Monday, January 5, 2015

Rejectiong UnScriptural Tolerance


There is one body and one Spirit,
just as you were called
in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is above all,
and through all,
and in you all.
Ephesians 4: 4 -- 6

             There are those who have a theology that stands outside of true biblical orthodoxy.  They see that God is singular and is not made up of a trinity so that God the Father stands alone and Jesus Christ is nothing more than a little god, and the Holy Spirit is nothing more than a power source even though it comes from God it is not a person of the Godhead.  These above verses reiterate once again that the children of God or called and until that call is given to them they stand outside the body of Christ.  This calling is a calling in one hope and that hopes lies in the promise of God and of Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ would come again to take back into heaven with Him as His bride and that bride is His because God has called them to be His bride.  Furthermore, there is only one faith and that faith is in the promises of God, security, and fulfillment of those promises, and in Jesus Christ who came to earth showing us that He is the Messiah that came to earth to pay for sin.  Also, there is one baptism, not that baptism as a way for regeneration as some have taught, no there is one baptism that a person who has converted to the Jesus Christ does to manifest to himself and to others that he truly is converted and has faith in Jesus Christ, in His promises and the final promise that He is coming for His bride.  Here is where some will misuse the scripture when it says that there is: "one God and Father of all."  They used this verse to say that there is no trinity for this is a singular "one."  Yet the scripture says that the God who is above all and through all is also in a person.  How can this be?  If one has a theology or a philosophy that is pantheistic, a belief that everything is God, a very fatalistic outlook on life, then they say this is proving their philosophy or their theology.  Jesus Christ said that he would send the Holy Spirit to dwell in a person, therefore, that which is indwelling you is God for the scripture says that God is indwelling you and this all comes about because of His Only Begotten Son.  In the scripture the three persons of the Trinity here outlined and shown to be all that there is for the Christian to have as a hope, faith, and indwelling.  This Scripture cannot be used to prove that there is not a trinity.
            Furthermore, when the Bible speaks of one body is not to say that there cannot be different denominations, or that these different denominations are in opposition to the scripture and there has been over the years a pursuit to bring into the church multiculturalism.  What is multiculturalism? Multiculturalism is a body of thought in political philosophy about the proper way to respond to cultural and religious diversity. Multiculturalists take for granted that it is “culture” and “cultural groups” that are to be recognized and accommodated. Culture is a notoriously overbroad concept.  Multiculturalism is an attempt to make cultural accommodations or accommodate group’s-differentiated rights that are rights of a minority group, or a member of such a group, to act in a certain way in accordance with their religious obligations or cultural commitments.  Unfortunately, multiculturalism often directly restricts the freedom of those who are not part of a particular group and even does not protect a minority's group culture. Getting to grips with the pathologies of multiculturalism is no easy task. Multiculturalism can be thought of as a reality or as an ideal.  The problem comes when we allow perception to become reality.  Multiculturalism found its footing especially in the 1960s with the hippie movement then a desire to make all people equal which is only a form of communism and then has crept into many churches.  In one way or another multiculturalism is to make an attempt to bring equality among church members which then leads to toleration.  He can be seen in some churches that toleration has allowed for those things that God: i.e.: homosexuality, same-sex marriage, women as preachers, and other tolerances so that they can bring about some sort of "love."  The English word love does not translate the Greek word used here that is a God love, agape.  We love as God does and we hate what God hates.  So why all this diversity for the scripture makes it abundantly clear that multiculturalism is the death of faith.  God has given a great gift and the gift is diversity, and it is part of His critical plan to save His children from every nation in people around the globe (Matthew chapter 28: 18 -- 20; Acts 2:).
            God has given different gifts to different people to accomplish His work upon the men and women who are to make up the bride of Jesus Christ.  We recognize the different gifts, and that there are different thoughts from people who are of a different culture, from a different environment, and we examine their culture in light of Scripture and correct that cultural thinking when it is in contradiction to scripture.  We cannot make all people equal: an example: one group besides in the church that on this day we are going to have this type of food and the other group is it really like that food or wishes to have their food on that day.  We now have a conflict in multiculturalism has broken down.  We are tolerant as Christians but we do not allow for those things that would teach and lead people into false teaching.  We love our brothers and sisters in all their diversity and variety and we do not attempt to bring some form of utopian communism into the church.  Paul adds: "but to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift" (Ephesians 4: 7).

But I acted for My name’s sake,
            that it should not be profaned
before the Gentiles, in whose sight
            I had brought them out.
I am the LORD your God:
            walk in My statutes,
keep My judgments,
            and them
Ezekiel 20: 14; 19

Cast away unscriptural thoughts

Richard L. Crumb

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