In mid-October we received an invitation to engage in a discussion with a senior’s group at the St. Thomas Catholic Church.  They wanted us to explain the differences between our faith, (Anabaptism), and theirs.  We responded positively, perhaps a bit eagerly.

I gave it very little thought as the day approached. After all, this was likely going to be a meeting with  a few old ladies, and how deep can you get in a setting like that?  When we pulled into their parking lot, however, I was surprised by the number of cars already there.  Was this, perhaps, a bigger thing than I had expected?  I regretted not taking the time to be more prepared, but I was in good company since Aaron, Andrew, Jonathan, David and our wives were all along.  We bravely marched into the St. Thomas Church basement,– suspenders, coverings and all.

We were received warmly enough.   After a potluck dinner, the  priest, Brian Johnson, gave Jonathan the responsibility of organizing the topics and speakers.

Jonathan gave a brief history of Anabaptism in Europe, and their “coming out” of the Catholic church.  I could not see any reaction on the faces of our Catholic hosts–only friendly curiosity.  I suspect there is not much history about the Catholic church that would surprise any of them, nor do they feel any real attachment to the Catholic church of 500 years ago. But then, what did I expect?  Would I?

Aaron followed with a brief explanation of how Caneyville came to be, and why we are not exactly Amish, Mennonite, or German Baptist.  When asked if there were any people in the room who had ever considered joining the Amish, the response was sort of feeble.  Undazed, Aaron went on to explain that many of their fellow Americans do, in fact, want to join the Amish.  He explained the hurdles those people face, and why there have sprung up across the country small communities like ours who seek to remove unscriptural hurdles and yet maintain the strong community structure of a believer’s church.

Jonathan had me give a summary of doctrinal differences.  I tried to explain that Anabaptists take the words of Jesus very seriously and, if at all possible, literally.  Besides the obvious difference of believer’s baptism, we Anabaptists also try to live the sermon on the mount; not swearing, not resisting evil, and so on.  I also tried to note the places we actually agree with Catholics, without getting too ecumenical about it.  Looking around th room at the 50 or more people who were there did not make me want to talk much about our common ground.

Finally, Andrew fielded and answered questions from the group.  They had plenty of them, but once again it seemed to be only friendly curiosity–nothing critical or accusatory.  We might easily have imagined that we were at a luncheon with the Grayson County Historical society.

A few days later, we did a 180 degree u-turn and went to Carrolton, Kentucky, to a gathering of plain or ex-plain people sponsored by Michael Pearl.

Michael began the 3-day session by telling us that he had spent many hours in the plain church meetings, “stinking, hot, and seemingly endless”, being bored to death by our preachers.  Now it was his turn, and he intended to get revenge.  He gave us a  schedule of 7 meetings totaling around 15 hours of preaching.

Could Michael do it?  Indeed he could.  He could hardly stop talking when the time was up.  And what did he talk about?

Well, Michael is as close to a modern-day Martin Luther as you can get.  We spent hours going through Romans and the  Protestant “faith alone” doctrine, but we were never bored.  Mike is an entertaining speaker with clear and firm gasp of his subject.  We liked him.

I was glad for the chance to spend most of three days trying to understand Protestant theology.  I was surprised at how little I disagreed with the actual words he preached, and yet how vehemently I disagreed with his summaries and conclusions.  Perhaps our greatest disagreement was the way we approached the New Testament.  Michael wanted us to skip past the 4 gospels,–(“that’s Old Testament stuff”), and start at God’s premier book to the non-Jewish people, the book of Romans.  Romans was, for Michael, the window through which he saw the rest of the Bible.  Romans was, in fact, the Gospel.

In sharp contrast, for us Anabaptists the teachings of Jesus and his announcements of the Kingdom is the actual Gospel.  We see the gospel as the “turning upside-down” of our lives and inviting us to participate in the kingdom struggle.  We read Jesus’ accounts of end-time judgment and believe it to be a  judgment of fruits and works, not theology.

Michael doesn’t agree. Our salvation is based on grace, through faith alone and not of works.  Period.  All that stuff about not swearing, not resisting evil people, doing violence to no man, and so forth, belong to a works-based salvation.

By the end of 3 days, it was clear to me that Martin Luther had distorted the gospel message and robbed it of its fruitfulness.  Not so much by the exact things being said, but by an overall imbalance of Scripture and a gross misunderstanding of what the Gospel message was.

I watched for my chance to question Michael in a non-threatening setting between meetings.  Finally, on the last day, I found him outside all alone.

“How is is,” I asked, “that there can be absolutely no works in salvation when the Bible includes such things as “calling upon the name of the Lord: to be saved? Even simple belief itself is called a ‘work’ by Jesus in John 6:28b,29 “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”  My brain, my mouth, my ‘giving up’–are they not the works of my organic body?”

Michael is never stumped.  “Those are what we call non-meritorious works”, he said.  “That’s not what we mean, not what Romans means when it speaks of works.”

Oh.  Maybe we aren’t so far apart as our etymology suggests.  If we could find different words, would our worlds draw closer?  But then I think of the crisp advice given by John: “Little children, let no one deceive you.  He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.”

Catholics and Protestants.  Are they opposites?  In many ways, they seem more similar to each other than to the Anabaptists, though they would probably cringe to hear me say it.  And yet, in widely different ways, each of them has adopted a way of believing the Bible which ultimately becomes friendship with the world and its values.  The Way of the Cross, so central to Anabaptist theology, does not dominate their doctrine and thus does not cramp their lifestyle either.

And yet, in my more humble moments, I have to confess that we were treated kindly and graciously in both settings.  I want to learn from this, and return grace and kindness to those with whom I disagree, even strongly.

Faithfully following the details, our friend made the correct turns and finally dead-ended … right in the local cemetery! He never found out how hard the man giving the directions had laughed after he had pulled away.

Have you ever followed directions, only to end up where you didn’t want to be? Or found out later that your map or GPS deceived you, taking you the “the long way around,” or perhaps to the wrong destination? It wasn’t that you didn’t follow the directions well, the map or GPS was simply wrong!

I appreciate bypasses. Most of them anyways, like when I am in a hurry to get to the other side of town. But a recent discovery has led me to realize that a well-known map used by many travelers is in error, and is leading men and women down streets and into a final end where they were never intended to end up at. This map is so well known and highly valued, that it seems no one even questions its authority. It is the so-called “Romans Road to Salvation.” This map is advertised with the following words: “If you walk down this road you will end up understanding how to be saved.”

The problem with the maps I have seen is that they have several bypasses in them, detours that take men onto a route that ends up on a dead-end street. Well, let me rephrase those words “dead-end street.” It would be more proper to call it “a street that ends up among the dead.” Just like my friend ended up in a graveyard, men who follow the typical Romans Road maps will end up among the dead.

Yes, that’s right! Those popular Romans Road maps totally bypass some very important truths in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Let’s take a look at Romans again, carefully, and look at a few points the popular road maps have detoured around. Unfortunately, a short article does not provide enough space to make a full commentary on Paul’s letter to the Romans, so this short article is not intended to be a complete package in and of itself. It is written with the simple goal of alerting the reader of some missing aspects of the typical “Romans Road” map.

Before we begin …

I want the reader of this article to note two things before he/she continues reading:

1.       I will be referencing the Greek text in this article. No one needs to feel pressured, feel stupid, or feel like knowing Greek is essential to understanding the Bible. There is nothing wrong with the English wording; I refer to the Greek to give us synonyms (which often get our minds out of theological ruts) and to help guide us in the meaning of the English prepositions, which can vary greatly in meaning. The definition we apply to the preposition can entirely change our perspective. Which brings us to point two …

2.       As will be seen, those little prepositions (words like “for,” “by,” “of,” “through,” etc.) can change the whole meaning of a sentence, depending upon the definition applied to them. We tend to never look up their meanings in the dictionary, because we all know what “by” (for example) means, right? If this article does nothing else, it will challenge us to carefully consider the major influence of the definition that we place on prepositions. I encourage us all to not pass over the prepositions lightly.

The purpose of grace—eis obedience

Paul begins his letter with a lengthy salutation, and quickly brings in the topic of Jesus the Anointed. He declares Jesus to be both human (v. 3) and divine (v.4). His divinity was proved by the authority that He manifested over death. Paul then immediately makes clear that it was by means of Jesus that “we have received grace and apostleship.”

Stop for a moment at the next word in verse 5: “for.” Don’t bypass that little word. Its significance is important.

Readers of the article “Given Her for a Covering” may remember that same word expounded upon in 1 Corinthians 11:15 and remember that “for” has many meanings—27 are listed in my unabridged dictionary.

But don’t jump your guns! This time around the Greek word is not “anti,” but a different preposition: “eis.” While “anti” means “right in front of,” “eis” indicates an “entering into.” Picture a circle with an arrow going from the exterior “into” the interior. That is “eis.” “Eis” is used to focus on destination, where something is to end up at, the goal.

So here we are, looking at “grace and apostleship,” and wondering just where that is to take us next. Very simple … into (eis) obedience to the faith among all nations!

Let’s take a brief look at Ephesians 2:10. I know this is outside of Romans, but the teaching is so similar that we can reinforce it with this verse: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Why were we created in Christ Jesus? “Unto good works!” Although the preposition used here is epi and not eis, the meaning is so similar in this case that eis could have easily been used. Look! The purpose of our creation in Christ Jesus was so that we could move into good works!

Back to Romans 1:5. The sentence doesn’t stop at “unto obedience to the faith among all nations.” We find another “for” following the word “nations.” And we find yet another Greek preposition translated as English “for.” (“For” is truly a flexible word!) This time the Greek word “uper” is used. This preposition is transliterated as “hyper,” which we see a lot in modern English, such as hyperactive, or if someone is hyped up. Reduced to a one-word translation, “over” is the best we can do in English. But the idea is that of being “over and beyond, more than.”

Back to our text, we saw that grace was given to take us into obedience, then, “and over and beyond (uper) that, to glorify His name.”

The summary of Romans 5:1 is this: The reason grace was given to us is so that we  could enter into obedience, so that His name would be glorified.

A very fundamental aspect that your typical Romans Road map detours around is the fact that God ultimately saves men for His glory, not for man’s good. God is saving you so that He gets glorified, not so you can feel happy in eternity! This is such a shocking new way to look at salvation, and the “why” of it all, that you will—if you are like me—need many days and weeks and months to ponder the whole thing before it will sink in enough to radically affect how you view Christianity. I urge you to ponder it well. I urge you to meditate on the fact that the ultimate reason why God sent grace into this world is NOT to make men happy and get them to heaven, BUT TO BRING GLORY TO HIS NAME!

Before parting this theme, let’s turn to Ezekiel 36. For the sake of space, the text is omitted here. But you need to read the whole chapter. And please do read it, right now, if you are not familiar with it.

In this chapter, God is promising to do marvelous things for His people. Promise after promise after glorious promise! Now, let’s focus on verse 22 and see why God is doing this. Was He doing it for their sake? NO! “I do this not for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name’s sake …”

Then come more promises, including the giving of a new heart (v. 26), the sending of the Holy Spirit (v. 27), deliverance from uncleanness (v. 29), and glorious fruitfulness.

Then God drops the bombshell on us again as to why He will do these things.

For our sake? NO! If you don’t believe me, then read verse 32: “Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God …” Does it shock you that God did not plan our salvation for our sake, but for His sake? It did me!

When we think of the Roman Road to salvation, we need to make sure that we do not bypass this fundamental truth.

What will determine our entrance into heaven?

The next detour on the typical Romans Road map that we want to examine is the detour around Romans 2:5-16. The topic of these verses is the final judgment. Paul is explaining to the Romans what it is that will determine their eternal destiny, the criteria that God will judge them by. Verse 6 is really pretty plain: “Who will render to every man according to his deeds.” That is pretty clear, but we could make it plainer yet, perhaps, by using the two synonyms. The first is replacing “render” with “give,” and the second is to replace “deeds” with the word “works.” And before we do that, it should be made clear that the word “deeds” is from the same Greek word that “works” is translated from: ergon. They are completely interchangeable words, with practically no difference in their meaning. So, we end up with, “Who will give to every man according to his works.”

We really do not need to explain what this verse does NOT say, but just for clarification, let’s list a few things that this verse does NOT say:

• Who will give to every man according to his hopes.
• Who will give to every man according to his doctrines.
• Who will give to every man according to his beliefs.
• Who will give to every man according to his faith.

Paul goes on to give us the two options at the final judgment. Verse 7 is option one, in which those who patiently persist in doing good works, seeking glory and honor and immortality, will be given eternal life. Verses 8-9 show us option two, in which the reward of those who disobey God is revealed. These will receive tribulation and anguish. Then Paul switches back (v. 10) to those who do good, and adds glory, honor, and peace to their reward.

Perhaps some may quibble about my phrase in the preceding paragraph about “patiently persist in doing good works.” My choice of words was deliberate. The word “doing” in verse 7 comes from the same word as “deeds” in verse 6, ergon; and in Acts 9:36, Romans 13:3, Ephesians 2:10, and other verses, the very same Greek words used in Romans 2:7 (doing good) are translated as “good works.” It is not a mistranslation to translate that verse like this: “To those who—seeking for glory, honor, and deathlessness—persist in good works, eternal life [will be given].

Does that mess up your Romans Road map? If it does, you would do well to revise your map. That fact that we will all be judged by our works is reaffirmed by every—and I mean every—judgment scene presented to us from Matthew to Revelation. I know that is another shocking revelation to those of us who have been told—time after time after time—by the marketers of the typical Romans Road maps that good works have nothing to do with our salvation. But it is an indisputable fact that our works will determine our final destiny. Our beliefs will not be figured in the decision on that last great day.

The source of being made righteous—Ex faith

Our next look at the Romans Road is not really about a detour, but rather what could possibly be called a misreading of the road signs, a misinterpretation. I am referring to another little pronoun, “by.”

In particular, I am looking at this word “by” in connection with the word “faith.” Eight times the phrase “by faith” is used by Paul in his letter to the Roman brothers and sisters. The first occurrence is in chapter 1, verse 17, where Paul quotes from one of the prophets, saying, “The just shall live by faith.”

What does that little word “by” mean? Like “for,” “by” is quite a bendable little word, but with only 14 different entries for it in my unabridged dictionary instead of 27. Looking at the original language for some guidance as to what the intention is, we see the Greek preposition “ex,” sometimes spelled “ek.”

Ah! “Ex,” we all know what that is, right? Ex-Catholic, ex-miner, ex-president, ex-druggie … “Ex” tells us the exact opposite of “eis.” Remember “eis”? We found that “eis” starts on the outside and goes into, indicating the destination, or the final goal. Well, turn that arrow around and start it on the inside and make it go out of the circle, and you have “ex.” You know what an exit is, don’t you? You go out of something when you exit; out the door, out of the interstate highway system, out of the airplane.

Before proceeding any further, let’s meditate a moment on someone who exits a building. If I say, “John went out the exit,” you know where he originated from, but you have no idea whatsoever where John ended up. You only know where he started from. In the same way, if I say “John is an ex-Buddhist,” you know where John came from, but can you tell me what religion he now is? Can you tell me what all he went through on his way to get to his present religion? No!

Ex only indicates origin or source. So if we say that “The just shall live ex (by) faith,” the only thing we can learn from that is that faith is the origin of life. That tells us nothing whatsoever where that life will take the just man. There is no indication where or what the final destination shall be of “the just.” All we know is that righteousness starts ex (from) faith.

Now let’s apply the same to Romans 5:23, where Paul states a conclusion: “a man is justified ex (by) faith, without the deeds of the law.”

The only thing we really learn from Paul’s statement is the source—the foundation—of the process that turns an unrighteous man into a righteous man. Paul’s conclusion really does not state what all else might be involved in the process, nor the final steps. In fact, we do not know if this is the only step, or if there are three other steps in the process, or 13 steps in the process. All we are told is the origin, the source, the beginning. All Paul has concluded here is that becoming righteous does not begin with doing the works of the Mosaic law. Becoming righteous does not start with Sabbath days and circumcision. It starts in faith, “outside the territory of”[1] new moons, animal sacrifices, and other Mosaic ceremonies.

Remember how we talked about knowing nothing about where John went if all we know is that he exited the building? Or what religion he now professed if all we know is that he is an ex-Buddhist? In the same way, we do not know everything about justification from the simple phrase “ex faith.”

Do you get the point? The phrase “a man is justified ex (by) faith” is not saying that faith is the only thing involved in becoming righteous. It only tells us the beginning, or the source.

Perhaps a little analogy would help. I assume everyone reading this is familiar with the basic rules of baseball. The batter hits the ball, and then tries to run around all the bases without getting tagged. If he hits the ball hard enough, he may well be able to run around all the bases and get back home without having to stop at one of the bases. If he does make it all the way safely back home without stopping, it is called “hitting a homerun.”

Now, let’s make a conclusion about hitting a home run, using our Greek preposition “ex” translated into English “by.” We can say that a home run is “ex” (by) hitting the ball. What does that tell us? It tells us that the homerun came, started, or originated from that solid smack of the ball to the uttermost corner of the field. Does that mean there is no running of the bases involved? No, of course not. All it means is that the homerun’s origin was the good hit. The batter must then run to first base, then to second, then to third, and finally back to home base to complete his home run. If he hits the ball clear over the fence and then refuses to run the bases, would his team get a “run” scored on their side. No!

And yet we can truthfully say that a home run is by (ex) hitting the ball. And Paul could truthfully say that justification is by (ex) faith. Was he saying that justification involves only faith? NO!!! All we can safely conclude is that becoming righteous has its source in faith. Paul then goes on to clarify that justification also begins “outside the territory of” doing the works prescribed by the Mosaic Law. There may or may not be more than faith involved in justification. Romans 5:23 does not tell us if there are bases to run or not. It only concludes that a home run (justification) has its beginnings in a good smack of the ball (faith).

My whole point in this section concerning the phrase “by faith” is this: theologians have misinterpreted this phrase to mean that justification is totally accomplished by faith all by itself, when in fact it only indicates that justification originates or has its source in faith.

Check your Romans Road maps well, my friends! Make sure the road signs have not been misinterpreted!

Grace kingdomizing

What!!?? Kindomizing? Let me explain …

Turn your Bibles to Romans 5:21, to another very powerful verse that the typical Romans Road maps bypass. Here we read, “so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Let’s dissect this verse into smaller pieces for easier digestion. First, the words “grace reign.”

“Grace” is the noun, the subject. And it is doing something. Grace is kingdomizing!

Taking a look at the Greek text again, we see “basileuse.” The interesting thing about this word is that it is a verb, from the same root as the Greek word for “kingdom.” In our English language, “reign” is a good translation, perhaps the best official English translation available. “Kingdomize” is not an official English word, but it gives us a good word picture. Or, perhaps an even better word picture is to phrase it, “grace makes kingdom happen through righteousness.”

The purpose of Christ’s coming was to set up a kingdom, that is, to organize an “alternative society” that reigns over sin, self, Satan, death, and hell. And, Paul gives us a beautiful picture of grace “kingdomizing.” In previous times, our verse tells us, sin used to be king, bringing us to death. But now, grace abounds (v. 20) so that grace may kingdomize us eis (into—remember that preposition eis, with its reference to goal or destination?) eternal life.

Let’s look now at the phrase “through righteousness.” “Through” is another preposition, but with only eight definitions in my dictionary. Looking at the Greek for some guidance, we see dia. Dia is pretty simple to get the idea of, since we have so many English words that are prefixed with dia-: Diagram, diameter, diarrhea, etc.

The Greek preposition dia is used to indicate the channel by which something is accomplished. Dia is the pipe, so to speak, that is used to carry out the action of the verb. That is why it is translated “through.” At the gas station, you put gas in your car dia (through) the nozzle and hose that comes from the gas pump. In the same way, grace kingdomizes a person into eternal life dia (through, or by means of) righteous living.

Paul ends the verse by telling us that the whole operation is dia Jesus Christ our Lord. Here, the KJV uses “by,” in the sense of “by means of.” This last phrase sort of sums up the channel through which the whole operation flows—Jesus!

We end up with Paul telling us that in the same way that sin used to extend its kingdom in us, taking us into death, now grace would kingdomize in us, and by means of upright living would take us into eternal life—all through the “channel” of Jesus!

The dead-end street

Remember the family friend I mentioned at the beginning, the one who ended up on a dead-end street in a cemetery? Well, your typical Romans Road map has a dead-end street in it, and unfortunately, most of them end up leading you there. Can you imagine!?

You see, most of the Romans Road maps that I have seen end up saying essentially that the road to heaven is called “Faith-Alone Avenue.” This well-known route is traveled by many pilgrims in search of eternal life. But it always dead-ends—just like my friend—among the dead.

The only place in the KJV where the words “faith” and “alone” are in the same verse is in a verse that also contains the word “dead”: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” Ja. 2:17

Dear reader, “Faith-Alone Avenue” is a dead-end street!

Conclusion

Putting some of the above points together, suddenly a different picture begins to emerge than what the typical Romans Road map gives. We see faith in God as a source from which springs the opportunity to experience a grace that will reign in us, leading us into obedience, righteous living, and eternal life. We then have no fear of the judgment day, in which our works will determine our destiny. This is because faith and grace have kingdomized us into a fruitful life of good works. God has performed the whole operation for one cause—for His name’s sake, for His glory! And all through this was channeled through Jesus!

My friends, I sincerely suggest that you wad your old Romans Road map up and toss it eis (into) the trash can. Then, get out a fresh sheet of paper ex (out of) your drawer and carefully begin a new map, going through the Bible verse by verse, slowly and carefully. And, please, please do not use the few points in this short article as a complete “Romans Road” map. What I have written here is incomplete, a few points chosen out of many, just to highlight a couple of missing points. I reiterate: This article is NOT a complete Romans Road Map.

And to you, dear young brother or sister who is just starting on your journey to heaven, I have some sincere advice. The book of Romans is filled with some of the deeper intricacies of Christian theology. Even the apostle Peter wrote that Paul’s letters contain “some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” 2 Pe. 3:16 You would do well, young reader, to begin your Christian life with a focus on Jesus’ teachings. Focus first on the example and commands of Christ, and then let Paul’s letter to the Romans reinforce what Jesus taught. Too many people have “wrested” Paul’s writings—separating them from Jesus’ life and teachings—and then come up with what is supposed to be a simple “Romans Road Map to Heaven.” But as we have seen, there are too many bypasses, detours, and dead-end streets in their maps.

Do you know that I have never, ever—not one single time—seen a Romans Road map that included Jesus’ simple and clear statement that one cannot be His disciple if he does not take up the cross and follow Him? Taking up your cross is an absolute must, yet not one single Romans Road Map has ever included that important step. I know that this teaching is not in Paul’s letter to the Romans, but that just shows the folly of trying to make a roadmap to heaven out of one part of the New Testament. When you begin redrawing your roadmap to heaven, start with Jesus’ teachings and life, and include the whole of the New Testament.

Fare ye well, fellow pilgrims! May grace abound in you and kingdomize you eis obedience. You will then have no fear of the coming judgment day!

-Mike Atnip

Fruit or Doctrine? Which will be judged by?

Click the link for a
Book review of Will the Theologians Please Sit Down, by David Bercot.

“Come, give your hand,” said the smiling World,
“And together we shall go!”
But the good Church hid her snowy hand
And solemnly answered, “No!!

I will not give you my hand at all,
And I will not walk with you.
Your way is the way of eternal death,
And your words are all untrue.”

“No, walk with me a little ways,”
Said the World with a kindly air.
“The road I walk is a pleasant road,
And the sun shines always there.

Your path is thorny and rough and rude,
But mine is broad and plain;
My way is paved with flowers and dews,
And yours with tears and pain.

The sky to me is always blue,
No lack, no toil I know;
The sky above you is always dark;
Your lot is a lot of woe.

My way, you can see, is a soft easy one,
And my gate is high and wide;
There is room enough for you and me;
So let’s travel side by side.”

Half shyly the Church approached the World
And gave him her hand of snow;
And the false World grasped it, and walked along
And whispered in accents low,

“Your dress is too simple to please my taste;
I have pinks and oranges to wear,
Sensuous hues for your graceful form
And sprays to fluff your hair.”

Then added he, with a shake of his head,
Shielding his eyes in the glare,
“It makes much sense in this fierce sunshine
Your comely calves to bare.”

The Church looked down at her plain, modest clothes
And then at the dazzling World,
And blushed as she saw his handsome lip,
With a smile contemptuous curled.

“I will change my dress for a prettier one,”
Said the Church with a smile of grace;
So her simple garments were stashed away,
And the World gave, in their place,

Beautiful satins and flowery sheens,
With roses and lace and swirls;
While over her forehead her bright hair fell
In two bouncy, enticing curls.

“Your house is too plain” said the proud old World,
“Let us build you one like mine,
With kitchen for feasting and rec room for play
And cabinets never so fine.”

So he built her a costly and beautiful house;
Awesome it was to behold!
Her sons and her daughters met frequently there,
Shining in purple and gold.

There were cushioned seats for the lazy and rich,
To sit in their glutton and pride;
But the poor who were clad in humble array,
Were scorned ‘til they went outside.

Powerpoints and films in the halls were shown,
And the World and his children were there.
Laughter and music and ping-pong were heard
In the place that was meant for prayer.

The angel in mercy rebuked the Church,
And whispered, “I know thy sin.”
Then the Church looked sad, and anxiously longed
To gather the children in.

But some were away at the midnight bowl,
And others online did play,
And some were hangin’ at Pizza Hut:
So the angel went away.

Then said the World in soothing tones,
“Your children mean no harm—
Merely indulging in innocent sports,”
So she leaned on his proffered arm,

And smiled, and chatted, and downloaded photos,
And walked along with the World,
While countless millions of precious souls.
Over the fearful brink were hurled.

“Your preachers are too old-fashioned and plain,”
Said the smart World with a sneer.
“They frighten my children with dreadful tales
Which I do not like to hear.

They talk of judgments and fire and pain,
And the doom of darkest night.
They warn of a place that should not be
Mentioned to ears polite!

I will send you some of a better stamp,
More brilliant, educated, fast;
Who will show how men their flesh may please
And go to heaven at last.

The Father is merciful, great and good;
Loving and tender and kind.
Do you think He’d take one child to heaven
And leave another behind?”

So she called for pleasing and smart divines,
Deemed gifted and great and learned;
And the plain-spoken men who had preached the cross
Were out of her pulpits turned.

Then Mammon came in and supported the Church
And sat in a well-padded pew;
And preaching and chorals and floral display
Soon proclaimed a gospel new.

“You give too much to the poor,” said the World,
“Far more than you ought to do;
Though the poor need shelter, food, and clothes,
Why thus need it deprive you?

And afar to the heathen in foreign lands
Your thoughts need seldom roam.
The Father of mercies will care for them:
Let charity start at home.

Go take your money and buy nice shoes
And cars and pickups fine;
And phones and ipods and cameras,
The latest and costliest kind.

My children, they dote on all such things,
And if you their love would win,
You must do as they do, and walk in the way—
The up-to-date way they’re in.”

The Church her purse snaps tightly shut
And shamefully lowered her head.
She whimpered, “I’ve given too much away.
I will do, sir, as you have said.”

So the poor were pushed out her mind;
She heard not the orphan’s cry;
And she silently covered her Mastercard
As the widows went weeping by.

Thus they of the Church and they of the World
Journeyed closely, hand and heart.
And none but the Master, who knows all things,
Understood they had once walked apart.

Then the Church sat down at ease and said,
“I am rich and in goods increased.
I have need of nothing, and naught to do,
But to play, to sing, and to eat.”

The sly World heard her and laughed in his sleeve,
And mockingly said aside,
“The Church has fallen, the beautiful Church;
Her shame is her boast and pride.”

Thus her witnessing power, alas, was lost,
And perilous times came in;
The times of the end, so often foretold,
Of form and pleasure and sin.

Then the angel drew near the mercy seat
And whispered in sighs her name,
And the saints their anthems of rapture hushed
And covered their heads with shame.

A voice came down from the hush of heaven,
From Him who sat on the throne;
“I know your works and what you have said—
But alas! You have not known,

That you are poor and naked and blind,
With pride and ruin ensnarled;
The expectant bride of a heavenly Groom
Is the harlot of the World!

You have ceased to watch for that blessed hope,
Have fallen from zeal and grace;
So now, alas! I must cast you out
And blot your name from its place.”

No one really knows how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools, hospitals, homes, factories, helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness. For decades, petty rules, silly laws, and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense.

He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, and that life simply isn’t always fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge), and it’s okay to come in second.

A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression , and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends including whole language, and “new math”.

But his health declined when he became infected with the “If-it-only-helps-one-person-it-is-worth-it” virus.

In recent decades, his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of well-intentioned, but over-bearing regulations.

He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers.

His health rapidly deteriorate when schools endlessly implemented zero-tolerance policies. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, a teen suspended for using a swish of mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.

It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student, but could not inform the parents when a female student was pregnant and wanted an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than their victims, and federal judges stuck their noses in everything from the Boy Scouts to professional sports.

Finally, when a woman failed to recognized that a steaming cup of coffee was hot and was awarded a huge settlement, Common Sense gave up the ghost.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility, and his son, Reason.

He is survived by two stepbrothers: My Rights, and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

–Author unknown

Sword or pen?

You see two men, armed to the teeth, warring for righteousness.
One is looking left, the other right (on purpose, for the composite I made).
They are real historical figures, etched as a relief in stone.
On the left is John, on the right is Peter.  No, they are not John and Peter the apostles.
They are men you likely never heard of- John Zizca and Peter Chelcicky.
John and Peter hailed from medieval times, in the early days of the 1400s.  Both of these Bohemians-now called the Czech Republic-had a zeal for God, and a desire that the church of Jesus recover from the Roman Catholic apostasy.
John picked up his sword to defend against the Catholic crusaders.  Peter picked up his pen.
See the above picture.
One-eyed John Zizca was a formidable man to war against.  Five times he and his peasant warriors repelled Catholic crusaders who had come to squelch the “heresy” that was spreading like a prairie fire across Bohemia.  With their farming tools and what small weapons they could scrounge up, they became known as the “terror of Europe”.  Spinning in glee from the successful defense of their homeland, they even took to the offensive and made a few raids into neighboring countries.
They had a mission; a God-ordained mission, at least in their own minds.  The Roman Church had turned from the original paths of the New Testament, and these “warriors of God” were set for the defense of the true Gospel.  When the Pope called for a crusade and sent an army to squash them, one of them declared:
“The time to wander with a pilgrim’s staff is over, now we shall have to march, sword in hand.”

So John and company grabbed swords, pitch-forks, clubs and whatever else one could use to fight for the truth, and went to war for God.
Except Peter Chelcicky.  Standing almost alone, he picked up his pen.  Writing to the “warriors of God”, he told them, “You will not bring the kingdom of heaven to earth as long as the hell of hatred burns in your hearts.”
Occupying his time in his little homestead and writing, Peter eventually wrote some fifty articles and books.  Most of them are still in Bohemian, but a few have been translated to other languages.  Several centuries after the death of his body, Peter’s writings still live and produce fruit.  The following quotes are a few of the gems:

“We are like people who have come to a house that has been burnt down and try to find the original foundations. This is the more difficult in that the ruins are grown over with all sorts of undergrowths, and many think that these undergrowths are the foundations and say, “This is the foundation”… So that in the novelties that have grown up, they think to have found the foundation, whereas they have found something quite different from and contrary to the true foundations.
This makes the search more difficult, for if all said, “The old foundation has been lost among the ruins”, then many would begin to dig and search for it and to really begin a true work of building upon it; as Nehemiah and Zerubbabel did after the destruction of the temple. It is much more difficult now to restore the spiritual ruins—so long fallen down—and get back to the former state, for which no other foundation can be laid than Jesus Christ, from whom the many have wandered away and turned to other gods and made foundations of them.”

“Since [the time of Constantine when church and state united] all live in hypocrisy, from the least to the greatest, figuring out how to be Christian while doing everything their flesh desires. Everyone seeks the honor of the world and flatters it with pleasant talk. Everyone wants peace with the world to avoid suffering its persecution in any way—so to compare today’s Christianity with that of the early church is like comparing night to day.”

“When a people wise in this world see Christ—abandoned, dressed in the garb of poverty, and surrounded by danger—they turn away from him and follow after wealthy and popular men who serve God with great learning in cathedrals, in armies, with civil authority, with thumbscrews, city-halls, pillories and gallows. The whole wise world runs after them, but only “fools” dare follow Christ and suffer the ridicule of all.”

“Oh how small and barren is the dominion of earthly kings compared with the dominion of Christ! Earthly rulers heap burdens and suffering on their subjects instead of freedom and consolation. By way of contrast, the kingdom of Christ is so powerful and perfect that if the whole world accepted him, it would have peace and all things would work together for good. There would be no need of temporal rulers anymore, for all would live by grace and truth.”

“They prepare Christ as a sweet sauce for the world, so that the world may not have to shape its course after Him and His heavy Cross, but that they may conform to the world; and they make Him softer than oil, so that every wound may be soothed, and the violent, thieves, murderers and adulterers may have an easy entrance into heaven.”

In the Czech Republic today, you can find the above-pictured reliefs as memorials to John Zizca and Peter Chelcicky.  John died from the plague, leaving the wish that his skin should be used to make drums so that he could still lead his soldiers onward, even after his death.  Peter died in obscurity: no-one knows the details of his final days.
Two soldiers.  Two methods of battle.  Two gospels.  Two distinct kingdoms.
A pen or a sword:  Which will you choose?

How do we tell if we are drifting?

I like the analogy given by a preacher once of a bunch of boats on a bay.  As long as the boats keep looking at each and monitoring their position by each other, no one will give heed to the fact that every last one of them is being carried along with an unseen undercurrent.  They are still the same distance from each other as 12 hours ago…  Never mind that they all have drifted 2 and a half miles along the coast.

So it is with Christians who have lost their inertia and “have settled on their lees”.  They look around at each other in the congregation and breathe a sigh of relief: “Whew!  We are still all united!”

Or, “Whew!  We are still as far away from the liberal Baptists as we ever were!  We must still be going in the right direction.”

The only problem is that the liberal Baptists have drifted further into carnality, and folks are comparing the difference between them and the liberal Baptists, not them and Christ.

The ships on a bay can only determine if they are drifting if they watch the shoreline (not counting modern GPS systems   ) .  You can only determine if you are drifting if you compare yourself to Christ and His teachings, not by comparing yourself with the liberal Baptists, or with the Conservative Amish.

And you cannot tell if you are drifting by your feelings.  You may feel you are closer to Christ, but unless you compare your life to His life you may well fool yourself.  And, for the record, His life is outlined in the written Word of God.  Compare yourself with it, at face value; just like you look in a mirror that is only inches from your face.  Put Jesus’ teaching right smack in front of your daily activities.

He went about living selflessly.  He sold his goods and gave them to the poor.  He did not waste his time in entertainments; He did not waste His money on vain adornments; He spent all His excess energies—every energy not needed for necessary bodily maintenance—in preaching the gospel of the kingdom; all His excess energies.  ALL of them.  ALL of them.  ALL…

Been drifting?