Got Fruit ?

The situation:  Amos is sent to announce God’s judgement against the the northern kingdom of Israel. Israel was performing half-hearted worship, merely going through rituals, while still flirting with pagan shrines at Bethel and other places of worship.  See links for Introduction and commentaries at bottom of post for more details.

Amos 9:1-4
1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
       "Strike the tops of the pillars
       so that the thresholds shake.
       Bring them down on the heads of all the people;
       those who are left I will kill with the sword.
       Not one will get away,
       none will escape.

2 Though they dig down to the depths of the grave,
       from there my hand will take them.
       Though they climb up to the heavens,
       from there I will bring them down.

3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
       there I will hunt them down and seize them.
       Though they hide from me at the bottom of the sea,
       there I will command the serpent to bite them.

4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
       there I will command the sword to slay them.
       I will fix my eyes upon them
       for evil and not for good."

Some pretty hard language coming from God huh?  Perhaps a little unsettling, compared to the loving version of God that’s so much easier to talk about.  Regardless of what notions you the reader or myself may have about God, this too is a nature of God that one can only avoid in their minds.  On God’s Word, we can be assured that though we might get away with living outside of His commands (sinning) for a while, there is no escaping judgement.  God, through His prophet Amos is telling Israel exactly so in Amos 9.

We have free will to go through life avoiding, "hiding" from, or even outright denying that God exists.  We can doubt His Word. We can even make our own interpretations of His Word to better fit our manufactured image of how we desire God to be.  A few problems with this thought process though are that when we do, we lie about God by bringing Him down to our level.  We also lie to ourselves by worshiping this reduced "version" of God.  It’s then not God that we’re striving for a relationship with, rather an idol (Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before  me.." ) that we’ve erected. There is however good news, a way to avoid the "nastiness" of all this doom and gloom.

1st Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Grace and peace be with you.

Amos: Introduction, Amos 9 commentaries

From Chapter 18 of Ezekiel, we have the Sovereign Lord explaining to Ezekiel the prophet (through a vision?) how He judges each of us for the manner in which we conduct our life.  The basic premise (Christianity 101 if you will) is that sin, the act of disobedience to God, his Word, His commands, separates us from His holiness & therefore results in death.

Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.

God is setting straight the people of Israel concerning a proverb that they had used; and from what I gather the Israelites had either misunderstood the proverb to mean that a child would be judged for their father’s sins (see Exodus 20:4-6), or in view of Exodus 20:4-6, was since then rescinded by God (?).

Ezekiel 18:1-3
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:
       " ‘The fathers eat sour grapes,
       and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

3 "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4 For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

An additional thought or two regarding  Exodus 20:4-6 which reads:

Exodus 20:4-6
4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

It occurs to me that Exodus 20:4-6, specifically the passage: "…for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation…" is what is focused on, what’s remembered from this commandment forbidding idol worship.  What gets lost though is the consequences of the father that sins against God (hating Him).  A very simplified idea that comes to mind is that when a father neglects to raise his children up in the way of the Lord,because he’s not following God himself, he "condemns" his children because he perpetuates the natural inclination to live a sinful lifestyle.  The father has failed to guide the child(ren) to an alternate choice of  living morally through God which mitigates sin.

As for the idea of God rescinding the "generational curse" portion for disobedience to Exodus 20:4-6, Ezekiel 18:1-3 definitely seems to support this when God speaks what sounds like a command to cease  quoting the proverb, followed by a declaration that each man is responsible for their own actions regarding living either a wicked or a righteous life (Ezekiel 18:18-32). See also: Jeremiah 31:27-33.

Grace and peace be with you.

I vaguely recall when the phrase “What Would Jesus Do?” (WWJD) was “in”.  As I wasn’t a practicing Christian during that time it never really caught on with me.  I’ve always been a bit leary of getting caught up in catchy phrases tied to God, Christ or Christianity.  Call it marketing phobia I suppose.  Take Got-Fruit(?) for example… what’s that all about!?

Back on topic, I came across an interesting read this evening that posed the WWJD question.  Hat tip to Wickle.  The post titled: What Would Jesus Do If Invited to a Gay Wedding?  by John Shore,poses the question of how should a Christian respond to an invite to a gay wedding.  Shore a Christian, author and blogger presents his dilemma, to attend the wedding thereby enhancing his relationship with his gay friends or to not attend the wedding because of his Christian values and risk damaging the relationship.

At last count around 10 pm (CST) there were over 225 comments to Shore’s post so be forewarned, it’s a long read.  My initial reaction was to pop off with my own two cents worth, however Holy Spirit led restraint prevailed as I instead have opted to give my own commentary here.

I’ll start off first by stating that I’m not sure where the dilemma is, if taken from a Biblical perspective, meaning I wouldn’t attend if in the same situation. Shore presents some verses from Matthew 23 that appear to lead him to believe that the right thing to do is to attend the marital union between two gay people.  To keep focus on the topic at hand which is the propriety of a Christian attending a  “Gay wedding”, I’ll try to reiterate as much as possible that this post is not about attacking people who choose to submit to homosexual temptations nor their sexual orientation.  The point also is not to zone in on the fact that homosexuals are sinners, everyone is a sinner, however I do want to state that my opinions and views (shaped by my reading and understanding of the Bible) shouldn’t be confused with a universalistic type philosophy, world view or politically correct definition of tolerance either.   Just calling it as I see it.

As stated earlier, Shore uses the following verses from Matthew 23 to meditate upon:

Matthew 23:13,15,24
13″Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

15″Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

23″Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Those verses from Matthew 23 do seem to have “some” weight to them if the intention is to sell compassion and not being a hypocrite, however I think that in their context they aren’t really applicable to Shore’s dilemma.  Firstly those verses from Matthew seem to be directly pointed to the religious hypocrisy of teachers, I just don’t see them addressing Shore’s dilemma which in my opinion comes down to a question of spiritual integrity to God’s Word.  I’ll qualify my position with Scripture…

Again the question is, “As a Christian, should one attend the marital union/”wedding” between two homosexuals?”  From my perspective, the answer again is “no”, based on the following reasoning from Scripture.  Please note that some of the longer references are abbreviated (…) for the sake of post length, please refer to your Bible or the supplied link for completeness and context.  The bold text within the following verses is emphasized to make the Biblical point against how a gay marriage goes against God’s Word in the context of a Christian attending/supporting such union.

1. God defines marriage as the union between man and woman.

Genesis 2:18-24
18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” … 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.  25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Matthew 19:3-6
3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” 4″Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”  (Jesus speaking)

1st Corinthians 7:1-3
1Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. 2But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.
(Foot note from the NIV [Zondervan} Study Bible regarding  “duty”: Married coupes should have regular sexual relations. Permanent abstention deprives the other partner of his or her natural right.)

In 1st Corinthians 11 Paul speaks of propriety in worship yet notice that he reiterates what God has already established as natural:

1st Corinthians 11:8-9
8For man…; 9neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

2. God defines sexual immorality (the focus is on homosexuality explicitly, as it relates to Scripture invalidating gay marriage as being a recognized union by God)

Leviticus 18
20 ” ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.
21 ” ‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD
22 ” ‘Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. (See note on 1st Corinthians 7:1-2)

Romans 1:26-27
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Galatians 5:16-21
16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.  19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

See also Acts 15:20, & 1st Corinthians 6:12-20

My apologies for slamming you all with such a long post, I wanted to provide at least 3 Biblical points of view to address the players in marriage (man & woman) and marital sexuality as sub components.  I felt it important to make sure that marriage is properly understood from what God’s Word says, because as I read Scripture I can’t see how there could possibly be a “legal” wedding if it’s not qualified first.

Since by Biblical definition a gay wedding doesn’t resemble how and what God’s defines and designed (man and woman united as one in flesh), sexuality issues are thrown out because the first term isn’t met.
If one doesn’t agree with the first qualifier (marriage = man+woman, these are God’s rules by the way not mine),  arguing that a gay marriage does not imply sexual relationship runs into a problem then with what Paul says in:

1st Corinthians 7:3
3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.

So?  What would Jesus do if invited to a gay wedding, which should answer the question “What should I do if invited to a gay wedding?”  I think the quickest way to solve this riddle is to not suppose on what would Jesus do, but what did Jesus do?

• Jesus was locked in on doing the will of His Father - not pleasing man  Hebrews 10:5-7
• Jesus carried His own “cross” - alienation from friends might be yours
• Jesus didn’t let pressure from family or friends derail Him from his mission - salvation is through Christ, not popularity
• Jesus wasn’t intimidated by world views - He was sent here to save the world from itself
• Jesus deferred to Scripture: “It is written” See Luke 4:4,8; 19:46

Jesus… honored His Father, which to me means honoring Him in deed as well as with lips.  Taking part in an event or action that is contradictory to God’s Word undermines a Christian’s integrity/credibility.

Matthew 16:24-26
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Grace and peace be with you.

After finishing the book of Jeremiah, an initial thought that still lingers is the intensity of the language used by God as He spoke through Jeremiah to Judah and Jerusalem of it’s infidelity.  God, pulls no punches!

Jeremiah 2:20,23-25
20 “… you lay down as a prostitute.”

23 “…
       You are a swift she-camel
       running here and there,

24 a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
       sniffing the wind in her craving—
       in her heat who can restrain her?
       Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
       at mating time they will find her.

25 Do not run until your feet are bare
       and your throat is dry.
       But you said, ‘It’s no use!
       I love foreign gods,
       and I must go after them.’

As I read these passages, a refreshed view was reaffirmed in my mind concerning God’s disdain of worshipping false gods and idols by His creation.  In our relationship with God, I believe that we could/would avoid much of our self-inflicted stumbling if we simply obey God on the premise that “Father knows best”.  Easier said than done it seems, as walking righteous calls for denial of what we are naturally inclined to do or pursue (Jeremiah 2:25, See: Galatians 5:19-21). I think this is where trust and submitting to His authority plays in, a thought for another time however.

Since it is sin that wedges a gap in our relationship with God, I decided to go back and have another look at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-20), after taking in the recounting of man’s rebellion and the subsequent judgement rendered by God (Jeremiah).  Interestingly, I found that of the 10 Commandments; idol worship  (Exodus 20:4-6) and keeping the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-9) are the two lengthiest (just a little trivia because you never know; it might be a Jeopardy question one day).  In verse 4 of Exodus 20, God spoke:

Exodus 20:4-6
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Fast forward from Exodus to the Book of Jeremiah, and we see God preparing to render judgement against the Israelites.  This is not a case of God waking up on the wrong  and having a case of the “Mondays”.  No, He appeared to pretty much have just had enough of the idol worship, and other sins committed by His people.  In Jeremiah 3:1, God speaking with rhetorical questions says:

Jeremiah 3:1
1 “If a man divorces his wife
       and she leaves him and marries another man,
       should he return to her again?
       Would not the land be completely defiled?
       But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—
       would you now return to me?”
       declares the LORD.

Sounds similar to what a jilted and heart broken lover or what a victim of adultery might say or think in their heart (Mark Carlton’s post on God’s “feelings”).  The Lord is apparently jealous, which brings up the other thought weighing on my mind…

In April, I posted on the New Earth movement spear headed by Oprah Winfrey (hmmm?  maybe her initials are indicative of all of us, simply hurting.) and Eckhart Tolle.  The post amounted mostly to links to videos on another site along with a bit of my own opinion.  Since then I hadn’t given much thought to Oprah… until a few days ago. Reading Jeremiah and the 10 Commandments rebooted my memory to the, “God is jealous of me?” statement she made:

Oprah told a personal story from her Baptist upbringing during which she was in church (around the age of 27 or 28 years of age) and was caught up in the rapture of the moment until she heard her Pastor say, “The Lord thy God is a jealous God.”

Oprah’s immediate inward response was, “God is jealous of me?”
It was then Oprah began searching for something more remembering that God is love, omnipresent, and omniscient. “I asked God to use me, that has been my prayer for many years,” Oprah conveyed.
Source

Like Judah and Jerusalem, Oprah seems to have made the mistake in putting herself before God (”God is jealous of me?”) instead of behind Him.  It seems that she let an issue she had with a few words distract her just enough to not grasp the context nor the source of provocation for God’s jealousy. That in and of itself, is not the issue at hand.  By way of her disenchantment with God’s emotions, Oprah essentially accuses Jesus of being a liar, then goes on to “create” her own version of God, and His plan for salvation.  In the Bible, Jesus claimed to be the “way and the truth” and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Oprah and Tolle “preach” that there are many paths to the Father (assuming that we’re talking about the same Father), based on how one interprets who or what God is.  Hmmm!?… I guess it all depends on what your definition of ‘is’, is.  As I close, it occurs to me that Oprah’s statement comes off as kind of an arrogant statement toward God.

Exodus 20:2-3
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Grace and peace be with you.

Our walk with Christ is a daily effort to strive for His perfection operating in our lives.  Not only at church, but in the workplace, in our familial ties, with strangers and acquaintances, in all of our relationships.  This effort is not by our own means or anything within our natural, but rather by The Holy Spirit.    SSometimes it’s necessary to pause from life, and to reflect on our progression in our walk.  I’m not speaking of crossing "T’s" and dotting "I’s" per the "though shalt nots", rather the principles of living a God led life as Jesus commanded.  These commands are summed up by Christ in Matthew 22:37-40, yet there is action called for within our hearts and thought process, toward God and others.

Second Peter 1 casts light on how we can and should measure our walk, progression and maturity in Christ:

2nd Peter 1:5-9
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Praying that you daily add to you walk in Christ.

Grace and peace be with you.