Paul states
in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “….I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye
were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able…….:
The
Corinthian church was not able to handle anything to complicated regarding
spiritual truth because they could not yet handle the simple basics of God’s
word.
Hebrews
5:11-12 “….ye
are dull of hearing……ye have need that one teach you again which be the first
principles of the oracles of God…..
What are
the “first principles of the oracles of God”?
Without getting into a doctrinal discussion regarding what was the
“first oracles” established by scripture; let me submit this idea for
consideration. It may simply have been Paul’s way of stating that they needed
someone to teach them the “basics”. How
simple is that thought?
Now, let’s
look at 2Timothy 2:14-16. We sometimes
enjoy quoting verse 15 at the expense of the verses before and after it. “….strive not about
words to no profit……rightly dividing the word of truth……shun profane and vain
babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness”
How can an
individual; regardless of age, have spiritual growth without training in the Bible? Yes, people are indeed responsible for
reading the Bible and making it an object of personal study. However, that does
not remove the responsibility of the church from doing EVERYTHING possible to
provide that “basic” training.
When an
individual enlists in the military, they go through Basic Training. Why is it different in God’s Army? The educational system has continually changed
the methods they use for teaching in our public schools. Have they been successful? The church system has spent decades following
the example of the schools. Instead of
being a role model and sticking to basics, the church has attempted for decades
to keep up with public education by employing the latest and greatest teaching
tools. Why does God’s church emulate the
world?
What
happened to the basics? God provided all the lessons and teaching aids we
needed in the Bible. Somewhere along the line the object lessons from Abraham
and Jacob were not good enough. The
church felt it needed to “enhance” the experience with video and study guides
from the latest popular author. The body of Christ went from using these things
as enhancement tools to using them as total replacement for the stories in the
Bible.
The
Christian church has a belief that if it does not offer a Bible Study/Class
using the latest number one bestseller; then it will suffer a drop in
attendance numbers. What a shame to the Gospel, Jesus and his disciples shared
the Gospel message with thousands at a time, but they also shared it when there
was only one in attendance. Did they
worry about how many attended their “presentation” of the message? I have this image of Paul walking into the church of Corinth and telling the congregation
that he can’t preach his message on the salvation of the Cross because the
guest musician had not performed his concert yet. He could not share God’s message until the
required twenty minutes of game time had occurred to quiet the hyper-active
children. How absurd! The presentation of God’s Word does not
require any condition of tranquility or comfort of its speakers or listeners.
The Gospel
has been shared on a sinking ship in the midst of a turbulent storm, during the
noise of a rock concert, to a dying man on the upheaval of a battlefield. Why do we think we need any less in church?
Attend any
Sunday or Weekly children’s program and watch as they play the latest game
craze or watch the latest music or Internet video sensation! I wonder how many paper cups the Israelite
children could stack in a minute. I can
just see the 12 tribes practicing their flash mob performance for 40 years, so
that they were ready for their huge performance in front of the walls of Jericho!
This is
sounding harsh and it is intended to. I
cannot state how many hours of “programs” I have witnessed taking place in
churches during a typical week from Sunday to Saturday. There are programs for practicing holiday performances,
guns safety, doll making, game time on the X-Box and PlayStation.
Programs
ARE FINE! Yes, they are excellent
TOOLS. But they are only tools. They are the “MILK” that Paul referred
to. A famous television commercial once
asked: “Where’s the Beef?” Where is the
MEAT in our churches? How many decades
and centuries do we need to go before we start providing meat and not milk to
the children of God? How many hours are
used for tools in comparison to actually reading a lesson DIRECTLY from the
Bible?
I can hear
Sunday Teachers, Children and Youth Ministers screaming right now that they DO share
the message while using these tools. I
am not debating that point. If that is
all these ministers can take away from these scripture passages that Paul
writes; then I am afraid that this message falls on deaf ears.
Need a real
world example to illustrate this point?
Do an old time “Bible Quiz”. Give
the enclosed Quiz to an entire church congregation. A congregation being defined as everyone regardless
of their age. All they need is the ability
to read. Once it has been taken and
returned check the percentage of correct answers per age groups (12 and under)
(13-18) (19-30) (31-50) (51-over). Watch
how fast the percentage of correct answers goes down as the age group nears the
12 and under age!
Once upon a
time we use to have Sunday School classes for ALL ages, Sunday night and
Wednesday night church times. All of which used the Bible as the MAIN study
source. We had Easter and Christmas Pageants
each year WITHOUT having to cancel all the other weekly Bible times.
I have
heard the following statement made repeatedly: “We do not want to offend those
that may visit our church.”
I have news
for all the churches out there. You had
better read Revelations and especially chapters 2-3 and determine what kind of
church you are!
THE WORD OF GOD IS
OFFENSIVE!
It offends
me each and every time I open it. This
offending use to be called by another name. That name was: conviction. The church lost its ability to convict the
sinner when it began being afraid that it may offend the sinner!
Instead of
chasing sin out of the holy sanctuary, we have invited it in. Preaching Love has replaced Preaching
Conviction. There are plenty of sermons out
there on moral sin. Are there any
sermons about the sin of disrespect to the Holy Tabernacle (God’s House)? When was the last time anyone felt convicted
of what they wore or carried into the House of God? If you were invited as a guest to the U.S. White
House in Washington
or the Palace of the Queen; what would you do?
What would you wear? What would
you have on your person (cell phone, coffee)?
How much
more important is the House of the Lord?
I still shiver at the thought of standing before my God in his house
wearing my NFL Jersey and holding a Cappuccino in my hand! Do we come before
God with our best face forward? Two sons
of Aaron are struck dead for offering strange fire before the Lord (Leviticus
10). Cain’s offering was not the best he
could have given and God did not respect it (Genesis 4). Someone will say that this kind of God is
too strict and to demanding. The church
cannot preach this kind of God.
WHY NOT?
We have too
many weaklings in the church! I for one
DO NOT and WILL NOT serve a God who is not strict like this. If he is not, then what kind of a flaky God
is he? If I am going to commit my life
to follow a SUPREME, MAJESTIC, OMMI-EVERYTHING God; then he better act like
one.
Otherwise,
why not find a statue somewhere to follow and serve!
WDK
BIBLE QUIZ – Who Am I?
OLD
TESTAMENT
- A man came and worked for my father for seven years to be allowed to marry me. My father tricked him and gave him my sister for his wife. The man then worked seven more years before marrying me.
- God told me that I would be the father of many nations. He also told me to sacrifice my son on an altar.
- I was the first High Priest of Israel who also built a calf out of gold for the Israelites to worship
- I hid two spies in my house and then helped the spies escape over the city wall with a scarlet cord
- I had this testimony, that I pleased God and I was taken to heaven without seeing death
- I was a King who was taller than any of my people. Samuel anointed me the first King of Israel
- I interpreted a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar and was made ruler over Babylon
- God gave me great strength to kill the Philistines and I also loved to play at riddles
- I won a beauty contest and became Queen. God used me to save my people, the Jews
- I asked God for wisdom and because of my wisdom my fame grew throughout the world. I also built a great temple for the Lord
- I once killed a lion and a bear as I tended the sheep and also wrote many Psalms
- I was one of 12 spies who went into Canaan. During a battle, I asked God to make the sun stand still, and he did.
- I lived in Moab. When my husband died, I went with my mother-in-law to Israel, where I met and married Boaz
- I was sold by my brothers for 20 pieces of silver. Once a slave in Egypt, I was able to help my family during a terrible famine.
NEW
TESTAMENT
- I was a priest in Israel who did not believe the angel when he said I was to have a son and I was stricken mute.
- I was a woman who lived in Joppa. I was known for my good works and helping the widows. After I died, Peter prayed and told me to open my eyes and I did
- I was a brother of James, a son of Zebedee. I became a disciple and was known as “The Beloved Disciple”
- I did great wonders and miracles among the people and was brought before the council where I preached to them from Abraham down through the death of Jesus. Because of my witness, I was stoned to death. Before dying, I asked the Lord to “not lay this sin to their charge”
- As a young man my mother Eunice taught me from the Bible. I became Paul’s helper and later as Pastor of a church, Paul would write to me “Study to show thyself approved unto God …”
- I was a ruler in the synagogue who asked Jesus to heal my little daughter. However, my daughter died before Jesus reached my house, but he raised her from the dead.
- I was governor of Judea when Jesus was brought for judgment. I told the Jews that I found no fault in the man and washed my hands in front of them.
- I was a secret follower of Jesus from the city of Arimathaea. After Jesus died, I asked for his body and put it into my own tomb.
- I was a preacher in Judea, thrown into prison and beheaded by King Herod. I baptized many people in the river Jordan
- I was one of the 12 disciples’. I took care of the money for Jesus and the disciples. When a woman anointed Jesus feet, I asked why the ointment was not sold and money given to the poor.
- My two sisters and I lived in Bethany and were great friends of Jesus. When I got sick, my sisters sent for Jesus but I died before he came. Jesus called my name and I got up and walked out of my tomb.
- I was a blind beggar that lived near Jericho who cried out when Jesus came near. Jesus told me that my faith had made be whole and I was healed