The Image Of God

I just read briefly on some news site about the 10 deadliest animals. In the comments that followed there were several comments about man being the deadliest, but was not even mentioned on the list. Some Christians had written in distinguishing between man and animals saying we were made in the image of God, which was amunition for those that were upset over the mixing of science and religion. They of course claimed that men are biologically animals. It is interesting that there is a blog site where people discuss our place in the animal kingdom trying to show that there is little distinction between man and animal, but they are doing it on a blog. Doesn't anyone see the irony of that?!?!
If man is simply another animal, where are the snake websites or hippo websites discussing why they should not be on the 10 deadliest list? Man is distinct and has dominion over the animals just as the Bible describes. Do we abuse it on occasions? I'm sure we do! However, a lot of that is interpretive. One of our biggest industries in America is devoted to slaughtering little microscopic creatures!! The industry is drug manufacturing and the creatures are bacteria. I'm sure there is an advocacy group for bacteria somewhere that is totally appalled by the government endorsed murder of these poor misunderstood creatures by murderous human beings. Sorry, I digress.
Anyway, some of the comments on the website about man being created in God's image were along the lines of God must be messed up because that is all that man seems to be able to do is mess things up. That's a fairly reasonable observation about man although perhaps a bit overstated. The problem with us being in God's image is that the image has now been marred by sin. So, what we see today is not a pure reflection of the God of this universe.
Jesus is the exact representation of the Father. He is, as a man, the restoration of the image of God in mankind. He is now our hope, as in , we can be transformed into His image and look like we were made to be in the first place. The goal of the redemptive process, in fact what we have been predestined to become as believers, is to be conformed into the image of the Son.
Humans are definitely unique because we were made in the image of God, but the image has been clouded by the corruption that sin has brought into the human race. On the other hand, some of the uniqueness of humans can be seen in the very fact that we are discussing our place in creation. You can check out the elephant blog or dolphin blog or even our supposed closest relatives (I heard once that one DNA protein in humans is most closely linked to the butter bean or some such thing) the ape blog and find very little that they are involved in regarding the defense or accusation of themselves or other creatures as being the deadliest animals.
We are definitely unique and we (mankind) are the ones responsible for the corruption of society. That's why Jesus came as a man to redeem all creation from the curse. All creation groans and is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. When we finally become what Jesus died to make us, all creation will be freed from its slavery (see Romans 8).

That It Might Go Well With You

I had a very telling and candid conversation with a lady in the park yesterday which exposed a common theological position that is held both in the Church in general and in the public. She was talking to me about when she lost her daughter to DCFS custody. Her comment implied that God took her daughter away from her, but in the midst of the conversation she explained that she had a drug problem at that time. I stopped her and told her God didn't take your daughter away, drugs took your daughter away.

I explained to her that God told us in the Bible how He wants us to live because if we live that way it will go well with us, we will prosper, have long life, etc. That is the consistent theme of Deuteronomy. He tells us that all of the commands that He commands are for our good (Deut. 10:13). God's intention is not to separate famlies, but giving ourselves to any area of disobedience opens the door for destruction. Her concept was if we do drugs it makes God really mad and then He takes our kids away. The continual exhortation in scripture is that God wants us to honor and fear Him by observing His instructions for life so that these judgments that are a result of disobedience are not released upon us. Otherwise stated, "There are consequences for sin."

Similar to what the Ante-Nicene Fathers wrote, the implication of the scripture is that when we live outside of God's will (Statutes, regulations, commands) we open ourselves up to the control of other forces and they are not in this thing for our good! The command to honor our parents carried with it the blessing of long life and that things would go well with us. It seems there should be forming honor your parents clubs, so that kids can have good lives. It just bothers me to see people walking around believing that every bad thing that happens in their lives is God looking to inflict harm on them. Rather than, God has given us a way to live so that in this world it may go well for us.

Here is the revelation of God in the scriptures. The glory falls in Solomon's temple and everyone starts saying He is good. Moses asks to see His glory and God says I will make all My goodness pass before you. Peter summarizes Jesus' life by saying you know of Jesus of Nazareth Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with Him. God is offering a rescue from ourselves, our sin, and the god of this world, who keeps us in darkness.

On another note, President Obama's speech in Cairo has elicited a variety of responses. My main concern is his policy toward Israel and although he reaffirmed our commitment to Israel the rest of his words seemed to betray that position. The statement about no new settlements in Israel is the equivalent of saying, we (in the U.S.) can no longer build in the suburbs of New York because Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is committed to destroying the U.S. needs to set up a community there. Things are being set in place to issue in the return of the Lord. When there is such talk of peace, such as let's all live together in Jerusalem Jews, Muslims and Christians, it will seem like we are against peace to say, you know, God gave that land to the Jews for them to inhabit. It's really up to them to decide who lives there and under what conditions. Pray in accord with Zechariah 12 when it declares that the eyes of the Jews will be opened and they will look upon "Me" (the Lord Himself) whom they have pierced. May they see their Messiah soon. Revelation of Yeshua to Israel will bring life to the world, an incredible revival to the Church. (See Romans 11:12, 15)

Demonology in the Writings of the Ante-Nicene Fathers

In 1984 as a part of a Graduate Course in Biblial Studies I took on a project in which I composed a paper that was a survey on what the Ante-Nicene (Before the Council of Nicea) church Fathers believed about demons. Perhaps some of their teachings leave us nothing more than another area of debate, but I believe their perception of the influence of demons on human behavior if not absolutely accurate does at least indicate what they thought regarding the cures for certain behaviors (conditions).

Just to let you know, all of the writers that addressed the subject of the origin of demons believed they were initially the offspring of the Sons of God and Daughters of men spoken about in Genesis 6. Those offspring were known as the men of renown and began the race of giants on the earth. The sons of God are seen as fallen angels. The same ones referred to in Jude 6 who abandoned their own domain and left their proper abode, who are already bound in chains because of that activity.

They concluded that when these offspring died since they were a mixed breed, their spirits would wander the earth looking for bodies to subvert (find pleasure through). I am not declaring my conclusions I am just reporting what was taught during this era. One of the more well-known fathers, Tertullian, believed demons even faked healings. First they would afflict someone then they would command the application of new remedies and when that was done they would withdraw their hurtful influence which then looked like a cure. Another writer said they would destroy the disease they had produced. That way they would get you to follow their methods. But here are a few things that they believed would help you resist demonic influence.

It was believed that immoderation gave opportunity to demons. As long as one partook of eat and drink in moderation the mercy of God did not give demons the liberty to enter man. But when immoderate "as if invited by the will and purpose of those who this neglect themselves," they received power because these thus partaking had broken the law of God. I believe it is very common for people to feel out of control when they have given themselves over to excess. The concept of Divine protection through Godly living under the commands of God, was a concept taught and understood in these writings. They attributed demons with causing madness of anger, excessive grief which leads to suicide and lust. Therefore one of the ways to resist demons was through abstinence and fasting.

Demons were not seen to have unlimited power, Origen stated that true Christians submitted to God and His word would suffer nothing from demons because that Christian is mightier than them. So who did they have influence on. Those who continue in sin, who practice immoderation and those who make no strong opposing effort for their own salvation. In a writing called The Recognitions of Clement it was written that the weakest Christian when submitted to God is stronger than the strongest demon, and there is a measure of faith which drives the demon from the soul, but that the demon remains "in the portion of infidelity." Soooooo... fudgin' on holiness and righteous living opens doors to demonic influence and control. If you love God you will keep his commands and if you keep His commands you close doors to possible demonic influence. There is great motivation and reward for holy living.

Exposing ourselves to the ungodly; porn, filthy movies, ungodly philosophy or rebellious sinful behavior makes one vulnerable to demons (as in I just couldn't control myself). I would say many marriages are destroyed through the exposure to porn and may I say the philosophies and depictions portrayed in your everyday soap operas. To the degree that we leave the Truth of God and His Word we expose ourselves to someone else's control.

Amazingly, it really is true what David declared in Psalm 19:9-11, that the judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, sweeter than honey, by them we are warned, and in keeping them THERE IS GREAT REWARD!!

There are just a couple of things that struck me today that I felt a need to comment on. As I read the Bible especially in Zechariah it is evident to me that God is serious about his promise to Abraham that his descendants will dwell in the land. In fact the final conflict in Zechariah 14 is when Jerusalem has been surrounded by the enemy and is being ravaged that the Lord will set His foot on the Mt. of Olives (same place Jesus left from) and then He will fight as in the days of old. He will destroy the enemy that is trying to overthrow Jerusalem from Jewish control. God is establishing Jerusalem as the place from which He will reign for 1,000 years. (Read the rest of Zechariah to see about the throne , etc.)
I heard again today the talk by our President about a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. (We may need a two-state solution in this nation for those who believe we have a Christian heritage and those that do not). One thing that is not addressed is the fact that the Arabs that are pressing Israel to surrender more land do not want a two state solution. They want Israel out of the middle east, unless you consider the Mediterranean sea as the Middle east. One step towards peace in that area may be the recognition by the Arabs that Israel is a nation and that it has a right to exist. Now, I have not held in my hands a geography book from schools in the Palestinian area, but I have seen copies and heard several reports that in their books, the map of the Middle East does not even show Israel as a country. It is totally missing!! That would be a good start towards peace.
Islam proposes to take over Jerusalem so it can be the Caliphate of the Muslim world. The city from which Islam rules and the chief city of the Islamic world. The spirit behind the takeover in Israel is not one of share and share alike, but rather the elimination of any Jews that do not convert to Islam. They believe the prophet Jesus (Isa) will return as a devoted Muslim and will give the Jews a chance to convert or be executed (beheaded). (It's interesting that the Muslim Jesus has the same characteristics as the Biblical false prophet in the book of Revelation). Let's start the peace process by putting Israel on the map in the Arab nations.
The second thought I had is in regards to abortion. I heard a Catholic priest on Focus on the Family refer to recovery groups set up for Doctors who have performed abortions. If abortion is so good why do doctors have to recover from performing them? You don't hear of recovery groups for doctors who perform births. It is an absolute marvel to see a baby come into this world and a travesty to see the mutilated parts of a tiny human being extracted from the womb in which it was to be nurtured and protected. The truth is on our side. Abortions must either trouble the conscience or sear the conscience of the ones performing them. On the other hand to watch a birth is to participate in one of the ongoing wonders of this fascinating creation that we are a part of.
One last funny thing I heard today. A couple of older ladies were meeting and the one said to the other, "I don't know if I'm just not seeing good, or if I haven't seen you lately."

Cultural Relevance?
I just spent a wonderful time in prayer. I know that anyone unfamiliar with the Presence of God would not understand what I have just experienced, but it is just the best thing we can know on earth, His Presence.
I just returned from a wonderful whirlwind vacation and saw some wonderful people and observed and thought and talked about a lot of things with people in ministry outside of my little community. I feel enriched. On top of that some of our friends gave me a teaching on cd that has just helped me to verbalize some feelings I have had about the present move toward cultural relevance in the Church.
In the sermon on the mount Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth in Matt. 5 and said that if we lose our saltiness we will good for nothing except to be trampled underfoot by men. In Luke 14:34, 35 Jesus says we will not be good for the dung hill or the soil but will need to be thrown out if we lost our saltiness. The dung hill sounds like being thrown out to me, but actually in the context of what Jesus was saying we are supposed to be useful for the dung hill. Salt in modern American society is thought to be useful for seasoning or preserving. However, salt in Jesus time was not just table salt. It was the salt that came from the dead sea. Some of it would be what we know as potash which was good for the soil to fertilize for growth. The other use was to throw on your excrement to kill the growth of things you did not want to grow. Soooooo... Jesus was talking about the usefulness of salt in helping good things to grow and bad things not to grow. If salt can't do that it is good for nothing but to be trampled.
In this same sermon Jesus talked about the kingdom attitudes that we should have to actually be this salt that helps the good grow and prevents the bad from growing, we call them the beattitudes. Just before He tells us we are salt He tells us we are blessed if we suffer persecution for His sake. We will not be culturally accepted but should continue to be salt to the society by exhibiting a rejoicing grateful attitude even in the persecution. We will actually present an alternative to the culture of the day.
There is a present move in the Church to accept certain behaviors and activities so that we will be relevant to our culture. It seems that this movement would say we need to convert to the world so they can accept us, or at least compromise with the world so they will be more accepting. In Acts 5:13 the Church was so pure and powerful that unbelievers were afraid to join themselves to the Church. The Church was not a compromise with the world but an alternative to the world culture. John says to not love the world or things of the world or the love of the Father is not in us. The present move in the Church seems to accept compromise as a means to avoid persecution or gain acceptance. If the world accepts the church in its compromising how are we converting the unbeliever? It seems we are the ones being converted. We continue to lower standards until we look just like the world. Haven't we done plenty of that already? We freely accept remarriage in every and all situations anymore when Jesus said he who marries someone divorced commits adultery. But the Church now looks no different than the world in regards to marriage. We are under great pressure and some have given in to just accepting homosexual behavior as another way to live. To even accept expressions of it in the Church, such as homosexual hand holding as they enter into a place of worship. Where is the fear that was upon the unbelievers in Acts 5?
"Church meetings" in the book of Acts were times of worship, fellowship of believers, and remembering the Lord's sacrifice. It was worship. Homosexual hand holding is not an act of worship and should not be tolerated in worship anymore than any other sinful behavior. We would not allow a thief to continue to pilfer the majority of the offering each week so as to not be judgmental of his behavior. Nor should we tolerate fornication in the lobby and not be "judgmental" or someone intoxicated who wanders in with a whiskey bottle and sits and drinks in the front row as his act of worship. Tolerance of these behaviors as acts of worship is actually the slow deteriorating process that makes us lose our saltiness. They are not acts of worship. You cannot worship a Holy God with an offering of sinful behaviors. If the Church is not a place of worship, but just a social gathering to try to influence the world maybe all these things are all right. But when does God receive corporate praise, worship and adoration?
We should love all these people enough to help them see that their behaviors are destroying their lives now and for eternity. May the Lord restore us to a point that we behave in such a way that others would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. The present movement toward cultural relevance is simply a move toward taking the saltiness right out of the salt of the earth. People will certainly join our groups, but will they be converts to Jesus? If the goal of the Church is to avoid the world's persecution, cultural relevance is a good track to take. We will receive a nice pat on the back from the analysts of religious activity, but where will the salt be? There must be an alternative to turn to. Conversion implies change. What will help the good stuff to grow and stop the bad stuff from affecting everything around it unless we accept the fact that following Jesus and living according to kingdom principles will inherently mean rejection from a culture that does not love God. How will people come to Jesus, you may ask. The same way they always have and the only way they can. The Spirit of God must draw them. Otherwise we have a group of people who have denied themselves in absolutely no way and therefore have taken up no cross and cannot possibly be following the Jesus of the Bible, but they love the fact that we are just like them. Conversion has taken place!! We have become like the world! Then we are no good except to be trampled under foot by media, I mean men. Maybe we have arrived. May God have mercy on us so that some of us may have a Church that is relevant to God.
It seems there are so many resources to read in these days that can help us be relevant that we study them diligently, but can easily lose perspective from not being immersed in His truth. Those that detect counterfeit bills do not give themselves to understanding all the counterfeits, but they study the genuine so that when a fake comes along they see how it varies from the true bills. May I challenge some of you to immerse yourselves more in the Word of God so you can detect when that which looks good is not really the truth. Just a nice imitation. Blessings to those who read may you understand His Truth!