Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. ~ 1 Corinthians 7:18-20

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. ~ Galatians 5:6

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. ~ Galatians 6:15

“Keeping God’s commands” can’t refer to keeping the whole of the old law; circumcision was one of those commands. And the law was a prison warden (Galatians 3:23); a school bus driver that made sure we got to school and were educated (3:24). And following the commands of law can’t save (Acts 13:39; Galatians 2:21). So what are God’s commands now?

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ~ Acts 17:30

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ~ John 13:34 (see also Galatians 5:14 and 2 John 1:6.)

So would it be fair to concatenate all that into one big thing that “counts”…?

“Keeping God’s commands – expressing your faith through love – makes you a new creation. That’s what counts.”

Definitely not circumcision … well, not the physical kind, anyway:

No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God. ~ Romans 2:29

God still wants us to be circumcised, but in our hearts. He wants us to let Him cut out and away from our hearts the temptations and distractions of the flesh, just as a surgeon might excise obstructing tissues from the heart that pumps our blood. Then we become one of God’s chosen people, whether a Jew or Gentile. We each become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Do we express our faith through love in baptism (Acts 18:8)? in giving (Luke 12:33)? in telling about Him to those who haven’t heard His name (Matthew 28:16-20)? in encouraging others (Hebrews 10:25)? in helping the poor, the widows, the orphans (James 1:27)?

And in a thousand other ways which serve God, bless others, give glory to His name, testify of His grace and transform us into that new creation; into His very image (2 Corinthians 3:18)? Is there anything He wants us to do or not do that He has ever hidden or withheld from us (Philippians 3:15; Hebrews 6:17)?

Is there anything unclear about this …?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

Isn’t the very core message of these verses that we sacrifice self – the flesh – every day in gratitude for His mercy (this is worship! Sunday or not!); we have to leave behind the urge to be conformed to the world’s pattern of law-and-disobedience (Romans 11 just before this verse!) and be transformed into Christ’s image so that we’ll know what God’s good, pleasing, perfect will is?

So here’s my conclusion again:

“Keeping God’s commands – expressing your faith through love – makes you a new creation. That’s what counts.”

Are we insisting on a lot of other stuff – a lot of man-made law – that doesn’t count at all?

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ~ Genesis 3:8

And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. ~ Genesis 5:22

This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. ~ Genesis 6:9

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. ~ Leviticus 26:12

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul … ~ Deuteronomy 10:12

But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” ~ Joshua 22:5

… and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go … ~ 1 Kings 2:3

“And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” ~ 1 Kings 3:14

“He forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD.” ~ 2 Kings 21:22

He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light … ~ Lamentations 3:2

All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever. ~ Micah 4:5 … He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. ~ Micah 6:8

As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ~ Mark 1:16

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” ~ Matthew 14:25-31

They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. ~ Luke 4:29-30

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ~ John 8:12

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. ~ John 12:35

As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” ~ Luke 24:15-16

Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. ~ 1 John 2:6

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. ~ Revelation 3:4

Here is a God who has wanted to walk with us since the very beginning. When we stopped walking the same direction He was going, all we could do was walk before Him. As we got further away, all we could do was walk in His ways. At last, we walked away … all the way to captivity and estrangement and lamentations, alone. He spoke through his prophets of walking in hope, back toward Him. Then He came, in the flesh, and walked among us. He healed those who could not walk. He rescued those in engulfing water who tried to walk to Him, but couldn’t. He walked a lifelong example for us, then walked up a hill with a cross on His back. He still walks with us in a different way now, and when He speaks our hearts burn within us, and we recognize Him in each word. It’s the yearning to walk with Him again which ignites our spirits – and one day, washed and dressed in clean white, we will.

It’s what He has wanted all along.

“And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” ~ Matthew 12:31

“I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” ~ Mark 3:29

“And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” ~ Luke 12:10

Jesus speaks of a sin that will not be forgiven. It’s not divorce and remarriage or failure to attend church or doubting God (contrary to what some have taught), unless you can somehow prove that all of those things and many more somehow equate to “blasphemy against the Spirit.” I am sure there are some who have tried.

Here’s why I believe those teachings fail:

There is never a point at which you cannot repent of those things.

“… if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” ~ 2 Chronicles 7:14

“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'” ~ Acts 2:38

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” ~ 2 Peter 3:9

God wants to forgive those who repent, and will.

So if all those sundry sins are not “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit,” then what is?

I believe that the key to understanding the term is – of course and always – in the context of the verses in which it is planted.

All three of the synoptic gospel writers record this teaching of Jesus in what is likely the same situation: the first two with fairly short teachings; the other in a much longer one.

In Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 11 & 12 the setting for this warning from Jesus comes right after a charge by Pharisees (Matthew) and teachers of the law (Mark), who said: “He is possessed by Beelzebub! It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” Matthew has already told us that Jesus has just healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute (Luke adds that afterward the man spoke), and that when it happened, people around were astonished and wondered “Could this be the Son of David?”

The teaching and record of the events that followed in Luke is so much longer that the healing takes place in chapter 11, and the teaching continues through chapter 12. Matthew adds that Jesus knew their thoughts before he began teaching: “How can Satan drive out Satan?” and adds: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

The people accusing Him of consorting with demons are so twisted in their thinking that – because they have already rejected Him as good and of God – they see the wonderful outcome of a wondrous miracle as deceit from Satan; from Beelzebub.

They are so prejudiced that they can no longer tell right from wrong. They are like the people that the prophet Isaiah proclaimed a woe upon hundreds of years before:

“Woe to those who call evil good
   and good evil,
   who put darkness for light
   and light for darkness,
   who put bitter for sweet
   and sweet for bitter.” ~ Isaiah 5:20

It’s impossible to repent when you believe evil to be good and good to be evil.

I believe this is the reason why God commanded the Israelites, fresh into their promised land, to dedicate/completely destroy some of the cities which they would take after He had conquered them: men, women, children, old people, cattle, donkeys, sheep and goods (Deuteronomy 7). The original word may have a footnote in your NIV Bible that helps define it, saying “The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the LORD, often by totally destroying them.”

Why? God tells them:

“You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.” ~ Deuteronomy 12:31

They did these horrible, despicable things as worship to their gods, Baal (the earlier name for Beelzebub) and Molech and others; it was their religion, their culture, their upbringing to believe that this evil was good.

They were like the false teachers that Paul would warn Timothy about, hundreds of years later:

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” ~ 1 Timothy 4:1-2

It’s impossible to repent when you believe evil to be good and good to be evil.

That’s why I chose to change the word “will not” in the title of this post to “cannot.” It isn’t just that God will not forgive this sin.

It’s that the sin cannot be repented of.

This is how the writer of Hebrews tried to explain the common-sense justice of it:

“It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” ~ Hebrews 6:4-6

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” ~ Hebrews 10:26-31

That, I believe, is what Jesus is talking about when He speaks of blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

It’s a passage of scripture that is not without problems. Why Jesus is recorded as saying “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven” in Matthew 12:32 and Luke 12:10, yet is also recorded as saying “But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God” in Luke’s previous verse 9 goes over my head, even when I’m standing on a chair.

It may be a simple as the fact that while here, enfleshed as a man, Jesus our example showed the same respect and awe toward God’s Holy Spirit as any man should. Blaspheming Jesus or disowning Him at that time, perhaps, could be forgiven: He looked like a man; ate, drank, walked, grew weary, slept, lived, died as a man. But the life-giving, life-sustaining, life-returning things the Spirit did through Him were undeniably good, and should not have been mistaken for evil – could not have been by any right-thinking person. Jesus seemed to be communicating that He understood this when He said: “The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me” (John 10:25) and “even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father” (John 10:38), and “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John 14:11).

Peter, perhaps, could be forgiven when He disowned His Lord three times – having traveled with Him; having seen all the miracles; having been part of some of them. Even though he was the one who identified Jesus as God’s Son, he could be forgiven for those moments of cowardice when he said, “I don’t know Him” thrice.

The Pharisees and teachers of the law, on the other hand, may not have been forgivable at all. For they tried and tortured and crucified Him, all the time believing it to be the right and just and holy thing to do; their consciences seared as with a hot iron … calling good “evil” and evil “good” … trampling the Son of God underfoot.

It’s impossible to repent when you believe evil to be good and good to be evil.

So I hope this helps explain, at least – even if I am totally wrong – why I sometimes become passionate in my discourse with brothers in Christ who preach that it is right and just to be judgmental and condemnatory toward those who do not observe their rules … why I sometimes lose my composure when dealing with those who proclaim that they love the targets of their attacks yet spew words of hatred and mockery; who do all of their witch-hunting and false-prophet marking and apostate-declaring with absolutely clear consciences, believing themselves directed by God to do so without a hint of mercy, compassion, or grace.*

I know that it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for someone so enriched by the satisfaction of knowing he is right to ever enter the kingdom of heaven, ruled by the One who is perfect.

I know that I should pray for them, and I try. I really do. I want to care about them. I want to love and respect them. I want to remind myself that Christ died for them as surely as for me.

But from time to time, all I can pray for is “May God have mercy on their souls.

“And on mine, because of what I feel toward them.”

---

_{*This tasks me, because Christian Courier editor Wayne Jackson, after quoting Matthew 12:31 earlier in the article, writes that “Any sin for which one seeks forgiveness through God’s prescribed plan can be forgiven.” (Blasphemy: What is This Great Sin?). For Apologetics Press, Kyle Butt concludes that “The fact that it is not mentioned after the resurrection, lends itself to the idea that it cannot still be committed. In fact, the indication from passages such as 1 John 1:7,9 is that ‘all unrighteousness’ that a person could commit today can be forgiven by the blood of Jesus.” (Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit—The “Unpardonable Sin”) That scripture, of course, closes with: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” One cannot confess what one does not perceive as sin. I can find no reference to this question on Forthright.net nor Seek The Old Paths. Other references to it on the Web are, as you might expect, all over the map – but so far, I have not encountered the view I’ve outlined here.}

Take a look around on the Internet at the orders of worship and sermon topics of churches which post them, and you might get the impression that many ministers of the gospel have the idea that “You can only preach so much Jesus.”

Really?

Because you can preach “the plan” all you want to, and if you don’t preach “the man,” you’ll have converts to a system, not the Savior.

You can preach “the church” all you wish, and if you don’t talk about the Bridegroom who purchased her with His blood, you’ll be preaching narcissism.

You can preach against sin all year every year, and if you don’t proclaim the One who died to save us from it and lived again so that we could live, you’ll only be spreading guilt and despair and hoplessness – not the gospel.

You can preach about your experiences in life till the cows come home, but if you don’t share His, will your church end up knowing more about your life on the farm than the Son you live for?

You can preach about biblical history, eschatology, pneumatology, soteriology, theology, or any other -ology … but if you don’t tell people about Jesus of Nazareth and what He taught and how He lived and how He reigns, just exactly what are you doing in the pulpit of a church in the Christian faith?

Have you actually shared all there is to know about Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, Son of Man, Savior, Redeemer, Rabbi, Teacher, Lord, Master, Friend, High Priest, Sacrifice, Good Shepherd, the Holy and Righteous One, Firstborn of the Dead, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace? The One to whom virtually all scripture points and praises – like John, His cousin – “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”

Has your church plumbed the depths of its relationship with God through Christ?

Have you told them all there is to know about His love; how far He would go and what He gave up?

Or have you given up?

Paul didn’t give up, and Christ was all he resolved to preach (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Peter knew there was no other name that could save (Acts 4:12).

John knew that it is through Him that we have fellowship (1 John 1:5-7).

Not just a plan. Not just a church. Not just a history. Not just a theory of His return, His Spirit, His divinity, His salvation, or His relationship with His Father.

But HIM.

Have you actually worn out the Ancient of Days?

Have you truly out-taught the Teacher?

Have you really mastered the Master?

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ~ John 12:20-21

“… Your sins are forgotten
They’re on the bottom
Of the ocean floor

“Your sins are erased
And they are no more
They’re out on the ocean floor.”
~ Ocean Floor as performed by Audio Adrenaline

“You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” ~ Micah 7:19

Unless you can afford to send Dr. Robert Ballard down there after them, that sounds really remote; pretty much irretrievable.

So why bother?

Let ’em sink and die.

If you’re going to teach that, you’ll have to ignore or explain away:

“All of us have become like one who is unclean,
   and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
   we all shrivel up like a leaf,
   and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” ~ Isaiah 64:6

Our righteousness is worthless before God.

“‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
“But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” ~ Matthew 20:12-16

God is sovereign. He pays the denarius at the end of the day. It is His denarius.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~ Ephesians2:8-10

We are not saved by our works, but to do good works.

“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.’ ~ Hebrews 6:17-18

God doesn’t communicate His purpose or promise unclearly: it is our hope. He does not hide His instruction for us by His silence, nor does He obscure it in code requiring logical decryption from the awardees of Ph.D.s in biblical languages and deductive reasoning. His desire is for all to come to repentance, not just the smart people.

Those few are just a handful of verses you’ll have to ignore or explain away in scripture in order to teach that we earn our salvation through our obedience.

You see, Jesus earned it through His obedience (Romans 5:19). Our obedience comes from faith in Him (Romans 1:5). And faith itself is God’s gift to us (Ephesians 2:8).

There are a lot more verses like that.

But these few are enough.

Passing The Torch

My blogging friend John Dobbs just challenged me by a Facebook e-mail to participate in a blog/Facebook meme saluting a minister who has been influential in my life, and while there have been several, one name stands out.

I’ve only mentioned him, I believe, in one post before, and that is a slight of unforgivable proportions.

My childhood minister at Fountain Square Church of Christ in Indianapolis, Indiana was David H. Bobo.

I cannot think of any incident that better illustrates his character than the one related by Leroy Garrett in this (undated) article in his Restoration Review:

David H. Bobo, Fountain Square Church of Christ in Indianapolis, wrote in his church bulletin of the death of a fellow minister in the Church of Christ in the same city, W. L. Totty, a man who had vigorously opposed him for many years. Bobo explains that he and Totty were both trained in the “old school” of the Church of Christ, but that he was soon compelled to move in a different direction, especially in reference to Christian ethics and Biblical teaching. Now that his old antagonist is gone, Bobo writes: “In spite of the fact that my reputation among people who do not know me suffered greatly from his attacks, I am glad I knew Brother Totty and I hold no ill feelings about him. I can say with all the sincerity of my heart, ‘God rest his soul.’” Upon reading this I passed it along to Ouida. “How tragic,” I said to her, “it is enough to cause one to weep.” Jesus came to make us brothers and to cause us to treat each other as brothers. And yet even preaching brethren spend a lifetime together in the same city as enemies, all in the name of sound doctrine. While we appreciate David Bobo’s forgiving spirit, let us hope that stories like this among us are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. It is high time for us to realize who the real enemy is. As for David Bobo, it should be more widely known that he is one of our best educated ministers and ablest scholars, as well as a devoted Christian. He is presently teaching both Hebrew and Greek at Indiana Christian U., along with his ministry at Fountain Square. That school recently honored him with a D.D. degree, as if he needed another degree! I regret to add that all these years he has been one of the most maligned men among Churches of Christ.

My dad, an elder at Fountain Square until his death in 1993, attended that funeral and I remember hearing him tell my mom that David Bobo’s eulogy was completely gracious. That was for a man who unrelentingly and regularly attacked him (and many other local ministers of churches of Christ) in his church bulletin. I learned many years later that several of them were asked to conduct the funeral, and only Br. Bobo was willing.

David Bobo preached grace alongside of law, and gave me – gave my home church – a glimpse at the great span of God’s true nature, and he did so at a time when such views were obviously not just unpopular, but considered heresy by some.

Now, as charged by John Dobbs, I pass on the challenge of the meme to you: “Post a tribute to the minister that has blessed [you] the most.”

A couple of nights ago, I dreamed I was telling a joke to some people around a table at a place that was kind of like the UALR student center, and that was the punch line: “Pray without sneezing.”

In the dream, everyone seemed to think it was pretty funny. I wish I could remember what the joke was.

I can tell you that the punch line has its origin in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (“pray continually”; “pray without ceasing,” KJV), which is Paul’s practice two chapters earlier (“Night and day we pray …” ~ 1 Thessalonians 3:10 as well as in his other letter to them: “…we constantly pray …” ~ 2 Thessalonians 1:11).

But I think there’s a worthy principle in the idea of praying without sneezing, and it’s no joke.

When we sneeze and we’re around people, we almost expect someone to say, “Bless you!”

Maybe – even if just for Lent – we should pray without expecting to be blessed, or even asking for it. Perhaps instead of praying for ourselves, we should pray for others for a season.

And let the blessings fall where they may.

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day …”

That’s where we usually stop, and our brains turn off. And there’s good stuff to ponder, digest and teach there.

But it’s important to consider, chew on and proclaim the rest of the verse, too:

“to see if what Paul said was true.”

Bereans were noble not just because they studied, but because they studied to see if what Paul taught was true. They were noble because they sought truth. They were noble because they accepted scripture as the final word on truth. They were nobler than Thessalonians because they hadn’t already decided what truth was and that Paul was lying because his truth disagreed with theirs; they were open to new truth and more truth and God’s truth.

Because you can study all you want to, and if it’s only to prove what you already believe – rather than to discover what God wants you to hear, know and put your faith in – you’re studying for ignoble reasons.

And you might just as well start a riot and run the truth out of town on a rail.

Check out Acts 17:11 – the whole verse; the whole context.

See if what I said isn’t true.

I said this in my Bible class Sunday morning (we’ve been discussing the opening two books of the Bible, Genesis and Exodus):

“The older I get, the less problem I have with the idea of God creating and doing everything in pretty much exactly the way the Bible describes. The reason I think He might well have done it that way is because it makes such a great STORY. His whole plan was for man to take His Name and His Story and His love to every corner of the earth. We remember stories. We like to tell stories. So it makes every kind of sense to me for God to have done things exactly the way scripture describes it, so we can get the Story right.”

I know it’s not scientific. I know the Story doesn’t always fit the quantifiable facts as we understand them.

But, hey, we’re talking about the God who created science and quantifiable fact out of the deep nothingness of nonexistence.

Is the Lord’s arm too short? Is anything impossible for God?

I have said before – and still unwaveringly believe – that the Story of scripture points forward to, directly at, and back toward Jesus Christ. (And, I might add, then it points forward to Him again.) He is the Word, the Story.

Jesus is the One through Whom, by Whom, for Whom all things were made.

Is it any wonder that scripture tells the Story of God and man in a way that culminates in their reconciliation through One Who is both God and man; son of God and son of Man?

So, like Job, I have had to learn to stop denying or even questioning the testimony of scripture when it seems to disagree with what my finite, limited and ultimately microscopic brain has observed as science or verifiable fact.

Scripture is the way God wishes to tell the Story.

It is impossible for Him to lie.

So it is quite possible for it to be divinely accurate as well as poetically perfect.

Because we’re talking about God.

If the writers, anonymous though some might be to us, had wanted to tell it in a different way than God wanted, He could have easily flooded them away, sent fire from heaven to consume them, sent them grazing in the field like a woolly beast or simply dried up their inkwell each time they tried to write fiction.

Instead, I believe God breathed the Story into their hearts. He inspired it. He Spirited it into them, and it refreshed them and gave life to them and excited them, and they respired it as accurately as possible and to every person who would listen.

So to bloody blue blazes with the teachings of men.

To blazes with man’s logic, man’s perception, man’s interpretation, man’s conclusions, man’s doctrine, man’s tests of fellowship, man’s uninspired and breathless and lifeless brain-crap.

It’s all nonsense. Balderdash. Poppycock.

If it doesn’t square with what God says, it’s bunk.

If God says to do something, He knows it’s for our good, and we should do it.

If God says to not do something, He knows it will hurt or kill us and/or others, and we ought to run from it like the gates of hell itself.

If God expresses no opinion, we should ruddy well stop making out like He’s said something approving or condemning by His silence.

If God tells His Story, we should shut up and listen.

It’s His Story. His God-ness and our humanity. His perfection and our fallibility.

His Son.

And our only hope.