Who Has Priority In Your Life?

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,

My soul shall be joyful in my God;

For He has clothed me with the

Garments of salvation, He has

Covered me with the robe of

Righteousness, as a bridegroom
decks himself with ornaments,

And as a bride adorns herself

With her jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its bud,

As the garden causes the things that

Are sown in it to spring forth,

So the LORD God will cause

Righteousness and praise to

Spring forth before all the nations.

Isaiah 61:10–11

            I took some time off due to doctors appointment and to take time to study more on the subject at hand. This subject is immense in its scope for it reaches from the early 600 B.C. periods into our present age and those who developed philosophies that have had a major impact on the world. This large investigation has been the bane for many Christians and they have ignored its importance and even, in some cases succumbed to the negative influence assigning what they believe as to be “Christian.” Yet, are we to agree that all that is called “Christian” is Scriptural? Have certain religions, denominations, digested the philosophies of the past, i.e., Plato, or Aristotle, etc.? The Mormons claim to be “Christian” because the use the name Jesus Christ, even believe that He is the Savior; but because of this claim are they Christian? Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. Does this make them Christian? The question that must be asked and investigated is not what they say, rather is what is it they believe; their foundational suppositions. Jesus made this statement: “Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me ‘Lord, ‘Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your Name?’ And then I will declare in them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’(Matthew 7:20–23). Many will declare the name of Jesus, even have some form of devotion to Him, they feel pious, even righteous, and that they have the truth, but the rugged reality that is shown to us in Scripture are non–existent. There is a belief, a practice in prayer and devotion and they feel that this is all that is required. The cross, the passion of Jesus Christ has little power in their lives, Christianity cost them little. Notice this fact, the New Testament speaks of the cross, and talks about nothing else. All that a Christian does is derived from the cross, the death of Jesus Christ. If one does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that this relationship is their Christian experience, all they have is a Christian experience that is detached from the Person of Jesus Christ. There is no regeneration, rather an emotional experience that causes them to feel pious yet they are not born again, Jesus is only an idea, an ideal, a pattern. Jesus is our Pattern, but He is not a figurehead of any religion, not just an example. He is more! Jesus is the objectivity of Christians that by means of the Holy Spirit does in me subjectively, but only when a person coverts, and is committed to God, to our Savior Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit, then the gift of God that has given to that person the faith to believe, to convert, to truly humble themselves before our God and Savior will that person receive this gift.

            Scripture is clear, Jesus is God, not a god, but God, the same essence as God, is God and Man, One Person of the Trinity, the Godhead. The Mormons believe that there are three gods, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Jehovah Witnesses believe that there are two gods, The Father and the Son. This is not what Scripture teaches rather this type of thinking is that which has been derived from Plato, Aristotle, and others who have adapted, at least in part some of these men teachings. I will list some of the teaching of the Mormon Church and then give the teaching of Plato and you can determine if Platoism or Neo–Platonism has played in part in their doctrines and beliefs:

Mormon beliefs: The Mormons have 13, at one time 14, articles of faith that are handed out to their members, yet are not all of the doctrines of the Mormon faith.

1. God was once a man who lived on another planet. God was once a mortal man who by his obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel became a god, first by dying and then being resurrected to a god. That he is still married and created this world. That he is a the true god among billions of other gods and that man on earth will become gods and goddess creating spirit children and peopling other worlds. Journal of Discourses Vol. 6 Page 4, 1844. Joseph Smith speaking: "...you have to learn to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, - namely, by going from one small degree to another..."

Reference: Journal of Discourses Vol. 6 Page 275, 1852. Brigham Young speaking:
"After men have got their exaltations and their crowns - have become Gods..."

2. We are co–eternal with God. We believe we existed first as “intelligences”, then were give spirit bodies in a heaven by eternal parents. Our “intelligences” have existed forever just like God’s and that we have been around forever in some form, God just has advanced ahead of us. Journal of Discourses Vol. 6 Page 7, 1844. Joseph Smith speaking:
"God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself"

3. The origin of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was begotten by a physical union, that is God had sexual relations with Mary. This is possible for God has a body of flesh and bones. This made Jesus part God and part man. It said that Jesus who being the begotten by the Father in heaven and his mother Mary created our spirits using our “intelligences” as the foundation of our spirits for our “intelligences” were floating around in the universe and needed organization. This Mormon position is that Jesus had a “higher” “intelligence”  because he was first born a spirit and is the most important of all creation. Therefore, when the Father in heaven and the earthly mother of Jesus, Mary it was this spirit Jesus that received a physical body just as our spirits were put into our human bodies. Jesus has the Father as his dad, the rest of us have earthly dads. While some Mormons object this teaching of the Church’s position a few quotes by their early leaders will speak what has been traditionally the teaching of the Mormon Church: In the Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, p. 51, 1852, Brigham Young stated: “Jesus our elder Brother was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven.” Further, Brigham Young stated in the Journal of Discourses Vol. 1, p. 51, 1852; Vol. 15, p. 770, 1853: “Now remember from this time forth, and for ever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost…if the Son was begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be a very dangerous to baptize and confirm females, and give the Holy Ghost to them, lest he should beget children…”

4. Truth is determined by feelings and by feelings Mormons believe that they know the truth by their feelings. Mormons teach not to rely on and disregard any facts that contradict what their feeling tell them is true. Example: if someone tells them that Joseph Smith Jr. was a fraud and they fell bad by what is told them, then the know that Joseph Smith Jr. was a prophet because falsehoods create bad feelings and then when this produces in them bad feelings what is being told them are lies. When a Mormon reads the Book of Mormon and feel good, then the Book of Mormon must be true for their feelings that are good give them validation. When it comes to archeology, genetics, science, metallurgy, agriculture, and animal studies they dismiss the facts as being irrelevant because their feelings that what is stated in the Book of Mormon that has produced good feelings, then they believe the Book of Mormon of known scientific facts. Feelings guide the Mormon’s life in all aspects for if they pray about something and they feel good about what they prayed then their lives are determined according to their feelings.

            There is more to come on Mormonism and how this religion has been greatly influenced by Plato and other philosophers that have similar views as Plato. Therefore in the next blogs I will align Plato’s teaching with the teaching of this religion so that you can see how this is so. I not just picking on the  Mormons for I will use other religions who claim to be “Christian” to see whether or not they have been so influenced by men who do not uphold Scriptural doctrines. This is taking time but so worth it for we are speaking of growing our faith in the truth, the truth as is revealed in Scripture. The only way this can occur is examining those religions that claim they have the truth, and also for other important philosophies that have expanded these early philosophers ideologies and have in their own way influenced men and women, even men and women in the Church. The goal as always is to change from the inside out.

For the LORD gives wisdom;

            From His mouth come

Knowledge and understanding;

            He stores up sound wisdom

For the upright; He is a shield to those

            Who walk uprightly; He guards

The paths of justice, and preserves the way

            Of His saints. Then you will understand

Righteousness and justice, equity and every good path.

                                                Proverbs 2:6–9

Make Keeping All The Commandments Of God Your Priority

Richard L. Crumb

Question What You Are Being Taught

And while he lingered the men

Took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand,

And the hands of his two daughters,

The LORD being merciful to him, and

They brought him out and set him outside the city.

Genesis 19:16

But his wife looked back behind him,

And she became a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19:26

            This historical narrative of the events recorded for us in Scripture are so meaningful but are often lost in their meaning by focusing on the actions of the angels or the homosexuality of the men of Sodom. The reason for this narrative of Lot in the middle of the narrative of Abraham from whom all nations would be blessed is not to be missed as it was written for all men to learn what not to do. Our investigation into history is one such necessary thing for us to do for by learning how certain historical events have shaped how we think, even how those men of history have affected the Christian Religion is important for us as Christians. This narrative of Lot, his wife, his daughters, and even of his son–in–laws teaches us most important things we need to not allow to be in our lives. First, we must not think we can live where sin is. We must avoid thinking that we can change people by being with them in sin. We can’t! We must not become associated with those who are living lives that are not in harmony with the will of God, i.e., watching films that depict sinful things, watching men, even women now, beating each other up in the name of Mixed Martial Arts. Paying to go to movies where the actors are living in sin, even promoting homosexuality, one such sinful act that God destroyed Sodom and Gommorah. By being so associated with sinfulness we lose sight of whose we are, and we will in some way come to accept those sinful people and may even begin to live as they do; this will bring chastisement. How do we do such things? Lot moved where he should not have done by seeing some good land even though it was next to such sin. In time he moved into Sodom, even his daughters married men of Sodom. Apparently Lot did not save one person, in fact even his sons–in–law where not saved and were destroyed by God. Here is a lesson that we may miss if we focus just on those things that are so apparent: Lot lingered! When the angels instructed Lot to leave the city as it was to be destroyed: Lot lingered! It took the angels to take their hands and lead them outside the city. Furthermore, Lot’s wife so long for what she was leaving the she lingered to look back at her city that was to be destroyed and was destroyed becoming a pillar of salt. Apparently, she dragged behind for Lot and his daughters were not destroyed as was the land of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot was a righteous man (2Peter 2:8), but he lingered, he did what he knew was wrong, the reason don’t matter, for he did what was not right in God’s eyes. Lot was the brother of Abraham and knew Jehovah God, and left with Abram to this land but when given a choice he made the wrong choice. More sin was to follow Lot and his daughters due to his inability to follow God’s will. This is so often true of us. We begin to accept that which we should not accept and in time that which is against God’s will is not longer apparent to us. This is true of men who have affected the Church, the way people think, those philosophers, who believed in a god, but not the true God and taught good sounding words, those things that are good in themselves but are only part of false teaching. We do this today in many Churches, we hear some good things, but those good things are like sugar coating over a septic tank. Today, there are many who claim to be “Christian,” but follow after theologies that are not Scriptural. There is just an acceptance and the longer they linger within those false teachings the more they are not only accepted but become part of their thinking and they do not want to leave them, they even long for them. It is hard to leave them behind, they want to keep at least a part of those teachings that are not Scriptural.

            One such ancient philosopher was Plato (424–347 B.C.). A student of Socrates and the founder of the Academy in Athens and was the first higher learning institution in the Western World. With Socrates, and his student Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the foundations of Western Philosophy and science. Did all the Plato have to say bad? NO! Does this quote sound good?

“We ought to fly away from earth to heaven as quickly as we can; and to fly away is to become like God, as far as this is possible; and to become like him is to become holy, just, and wise.”[1]

“This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.”[2]

“Truth is the beginning of every good to the gods, and of every good to man.”[3]

            Plato contributed ideas in philosophy that were to develop a cosmological (the idea of the structure and origin of the universe; the evolution of the universe) argument but this argument was not for a single First Cause, rather that there were two causes, one good, the other bad. We find this philosophy in the religious beliefs of the Gnostics that plagued the early Church and find this philosophy in some present day Churches. Plato was influential in the development of the teleological (The doctrine that final causes exist, or a study of the design and purpose are an apparent part of nature. That phenomenon are directed by mechanical forces and they also move toward a certain goal of self–realization) argument, an argument that can be found in such as the New–Age movement and even within certain Churches. Plato’s teleological argument does contain a discussion of the relationship between God and morality. Plato argued for the immorality of the soul and his argument stated that we know certain things that we could not possibly know or have learned in this life, therefore, we must be remembering things we previously knew; immortality is then taught. We find this teaching in such as the Palm Readers, the use of the Tarot, and in Mormonism where it is taught that man as a soul always existed, somewhere in the heavens. It must be remembered that even good sayings were said by Plato, he was a Greek who believed in the plurality of gods, even though the held to a belief in an Unknown God.

            Of we linger long on the teachings, the saying of Plato we are lingering in a man and his teachings that are not Scriptural and are not according to God, the One God. Arianism came out of such teaching as Arius taught that Jesus was divine but not God, Jesus was just a god. If we linger on such teaching then we will lose sight of the truth and that truth is to be found in the Bible. Men have looked back into history, viewed Plato and his philosophy and allowed Plato’s philosophy to guide them, to help them to form a god that is acceptable to them, but is not in accordance with Truth. To linger longingly for good sayings, good teachings that are of men is to be eventually destroyed; the truth will no longer be the Absolute truth. Another form of a god will be developed as has happened and other philosophies will be absorbed into the thinking of a man and new philosophies will be propounded that are even farther removed from the truth of Scripture. This we will show by examining other influential men of philosophy that have made such inroads into our present day culture.

Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases!

            For the faithful disappear from

Among the sons of men. They speak

            Idly everyone with his neighbor;

With flattering lips and a double heart

            They speak.

                                    Psalm 12:1–2

Read God’s Word and Pray with God’s Word Open

Richard L. Crumb

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[1] http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/p/plato159566.html#TovREmzmesCki4qA.99

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Do Not Be Confused By Those Who Misuse Biblical Terms

You shall  not bow down to their gods,

Nor serve them, nor do according to

Their works; but you shall utterly

Overthrow them and completely

Break down their sacred pillars.

Exodus 23:24

Then it shall be, if you by any

Means forget the LORD your God,

And follow after other gods,

And serve them and worship them,

I testify against you this day

That you shall surely perish.

Deuteronomy 8:19

            While the above Scriptures were written to the Israelites they have an extended application for God does not have one command for certain people and another command for another. God’s commands are applicable to all people for God is not mutable, He is immutable and all He commands and requires is fit for all people. Therefore, those words to not become associated with other gods, is a command for us in this present age. For the Israelites to follow after other gods would mean that they would perish as a nation and this is historically true; they did go into captivity, and furthermore they committed atrocious crimes of murder as well as religious practices that were not in align with the true God and Creator, the God who had delivered them from the hand of the Egyptians after forty years of enslavement. If a person follows after other gods today they too will not enjoy the blessings of God and those to whom other gods are their gods, they will perish, not in captivity, rather to be destroyed on the Last Day in Gehenna. God kept His promise to deliver the Israelites from their captors and this He did, and He will keep His promise to return to gather His people and to bring final judgment upon those who would never accept Him and would follow after other gods.

            Men and women have within them the knowledge that there is a God and this is due to the fact that the image of God was placed in man and is in their nature even in their fallen nature. Any perusal of the nations in this world, whether it is on continents or islands, wherever, there will be found a people who have a god(s). Some men will ignore their very God given nature and refuse to accept that there is a God and are atheistic, but this is not to say in fact that there is no God, it is to say that they will not believe in God. Men have formed many ideas as to a god(s) and have devised many such theologies as they have a mind to do, and even have formed and idea of an unknown god just to cover all the bases: “Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopeagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religions; for as I was assign through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD’”(Acts 17:22–23a). It is not that men are not religious, they are, they have a god, or gods, to whom they give solemn worship and their lives and cultures are built upon their philosophies, ideologies, and theologies. It is no different today for men have devised a god that best suits what they want God to be for them and not what God truly is and who He truly is; the Greeks had many gods and were influential in their philosophical and religious views which are in great affect in our present age. One such religious group in our present age is Mormonism who when examined that their religiosity is formed from much of ancient Greek theology and philosophy. When I give the account of those Greek philosophers I will show that they held to a religious form that is of a plurality of gods, not just one God. Mormons may cavil at this fact that they believe in a plurality of gods, or that God was once a man but in their ignorance they ignore what has been the teachings of Mormonism. An examination of the “Journal and Discourses (JOD) ant the teachings of Joseph Smith Jr. (TPJS) will show recorded that on April 6, 1844, Joseph Smith Jr. preached to a congregation saying, “Here then is eternal life – to know the only wise and true God, and you have to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to kings and priests to God the same as all Gods have done before you” (JOD 6:4; TPJS p.346). It was Brigham Young who claimed to be a prophet and president of the Mormon Church in his message delivered in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on August 8, 1852, where he affirmed the teaching of Joseph Smith Jr. when he stated: “The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself” (JOD 3:93). The Mormons teach their belief that God the Father is a physical being of “flesh and bones.”[1] They teach that the God of the Bible who is called Elohim is this God the Father who is of “flesh and bones and was once a mortal man who has undergone a process whereby is became an exalted being.[2] According to this teaching God “once was a man like one of us and…once dwelled on an earth the same as Jesus Christ himself did in the flesh and like us”[3]

            In Homer’s Illiad we find this plurality of gods and the anthropomorphizing of god(s). To them all gods were manlike and came down into the world of man to contend with man in wars, and in every day life, marrying and having children, who were prayed to for help and guidance, to be delivered from Hades and place of torment. Do not misunderstand this word, Hades, and acquaint the belief of the Greeks and their conception of Hades with this word used in the Bible for the word Hades is a Greek word depicting death and a place where no man wished to go, with the Biblical word Gehenna, a place of utter destruction and removal from the face of God. Greek is Greek, so the word in Greek, Hades was used to teach that there is a place where men go in death, we call that word “hell,” in English, a word that is aligned with the Hebrew word “Sheol.” Jesus give validity to this fact that the “Lake of Fire” mentioned in Revelation is what the Hebrews would easily have known as the Valley of Hinnom, place where brimstone, sulphur were burned day and night consuming trash and even evil men who where determined not fit for “Sheol,” or burial: The words of Jesus: “But I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be liable to the Judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the Sanhedrin; but whoever says, Fool! Shall be liable to be thrown into the fire of Hell” (ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ εἰκῆ ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει· ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ, Ῥακά, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῷ συνεδρίῳ· ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ, Μωρέ, ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός; I marked the word Geheena in red). The Illiad give proof of this plurality of gods: “Goddess,” answered Achilles, “however angry a man may be, he must do as you two commanded him. This will be best, for the gods ever hear the prayers of him who has obeyed them.” He stayed his hand on the silver hilt of his sword, and thrust it back into the scabbard as Mirerva bade him. Then she went back to Olympus among the other gods, and to the house of aegis-bearing Jove” (Illiad book 1; italics mine). This plurality of gods as in the religion of the Greeks are to be found in many religious beliefs as with the Mormons who while claiming to be “Christian” have done nothing more that added to their religious beliefs the paganism of the Greeks.

            I took the time to show that the teachings of the ancients have meaning in our world today leading men and women away from the true God Jehovah and making their god to be something other than the Biblical God. This paganism is the foundation for the philosophies of the Greeks that have influenced men and women throughout the ages and are found to have influenced many people in our present day; even in some Churches. Before we can aid others to know the truth we must come to know what is false and how false teachings have led people to form their religions. Therefore, in the next blogs I will discuss some of those men who have had great influence.

Let all those who seek You

            Rejoice and be glad in You;

Lest such as love Your salvation

            Say continually, the Lord

Be magnified!

                        Psalm 40:16

Pray to God for He is Your Salvation

Richard L. Crumb

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[1] Doctrine and Covenants 130:2

[2] LDS Church (2007). “Chapter 2: God the Eternal Father,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, pp. 36–44. Brigham Young, "Progress in Knowledge, &c.", Journal of Discourses 7:333 (1859-10-08). Brigham Young, "The Kingdom of God on Earth is a Living, Moving, Effective Institution: We Do Not Carry It, But It Carries Us", Journal of Discourses 11:249 (1866-06-17). Lorenzo Snow (Clyde J. Williams ed, 1984). The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) pp. 1–2. Milton R. Hunter (1945). The Gospel Through the Ages (Salt Lake City, Utah: Stevens and Wallace) p. 104. Marion G. Romney, Conference Report (October 1964).

[3] Larson (1978).

THANKSGIVING DAY: A Time To Be Thankful---Thankful To Our Great God!

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me,

bless His holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not

all His benefits:

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who 

healeth all thy diseases;

Who redeemeth they life from destruction;

who crowneth the with lovingkindness and

tender mercies. 

Who satifieth thy mouth with good things;

so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The LORD executeth righteousness and

judgment for all that are oppressed.

Psalm 103:1-6

     What more reason do we have to be thankful? God's grace is a common grace to all men, to the universe, and God's grace, extends to His chosen people as a special saving grace. God is Good and all that He does is good. All men are recipient's of the grace of God, therefore all men should rejoice in thankfulness to God the creator, God the provider.

THANKSGIVING: This is not just a Christian holiday, a day that Jesus Christ inaugurated, it is not a sacrament as is baptism and the Lord's supper. This day is not just for Christians. This is a day of celebration that all can enjoy. This is not a day whereby retailers can sell more product. It is not a day that is just a time for school children to have a week off, as well as teachers. This is a day deliberately set aside to be thankful. Thankful to whom? Farmers? Yes! Truck drivers who delivered goods needed for life? Yes! Those who protect and serve us? Yes! Most importantly this day was set aside by those early settlers in this country who were believers in the God of the Bible who is the great provider and has provided all that we need for this life. Whether a person believes in God is in some sense inconsequential inasmuch they have reasons to be thankful. For Christians, they are thankful to God for life, for salvation, and enjoy this thankfulness with family and friends. This is a time to renew and reinvigorate love for God and a deepening of faith. This is an important time set aside to be thankful and this we can do if we are truly thankful and show our thankfulness. For the Christian, take time in prayer, communicate with God your thankfulness for all His has done, give Him praise. Make this day special as it was special from the beginning of its being celebrated, a celebration to God, and for all those who we love and care for. It is a time to enjoy family, good food, good fun, and a good time to share your bounty with those who are not so bountiful. Do not keep this day selfishly, if at all possible, take time to aid those who are less fortunate, allow this day to be a day, not just for yourselves, but all that are in need of cheering up as life as not been kind to them, even though for some their life is a life that is made, up by mistakes. Make this day special for you and others, for those who come to enjoy a meal, a time to be with you, for those you help by taking food, serving in kitchen lines, or by other helpful means: Make this day special for it a special set aside time.  Make this Thanksgiving Day what it was intended it to be, a time to be Thankful.

I will not blog on the subject at hand, history and how history has affected our present age until Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Take this time to pray, to meditate on all that our Great God and Savior has done for you and is going to do on the Day of His returning and the gathering of all the saints to be with Him for an eternity.

 Praise God! 

O give thanks unto the LORD;

  for He is good: because 

His mercy endureth forever.

                             Psalm 118:1

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Richard L. Crumb

 

Revival Begins With Each Of God's Children

I cry out with my whole heart;

Hear me, O LORD!

I will keep Your statutes.

I cry out to You;

Save me, and I will keep

Your testimonies.

I rise before the dawning of

The morning, and cry for help;

I hope in Your word.

My eyes are awake through

The night watches,

That I may meditate on Your word.

Hear my voice according to

Your lovingkindness;

O LORD, revive me according

To Your justice.

Psalm 119:145–149

            There is a cry within Christianity that there is a need for revival. There is! Many speak of this need for a revival yet go about their business and does little of nothing. Those that are active in the work to spread the Gospel are often alone, and have little support. Oh, I pray for them! Good! I send monies! Good! Then, leave off your concern and be more concerned about this world than the saving of souls by an active participation, either through the Church, or through those organization that are sending out men and women to all parts of the world. We do need to be wise on our support, we are to be wise as serpents; “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Oh! How pious some think of themselves because they do those things of philanthropy, good things, yet do little if nothing in regards to their personal revival. The writer of Psalm 119 understood well that revival begins with each individual. Revival begins when a person keep “The testimonies” of God; who “Meditate on” God’s word, and then listen through their studies for the voice of God who will speak to them through His word and invigorate your intentionality to follow Him, to be revived: this He will to according to His justice. In our studies we must not just focus on those words that are titillating the senses, they are so good sounding and are so accepted as the feed your desire that God will give “good” things without remembering that the Bible is not just for our appetite for good things, it is God revealing how His people are to live. It is to look at the Bible in this manner, God is speaking to us through His word and we must then learn from His word. This requires that we read the whole Bible, Old Testament, New Testament, and even to read the early Church fathers. Learning of the times and situations that led men away from God is good for us to learn, and to learn of those things that the people of God did to return to a worship that is acceptable to God, this is good. We cannot then just focus on certain Scriptural verses that we cling to because they make us feel good, they make us feel as though we are worshipping God when this is very self-serving, extremely ego-centric, and far from having the knowledge that is needed to see God in all of history.

            Before I move on with the history of those men who have influenced the world and are having a major influence in this present age I must remind that all we learn is to be set against the light of Scripture. It is not to just learn something of those men, their philosophies, and their ideologies, rather to see the truth and the error and how they have taught those things in contradiction to Scripture. We do this so we can be revived, if it need be, to a worship, a life, that is life-changing for you and for all who see the Lord Jesus Christ in you. Those men of old have affected the world, and it is true of us that what we do, those things that we hold in priority will affect our children, our friends, and family, and beyond the first generation from us. Each generation takes what they learn and either move upward towards God, or downwards away from God. We as parents, Christians, have a tremendous responsibility, we are to be a separate people, we are the ambassadors of Christ, and we are to leave behind this world and all its glamour that is in contradiction to the will of God. The world practices evil and we are to hate evil, men love their evil ways and shun the light of truth: “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:19–21). The question for us is; do men see God in our life or do they see us as hypocrites? Yes, we do sin, but are we sinning willfully? Are we studying, listening to Scriptural preaching, Scriptural Bible studies, or have we succumbed to only hearing what makes us feel good. When you sin, do you fall on knees because you sinned against a holy God, not just because you got caught, but truly and heartbroken due to sinning against God, God who by His mercy and grace came to earth by sending His wisdom clothed in human flesh to die satisfying the justice of God that man could never do, and then giving to His children Himself, His Spirit to aid us in our life here on earth until we come to Him; and does your life become revived to serve Him as you should? God is Providential working through second causes to fulfill His purposes; this cannot ever be forgotten, and often when we study things of history, history, those narratives of history cause us to lose sight of this fact. Before I move forward, again, I remind you, this is not just a historical study. This is a study of history in the light of God’s revealed word to us and how we, once we learn the errors of those men who were opposed to the truth God, and attempted to bring their light into the world, ignoring the truth light, can have the full armor of God so that the darts of Satan cannot diminish our worship of God, our hope in Jesus Christ, and not to extinguish, in some manner, the work of the Holy Spirit in us. We are not to become Stoic, nor are we to become ascetic, or be a recluse, we are to live this wonderful life God gave to us, but we are to live it according to God’s word and not the thoughts of man who do not believe in the One and Only Creator, and God.

            I was going to begin in this blog with Plato and move onto other men who have influenced this world, but decided to give some admonition as to why do this study, what this study can do for us, not just an study of history, rather a means to bring revival to each of those who will study to be prepared to give a defense for their faith (1Peter 3:15). Revival begins with each one of us, then it will spread, that is if we become intentional to spread the gospel, to the world. Live life; Love God! Put God as your first priority and is your guide for all you do in life. After learning of those men who have adversely affected the world, even some Churches, then go and be the light as we have the light in us, God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Whoever believes that Jesus

            Is the Christ born of God,

And everyone who loves Him

            Who begot also loves Him

Who is begotten of Him.

            By this we know that we love

The children of God, when we love God

            And keep His commandments.

                                    1John 5:1–2

Grace, Mercy, and Peace be with you

Richard L. Crumb

           

Be Ye Separate From The World

And what agreement has the temple of God

With idols? For you are the temple of the

Living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell in them

and walk among them.

I will be their God,

And they shall be my people.”

Therefore

“Come out from among them and be

separate, says the Lord.

Do not touch what is unclean,

And I will receive you.

I will be a Father to you,

And you shall be My sons and daughters,

Says the LORD Almighty.”

2Corinthians 6:16–18

            Nothing could be plainer than those words of the apostle Paul under inspiration from the Holy Spirit: we are the temples of the living God, the ones called out from among this world. We are not to mix what this world has to offer with the truth of God’s word. When this emulsifying of man’s ideologies, their self–formed theologies with the truth then this mixture become brackish, not good for man to live by, although many attempt to make what is sour and no good to be good. God has called us out from this world and we have to do the cleansing, we must be intentional to live as what we are, temples of God: “Therefore, having these promise, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2Corinthians 7:1). God will not do the work of cleansing for us, we must do the work. The Holy Spirit will aid us in our efforts to change from the inside out, to be what God sees us to be, temples in which He dwells, we are to be Authentic Biblical Christians. Our priorities are set in order with God as the first priority of our lives, therefore we choose to be separate from this world, a world that is temporary and to live according to the promise of God that we will live eternally. Let us live now, in the present age, in all the circumstances that this life can throw at us, knowing that “this world is not our home we are just passing through our treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue” (To quote an old hymn).  When we allow the ideologies, the philosophies, and theologies, of men who are not converted to Jesus Christ, who are not the temples of God, who teach falseness as if it were truth, and we accept such teachings then once again we have done what has been commanded for us: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness” (2Corithians 6:14). How do we know when this blending of false with truth occurs? It is be learning, by educating ourselves of those teachings of men and compare what they teach with the infallible, the inerrant word of God. This in some part is what I will strive to do using the more infamous men who have and are affecting the world and the Church of God.

            The first of those who have influenced society and are still in this present age influencing the thinking and beliefs of many is Plato (c. 427 – 347 B.C.). A student of Socrates (c. 469 BC – 399 BC) who is distinguished as being the founder of Western philosophy Plato from Socrates teachings that made important and lasting contributions to the fields of epistemology, a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge (Webster’s Dictionary, 1997), and logic, a system of principles of reasoning applicable to any branch of knowledge or study (Webster’s Dictionary, 1997), and the influence of Plato, his ideas, and approach to these areas of philosophy and study remain strong inasmuch as they provide a foundation for much of our Western philosophy. When it come to religion, God, we will find that Plato does advocate a belief in the immortality of the soul, and in his speeches you will find that he imagines an afterlife. There is a problem with those views of Plato inasmuch as his views of God. Plato did not talk of “God”, that is God with a capital G. Plato has no existence for such as God, capital G, and in ancient Greek literature this is not to be found either because God is not the name of a person, rather is a  common noun. Plato speaks in a plurality of ‘the gods” (hoi theoi), or “the god (ho theos), and speaks of god(s) as we would speak with the word “man,” using the word as a generic name. Plato does use (to theion), meaning the divine. What is to be found in Plato is not “God,” but a “demiourgos,” literally translated in Greek it means creator, but etymologically demiourgos means a worker, one who works for the demos, that is for the people. From demiourgos used as creator the Gnostics used the word demiurge, a god among gods. Furthermore the demiourgos is determined to be immortal by nature and works from a model and deals with necessity. The demiourgos is not a maker of a place, that is a creator, yet is the maker of time, a moving image of eternity, and of lower gods, that are only immortal by his will. Plato explains that these gods are representative of the immortal living creatures that are needed in the world. They are makers of man as being the ‘host” of a divine soul, (the logos) handed to them by the demiourgos. Plato often refers, though, that the world is “god,” endowed with a soul.

            Much could be written in regards to the life and teachings of Plato, but I have attempted to give a few of his basic philosophy. When Alexander the Great captured Egypt, Syria, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, and parts of India, he did all that he could to change the cultures of those lands into a Greek culture, Greek became the norm and the most influential philosophy that was taught in the schools. Now for the Israelites, school, not as we know school, was done in the homes, and in synagogues for those who were becoming religious leaders. In the homes only Jehovah God was taught as was the custom and for the Israelites it was the dispensing of those facts exactly as they were taught that those being taught knew of the Creator, and only God of the universe. In the schools, though, there were men who succumbed to the Grecian influence and added that influence in their teaching causing the students to learn other philosophies that were a contradiction to the true God who had saved them from their own evils. Form these synagogue schools came division of thought, one such thought was that of the Sadducees, another of the Pharisees, and of the Zealots.

            In the next blog I will discuss how this Grecian thought influenced the Israelites and how the influence of Plato influenced the thinking of the early Church, into the medieval times, and how the Reformation was a return to Scripture and an avoidance from such teaching as that of Plato. I will further explain the influence of Aristotle in upcoming blogs who was a student of Plato and how he had a might influence on Christianity and has had a huge influence on our present day as did Plato. Remember, to know the problem is to find the solution. Did Plato, and Aristotle, have a negative influence on Christianity? How does their philosophies affect you, your Church, or does it? This is slow going, but important as we seek to follow our God, our Savior, and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so that we are separate from the world because we follow the true creator and God of this world. We may not be popular with the world, some of our friends, and even relatives, but we will know that what we hold as the doctrines of Scripture are the truth and are our guide, not some man’s philosophical opinions.

A man who wanders from the

            Way of understanding

Will rest in the assembly

            Of the dead.

                        Proverbs 21:18

This is a time of Thanksgiving: Give thanks to God

Richard L. Crumb

Philosophers Of The Past Have Been Instrumental In Forming Present Day Culture

For the grace of God that brings

Salvation has appeared to all men,

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness

And worldly lusts, we should live soberly,

Righteously, and godly in the present age,

Looking for the blessed hope and glorious

Appearing of our great God and Savior

Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us,

That He might redeem us from every

Lawless deed and purify for Himself

His own special people, zealous for good works.

Titus 2:11-14

            The Christian Religion has at its foundation Jesus Christ who is our Savior, the One to destroy sin. The Christian Religion is built upon this truth. There are those who cavil at such a suggestion that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, the Savior who paid our debt of sin, that which we cannot pay, and gave to His Church the guardianship, and to be an envoy of the Gospel to the world. The objections of those who oppose Christianity are not to be a stumbling block. The Christian is to impart this truth, and to deny this fact is to deny the truth, that which inherent in every man that God does exist and to deny this is to protest against the truth of one’s being. Protest long enough and you will come to believe the lie against your own innate sense that there is a God. For the Christian, he must answer an important question, a command given to those who believe upon Him, to dispense the truth regarding God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. That question is: How shall a Christian win unbelievers to accept this Christian truth? As the Apostle Paul iterates: “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2Corinthians 5:20). As ambassadors for Jesus Christ our message to the world, the effort of our proclamation of the Christian Religion is that sin entered into this world and the error of sin must have set over against it, truth. This is the responsibility of an Authentic Biblical Christian as commanded, that we are to preach, teach, to disciple, and dispensing to the world this truth. We are to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ. The truth, or the gospel of God is that He sent His Son, by means of His grace, to destroy sin, and His children are the recipients of the vicarious death of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to this world to destroy sin and to establish His kingdom where righteousness and truth reign. There are two principles at play, and they are opposed to one another. There is a war between those who fight for truth. This war is not with visible weapons, it is a spiritual war and we fight with spiritual weapons. History will show when those claiming to be Christian and aligned themselves with the state, and allowed secularism ideologies to rule their thinking, to have not fought with spiritual weapons but with actual objects of physical war. This is a fight between Satan and Jesus Christ. We are the means for Jesus Christ to fight this war here on earth and we have the power of the Holy Spirit as our leader and guide. Authentic Biblical Christians, they stand in opposition to Satan, and their interest in this war is to bring to Gospel to the world and the winning of converts to God, His love, and to His Son Jesus Christ.

            Jesse De Boer, a professor of philosophy at the University of Kentucky who opposed much of Cornelius Van Til speaks correctly when He states that there is a real danger when terms of war are applied to the Christian’s struggle between truth and error. This war language has the possibility to be construed that the use of any weapon to achieve their ends is valid.[1] Anyone who will take the time to peruse the Scriptures will attest their findings that there is a struggle, a war, between error of Satan and righteousness, and truth. This terminology, war, cannot construe as anything else than a war and be true to Scripture. As we study history and how history has influenced the concepts that are prevalent in today’s culture, a culture that is coined, “Modernism,” and “neo-Modernism, or Post-Modernism, we find that “war” between error and righteousness describes our present condition. We can see the truth in actions of people, both secular, and in the Church where the application of Christianity, where the Scriptural truth is not taught, that for man Jesus is a “buddy” more than God who came to earth. Furthermore, there is not distinction between that which is false, ant which is true. This “Modern,” or “Post-Modern” society will be found to be the result of those ancient philosophers. It is these ancient philosophers that have devised an explanation for this universe, life, and God. This trickled down philosophical ideologies have had an effect on the world, and has affected many so-called “Christian” Churches, and Church leaders. This has led our society, our culture to be pluralistic, that is, your truth is yours, and my truth is mine, and we cannot dispute each other’s truth. If that were true then there is not Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth can be found in only a One, not multiple beings, and that One is God. Absolute Truth must by necessity stand outside of all supposed truth, and must be the cornerstone for all truth. Therefore for Authentic Biblical Christians we must present the truth in terms of God the creator, of the Messiah His Son, and us His creatures, and of the rebellion against God, the error thrust upon man by the fall into error by Adam. This requires that we take the Bible story of Adam as historical. This can only be done if the Bible is recognized, believed, to be the inerrant and infallible, preserved word of God. It is this word, Scripture, that God has revealed to man Himself. To be competent in our effort as ambassadors for Jesus Christ we must distinguish between what was true for Adam, what is true for the sinner, the natural man, and what is true for the regenerate, the saint.

            In our study of history the unregenerate man will be seen to have designed theories, and this is done as a natural man who is in sin, and looks to satisfy himself with a god that suits his needs and desires. Until man is regenerated and the truth of God instilled in him, all his theories, philosophies, and explanations, while many are “good” objectively, they will not lead men into the truth. God will be determined to be what He is not! Man cannot, as fallen in their nature, come to the truth unless god enlightens him (Read John chapter 6, cf. Isaiah 54:13).

            The men that I will be listing and giving some elaboration will reveal that they have developed and proposed many good things, yet with all the good they gave to the world, they transported into the future and throughout history, contradictions to the True God; they did not give us the truth. The culture of today is proof of this point as many have, at least in part, employed their philosophies into their consciences that have developed their character, their religious views, and ideologies, and furthermore, is demonstrated in their actions. Why take this time to discuss these Greek philosophers and Greek men of learning? Because it is their philosophies, their views of life, of God that has had a major impact on this world, even Eastern Religions are formed from such ideologies. It is the Grecian culture that our Savior entered into being, incarnated as a man. These ancient philosophies are not left behind in history. Even Authentic Biblical Christians as fallen men and women have some form of those philosophies embedded in their minds and have need to be removed, this by sanctification, learning to follow Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ having first priority in their lives. In some way then we all have been influenced by unregenerate men who have left their mark on this world, and until we come to understand this fact and how we have been influenced, the solution for us and our sanctification may be at the proverbial roadblock. This influence by such men is a problem that tends to lead Authentic Biblical Christians into a religion that is not Authentic. Those non-Authentic Christian Churches have the appearance of being of God, but as Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30). This is the bottom, the ground floor to sanctify your faith, your life; it is to learn of Him, to come to know the truth and then you will change from the inside out.

            Next week I begin to illustrate those philosopher that have had a major impact on the world and having major influence on the present world.

He who believes and is baptized

            Will be saved; but he who

Does not believe will be condemned.

                                    Mark 16:16

Live life: Love God In All You Do!

Richard L. Crumb  

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[1] De Boer, Jesse, “Professor Van Til’s Apologetic: Part I: A Linguistic Bramble Patch,” The Calvin Forum 19, nos. 1-2 (August-September 1953): 7. Cornelius Van Til: The Defense of the Faith, Chapter 12, Christian Apologetics, p. 298.