Learning To Become The Guardians Of Truth

Moreover it is required in stewards

that one be found faithful.

But with me it is a very small thing

that I should be judged by you or

by a human court.  In fact,

I do not even judged myself.

For I know of nothing against myself,

yet I am not justified by this;

but He who judges me

is the Lord.

1 Corinthians 4: 2 -- 4

            Paul who was assigned to preach to the Gentiles the Gospel had to deal with many false teachings and doctrines that were in fasting the church and was in need to be corrected, Corinthians being one such church that has allowed many false practices to become the norm as though they were signs of true Christianity.  Paul in writing to Timothy in his first letter to Timothy who was also facing many heavy burdens and great responsibility in the church at Ephesus had great need to meet the challenges of the false teachings and doctrines that were attempting in many ways to turn Christians always from the faith.  Paul was helping Timothy and reminding him that he had the responsibility to meet this challenge: "O Timothy!  Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge-- by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.  Grace be with you.  Amen" (1 Timothy 6: 20 -- 21).  Paul given by Jesus Christ the gift of sacred grace and even if it does not please anyone and they condemn him, they would also then be condemning the whole Church of Christ, his teachers, apostles, and prophets.  As Paul instructs Timothy to be on guard for false teaching that command and instruction is for all Christians even you today: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1: 8).  How often it is that men want the glamour of being a celebrity and wish to be judged by how they say or act and not by the truth of Holy Scripture.  It is not that they do not quote from the Bible, that is if they use a Bible that actually is interpreted from the many texts that have shown to us that God's providential he reserves his word, and uses such things as the Message Bible, or some other paraphrase: example: Men such as Max Lucado quote from the Message Bible:

Message Bible

John 3:16 — “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”

 

King James Version

John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

This is the only an attempt to take the inspired word of God and put it in some contemporary translation and all that has been done is to produce a non-literal translation and setting aside the original languages of the Bible.  Notice the difference as the Message Bible and put a twist on John 3:16 to make the words of Jesus be palatable and yet has not spoken to a reader as to what Jesus actually said.  Yes God loves the world, did he not create a world?  Do you not say that the world and all that he created was good?  And did not God destroy the existing world and people by the Great flood?  The question then which will be answered as I continue this blog as to the Greek word "κόσμος"  In its various meanings, but for now I wish to address that God not only loved the world but he did not just give His Son, He gave His Only Begotten Son.  If Jesus said to be only a Son then this begs the question as to the relationship of Jesus to God.  The Greek word is: "μονογενή"  And can only be translated as: μονο: only: γενή: be gotten: therefore there is no question that Jesus is the only begotten of God and is of the same substance as God and not just His only Son.  God the father did not just call him: His Son as though He were speaking of a separate person or if this was true then the word "μονογενή"  Would not have been spoken by Jesus.  Then this paraphrase speaks that because that God loved the world and that He gave his only Son no one need be destroyed is not found in the manuscripts for it is not that no one need not be destroyed for only those who are believing in Him who will be saved.  The Greek word for believes is in the present and participle and is to be understood as those who are presently believing will be saved.  Furthermore, our belief is no assurance that we will have a whole life in this world. We will not have a lasting life if we have not truly converted and are presently believing in all times upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for if we are not believing in this manner we will perish but for those who are doing so by believing upon him have the whole and promise of an everlasting life.

            This is an important fact; we are to be the guardians of the reserved word of God and to guard it with our lives.  When we are teaching and preaching the truth of God's Word we should not be judge by any man or by any human court.  Paul was not here telling us that we are not to judge false teaching for, was doing in this letter to the Corinthian church.  What we are to judge is whether or not a person is being faithful and true to the Word of God or preaching some other form of Christianity derived from such dumbed down paraphrase.  Too many churches today are using such corrupted translations just to make it be your ticket leaned by using contemporary language.  The use of contemporary language is not altogether wrong, it is whether or not a person is preaching from the actual translated words from the reserved texts that we have in number in the thousands.

            What Bible are you using to learn about God?  This is an important question for by the answer that is given will tell how you believe God to be and what He is doing for His children, furthermore this influences you pragmatically.  I pray that you are using the correct translation and coming to a correct understanding of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

You are my portion, O LORD;

            I have said that I would keep

Your words.  I entreated Your favor

            with my whole heart; be merciful

to me according to Your word.  I thought about

            my ways, and turned my feet

to Your testimonies.  I made haste, and did not

            delay to keep Your commandments.

                                    Psalm 119: 57 -- 60

Praise God for He has preserved His word

Richard L. Crumb

Learning To Live As Faithful Steward Of Jesus Christ

Let a man so consider us,

 as servants of Christ and stewards

of the mysteries of God.

Moreover it is required in

stewards that one be found

faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:1 -- 2

            As ambassadors for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are His stewards and servants with the responsibility to be faithful as we handle the mysteries of God.  Faithfulness is not a faith in what we are doing; i.e., teaching Sunday school, or feeding the poor, or doing outdoor ministry, passing out tracts, etc., while all are good things and should be done, it is why we are doing what we are doing.  James makes it very clear: "Thus also faith IE itself, if it does not have worked, is dead.  But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have worked.’  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2: 17 -- 18).  Out of our faith not in the works themselves, rather our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that our faithfulness based upon Him and not for us to derive some sort piety.  James went further to tell us: "But do you want to know O foolish man, that faith without works is dead" (James numeral 2:20)?  Then James ended this chapter with these words: "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only....  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2: 24; 26).  James was not saying that we are simply justified by our works; rather he was telling us that our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is what brings forth works for Him, and not just for an individual(s).  Salvation comes simply by faith and that faith is a free gift of God and our works spring from that faith given to us by God: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2: 8 -- 9).  The Corinthian church began to allow an influx of the wisdom and culture of the world in which they live.  Not only invade the thinking of the Christians in that church, this invasion may cause for them to exercise and practice the gifts that God gave to them, not corporately necessarily, rather individually, to be more important than their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  They found that by doing such things they felt rather pious and very acceptable to God.  But, were they?  No!  We are going to find out as we study this letter to the Corinthian church that Paul had two address misuse of the gifts that God so freely gave them.  Ask your self this question: am I more interested in doing works so that I feel acceptable and pious, or, am I doing the works solely from faithfulness to our Lord and Savior, His principles, His precepts, and His commandments.  Are you working, for your self, or for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Many have gone off into practices that are not only foolish, they are not being done simply because of a person’s faith.  There seems to be a need to have some sort of euphoric feeling by what a person is doing to make them feel as though they are acceptable and God’s sight.  If out of your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ comes the works that are so necessary to demonstrate your faith in Jesus Christ then you are doing exactly what God has recorded for us and commanded for us.  You have a right to rejoice and be grateful for the gift that you have that you are now using in His service is acceptable by God.  Paul had learned how to be a lowly servant for Jesus Christ.  Paul underwent scourging, beatings, and being left for dead, all because he was preaching the good news about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  All the trials and persecutions that Paul had to undergo did not deter him from watch he was and what we are: stewards and servants, and ambassadors.  Think about this: God uses man and women, that is you and me, to spread gospel to all men and women, and children, everyone in this world.  What a privilege it is to be in the service of our God, and our Savior Jesus Christ.  And we have one thing that no one else has so that we are able to do this work: THE HOLY SPIRIT INDWELLING IN YOU!  We have much to give praise to God for and to rejoice.  The question again for us is that all are we allowing the Holy Spirit to actually to lead us?  Are we being led by the Holy Spirit to look into the Scriptures, and not by some supposed revelation in your mind, although God does speak to us by means of the Holy Spirit to lead us into His work to show us how we are to live in what we are to do for Him.  It is when we are only doing things by that which we believe has just come into our mind and those things that we have come into our mind not being subjected to Scripture that we will not necessarily be doing the will of God.  Rather we will be doing things that sound good on the face but in the end they are only in contradiction and opposition to God.

            Brothers and sisters, take to heed what God has inspired them to record revealing to us how we are to live in this life and the reason why he has left us here, on this earth, until He comes, or when we die in our soul goes to heaven.  Yes, we are to live our life and enjoy all that we have in this life, but to do so within the realm and scope of His commandments.  Once again, this will take courage, to stand firm for our convictions and not to vacillate.  As St. Augustine so aptly said: "Love God and live life!"  Prepare now for your worship on Sunday with your brothers and sisters in setting that day aside for Him as He so instructed us in the 10 Commandments: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day he is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.  In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who was within your gates.  For in six days a LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20: 8 -- 11).  There is where you are to begin to exercise your faithfulness.  Question: Will you do it!

So Samuel said:

            "For rebellion is as a sin

of witchcraft, and stubbornness

is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected

 the word of the LORD,

He also has rejected you from

            being king."

                        1 Samuel 15: 21

Praise God for His faithfulness

Richard L. Crumb

Learning To Live As The Temple Of God

Do you not know that you are

the Temple of God and that the

Spirit of God dwells in you?

If anyone defiles a temple of God,

God will destroy him.  For the

Temple of God is holy, which Temple

you are.  Let no one deceive himself.

If anyone among you seems to be wise

in this age, let him become a fool

that he may become wise.

For the wisdom of this world is

foolishness with the God.  For it is written,

"He catches the wise in their own craftiness;"

and again, "The LORD knows the thoughts

of the wise, that they are futile."

1 Corinthians 3:15 -- 20;

 cf. Job  5:13; Psalm 94:11

            The opening scriptures were a bit lengthy for what I would normally post. I am reminding us that we are no longer what we were before in our conversion to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have become the temple of God.  As the temple of God then we have the responsibility to do the things that God has commanded us to do.  We are able to do those things that God commanded for He did not leave us destitute to our own wisdom.  God indwells all of His children enabling them to be the ambassador's that He has commanded us to be.  We are not to become wise in our own eyes.  That type of wisdom is only the wisdom of this world and that would be foolishness in the sight of God.  The world will see us as foolish for they will see us through their wisdom of this world, but we are to become fools for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  God is not going to let the wisdom of this world to continue forever for He has promised to catch them in their craftiness that has the foundation of being lies.  The wisdom of this world is futile even though they do not see it as futility.  This is what the Corinthian church was allowing to embed into their thinking, and practice as Christians.  This is only a carry over into the church the wisdom in futility of this world.  One of the things that Paul has begun to address in this latter was that: "Therefore let no one boast in men.  For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or of the world of life or death, of things present or things to come -- all things are yours.  And you are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Corinthians 3: 21 -- 23).  In the next letter that we have from Paul to the Corinthian church and we are reminded: "Do you look at things according to the outward appearance?  If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ's, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ's, even so we are Christ's.  For even if I should boast something more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your distruction, I shall not be ashamed -- lest I seemed to terrify you by the letters" (2 Corinthians 10: 7 -- 9).  It is not that we don't hold men of learning with some esteem and recognize their authority.  What we do know is we inspect what we expect from such men and we do our inspection by comparing what is said to us, or preach to us, by the Holy Scriptures.  This means that we must take time to not just listen to a sermon, or to some teaching, and then go about our business forgetting that which we have just heard.  It would be like looking into the mirror and seeing yourself, and then walking away forgetting what you look like: is this not foolishness?  We are to examine all things: "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5: 21); "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, what ever things are noble, what ever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are a good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things" (Philippians 4:8).  How are we to do these things that we are asked to do, that is, to examine things to see whether they are of those things that were just quoted from Paul?  The question we must ask ourselves is this: "Am I willing to set aside time so that I can study the Holy Scriptures and meditate upon them allowing the Holy Spirit to teach me?"  Another question is this: "Am I willing to set time aside to speak with and pray with my spouse, and my children?"  A question that we must ask all of ourselves is: "Am I making God the priority of my life, or am I allowing the things of this world to detract from studying and praying to God?"  It seems as though Christians have become more involved with the wisdom of this world, and with the many things that even while being good, are not teaching and leading ourselves or our children to make God in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the priority of our lives.  I've said this before I will say it again; to be a Christian you must be courageous, you must hold and not vacillate in regard to your convictions about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Do you believe that the Holy Bible is actually the inspired word of God, in errant, and infallible, and preserved by the providence of God?  The answer to that question will determine your character in how you exercise your Christianity.  When we allow the doctrines of men no matter how good they sound to lead us in ways that are not outlined for us in the Scripture then we are being led by any wisdom of the them the wisdom of God.  This all will require a change from the inside/out.  This will require that we set time aside from our daily activities by setting as a priority to spend time with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us so that we are living as what we are: a child of God.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

            in to sing praises to Your name.

O Most High.  To declare Your lovingkindness

            in the morning, and your faithfulness

every night.

                                    Psalm 92: 1 -- 2

We have much to be thankful for

Richard L. Crumb