In recent years I have increasingly been reading about "core" matters and "peripheral" matters, in relation to the will of the Lord as set forth in the Bible. The idea held by many is that there are some matters of New Testament teaching that are at. the very center of God's will, and that all must accept these matters; it is also contended by them that matters besides these "core" matters lie beyond the center and are not essential to salvation. "We don't sweat the small stuff was used by one proponent of this idea. One familiar with the old teaching of a distinction between "gospel" and "doctrine" will recognize the similarity between these two concepts. The same weaknesses plague both of them as well.
The chief weakness of this teaching is that it disregards the authority-dominion of Christ. To dethrone Christ is the ultimate insult to the Son of God, for He is God's gift to the church as head over all things, as well as exercising authority over all dominions (Eph. 1:20-23). When Jesus sent His disciples to evangelize the world, He instructed them to teach and baptize people and then teach them to observe all things commanded by Him. What plainer statement of the all-encompassing rule of Jesus Christ could one find? Whatever Christ has taught, either personally or representatively through the apostles becomes His will for all people. Unless He distinguished "core" matters from "peripheral" matters, there is no such distinction. Where is such a distinction made by Him? Some might refer to His teaching about weightier matters in Matthew 23, but there He made it clear that those matters not as weighty as others must still be done. Weighty matters are thus classified because they undergird those things not as weighty; no reference is there made to some as essential and others as non-essential.
A second fault (weakness) concerning this teaching is that it puts man into God's place. If there is such a concept as "adding insult to injury" in the spiritual realm, it would be to replace Deity with humanity after Deity is removed from the position of dominion in one's thinking and life. After all, who but human beings decide which matters are essential (core) and which are peripheral? Whenever a person makes a decision that something is not necessary to pleasing God, he takes a fatal step toward spiritual suicide, one reminiscent of ancient Israel: "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13). This is the very spirit of error foretold by the apostle Paul in 2 Thes. 2:4: "who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
The religion of Jesus Christ is not a cafeteria religion in which people- can select what they wish to believe and practice, but a complete, yielding to Jesus as the Christ after one has renounced (denied) himself to follow Christ (Matt. 16:24). No human being has the power to legislate for the Lord or disregard divine legislation. What all should seek to do is to think God's thoughts after Him, for this is the essence of faith and faithfulness.
But at least, I wasn't alone in my sufferings. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted upon knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were on a chain gang. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. She insisted if we said we'd be gone an hour, that we be gone one hour or less--not one hour and one minute. I am nearly ashamed to admit it, but she actually struck us. Not once, but each time we had a mind of our own and did as we pleased. That poor belt was used more on our seats than it was to hold up Daddy's pants. Can you imagine someone actualy hitting a child just because he disobeyed? Now you can begin to see how mean she really was.
We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath. The other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of insults because she made our clothes herself, just to save money. Why, oh why, did we have to have a mother who made us feel different from our friends? The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning. We couldn't sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept-my mother actually had the nerve to break the child-labor law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn to cook and all sorts of cruel things. I believe she laid awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.
She always insisted upon us telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, even if it killed us- and it nearly did.
By the time we were teen-agers, she was much wiser, and our life became even more unbearable. None of this tooting the horn of a car for us to come running. She embarrassed us to no end by making our dates and friends come to the door to get us. If I spent the night with a girlfriend, can you imagine she checked on me to see if I were really there. I never had the chance to elope to Mexico. That is if I'd had a boyfriend to elope with. I forgot to mention, while my friends were dating at the mature age of 12 and 13, my old fashioned mother refused to let me date until the age of 15 and 16. Fifteen, that is, if you dated only to go to a school function. And that was maybe twice a year.
Through the years, things didn't improve a bit. We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did, and miss school. If our friends had a toe ache, a hang nail or serious ailment, they could stay home from school. Our marks in school had to be up to par. Our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing. My mother being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black marks.
As the years rolled by, first one and then the other of us was put to shame. We were graduated from high school. With our mother behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the pleasure of being a drop-out.
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher education. None of us have ever been arrested, divorced or beaten his mate. Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country. And whom do we have to blame for the terrible way we turned out? You're right, our mean mother. Look at the things we missed. We never got to march in a protest parade, nor to take part in a riot, burn draft cards, and a million and one other things that our friends did.
She forced us to grow up into God-fearing, educated, honest adults.
Using this as a background, I am trying to raise my three children. I stand a little taller and I am filled with pride when my children call me mean.
Because, you see, I thank God, He gave me the meanest mother in the whole world.
written by Bobbie Pingaro (1967)
Again: A school hired a teacher, paid him a salary, furnished him with a good building and equipment. He came to school prepared to teach, and the first morning no students came. Naturally he wondered about it; they replied: "We pay you a salary, furnish you a nice building and equipment, it is up to you to get the pupils here for the school."
Again: A church secured a preacher, erected a nice building, and supported the preacher. He prepared his sermons and delivered them but many of the congregation did not come! Naturally, he wondered about the situation. Upon inquiry , he was informed: "we pay you a salary, furnish you a nice building for the audience; it is up to you to come around and beg us to come hear you preach."
Which of these stories do you regard as the most foolish? Or, is there any difference in them?
"It's too far to drive". Where? To see, the home team in the state finals, or to the lakes for a water skiing week end, to the mountains for snow frolic--or to worship God? "The weather is too bad". For what? For hunting ducks? For attending a football game? Or worshiping God?
'I'm just too busy," For what? For taking in more work? To get away for a vacation? To attend a football game? Or, are you just too busy for the one thing man was put on earth to do? 'Tear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Eccl. 12:13. Are you just too busy to worship and serve God?
This writer is also aware that Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a time to be born, to die, etc.; but it does not say that the time for each event there specified has been predetermined by God. One must assume God's predetermination of these events before he can ever press this passage into service, to use it thus is to twist or distort it. This passage might well mean that life consists of these events - this and nothing more.
The closest that anyone can come to finding a basis for this idea in the Bible is in various statements about Jesus . , especially in those speaking of his time (hour) not yet coming or his time (hour) coming (Jn. 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1). It is not necessary to inject this idea of a God-appointed time for death in order to understand these verses. It is always unwise to interpret unclear passages like these about less Jesus' time of death on the basis of such presupposition. The safe approach to understanding unclear passages is to interpret them in light of the clear ones; in this way no unjustified meaning is brought into one's understanding. When Ecclesiastes 3 and these verses about Jesus are thus interpreted, all that the @ mean is y that there is death for each individual at the end of his life (Eccl. 3) and that Jesus' life ended when His work was accomplished (verses in John). This is even the preferable meaning in view of some clear passages in the New Testament teaching that God's purpose for the life of Jesus involved the progressive development of His work leading to redemption. Words like "fulfilled" or "completed" definitely give this idea.
Passages like Luke 9-.51 give the idea that the time for certain events in the life of the Lord was measured more by the fulfilling of God's purpose/plan than by the passing of a certain number of days. Notice the literal rendering of the verse: "When the days were-being fulfilled that he should be received up, he steadfastly set-his face to go to Jerusalem.".
With this alternative explanation that is supported by the language of the verses involved, it is certainly clear that the Bible is not necessarily saying that there was a set time for Jesus to die. Even if there was such a time, the different nature of that life, because of the direct involvement of God in it, would indicate no necessity for such being true in the lives of all people.
Of course, this whole idea of a set time for death rests upon the shaky foundation Of divine Foreordination. The Bible does not teach that every happening has been predestined by God. While the plan of God for salvation, the death of Jesus and associated events, the bliss of the righteousness and doom of the wicked, and numerous other Biblical principles have been set (predestined), according to Biblical teaching man has been permitted to exercise his free will in obeying or disobeying God's will. Such matters as the time of death and the time of the Lord's return depend upon a variety of factors. Peter taught that the coming of the Lord might seem to- be delayed from man's viewpoint, but the longsuffering of God is given as the explanation for its not having occurred (2 Pet. 3:1-9,14).
It is appointed to man to die once,- but this writer knows of no passage teaching a definite time of ,death for each individual. In the absence of such teaching, any, such teaching by men, would be speculative.
There are no LIARS ---today. These fine people are simply extroverts, with imaginative talents that should be properly channeled. They evidence creative ability; their instability is a facet of their capacity for free uninhibited thought. They may become great poets, lawyers,or preachers.
The DRUNKARD--- is not really a sinner. He has an inferiority complex, and makes a mechanical adjustment (albeit a liquid one) to the problems of today. Beside that, he is sick. He beats his wife, starves his children, and is a scourge to society - so he needs our sympathetic understanding.
ADULTERY--- may be sin in far-off slum districts; but not among movie stars, or popular public figures. And don't even mention the word when we get close to home. Here is simply a case of biological maladjustment. The sex pervert was denied "free discussion" at home; his parents were old-fashioned and believed in common decency. His sin , I mean "mistake", is a fault of modem society.
But maybe the MURDERER--- is a sinner - just Maybe! On the other hand, he may be the victim of some early traumatic experience. His mother was overprotective; he was greatly inhibited. He was never allowed to push his oats off the high-chair tray, so now he pushes his wife off Brooklyn Bridge. Poor fellow!
There may be an element of truth in all these descriptions; but one element, very necessary for correction, is lacking. Weare overlooking the moral element.
Our generation needs psychiatry----But it also need moral responsibility, must-recognize SIN for what it is - SIN. We must cease to substitute Freud for Jesus Christ, the "Great Physician"who takes away the sins of the world. With the prodigal- we must say, "I have SINNED!"
1. SEXUAL MORALITY - The popular culture revels in "sexual freedom," and many of our teens are sexually active and many wives and husbands are unfaithful to their mates.
2. DIVORCE - As divorce has become acceptable in the culture, many new hermeneutical approaches to justify its results have been suddenly discovered.
3. WOMEN'S ROLES - As the culture presses for equal roles for men and women in all areas, textual, cultural, and linguistic reasons are found as to why the biblical texts that limit women's roles in the church do not mean what they say.
4. MODESTY - Many no longer consider an "itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini" immodest and shorts and skirts of mid-thigh length and shorter are often seen even in the assembly.
In too many cases, we are not transforming the world. The world is shaping the actions, attitudes, and attire of the church,- squeezing us into its own mold.