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May 07 To Tell the Truth
Back in the days of black and white television there was the game show called, "To Tell the Truth". A group of three people would claim to be some person and have some unusual occupation. Two of the people were not telling the truth and were imposters, only one was telling the truth. The job of the panel was to figure out what that person did by asking the contestants one question at a time until the number of questions were exhausted. They all voted as who that person was and what they did. Once the votes were in, the host would ask, "Will the real [person's name] please stand up?" The central character would stand, often after some brief playful feinting and false starts among all three challengers, and the two impostors would then reveal their real names and what they actually did. Prize money was awarded to the contestants based on how many wrong votes the impostors drew; the more successfully the challengers bluffed, the larger their final cash award would be. False prophets do this too. Just like the panel it is our job as Christians to ferret out the truth of the matter. The challengers in this case of false prophets take not only money as their cash award but the souls of men women and children that are fooled into believing false prophets and what they say and do. Discerning the truthWhen we try to find a correct answer we are trying to find out the truth of a matter. Sometimes we look for truth and can discover it by ourselves or with the help of somebody. Truth then can be discovered by our own efforts or somebody else’s efforts. We did this when we took algebra in high school. Scientists attempt to get correct answers in their research. Not all truth can be found out by us through experiential truth no matter how smart we are or even if we had help from angels. Since God knows all the answers he knows all truth. Sometimes God reveals to us the answers or what truth we might be seeking. Some things he keeps to Himself like the day and hour that Jesus will return. However, when he does allow us to know what the truth of some matters are it is called “revealed truth”. God only can reveal hidden truth. Matt.11:25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; Old Testament Prophet or New Testament Prophet What's the Difference?A prophet in the Old Testament would be a true prophet if when he said, “Thus saith the Lord” (they spoke like that back then A prophet in the New Testament is when a person says something that God has revealed to him or her from scripture or something that the Holy Spirit has put in the speaker's (prophet's) mind to share with the listeners. If it is not directly from the Bible it must still line up exactly with what the Holy Spirt may have shared. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. A pastor sometimes preaching a sermon will use this gift unaware of his own office of prophet at the time. That part of the sermon that hits you in the heart is kind of what it is like when he “prophesied” only to you or your own personal situation during the sermon. Now then, the pastor might not always get it right in the course of the sermon and start spouting off an opinion or idea and might even say something contrary to scripture during the same sermon he is giving; is he still speaking for the Lord then? Of course not. He did however tell you something that God revealed during the earlier part of his sermon. He in fact prophesied then from God through his mouth to your heart. Not everything is to be taken from the sermon as it was 100% purely from the Lord. Purely a Prophet ?If someone says they are a pure prophet of God they are probably into believing very bad doctrine or they might have not been taking their medication or maybe both. Whatever the case, reading and knowing your Bible will certainly guide you to know the truth of a matter. It is certainly a bummer when the prophet says something and gets it wrong. I guess it might be useful to keep tabs on him using the Bible. Keep checking. Paul the Apostle commended the Bereans (Acts 17:11) for checking everything he had to say from their Scriptures. If Paul didn’t mind it and he was the big gun in the Book of Acts, I don’t see why anyone else should object. Besides that, it’s fun to bust em’ when they get it wrong! Using your Bible is better than having to check the background of every “prophet” that you meet and much less expensive than hiring a private investigator although there are some Christians out there that do this as a free unwanted service. Those Christians can easily be recognized since they wear a badge that says on it, Holy Policeman of the Faith. They have a remarkable demeanor similar to the Church Lady that was lampooned on Saturday Night Live by Dana Carvey. Don't worry you can't miss them and they are always available to tell you how to live too! If you are asking if we should still throw rocks at false prophets, I would have to say yes. However you will probably have to explain that to a judge in court and he might not reduce your sentence any less. May 06 CHRISTIAN CONVICTION METER FOR THE PUZZLETOP You might wonder where I stand when it comes to being a Christian. I will give you a brief synopsis of where I am at on some theological issues. I will also give you a number of 1-10 letting you know my conviction level. Please note: my conviction level is not based on the importance of the doctrine, but the clarity that God’s revelation affords to it for me. Also, it is important to note these issues are non-essentials, meaning that I would not break fellowship with someone who disagrees with me. I might however say their name aloud while I sneeze or use the bathroom. Here is the scale of 1-10 I will use: A “1″ means that while I am convicted of the truthfulness of the doctrine, my conviction level is as low as it could be. This doesn’t mean I am unsure just that I am not positively absolutely clear on this topic. A “10″ represents a very high conviction level. (Please understand that I very rarely give a 10 to an issue. A 10 is reserved for those which I believe the Scripture leaves no room for honest debate such as the physical resurrection of Christ, Christ deity, that Christ is coming back, etc.) Calvinistic (8):I am a five-point Calvinist and don’t mind calling myself such. I am not equally convicted of all five points but I ascribe to all five nonetheless. The TULIP follows: Total depravity-9 Unconditional election/predestination-8 Limited atonement-8 Irresistible grace-9 Perseverance of the Saints-9 I am a Continuationist (4):This means that I believe that the supernatural sign gifts such as healing, tongues, workers of miracles, etc. continued past the death of the Apostles. I believe that they were used during the establishment of the church in order to authenticate the Gospel message. They are still in use but am not sure about the miracle workers being in the area lately. Having said this, I find Scriptural support for my position to be moderate at best. The primary reason I am a continuationist (believing that the sign-gifts are still operative today) is because I have experienced and practice speaking in tongues. My pastor and many people who know the scriptures far better than I do are cessationists. I strongly believe that God will forgive them when we get to heaven.  Complementarian (6):I believe both natural revelation and Scripture teach that men and women are different. I believe that these differences show how God has designed each sex for a particular purpose. I believe that the Scriptures teach that man has ultimate responsibility in the family and in the Church, not ultimate importance. However, I might be described as a soft-complementarian as I don’t believe that these roles are absolute in all situations, just ideal. Premillennial (4):I believe that the millennium is yet future. My conviction comes for many reasons, but primarily because I can’t see the two resurrections in Rev. 20 as different types of resurrection, one spiritual and one physical. I don’t think the context would allow it. A premillennial view fits much better. Pretribulational (2):I was drawn back to Jesus when I read Hal Lindsey’s book the Late Great Planet Earth. I was always interested in the end of the world scenarios and had my first taste listening to the priest in church read the scriptures about it. See Dispensational below. I believe from Thessalonians and Revelation Chapter 4-5 we will be in heaven raptured from the Earth Believer Baptism (5):I believe that believers alone should be baptized by immersion. This means that I don’t not believe in padeo-baptism (infant baptism). While I myself was baptized as a child in the Catholic Church, It did nothing for my salvation that is secured only by God’s grace through fatih alone. Inerrancy (8):I don’t believe that the Bible contains any errors when understood correctly. The transmission of the document through copying has some variations in the text but does not change any of the cardinal doctrines of the Church. My seminary trained friends can give better arguments concerning the methods and styles of Biblical interpretations so I am not completely sure what it is they are talking about at times or my score of (8) would be higher or lower if I did. I like how my other other friend who I call Fightin’ Fundie approaches this topic. He says, “The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it.” It doesn’t go too well for him in debates but I like it; Especially since he carries a sidearm in plain sight and he has few theological wonks that argue with him after viewing the heat on his hip. Eternal Hell (7):I believe that Hell is a really, really bad place where people go who do not acknowledge God by trusting in Christ. As to the nature of Hell, I see it as a waiting place that is lonely, dark and without music. You don’t want to go there. I would hope that it was a place of annihilation but Scripture does not allow me such comforts. Hell will be tossed into the Lake of Fire. That has to even be worse since it is forever. No other doctrine distresses me more than eternal damnation when thinking of the people I love. Reformed Protestant (8):While I don’t believe that Protestantism has all the answers, I do believe that it presents the best answers to the most important questions concerning salvation and authority. I respect and learn from other traditions and don’t’ discount them. I just feel that Luther came on the scene at just the right time and that the Reformation has never received the importance it has on human history. Homosexuality is Sin (9): The Bible is clear on this. Homosexuality is not a disease but a condition of rebellion that can be corrected by the power of the Gospel. Those people that defend the acts of homosexuality will answer for it. Homosexuality is no worse a sin than adultery and will be judged by Jesus if not repented of. Christians must be firm in judging the sin but not the sinners of this act. It is however one of the hardest sins that people can get themselves entangled in. It should not be tolerated in the Christian Church but those that need salvation from it must not be treated as lepers either. Traducian (2): I believe that human parents are the intermediary creators of the soul just as they are of the body. I believe that the alternative position—creationism (which believes that God creates the soul without the parents has merit too. Dispensationalist (5): Because of Romans chapter 11, I keep the Church and Israel separate, believing that redeemed Israel will be assumed into the Church. This way, I do believe that the Church inherits that promises of Abraham and that Israel does as well, through the Church. I am still learning about covenant theology and still need convincing. I figure that the book of Revelation is best understood from a dispensational point of view and that following the divine outline from Rev 1:19. Jesus told John, “write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and th things which shall be hereafter.” The things you have seen Chapter One. The things which are Chapters 2-3 The things which are hereafter: Chapters 4-22 The things in the Book of Revelation can be understood both literally and symbolically. I disagree with my Amillennial friends that see too much of the book allegorically. I am convinced that they could take a McDonalds picture menu and interpret it allegorically and despise those people who take it literally. Ice Water (9): It is always good to chew the ice after drinking all the water. Politically Conservative at church (6) It’s OK for a pastor to mention politics in a sermon but it has to be connected to the text of the topic of the Scripture. A pastor may not spend any more than five minutes in one sermon in one month. That is a reasonable boundary he should observe when giving sermons. He must not ever have a politician recognized publicly while said politician is running for office. Not unless he is Barack Obama. (that ain’t never gonna happen at CCF) Right to bear arms and War (9) I own several firearms and have stockpiled plenty of ammunition. So don’t get any ideas that being a Christian makes me a pacifist. I am a believer in the Augustinian principle of Just War. War is the red horse of Revelation and is one of the most horrible inventions of mankind. It should only be used based on the principles of the Just War concept and never otherwise. I would be a (6) in this regard. Well that about does it for now. What would be your number on the CHRISTIAN CONVICTION METER FOR THE PUZZLETOP ? |
) he was saying that God said thus and thus. If God said it then as the mouthpiece of God he had to get it right or he was stoned to death. So 100% of what is in the OLd Testament is straight from the Lord, anybody who said differently is under a pile of rocks and nothing was worth repeating since he was lying. That was in the Old Testament. Deut 13:1-3 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 
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