my little girl’s relationship with God.  And what’s even more troubling is many Christian young ladies are jumping onboard with it, not even really thinking about what it means in context of what Scripture teaches. Even some conservative women speakers in the church are helping to promote this concept. This movement is all about women being “empowered.”

Does God want an empowered person proud of their own strength and accomplishments? Daniel 4

Does God want an empowered person proud of their own strength and accomplishments? Daniel 4

Don’t believe me? Consider for just a moment the way Disney/Pixar films have changed. We’ve gone from Prince Charming leaning over and kissing Snow White to movies like Frozen and Brave—movies where the girl turns away from the kiss and is portrayed as strong and empowered.

Move over men, the women will take charge and make things better. There are songs, movements, protests, television shows, and even hashtags about being “empowered.” All the way back in 1971 Helen Reddy wrote a song titled, “I am Woman, Hear Me Roar.” Today, celebrities and those in high profile positions have cranked up the volume on this message to the point that it is almost deafening. (This may be part of why husbands are often painted in a negative light in sitcoms today.)

For instance, singer Beyoncé declared, “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” Another pop artist, Rhianna observed, “There’s something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer” (in the March 2017 issue of Harper’s BAZAAR). Even Margaret Thatcher got in on it commenting, “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”

I suspect some of you reading this have already mentally crossed your arms and chalked me up as a male chauvinist. Please understand that my angst against this empowered title goes for men as well. I don’t think “empowered” is a word the Bible uses to describe humble servants to Jesus Christ. This is not the attitude we should strive for. See, when I read Scripture I hear God telling mankind to be humble and kind. I read His inspired Word about having a quiet and gentle spirit (1 Peter 3:4). I don’t think Christians—male or female—are called to be “empowered.” I believe this is a lie from straight from the mouth of Satan. Instead, the Bible commands us to be humble servants. We are to look for ways to glorify God. We are to love.

The “empowered” movement is teaching our young girls that they should be bold and fight for whatever they want. It promotes the idea that this is their “right” and duty. It teaches my daughter to question the authority of her husband. It teaches my daughter to shun traits like being chaste, meek, humble, quiet, gentle, subjection, and godly. It paints a false picture in her mind of what is truly beautiful.

God’s Word leaves no question that men and women are equal in the sight of God when it comes to things like salvation (Galatians 3:28). But the Bible also gives specific roles for men and women. It is the man who will give an account how his family was trained, not the woman. God’s Word commands, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything” (Ephesians 5:22-24).

No, my vision for my daughter is not about being empowered or having a strong voice. My hope is that my daughter will laugh at this secular notion of beauty, and instead embrace the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:2). It’s my prayer that she will love men rather than seeing them as the opposition. It’s is also my prayer that she will discover she can do amazing things by being a godly woman and living her life by the Word of God.

Many will shake their heads and see me as a chauvinistic male trying to restrict my daughter’s own advancement. That’s not my intent at all. Instead I want to raise a daughter who seeks to please God rather than herself. I want a daughter who longs to do things God’s way and takes joy in that. God’s way still works today—and I want my daughter to experience the beauty of a Christian marriage and the joy of motherhood. Rather than fighting to be equal to man I want a daughter who will humble herself and be empowered by Almighty God.

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Special Saints

SPECIAL SAINTS

Call them what you will: ‘Committed,’ ‘Convicted,’ ‘Faithful,’ ‘Devoted,’ ‘Christ-like,’ ‘Self-sacrificing,’ ‘ Special ’ or something similar.

Do you know someone special?

Do you know someone special?

Jesus Christ Himself called them “the greatest in the kingdom” (Matt. 18:4). They are those who give when others take; forgive, when others give them grief; show up to serve others, when others serve only themselves; and who don’t need to see their name in the bulletin for their service, because they know their name is in the Lord’s “book of life” (Phil. 4:3). They work behind the scenes, instead of out front to be seen; are willing to make the quietest of efforts while others are making the loudest of excuses; and expect nothing in return, but a commendation from their Lord and Savior (Matt. 25:14-40; Rom. 2:5-11). They are indeed: the faithful, the special, and the greatest of all in the kingdom of heaven or church of our Lord. Let us love, honor, and recognize, as well as to appreciate and to emulate, both them and their humble Christian examples (1 Thess. 5:12-13; 1 Cor. 11:1-2)!

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