"Philosophers are the Patriarchs of heretics" – Tertullian
If your political red meat is the racism of ‘deporting the foreigners’, you cede any and every right to call yourself a Christian. Because you are not a Christian. Your destination is hell. And here’s the proof- Matthew 25:43, 46.
It simply could not be more clear.
Besides the well known story of the kids mauled by bears because those kids made fun of Elisha, there’s this little morality tale which drives home the point that the people of God are advised to respect the persons God has appointed to speak on his behalf-
Num 12:1 While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married (for he had indeed married a Cushite woman); 2 and they said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth. 4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. 5 Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the entrance of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words:
When there are prophets among you,
I the Lord make myself known to them in visions;
I speak to them in dreams.
7 Not so with my servant Moses;
he is entrusted with all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face—clearly, not in riddles;
and he beholds the form of the Lord.Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed. 10 When the cloud went away from over the tent, Miriam had become leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned towards Miriam and saw that she was leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us for a sin that we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like one stillborn, whose flesh is half consumed when it comes out of its mother’s womb.”
Uh oh…. Bad move Aaron and Miriam. Best to refrain from your insults.
1 Kings 22-
For three years Aram and Israel continued without war. 2 But in the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” 4 He said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are; my people are your people, my horses are your horses.”
5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred of them, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” They said, “Go up; for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we may inquire?” 8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one other by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me, but only disaster.” Jehoshaphat said, “Let the king not say such a thing.” 9 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah.” 10 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, “Thus says the Lord: With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.” 12 All the prophets were prophesying the same and saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.”
15 When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” He answered him, “Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 16 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 17 Then Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each one go home in peace.’ ” 18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me, but only disaster?”
19 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one thing, and another said another, 21 until a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 ‘How?’ the Lord asked him. He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then the Lord said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.’ 23 So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
24 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” 25 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner chamber.” 26 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 27 and say, ‘Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I come in peace.’ ” 28 Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, you peoples, all of you!”
Rise, Yahweh! God, raise your hand, do not forget the afflicted! Why should the wicked spurn God, assuring himself you will never follow it up? You have seen for yourself the trouble and vexation, you watch so as to take it in hand. The oppressed relies on you; you are the only recourse of the orphan. Break the arm of the wicked and evil, seek out wickedness till there is none left to be found. – (Ps. 10:12-15)
Teaching a fool is like gluing bits of pottery together — you are rousing someone who is besotted with sleep. You might as well talk to someone sound asleep; when you have finished the fool will say, ‘What’s up?’ Shed tears for the dead, who has left the light behind; shed tears for the fool, who has left his wits behind. Shed quieter tears for the dead who is at rest, for the fool life is worse than death. Mourning for the dead lasts seven days, for the foolish and ungodly all the days of their lives. (Sir. 22:9-12)
Fools, in sum, are invincibly ignorant. Nothing penetrates their stupidity, no matter how hard one may try.
“For Yahweh says this: To the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths and choose to do my good pleasure and cling to my covenant, I shall give them in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I shall give them an everlasting name that will never be effaced. As for foreigners who adhere to Yahweh to serve him, to love Yahweh’s name and become his servants, all who observe the Sabbath, not profaning it, and cling to my covenant: these I shall lead to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isa. 56:4-7)
As Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon, the king said, “Babylon the great! Was it not I, with my great strength, who built it as a royal residence for my splendor and majesty?”
While these words were still on the king’s lips, a voice spoke from heaven, “It has been decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingship is taken from you! You shall be cast out from human society, and shall dwell with wild beasts; you shall be given grass to eat like an ox, and seven years shall pass over you, until you learn that the Most High is sovereign over human kingship and gives it to whom he will.”
At once this was fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar was cast out from human society, he ate grass like an ox, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle, and his nails like the claws of a bird. – Daniel 4
Woe to those whose might lies in wine bibbing, their heroism in mixing strong drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deny justice to the upright. Yes, as the flame devours the stubble, as the straw flares up and disappears, their root will be like decay and their shoot be carried off like dust, for having rejected the law of Yahweh Sabaoth, for having despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. (Isa. 5:22-24)
The king sent Jehudi for the scroll [of Jeremiah], and he brought it from the room of the scribe Elishama and read it to the king and all the chief men standing round the king. The king was sitting in his winter apartments — it was the ninth month — with a fire burning in a brazier in front of him. Each time Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the fire in the brazier until the whole of the scroll had been burnt in the brazier fire.
But in spite of hearing all these words, neither the king nor any of his courtiers took alarm or tore their clothes; and although Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll he would not listen to them, but ordered the king’s son Jerahmeel and Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. But Yahweh had hidden them. (Jer. 36:21-26)
You have schooled many others, giving strength to feeble hands; your words supported any who wavered and strengthened every failing knee. And now your turn has come, and you lose patience, at the first touch on yourself you are overwhelmed! Does not your piety give you confidence, and your integrity of life give you hope? (Job 4:3-6)
I can’t tell you how many people I have known over the years who have been quite magnanimous with God’s grace when it comes to others but as soon as they have hardship, it’s the end of the world, and their piety.
Adrian Schenker sent along this wonderful little volume. I am so looking forward to enjoying it when I have some work out of the way. I appreciate the gift very much and thank Adrian for it here, publicly. I appreciate even more his friendship. And his profound scholarship.
They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 1 John 2:19
I know about your behaviour: how you are reputed to be alive and yet are dead. Wake up; put some resolve into what little vigour you have left: it is dying fast. So far I have failed to notice anything in your behaviour that my God could possibly call perfect; remember how you first heard the message. Hold on to that. Repent! If you do not wake up, I shall come to you like a thief, and you will have no idea at what hour I shall come upon you. (Rev. 3:1-3)
The conversation of fools is disgusting, raucous their laughter in their sinful pleasures. The talk of hard-swearing people makes your hair stand on end, their brawling makes you stop your ears. (Sir. 27:13-14)
I know about your behaviour: how you are reputed to be alive and yet are dead. Wake up; put some resolve into what little vigour you have left: it is dying fast. So far I have failed to notice anything in your behaviour that my God could possibly call perfect; remember how you first heard the message. Hold on to that. Repent! If you do not wake up, I shall come to you like a thief, and you will have no idea at what hour I shall come upon you. (Rev. 3:1-3)
Christians are loathe to make declarations of their will. Graham isn’t. Because for Graham ‘your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ is meaningless. For Graham, ‘my will be imposed on all’ is the aim. And that makes him a tyrant, not a Christian.
Furthermore, were Graham at all familiar with Scripture he would know how utterly inappropriate this demand is. Scripture declares
Well now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow, we are off to this or that town; we are going to spend a year there, trading, and make some money.’ You never know what will happen tomorrow: you are no more than a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears. Instead of this, you should say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we shall still be alive to do this or that.’ But as it is, how boastful and loud — mouthed you are! Boasting of this kind is always wrong. Everyone who knows what is the right thing to do and does not do it commits a sin. (Jas. 4:13-17)
There are nine things I can think of which strike me as happy, and a tenth which is now on my tongue:
The fear of the Lord surpasses everything; what can compare with someone who has mastered that? (Sir. 25:7-11)
Everyone who knows what is the right thing to do and does not do it commits a sin. (Jas. 4:17)
Can help a person who will not listen to God. ‘Hear, O Israel’ is the first commandment- all the rest depend on heeding it. A person who will not hear cannot be helped, no matter how much they may want to be.
“Come, take up the cross, and follow Me”. (Mk. 10:21)
