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
No comments:
Post a Comment