Wisdom, Spirituality, Truth, Religion, and God

A few weeks ago I received in my e-mail inbox an article on a psychological study regarding wisdom. My first reaction to the article was, “How can you study wisdom from a psychological perspective?” So I read. The article spoke concerning the “Wisdom Project,” conducted at the University of California Davis. In the study, the researchers sought correlations between religion, spirituality, and wisdom. The researchers concluded that those who were “spiritual” were more likely to be wise than those who were “religious.” “Spiritual” people were defined as people who “create their own sense of truth.” “Religious” people, on the other hand, were defined as people who belong to a community of those who are like-minded�i.e. a church. What did the research find? That those who were “spiritual” tended to be wiser than those who were religious. The study even listed not attending religious services as one of the predictors of wisdom.

After I read this, I thought that this was all wrong, but I couldn’t place my finger upon how they had come to these conclusions. Then I realized something. The definition of wisdom that they used predefined the kind of people that tended toward that “wisdom.” What was their definition of wisdom? In essence, they defined wisdom as being open minded to all different kinds of ideas. It should be obvious that if “spiritual” people are defined as creating their own sense of truth, that they would be open to just about anything and since that is how “wisdom” is defined, they were “wise” by definition. On the other hand, “religious” people, who are more concerned about being like-minded, i.e. promoting a standard of truth that is objective for all, would not be as open to just any old teaching, hence, by definition, they would not be “wise.” I also noticed another assumption which was incorrect, namely, that religious people are not spiritual people and vice versa. The last time I read my Bible, the religious were spiritual and the spiritual were religious as well. But again, it goes back to the way that those terms were being defined for this study.

First, what does the Bible have to say about “wisdom” and the source for wisdom? The first passage that came to my mind was James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” The source of wisdom is from God. That means that wisdom cannot be defined as stated above, namely, just accepted any old thing as truth, because God has defined for us truth. If wisdom comes from God and God’s truth is absolute, then God’s wisdom is going to be absolute as well. Proverbs 9:10 states, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” For one to be truly wise means to fear God. The definition of wisdom that involves creating one’s own truth is an incorrect definition.

Second, what does the Bible have to say about being “spiritual”? It certainly doesn’t mean that one has abandoned religion. In 1 Corinthians 14:37, Paul wrote, “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” Spirituality meant acknowledging the truthfulness of the things that Paul and the other apostles wrote as the commandments of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 2:13-16 also teaches that for one to be spiritual one must acknowledge the words of the Spirit of Christ. Being spiritual means that one lives according to the desires of the Spirit instead of the desires of the flesh (1 Corinthians 3:1). Being spiritual means that we be the kind of people that God wants us to be in His service (1 Peter 2:5).

What is the fundamental problem with these terms “wisdom” and “spiritual” as used in this study? The words have been redefined not to reflect the truth regarding these words and their appropriate use, but to reflect how Satan through society has changed the definition of these words to propagate a fa�ade of spirituality. There is no difference in changing a definition and in telling a lie. How God has defined these words over the ages, however, has been consistent. Wisdom and spirituality are both things that come from God and His word. They have a firm standard of truth to support them, namely, the knowledge of Christ. When it comes to wisdom and spirituality, let us make Paul’s prayer to the Colossians our own: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col.1:9).

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Never Enough

Not too long ago, I received a Bible riddle from an online friend. The riddle was, “What does the Bible say will never be satisfied and say ‘It is enough?'” So I got to looking through the concordance, looking for some of these key words and I came across Proverbs 30:15, 16 “The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.” I had to look up the term “horseleach” and it is simply what we call today a “leech,” in other words, something that is always feeding and never satisfied with enough. The writer goes on to tell us that there are four things that are never satisfied and that never say, “It is enough.” They are: the grave, the barren womb, the dry earth, and fire.

The Grave

It doesn’t take long to realize that the grave is never satisfied. With each new life that comes into this world, a grave will eventually be dug, and as long as babies are born, and the Lord doesn’t return, there will be death. In Hebrews we read, “�it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

The Barren Womb

The womb which does not conceive a child is another things that says, “It is not enough.” In the Old Testament it was considered a reproach not to be able to bear children. And so the barren woman would never be satisfied until she conceived and her reproach was taken away (Genesis 30:23).
The Dry Earth

Many west Texas farmers can tell you how dry the ground can get. I’ve heard tell that it’s been so dry out there that the cows are giving evaporated milk. Now that’s dry! In all seriousness, when the earth is dry and cracked, you can pour water on it all day long and it will never stop soaking it up.

Fire

Fire is never satisfied, is it? The more logs you add, the bigger it will grow and the more fuel it will consume until there is nothing left but ashes. As long as you feed fire, it will continue to burn.

What is the point of all of this? Is Agur simply writing these things to be witty? Or is there a lesson in it all? Unlike these things, we should learn to say, “It is enough.” In the grave goes death; in the barren womb is emptiness; in the dry earth is that which is unquenched; and in the fire is consumption. The person who has such characteristics is never satisfied with what God gives, but is always looking for more. Covetousness is a temptation for such a one, as well as unrest and malcontentment. The children of Israel had a problem with this attitude in the wilderness. Paul tells us that they were murmurers, lusters, idolaters, and fornicators (1 Corinthians 10:6-10)–all because they were malcontent with their situation. What is our attitude today? Are we content with such things as we have (Hebrews 13:16)? Or are we like the leech? Always sucking more out of someone else?

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Pro-Anorexia?

You might say that I enjoy a good potluck just as much as the next person. In fact, were one to take a good gander at my physique, I would dare say that the conclusion would be that I don’t miss too many meals. And judging from some of the other men in our congregation, I believe the same could be said regarding them as well (after all, I didn’t start the tradition of potlucks in Berryville; someone wiser than I did that). To some degree, eating is considered the sign of a healthy person. And while, admittedly, there are those of us (ahem) that could eat less, nevertheless, it can be generally stated that we get our “three squares.”

There are, however, those who do not eat like they are supposed to eat. I’m not talking about those who are so poor in the world that they don’t have food, but rather, those who refuse to eat as and when they ought. The condition that I am referring to is known as anorexia. This is a medical condition that describes a state of mind that compels an individual to eat so little so as to be dangerous. The thought seems very foreign to those of us who like to eat. However, did you know that there are actually pro-anorexia “help” groups available on the Internet for people who WANT to be anorexic? I recently learned that the search engine Google contains links to over 30,000 web pages related to the search term “pro-anorexia.” One might ask, “Who in their right mind would not want to eat?” And that is exactly the point. Those who have such a medical condition are not thinking correctly. And yet, many suffer malnutrition and some even suffer death due to this condition. Yet, what is most astonishing is that many of these have abundant access to food on a daily basis. It’s not that they don’t have food; they just refuse to eat it.

As horrible as the problem of anorexia is, there is an even worse problem. I’m not speaking about physical anorexia, but spiritual. There are many today who suffer from the condition of spiritual anorexia. Oh, they may be healthy physically, but their spirits are malnourished. They don’t eat like they are supposed to eat, spiritually. Like those who are physically anorexic, these believe that somehow, they will be better off by not eating. Yet, their condition does not grow better, but worse each day. It is (like the physical problem of anorexia) a faulty state of mind that causes someone to so think and act. And yes, you can find many groups on the Internet that will help someone to starve spiritually; I’m afraid to say that there are much more than 30,000 web sites devoted to spiritual pro-anorexic groups. Amazingly, some actually desire to starve spiritually. Is it that there is no access to spiritual food? No, there is plenty of spiritual food available; it is just that these refuse to eat. The consequences, however, for spiritual malnutrition are far more deadly than the physical�eternal separation from God.

We learn from the scriptures that Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:35, 48). He desires that everyone eat that spiritual bread and live (John 6:51, 58). He has made an abundance of spiritual food available for all (Matthew 5:6). Why would one not want to be nourished spiritually so that they may have eternal life? One can only come to the conclusion that they have a disorder in their life. What is that disorder? It is sin. Sin is what separates man from God (Isaiah 59:2) and what ultimately leads to spiritual death (Romans 6:23; James 1:15). Yet, amazingly, some refuse to come to Jesus that they may have life (John 5:40).

How can we avoid spiritual anorexia? We must sit up and take a bit of nourishment on a regular basis. We have opportunities for congregational Bible study on Sundays and Wednesday evenings. We each have our own personal Bible that we can study at any time. We have tracts, bulletins, pamphlets and other materials that we may take with us to study at other opportunities. The nourishment is available; what will we do with it? Will we eat? Or will we be “pro-anorexic”?

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What Does baptism of the Dead Mean?

What is the meaning of “baptized for the dead” in 1 Cor 15:29: “Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?” Two observations: 1. “the dead” seems to be plural, so I can’t see this as a reference to Christ. 2. The question “…why then are THEY baptized for THEM…” seems to indicate that the ones being baptized are not the same as the ones whom the baptism is for.

When we come across a passage within the Bible that is difficult to interpret or seemingly means something that contradicts another plain teaching of scripture, we must look at it through our understanding of the plain teaching of scriptures. Many choose to interpret the difficult passage first and then take perfectly plain scriptures and twist them to fit their interpretation of the difficult passage. Such we must not do, for such is handling the word of God incorrectly. We read in 2 Peter 3:16 the words of Peter who describes some of Paul’s epistles. He says, “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” We must make sure that we do not wrest the scriptures to our own destruction.

So with those things in mind, we come to 1 Corinthians 15:29. “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?” The context of this particular passage is that of Paul’s proving to the Corinthians that the resurrection is going to happen. There were some in that day who were teaching that there was no resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12). The Sadducees believed this too (Matthew 22:23). Some were teaching that the resurrection had passed (2 Tim.2:18). Paul, however, was teaching that the resurrection was still coming and he used every available means to prove this to those in Corinth. So whatever this phrase means–that is, whatever the phrase “baptism for the dead” means–its significance is that the resurrection is still coming.

This phrase does not mean what those of the Mormon faith believe that it means. Mormons believe that one may be baptized for someone who is dead who was not a Mormon, and that person will then have the opportunity, after death, to accept the gospel. The long and short of this teaching is that you get a second chance to be saved after you die. This doctrine just does not mesh with other clear teaching that is within the scriptures. We read in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” In Luke 16:24 we read, that the rich man wanted Lazarus to come cool his tongue. Abraham replied, “And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence” (Acts 16:26). The rich man knew that there was no escape because he then asked that Abraham send someone so that his brothers would escape this place. Jesus said in John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” The night when no man can work is after death. There are no more works that a person can do to affect one’s salvation after death. Perhaps a statement made by Isaiah makes this quite plain. He says, “Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth” (Isaiah 38:17-19). Isaiah makes it clear that the time for forgiveness of sins is now. The time to be delivered from the pit of corruption is while one is living. Once one has died and is lost, there is no more hope for truth. The living are the ones who have the obligation to make known God’s truth. Paul says, “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Today is the day of the living. Today is the day of salvation.

So what does the phrase “baptism for the dead” mean? To be honest, I am not sure that I know what it means. There have been many different suggestions. Some have suggested that it refers to Christian baptism. These suggest that the phrase “the dead” refers to those who have died to sin and are being made alive in Christ. When they do this, they affirm the resurrection of Christ according to Romans 6:1-11. In this understanding, “the dead” is actually short hand for “the resurrection of the dead.” So that it would be baptism for the resurrection of the dead, i.e. in order to obtain the resurrection of the dead.

Others have suggested that Paul is referring to this group of people who are teaching that there is no resurrection for the dead implying some kind of self-contradiction among their own teaching. In other words, they were teaching that there was no resurrection, but they were practicing “baptism for the dead,” i.e. a vicarious baptism for those who had already died without being baptized. This, however, implied a resurrection because baptism is the form of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Those who hold this view say that Paul is not giving an endorsement to the doctrine, but merely stating that if one believed it, then it would imply that their doctrine of no resurrection is false.

Yet another interpretation states that those who had come to accept Christian baptism did so due to the influence of the faithful dead over the many years prior to their baptism. In this sense, they are being baptized for, that is, on account of, the dead who came before them. So if they were being baptized on account of the dead, then they should recognize that they would one day be raised. Finally, one view says that we have the punctuation wrong in the translation. Instead of reading as we would normally read, this view opts for the reading, “Else what shall they do that are baptized? If the dead are not raised at all, (baptism) is for the dead (spiritually). Why are they then baptized for the dead?” This view sees the phrase “the dead” as referring to people who are spiritually dead and thus baptism has no effect for them. I.E. if there is no resurrection, then baptism doesn’t take us out of death and into life, it just leaves us in a state of spiritual death and does nothing for us. We are merely being baptized to become dead. I don’t believe that I can say for certain that I know what this phrase means. I do know, however, that it does not endorse some type of proxy baptism for those who have died un-repented.

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Why Didn’t God Appear to the Rest of the World?

As we read in the bible we only read about the presence of God in the area of the Old and New Testaments (Middle East, Greece, Rome, etc). Where was God for the rest of the world (China, North America, Island Nations, etc.)? Why didn’t he appear to them?

Just because we do not have a record of God’s appearing in other areas of the world doesn’t mean that He didn�t do that.

In the times of the Old Testament, God made a special covenant with the people of Israel that He didn’t make with the other nations (Exodus 19:5, 6, Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2). So God dealt specially with the children of Israel in ways that He didn’t deal with the rest of the nations. God did send prophets to some Gentile nations as illustrated in the book of Jonah.

In the New Testament, Jesus told the apostles in Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15, 16 to preach the gospel to all the world. This was about 30 A.D. Paul says in Colossians 1:23 that the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven. This was around 60 A.D. So every person who lived on the world in that day heard God’s message at that time. I have no doubt that the Lord aided them in their efforts to accomplish this task. Sometimes he even transported them miraculously to new places (Acts 8:39).

The bottom line is that the Bible teaches that God is present everywhere (Psalm 24:1) and that He doesn’t necessarily tell everything that He does to all men (Psalm 50:12). There are some things that are hidden from man’s knowledge (Deuteronomy 29:29, Romans 11:33). We must be concerned with the things that God reveals to us today in His word.

We can be assured that God is a just, holy, and merciful God and that His judgment will be fair and reasonable in that regard (Psalm 89:14).

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