“Equality vs. Equity and the Will of God”

Equality – "The state of being equal, esp. in status, rights, and opportunities." Equity – "The quality of being fair and impartial." Understanding and application of these two terms have been the source of many issues in church life. My preference is not to talk about specific church issues, however, when these issues become a stumbling block in the Christian walk it becomes necessary to comment. The big issue at hand is the ordination of women as pastors.

Since the 1960s many Christian denominations have opted to open up the position of pastor to women. This can be directly associated with the women’s liberation/ feminist movement. The major argument for this is equality between the genders. The verse most quoted to support this is Galatians 3: 28 in which Paul states “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Now, this verse, taken on its own tells us that there is no difference among any group of humanity and everybody is the same, equal. There are no nationalities, nobody is indebted or liberated, and genders no longer exist, because in Christ all of these things disappear.

This view of life, while, it sounds and feels good is but a thin façade covering deeper issues. How does this verse jibe with the rest of scripture in which these distinctions are clearly made with accompanying instructions on duties and responsibilities (Genesis 12: 2, 3; Daniel 9: 24-27; Romans 1: 16, Joshua 9; Exodus 29; Deuteronomy 22: 5; 1 Corinthians 11; etc.)? In Malachi 3: 6 God states: “For I am the Lord, I change not. With this in mind we know that there cannot be a clash in scriptural instruction and principles so how do we reconcile this?

The Holy Scripture gives us instructions on how it is to be interpreted. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little and there a little… Isaiah 28:10-13. With this in mind what do the verses surrounding Galatians 3: 28 tell us? The rest of this passage is speaking of faith, the faith that saves us; the faith in Christ and His sacrifice that negates whatever classification to which we may belong, freeing us to be saved from our sins and fitting us for a place in God’s kingdom. This has no direct bearing on our individual functions in the body of Christ.

We are all different. God made us differently with different skills, “some apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers… (Ephesians 4: 11-13). God has equipped up with various skills that we may work together to press forward in the work. As we see in the parable of the talents one received five, another two and another received one (Matthew 25: 15). As we can well see these are all different values. By mathematical standards they are not equal. All the different positions listed in Ephesians are not equal in nature, however, there is equity in their need. The body would not function optimally if one were missing.

God has given us specific instructions on how the church (His body) is to be governed. If a person is openly disobeying the law of God they should be separated from the body (Matthew 18: 17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 Timothy 1: 18-20; Titus 3: 10, 11). Likewise because our God is a God of order (1 Corinthians 14: 40) He also gave instruction on church leadership. In the days of the sanctuary He told Moses to anoint Aaron and his sons as priests and the Levites as ministers in the church. In the New Testament church God instructed Paul (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1) that bishops and elders are to be men with one wife, blameless, having proper control of their homes.

Another statement I have heard in this debate is that God called these women to this position. Now I don’t know anyone’s connection with the Lord, however, I do know that he does not contradict Himself. As stated before He is God He doesn’t change. He is the “same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8) He knew what the end of time would be from the beginning of time (Isaiah 46:10). Therefore, because we know as human beings that our senses are apt to betray us (due to our sinful nature) it would behove us to try every sprit that comes our way (1 John 4:1-5). Test them against the only sure thing we have – The Word of God (Isaiah 8:20).

There are women that I count very dear to me that want to be ordained pastors in our church. They posses many pastoral gifts, and I have had the privilege to be blessed by them. My statement in this regard is that God has given these gifts for His service. These gifts are vital in the furtherance of His work. Pastoral gifts (counselling, leadership, teaching, preaching, etc.) are not limited to this one office. The position of pastor is not to be likened to any other job. It is unique and assigned by God. As a result His criteria is the only one that matters. Our feelings about the matter and what seems right and fair to us do not (Proverb 14: 12).

God has made his will known in His word and has also chosen to do so through our church as a body (three times). I believe it is time that we take note of His will, making the changes necessary to align ourselves with His will for our lives, using the gifts He has bestowed upon us in accordance with His instructions.

Be Blessed in His Will

The Will

The ‘Will’ is defined as “the faculty by which a person decides on and initiates action”. Why do we do the things we do? What is the source of our individual motivations? In general our motives are determined by our respective experiences and how we respond to them (10% of what you make it, 90% of how you take it). However, despite our experiences and the “most likely” direction our lives take, the “road less travelled” is always an option. What is it that causes us to take that path?

As sinful beings our will is to do that which is evil – against the law of God. We have been created free moral agents, with choice. Our first parents made a choice to sin therefore we are born with the default mode to sin (Psalm 51:5). Based on this the most likely path for us to take is to do what is wrong. So why do we sometimes choose to do the right thing? Philippians 2:13 states, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

How does this happen? How do we get God to both give us the will and the ability to do what pleases Him – what is right. This comes down to choice. Do I choose to follow my own default will or do I choose to let God work in me His will. This is the most difficult of choices. Take the wide well trodden road or trust another to lead on the road less travelled.

I was recently faced with one such situation. The deliberateness of my actions shocked me, and has prompted me to think. Years ago I made the public choice to follow the will of God. This has by no means been a smooth path, however, it has not been as rough as others have experienced. Travelling this road comes with a certain level of isolation – compounded with my natural tendency towards introversion.

Recently I was faced with the choice of an inappropriate social event or continued isolation. I found myself without regard or thought to consequences willfully engaging this unholy activity. I knew I was wrong, I repeatedly told myself to go home… but I didn’t. I scared myself because I didn’t know that that level of willful determination towards evil was still in me. The selfish desire to fill a need, without regard to the consequences of the means by which that need was filled, gave me a jolt.

With that said, how does one yield ones will to the Nobler power? Longfellow puts it this way:

“All thoughts of ill; and evil deeds,

That have their root in thoughts of ill;

Whatever hinders or impedes

The action of the nobler will; –

All these must first be trampled down

Beneath our feet, if we would gain

In the bright fields of fair renown

The right of eminent domain.”

Paul says we must “die daily”. I was under the impression that I was immune to certain things I was past certain actions because I was raised in the church. This recent experience hit me with the fact that I am still a descendant of Adam and Eve – subject to selfish disdain for what is right. Because of this I am required to remain vigilant in ALL things (1Peter 5:8), dying daily to self and selfishness. This is the task at hand…

Hold On

Go!

The last instruction, Jesus gave to His disciples, was to ‘Go into all the world baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things [Jesus] commanded. Those that believe will be saved and those that don’t believe will be damned’ (Matthew 28: 19, 20; Mark 16:15,16).

Now I’m having a disagreement regarding methodology of spreading the gospel. My – for want of a better term – opponent believes in full focus on the damnation part of the preaching. Now I can understand this pull. My church and so many in the world today are stuck on mercy and unending grace. This saccharine sweet gospel irritates me to no end; however, swinging the pendulum completely in the other direction should not be the alternative. Both are a gross misrepresentation of God. He is not some soft namby-pamby pushover that we can wilfully violate His laws and He will say ‘it’s ok you can still live forever with Me’ – that’s rubbish! But He’s not a brute either, standing over us waiting for us to fall so He can say you’re hell bound – if this were the case I’d say so be it.

Fact remains we are living in the close of this part of earth’s history. We see the signs everyday. Satan has us so mixed up and confused we don’t know right from wrong, or good from bad. The gospel is to be preached so as to warn people that continuing to live in violation of God’s laws will undoubtedly lead to eternal death and the time for that final death is frighteningly near. But we also need to make it equally clear that God is still merciful and will forgive us and help us to forsake our sins. This is the hardest part forsaking the sin. Because we have a sinful nature it is easy for us to slide deeper and deeper into a pit of sin – it’s entropy.

The key to railing against sin is learning to forgive. Yes, forgive others but a huge part of being a forgiving person is forgiving ourselves. We find it hard to believe that an All Perfect God would even consider forgiving us because we find some of the things we’ve done so repulsive we can’t forgive ourselves. Fight this! Fight this with all you have because the All Perfect God is able and willing to ‘forgive us of all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9). With our acceptance of His forgiveness begins to process of purification.

Accepting the fact that we are forgiven is the key to living a transformed life. Most of us feel that if we choose not to sin we’re being hypocrites. We compare the good we want to do with the good with the evil we have done. This is no way to live. A certain level of separation needs to occur. Acknowledgement of the past needs to occur. It happened, we did it, nobody else – ‘I did it’. The dread of whatever the action may be is usually what drives us to God. This is the place to be. But when we come to Him we must believe that He is able to forgive us and get us past it.

The purification process continues as God helps us reject the sin that is so easy to slide into. This also can be rough. The daily struggle against ‘pet vices’ may seem to drive you crazy. This is where constant prayer and vigorous studying of God’s word is pivotal. Replacing thoughts of our vices with the word of God is the all-powerful way to bring true change into our lives (2 Corinthians 3:18). Whatever we spend our time focused on becomes a part of us modifying our character.

In recent times there has been a flood of information released about secret groups with nefarious schemes infiltrating and controlling various organizations. These data show that these groups are directly controlled by Satan and they control, every influential government, church, and media in our world. Now I am by no means naïve, the fact that various events have happened and are leading to one particular outcome is very obvious. However, I don’t believe that these people and their schemes should become my obsession. The knowledge of these things should drive me deeper into the word of God.

Becoming fixated on this evil will either drive us to want to become apart of the system or cause us to loose sight of the ‘whole duty of man – Fear God, and keep His commandments’ (Ecclesiastes 12:13). My opposer has become obsessed with this system and this concerns me. I believe that this recent rise in knowledge of an order that is to be ‘secret’ is intentional. Satan knows human nature. He knows how to distract us. He knows what inducing fear in us will do. It is good to know that there is evil out there and we should be prudent in our actions, however, our true purpose in God should not be sacrificed to this knowledge.

The wise man – Solomon – knew better than any of us could. He did it all, he knew about the secret organizations, he lived the wild life and at the end of it all he said “the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: For this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

God’s Blessings

Faith

The Bible says that ‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’ (Hebrews 11:1). What does this mean? I heard a pastor preach once and he said something to the effect that faith is like a promissory note. This note states that you own this item it’s only a matter of time before you are in physical possession of the item. It’s very easy to talk about faith and encouraging others to have faith, however living faith is a lot harder. The Bible says ‘The just shall live by faith’ (Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38).

So what am I meant to do to live by faith? Hebrews 11, also known as the ‘Faith Hall of Fame’, lists all these great men and women who lived by faith. Now I’ve been raised in the church reading the Bible my whole life so I’ve heard and read the life stories of these faithful people repeatedly and all of them were by no means perfect. Moses made excuses to try and escape God’s mission for his life. Abraham, ‘the father of the faithful’ and his wife Sarah didn’t believe God could bring them a child through his aged wife.

The book of James informs us that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17, 20, 26). Is that what made the difference in the lives of these people? They questioned the possibility of God’s promises being fulfilled but despite their doubting, they pressed on and acted on the belief that what God said, is so. Moses packed up and went back to Egypt to get his people. Abraham knew Sarah and she bore a son. This chapter lists so many other examples of people acting on a promise.

So the question is what promise has God made to you? One that he has made to all of us is that He ‘will come again, and receive you unto’ himself (John 14:1-4). Therefore having faith that we will live in the presence of God means that we should live now as if we are already in the physical presence of God. This brings us back to God’s commands. They are few and simple, but faithlessness has made them extremely difficult to follow. God asks us to enter into a relationship with Him. Get to know Him, and obey His commandments. Living with this faith will make our transition from this life into the next seamless.

So what is faith? It is a guarantee from the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God that His word is complete whether we see its fulfillment or not.

God’s richest Blessings

Salvation

What is salvation? In theology, salvation is defined as ‘deliverance from sin and its consequences’. As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ is the only name through which we might be saved (Acts 4:10-12). What is sin? Aside from being a topic for an endless discussion, the bible describes sin as the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Therefore if there is no law then there is no sin (Romans 4:15) – whole other discussion, so back to the topic. Why should I desire salvation? I’ve often asked myself this question.

The Bible states that at the end of time sinners, who choose not to accept God's gift, will burn and become ashes and cease existing (Malachi 4; Revelation 20:14, 15; 21:8). After reading these verses you may ask why bring us back for the second death? God is honest and upfront in His dealings so He’ll let us know why it is we can’t inherit eternal life (Revelation 20:13). So back to my original question: Why should I want salvation? If I won’t be alive to endure the sight of what I’ve missed why shouldn’t I just enjoy what I have here and know – what I’m sure of – and just cease existing in the end? The law of God as we learned earlier is very specific and has very little to do with my own pleasure. So why should I want to keep it? Why should I live a life of self-denial, altruism, and service to God?

Well, the answer may originate from different experiences for different people. I am still in the process of understanding why I should want this. The answer I have for now is that I want to know God. I want to meet Him, I want to spend as long as it takes to understand what kind of Individual cares about the most insignificant things in my life. He cares and aligns events to the minutest detail to ensure that I am blessed and that I can be a blessing to others. Something as simple as finding a missing plug and having a phone work or causing me to look up moving information that I could share with my friend the next day. Even when I’m being the most selfish brat He works things out to open my eyes and silence me.

I’m not saying that this question will never come up again but I write this to encourage you and me. One day I’ll be down and things will seem to not be going my way and I’ll just want to throw in the towel and live in complete and utter selfishness. But these words will serve as a reminder that I’ve seen the evidence that there is a Higher Power that cares and is interested and simply wants to live and communicate with me (Exodus 25:8). He wants to be my Friend. The opportunity to know Him is more than enough to ‘fight the good fight of faith’ (1 Timothy 6:12).

Live Blessed

Love

What is love? This word has been overused, misused, and abused. So what is it? Is it a principled way of living, or is it a feeling one has towards various nouns and verbs? The dictionary defines love as “an intense feeling of deep affection”. If this is true, what is a feeling? A feeling is defined as “an emotional state or reaction”. This definition implies that a change is possible — we can stop loving each other.

But as Christians, is this the Biblical view? “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Love my enemy!? My enemy can only conjure negative feelings within me; how is it that I am to have an “intense feeling of deep affection” towards them?

There must be more to love than just a feeling. When asked about the commandments, Jesus said, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29–31). Jesus also said: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

Jesus made a point of associating Love with the commandments. But you can’t command someone to feel. Feelings arise as reactions to different events commands/principles are done regardless of how one feels. God gave many commandments throughout the ages; some pointed to His coming, and others were for specific individuals or groups, but one set written in stone transcends the Old and New Testaments and down throughout the ages into our time.

The Ten Commandments given to Moses, found in Exodus 20 and reiterated in Deuteronomy 5, and repeated throughout the New Testament (e.g., Matthew 19:22) and utilized in the laws of modern civilizations, stand as the all-encompassing law of God. The Ten Commandments can be split into two — the first four showing our relation to God (Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart) and the last six our relation to each other (Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself).

So if obedience to the Law of God is Love, then all aspects of His Law are included in the definition of Love. What, then, is a law? Law is defined as “the system of rules that a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and may enforce by the imposition of penalties”. Therefore obedience to the law, following all its requirements, whether doing its required action or the fulfillment of the consequences associated with disobedience, are all considered Love. For example: If the law says you should not steal, but if you steal, you must repay four times the amount you stole — not stealing is love, and the repayment is love.

Exodus 20:5 outlines judgement on those that worship other gods; however, we see that there is mercy for individuals that choose to obey God’s commandments. This brings us to the two phases of Love — Justice, and Mercy. Love is not limited to obedience or judgement; there is also mercy. Mercy is a vital aspect of love that demonstrates the understanding that human beings are not perfect. Our ability to fall and make mistakes make us highly susceptible to disobedience and, therefore, in great need of mercy. However, for Love to be complete, both Justice and Mercy need to be satisfied.

Therefore, we discipline our children, and we comfort them and empathize with them and encourage them to make better choices by sharing our own life experiences. We tell each other the truth and choose not to be a hindrance to those we encounter daily. And above all, we work daily on our Love toward our Heavenly Father, choosing to obey His Commandments. Love is not a mere feeling; it is a way of living; it is daily choosing to live for someone else’s best interest and thereby for our own benefit.

Be Blessed.

Laodicea

The plague of our world and churches is a Laodicean mentality. The dictionary defines Laodicean as being lukewarm or halfhearted, especially with respect to religion or politics. This week a man made a public statement of his biblical understanding of what marriage constitutes. This resulted in extreme reactions from those that agreed with him and those that did not. What about the rest of us? As a Christian I have a moral code by which I live my life but how often do I suppress my beliefs for “easy runnings”.

I read, in my evening devotion, this passage: “Even more than God abhors infidelity, He abhors indifference in religious matters, because religious pretensions without genuine religion is a continual stumbling block to sinners.” (EGW, letter 122, 1901) Recently I have become increasingly aware of my attitude of indifference in every aspect of life. In light of this new wave of thought reading this passage hit me like a ton of bricks. How can I expect God to defend and protect me when in simple situations I won’t speak up for Him? (Matthew 10:33)

It is time that our generation stop living our lives as cowards ashamed to say and live what we believe for fear of “political correctness”, or popular culture. Jesus said: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)

Stay Blessed

A Little Leaven