2017-12-29
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, at the behest of the Holy Spirit, I was directed to begin writing about cultural differences. This week, I am to continue that discussion. At the time that Paul was inspired to write his letter to the Colossians and citizens of Hierapolis and Laodicea, a philosophy called the “Colossian heresy” was gaining some popularity. As I’ve written before, it opposed Christianity, in that angel worship and false humility were are part of it. Paul was understandably upset about this and wrote, in COL 2: 8, “See to it, then, that no one enslaves you by means of the worthless deceit of human wisdom, which comes from the teachings handed down by human beings and from the ruling spirits of the universe, and not from Christ.” He went on, in COL 2: 11, to say, “In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by human beings, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of this sinful self.” Paul’s warnings included being judged by cultural practices-what you eat or drink, or which festival you celebrate” [COL 2: 16].
Human-crafted practices would otherwise disqualify a person from the prize (gaining eternal life with Christ in heaven and avoiding spiritual death altogether). These ungodly practices, like being led by human-crafted rules and regulations don’t restrain sexual indulgences and serve God’s purposes [COL 2: 20-23]. 1 TIM 1: 3-11 also contains warnings to believers in Christ. We are not to teach false doctrines and engage in foolish discussions of it. Philosophers want to be teachers of the law, but they don’t have a God-given understanding of it. Some engage in criminal acts for the sake of their belief or lack thereof. They use their belief to explain their behavior and make it acceptable to others. Their beliefs are contrary to sound doctrine.
No discussion of this kind would be appropriate without including some content on our present-day cultural practices. The Ten Commandments tell us what should be legal in basic terms and what shouldn’t. Of course, we need traffic laws to keep drivers safe. But what about secrets kept by organizations which conflict with Biblical teaching, like the Masons, Eastern Star, and affiliated organizations? And what about rapidly-growing churches that stray widely from Biblical truth in their theology? Many religious denominations cause their faithful to look only in to themselves for solace; others believe in many gods; and still others, worship human-drawn images, animals, and deities other than the one and only Lord. We live in an age where people are ranked in importance by their titles, educational achievements, clothing worn, and how much money they have. We can think of greed as a habit pattern in modern culture, and some people rejecting God altogether! Over the last 30 years, much of western Europe and north America, has seen the growth of secularism and the spread of Islam, where these places were formerly mostly believers in Jesus Christ. And then, there is the habit of some people to try to stamp out Christianity by erasing mention of the Lord or anything Christian in schools and institutions. One cultural practice that worries me is the efforts some people will go to, to pretend our own country wasn’t founded on Christian principles. Efforts to resurrect Nazi cultural practices and persecute certain groups have been in the news lately. My question is why can’t we learn the lessons history has for us?
PRAYER: O Lord, these are difficult times. You have told us that we should learn from history lessons that bring corrections that bring us closer to you. 1 PET 5: 8, “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” No human loves us as unconditionally and wisely as You do. All too often, we turn to other humans or to ungodly philosophies before we turn to You, when we are in trouble. In 1 PET 5: 5b-7, You tell us, “God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that He will lift you up in His own good time. Leave all your worries with Him, because He cares for you.” How blessed we are that You invite us to turn to You and that You are always here for us! Violence, prejudice, grudges, and other evil motives never bring order out of chaos, or peace that benefits society. We are never uplifted by cultural practices that rank us based on human-crafted practices. Using one’s common sense and turning to the one and only Source, Who teaches us from His wisdom, is the only way we should go. You are to be thanked and praised for all Your goodness, kindness, wisdom, and love. While we don’t deserve it, we are hugely blessed by it. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.