First off I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog! You ROCK! Second, I want to make the point that I make it my goal with everything that is within me to only speak the Word of God on not only this matter but every aspect of my life. God has never once asked me for my opinion. We all have our own opinions. We all have theories and ideas, but there is an absolute Truth. God’s Word is the Truth.
God has been ministering to me SO much lately on trusting in His Word above all else. God’s Word is the absolute Truth. As Christians we must be careful to not adapt agnosticism into our Christianity. What I mean by that is we have to be on guard to ensure that we’re not giving God attributes that He doesn’t have, or taking from attributes that He does have. We must be sure not to take from His Word, OR to put words in His mouth.
Looking at the Word:
Romans 3:4 Let God be True, but every man a liar.
Romans 11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Or who has first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things: to whom be glory for ever.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through Your Truth. Your Word is Truth.
So many times I’ve been discussing the Word of God, truth, beliefs, etc., with people and I hear people say things like, “Well, I believe…. In MY opinion…. I don’t think God would…. This is what I think…. Well, I don’t see anything wrong with….” Our thoughts and ideas MUST be based on sound doctrine from the Word of God, not ideas and opinions. As I mentioned above, we must be careful not to adapt agnosticism into our Christianity. We’re not to take ideas and aspects of the God of the bible, and put our own spin on it and call it Christianity. If we’re to be Christians we’re to believe the bible as absolute Truth. How can one believe in the God of the bible if they don’t believe in the bible that tells about the God of the bible? If the bible is incorrect in one point, how can we trust any of it? We must accept it ALL as divine inspiration, or not bear the name of Christianity. The world is FULL of Christians who have no clue what God is like. They are Christians because their great, great granddad was a preacher and they went to church when they were a kid and they “tip their hat to the man upstairs.” Do we worship the God of the bible or do we worship a rough version of the God of the bible.
Christianity: God created man in His image.
Agnosticism: Man creates a god in their image.
Should we follow what WE believe? Should we “follow our heart?”
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?
How can we trust our heart??? The bible makes it clear that our heart cannot be trusted!
We are to bring our hearts inline with the Word. Don’t follow your heart, follow the Word.
Psalms 119:105 Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path
God’s Word should be our ONLY guide.
2 Timothy 3:15-17 And that from a child you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Why are Christians accused of judging when we quote the Word of God? Read the book of 1 Corinthians. The whole book Paul is “judging” the Corinthian church! If I’m riding with you in your car and you’re driving 85 and I see the speed limit sign says 35 and I tell you, “Hey, you might want to slow down, you’re breaking the law.” Would your response be, “You can’t judge me!!!?” I doubt it. What we do as Christians is point to God’s Word. We’re not perfect, but if we had to be perfect to preach, how does 2 Timothy 3:15-17 make any sense?
Ephesians 4: 11-15 And He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That we hereafter be no more children tossed back and forth, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and the cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the Truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
Psamls 119:89 Forever, Oh Lord, Your Word is settled in Heaven.
Why would God establish a “5-fold” ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to minister the Word which is profitable for DOCTRINE, REPROOF, CORRECTION, and INSTRUCTION in righteousness, if we’re not to… preach the Word?
I can’t make it clear enough that it is NOT called judging if we preach the Word. When a pastor preaches against fornication on Sunday morning do we say that he’s judging…. or that he’s preaching the Word?
I have a hard time hearing a Christian tell me what they ‘think’ or ‘believe’ if they haven’t read their bible in 412,982 days, know what I mean? I “try” to read my bible every day…. I also “try” to eat every day. Ha! We HAVE to feast on God’s Word every day.
I’m all the time reading God’s Word and getting new light on the things of God. I’ll be reading and come to the realization that I’ve been way off on a point of doctrine or something and be like, “Oh goodness, I was WAY off!” And I mold myself after the teachings of God’s Word. We have to be willing to admit that we’re wrong. We can’t be too open-minded that we’re deceived, but we can’t be too closed-minded and set in our ways and opinions that we can’t come in line with God’s Word.
Jesus was the most closed-minded man to ever walk the earth!
John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life. NO man comes unto the Father but by Me.
John 10:7 Then, Jesus said unto them, “Truly, truly I say unto you, I am THE Door of the sheep.”
John 10:9 “I am THE Door. By Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved…”
It’s true that Jesus sat and ate with sinners, but I have trouble picturing Him dressing as a vampire or wolfman and spooking people as a witness and will of the Father. And, no, that’s NOT my opinion. We’ll get into what God’s Word says about that. Sheesh, this looks like it might be a long blog!
We’ve established that…
God’s Word is absolute Truth
Anything that contradicts God’s Word is a lie.
We’re not to form a “bible-like” god and call it Christianity
God’s Word TRUMPS our theories, opinions or ideas
We’re to speak the Truth of the Word in Love
Truth is not a concept or idea. Truth is a person, Jesus Christ
I don’t think any of us doubt that halloween is FULL of paganism. The question is, should paganism be accepted by Christians? Celebrating harvest is perfectly acceptable. God instituted the feasts for Israel to observe.
halloween:
I retrieved this information from www.halloween.com
Samhain (pronounced Sowen) was (and is) considered a very magical time, when the dead walk among the living and the veils between past, present and future may be lifted in prophecy and divination.
Samhuinn, from 31 October to 2 November was a time of no-time. Celtic society, like all early societies, was highly structured and organized, everyone knew their place. But to allow that order to be psychologically comfortable, the Celts knew that there had to be a time when order and structure were abolished, when chaos could reign. And Samhuinn, was such a time. Time was abolished for the three days of this festival and people did crazy things, men dressed as women and women as men. [This happened at Beltane too — IB] Farmers’ gates were unhinged and left in ditches, peoples’ horses were moved to different fields, and children would knock on neighbours’ doors for food and treats in a way that we still find today, in a watered-down way, in the custom of trick-or-treating on Hallowe’en.
But behind this apparent lunacy, lay a deeper meaning. The Druids knew that these three days had a special quality about them. The veil between this world and the World of the Ancestors was drawn aside on these nights, and for those who were prepared, journeys could be made in safety to the ’other side’. The Druid rites, therefore, were concerned with making contact with the spirits of the departed, who were seen as sources of guidance and inspiration rather than as sources of dread. The dark moon, the time when no moon can be seen in the sky, was the phase of the moon which ruled this time, because it represents a time in which our mortal sight needs to be obscured in order for us to see into the other worlds.
The dead are honoured and feasted, not as the dead, but as the living spirits of loved ones and of guardians who hold the root-wisdom of the tribe. With the coming of Christianity, this festival was turned into Hallowe’en (31 October), All Hallows [All Saints Day] (1 November), and All Souls Day (2 November). Here we can see most clearly the way in which Christianity built on the Pagan foundations it found rooted in these isles. Not only does the purpose of the festival match with the earlier one, but even the unusual length of the festival is the same.
The Christian Church was unable to get the people to stop celebrating this holiday, so they simply sprinkled a little holy water on it and gave it new names, as they did with other Paleopagan holidays and customs. This was a form of calendrical imperialism, co-opting Paleopagan sacred times, as they had Paleopagan sacred places (most if not all of the great cathedrals of Europe were built on top of earlier Paleopagan shrines and sacred groves). So when Fundamentalists come to your local school board and try to get Halloween removed from the public schools because “it’s a Pagan holiday,” they are perfectly correct. Of course, Valentine’s Day/Lupercalia, Easter/Eostre, and Christmas/Yule also have many Paleopagan elements associated with their dating and/or symbols, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and others have pointed out for decades. So if we decide to rid the public schools of all holidays that have Pagan aspects to them, there won’t be many left for the kids to enjoy.
I find it amusing that American teens and pre-teens seem to have instinctively expanded their seasonal celebrations to add another night before Halloween, one on which they commit various acts of harmless (or unfortunately not) vandalism, including pranks on neighbors. If we assume that All Saints Day was moved to co-opt the central day of Samhain which was associated originally with the gods and goddesses of the Celts, and All Souls Day was supposed to co-opt the worship of the Ancestors, then the modern “Cabbage Night,” “Hell Night” (boy does that push the Fundamentalists’ buttons!), or simply “Mischief Night” (which used to be April 30th — the night before May Day — in Germany — there’s that Beltane/Samhain connection again) would correspond to a celebration of the often mischievous Nature Spirits. This then nicely covers the Indo-European pattern of the “Three Kindreds” of Deities, Ancestors, and Nature Spirits.
There are many different ideas on the origin of halloween, none of them based in Christianity. I also want to point out that a LOUSY argument is, “What about Christmas!? Christmas has many pagan rituals and roots!! You gonna get rid of Christmas, too!?”
That’s a terrible argument. So, because of paganism in Christmas, that justifies paganism in halloween? The Truth is, Christian should boot paganism from EVERYTHING that we do. There’s not a thing wrong with honoring the birth of Christ, though the greatest possibility was He was born more likely in March or April. There’s not a thing wrong with giving gifts. The wise men brought gifts to Jesus. There’s not a thing wrong with children getting candy. What’s wrong is the pagan aspects that the church welcomes with open arms! And we wonder where revival is??
“If we get rid of the paganism then there’ll be nothing left for the kids to enjoy!” …Well, what did the kids do before halloween? Before Christmas? God pre-exists halloween. God doesn’t need to borrow a tool from satan to reach the lost! If a church wants to get together during harvest time, hand out candy and tracts and have fun and games for children, that’s all well and good. They should also teach them the WORD and the paganism in halloween and why it shouldn’t be celebrated. The birth of Christ can and should still be celebrated, but without paganism. Why, why, why does the church want to keep paganism as a part of what we do??
Ok, back to the Word to support what I’ve said.
According to 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 God has given EVERY born-again believer one calling. Some are called to be pastors, others apostles, others deacons, etc., But one thing that we’re all called to be are ambassadors for Christ. We are Christ’s representatives on earth. Jesus is His Word so we’re to live the Word to the best of our abilities by the empowerment of the grace of God. What does God’s Word teach?
Exodus 22:18 You shall not permit a witch to live.
Exodus 22:19 Whosoever lies with a beast shall surely be put to death.
Here are two verses side by side that speak on 2 sins: The sin of witchcraft and the sin of beastality. Both carry the same penalty: Death. Beastality is frowned upon to say the least, and rightly so, but witchcraft is welcomed into our homes with open arms via movies, books, pictures, decorations, charms, nick nacks and ceramics, statues, dolls, music, clothing, etc. At one point of time for the most part Christians rejected these things. But, over time, the more people who accept these things, the less it’s a sin? If the whole population accepted homosexuality as an ‘alternative lifestyle’ would that make it any less of a sin in God’s eyes?? Majority doesn’t decide what is right in God’s eyes.
“But everyone does it!”
That does not make it right!
How many times were the children of Israel caught up in abominations that God directly warned them against? Sometime the whole congregation would be entangled in idol worship and witchcraft. Would God accept it? No. Instead, Israel would be brought into bondage to another nation. He gave them fair warning:
Deut 18:9-14 When you are come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord. Because of these abominations the Lord your God does drive them out from before you. You shall be perfect with the Lord your God. For these nations which you shall possess listened unto observers of times, and unto diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.
Acts 19:18-20 And many that believed came and confessed and showed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men. And they counted the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed.
When revival broke out in the early church all the new converts got rid of all paganism and witchcraft from their homes.
“It’s just a movie. It’s not real!”
Should the fact that it’s only a movie/book/collector’s item/etc. make it ok?
2 Thes 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil
1 Cor 10:14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
“It’s all fun and games! Everybody does it!”
Proverbs 11:21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished, but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
Proverbs 16:2-6 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works unto the Lord and your thoughts shall be established. The Lord has made all things for Himself. Yes, even the wicked for the day of evil. Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. By mercy and Truth iniquity is purged. By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
According to God’s Word, majority doesn’t rule, God’s Word does. According to God’s Word, no matter how many people come together and agree on a certain thing, it can’t overrule God’s Word.
There was a time when homosexuality was unheard of. I mean, you know, in more recent years. It’s been around for centuries, but you know what I mean. Now that there are millions of homosexuals, do we need to take white out to God’s Word and “update” it with the times? No. God’s Word is forever settled. If homosexuality was a sin before, it’s a sin now.
“But we don’t live under the old covenant.”
That is 100% Truth, BUT, the New Testament teaches against witchcraft and homosexuality. We are to NEVER go by our feelings. Just because something feels right doesn’t make it right. If I have feelings for another woman, does that mean that I should leave my wife? Of coarse not. It means I need to pray and bind the temptation of the enemy, not justify that my heart and feelings are being honest with me. (I don’t have feelings for another woman, just being hypothetical). My feelings and thoughts don’t override the Truth of God’s Word.
The Word doesn’t always make us feel comfortable. Was Isaiah comfortable when God made a sign and wonder out of him by making him preach naked and barefoot for 3 years? Was Hosea comfortable when God told him to marry a prostitute? Was Paul comfortable when God showed him all the things that he must suffer for His Name? It’s not about being comfortable. We’re to conform to God’s Word be being transformed by having a renewed mind (Romans 12:2). How do we have a renewed mind? By reading and soaking in God’s Word (Ephesians 5:26).
There are many different versions/stories/urban legends on the origin of trick-or-treating, carving a jack-o-lantern, wearing costumes, none of which are rooted in Christianity, but are rooted in paganism. I don’t have any children but there’s a good possibility that if I have a little girl someday that I’ll dress her up like a lady bug or something because that would be as cute as the dickens, BUT, I’ll refrain from all the paganism that I possibly can. All that I’m aware of.
I want to throw this in here. My heart is to follow after God. I’m not too stubborn to admit that I’m wrong. God’s Truth overrides me. SO, if anyone can make me aware of any other pagan aspect that I adhere to, please let me know. Don’t use the other pagan aspects of our daily life to justify halloween, etc. Let’s COMPLETELY rid Christianity of all paganism, ok? Don’t use paganism to justify paganism.
Thank you SO much for your time! I know it is a long blog but there was just so much ground to cover! I barely scratched the surface, too, but I’ll stop for now! Maybe part 2 will come soon! Please, feel free to comment or ask any question that you want and together we’ll go to God’s Word and see what it says!
God Bless,
Ronnie
www.thewayfamilychurch.org
No comments:
Post a Comment