Monthly Archive for June, 2006

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Glorious Foolishness

Published on 6/5/2006 in Bible Study. Closed

I think the church at Corinth was getting caught up in Gnosticism. I’m not sure though, it would be worth looking up somewhere. the reason why I think this is because the emphasis Paul puts on foolishness.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”;”

All over the NT there are references to foolishness, but it is usually a bad thing, as in foolish talk, or foolish actions, but here in 1 Cor he has 5 statements about foolishness as if it’s a GOOD THING!

Of all the things you could boast in, all the things you could take pride in, it would be knowing God, or knowing about God. But what if it was all foolishness? Who would come to Jesus if it wasn’t a matter of getting rich or being happy or being like americans or being beautiful or having power or anything else? What if coming to Jesus was just coming to Jesus? What if it was seen by the world as foolishness, but those that did it would see how great it was to know Him? That’s why Paul says this

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Woe to the wise and the convinced in this world, and woe to those that are converting the masses by their own power and intellect! I would rather be the idiot friend of God than a powerful ‘man of God’ with eloquent speech and convincing words.

Check out 1 Corinthians, Weak-Boy

Published on 6/4/2006 in Bible Study. Closed

I started reading 1 Corinthians today. It looks like most of chap 1 is one two things: division and you being nothing. God chose the foolish to shame the strong, that doesn’t mean you’re strong now!

God is still using you in your foolishness! He is still using you in your weakness and nothingness.

If anything, now that you have accepted the Gospel of Christ, you are less now in the world than you ever were before.

So since you are so little and weak and tiny in the eyes of the world, why try to boost yourself up and say “Apollos baptized me!” and all this other team-making? Why would they make teams except to try to make one better than another? That’s why he gets into boasting. No one can boast before God. How silly it would be to come before God and brag about who discipled you or who baptized you or who you went to church with.

OK, so…

on this whole theme of freedom, why boast to anyone else that is weak and nothing down here about any of that stuff? Why not glory in your weakness and how God has filled in your gaps?

v. 26: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

God didn’t pick these people so that they could then go on and rise to success and be the poster child for God’s Great Infomercial. God chose the weak to shame the strong, but it doesn’t say anything about the weak taking over the strong people’s positions or having some kind of revenge and lording it over them. I guess I thought that for a long time about the foolish shaming the wise and the weak shaming the strong.

The Gospel is transfomational, in that it changes us, but not necessarily in the eyes of this wicked world.

Oh Me, A Silly Galatian!

Published on 6/2/2006 in Bible Study. Closed

More and more I am learning that I’ve been taught the wrong things and I’ve been teaching the wrong things and the right things are a lot more complicated and a lot more simple than I could have ever believed.

Look at Gal 6
sow to please the Spirit, carry your own load and carry other’s burdens too, don’t try to make a good impression outwardly, and boast only in Christ’s work on the cross, not comparing yourself to others.

I think I kind of want to throw away righteousness.
As far as righteousness goes, there is only One that matters. God. I need not to appear righteous or even BE righteous to anyone else. So throw that away. Haven’t the greatest corruptions in the church throughout history been caused by a quest for righteousness before men? So, since I’ve already received righteousness from God, I need not seek it any more. I need not build it up or remind anyone (even myself) that I have it. I have it. So now what. LIVE LIFE! Be free from the silly righteous quest and let Jesus live in me.

ooh ooh, that was something else I’ve been thinking about.

there are two things that MUST be taught together. I heard this over a year ago and I’m just now getting it. When we are taught that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and we now have full access to God. AND by the Holy Spirit, now Jesus also has full access to US. It seems like the church is afraid to teach freedom, because what will happen if people really believe it? “People will go crazy and just do whatever they want.” There were some guys in North Africa that wanted to become Christians so that they would be allowed to commit adultery! They were taught about Jesus dying for their sings, but didn’t hear about Him being raised to life and now living in them.

The best part is getting left out!

Galatians 2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Yes, I have absolute freedom. Yes, I am free from the Law of sin and death. But now It is not ME that is living. It is Jesus living in me. I am not alive by myself. I am only alive by Jesus living in me!

How to Have a Great Impact

Published on 6/1/2006 in Short Quotes. Closed

I heard this on Don Miller’s podcast. He was being interviewed along with Derek Webb. They were both talking, and kind of contributing, but here is my paraphrase of what they said.

We can accomplish a thousand times more than any legislation by reaching out to the people that live within the 3 miles around us and giving money to those that are going 3000 miles away from us. I can give $3000 today to build a well in Africa, but it would cost that much just to get a document proposing that funding printed in Washington D.C.. The more I personally get my hands dirty, the greater impact I will have.

It was a pretty good interview, especially the stuff they said about freedom. Man. Do you ever hear the same message over and over again everything you read and hear?