Jewelry is NOT a Sin.

"likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works."

A word about jewlelry: Paul is not forbidding the wearing of jewelry here, at all. There is nothing wrong with jewelry. Solomon’s bride in Song of Solomon wore gold and silver jewelry (Song 1:10-11; 4:9), as did Rebekah (Gen. 24:53). There is an appropriate time and place for that as affirmed by the words of Isaiah 61:10:

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

In Paul’s day, much like today, jewelry was, and is, used by people to flaunt their wealth to others or scream out “look at me!” Wealthy women in the church at Ephesus were doing just that and this is what Paul is forbidding in this verse. He is confronting anything that would cause people to desire the attention to be on themselves instead of Jesus. He is not forbidding the wearing of jewelry, period.

If you would like to discuss this further feel free to contact me. You know how to reach me.

Women: Put some clothes on!

"likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works."

“Women should adorn themselves” or as the NIV puts it “dress themselves.” We can stop right there for now. I don’t think most women have read this in their Bibles. Please, women, dress yourselves.

We cannot go anywhere in today’s culture, even to church, where we don’t see women wearing inappropriate clothing. To the women: stop wearing skin-tight clothing that flaunts everything you have, stop wearing skirts too short , stop wearing shirts with necklines that show off your clevage, stop wearing shorts so short that your butt is hanging out the bottom. Please, listen to Paul, “dress yourself”, put some clothes on. As Ligon Duncan says:

I want to urge you to think long and hard about what you wear: blouses that are skin-tight and reveal everything; midriffs bared; diving necklines; skirts that are way too short or worn way too low. We need to think about dressing modestly and discreetly. It starts, Dad and fathers, with you. You should say to your wives, or to your daughters...they’re getting ready to go out in something they ought not go out in, and you’ll know, dad and father, “You’re not going out in that.” On the other hand, wives and daughters, it ought to be a desire on your part—perhaps it’s with your husband, perhaps it’s with other godly friends whose judgment you trust—to ask them the question: “Is this modest and discreet?” I want it to be beautiful and attractive, but I also want to be modest and discreet. Does this fit the bill? You ought to be approaching your husbands and fathers, instead of dreading them sharing their opinions. You ought to be inviting them, because it ought to be your desire to dress modestly and discreetly.

We have a huge problem with sexuality in our culture. It is entirely too free and too flaunted. Sexuality is a beautiful thing. Within the context of marriage, the ability of the husband to enjoy the wife and vice versa is one of the greatest privileges that God has given us. But God did not expect that to be shown and shared with every human being who you pass on the street. You are to be modest and discreet in the way you dress. Invite godly friends, sisters and brothers in Christ, to help you dress in such a way that you honor the Lord. Paul is saying that there is a right way to dress and a wrong way to dress. He’s not saying that it’s all just subjective and in the eye of the beholder. There is a way that a person can dress, and it sends one message, and there’s a way that a person can dress and it sends another message. Paul is saying in this passage, “instead of aspiring to be seductive and provocative in the way we dress, let us adorn ourselves instead with a beautiful character and life.

So often today we hear that women do not want to be treated as objects or as pieces of meat but want to be treated with respect and dignity. To the women: if you want to be treated with respect and dignity then dress with respect and dignity. Do not expect to be treated with respect and dignity when you are flaunting what God gave you to anyone who wants to have a look. Stop wearing the low cut shirts and short skirts, start dressing yourselves with dignity and it will be given to you.

Real Men Pray

"I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling"

Paul’s addresses men in this verse. He desires that the men pray in every place. This may seem a bit embarrassing to men. Let’s face it in today’s culture Christianity is dominated by females and has a very feminine exterior. As Mark Driscoll puts it the church has produced "a bunch of nice, soft, tender, chickified church boys. … Sixty percent of Christians are chicks," he explains, "and the forty percent that are dudes are still sort of chicks." So men have a tendency to not want to identify themselves with Christianity that is so overtly feminine. That is why it is so important for men who are not “chickified church boys” to step up and lead the way for their families and churches. One of the places to begin is making sure that men are praying in every place. There are two reasons for this.

First, too often we separate our life on Sunday from our life the rest of the week. We may “pray, lifting holy hands” at church but are we doing it in the other places that Paul mentions? Do you have a disconnect between your “church life” and the rest of your life? If so, repent and give Jesus your whole life, not just Sunday from 10:30-12:00. Praying in every place means just what it says. Wherever you go, pray. If you’re out to eat, pray. If you’re at a ball game, pray. If you’re at work, pray. If you’re gathered with friends, pray. Praying in “every place” ties in with the second point I have.

People everywhere need to see real men, not feminine men, worshiping Jesus. We are to pray in every place as a testament to what Jesus has done for us. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should pray as a show so that other would see us and praise us. I’m saying that real men realize that “to the King of ages…be honor and glory forever and ever” and we give thanks to him in prayer everywhere we go because that is the desire of a renewed heart. As a result, our lives will be preaching a gospel to those around us who need to see that Christianity is not led by “chickified church boys” buy strong, tough, dedicated, loyal, manly men.

Jews & Salvation

There is One God

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time."

These verses are foundational to the understanding of Christianity. Unlike Hinduism, Mormonism, Buddhism, and Shinto, Christianity is a Monotheistic religion, meaning we believe in one and only one God. Verse five makes this clear: “There is one God.” Other verses in the Bible that state our belief include: “…the Lord is God; there is no other besides him.” (Deut 4:35), “…there is no god beside me” (Deut 32:39), “…you alone are God.” (Ps 86:10), “Before me no God was formed, nor shall there be any after me.” (Isa 43:10), “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.” (Isa 45:5), “…the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God.” (1 Tim 1:17).

All other gods are demonic false gods. John 17:3 states that the God of the Bible is “…the only true God.” This lends itself to the knowledge that there are indeed false gods. If you worship any other god besides the God of the Bible you are worshiping a false god and a demon. You may be very devoted and give of your time and money to your church but if it is not a Bible believing, Jesus centered church you are sacrificing to demons: “They sacrificed to demons that were no gods.” (Deut 32:17). “No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.” (1 Cor 10:20). You may even go around telling others that you are Christian. You may include the Bible in your doctrine and may even put the name Jesus Christ in the name of your church but if you are not a Bible believing, Jesus centered church you are worshiping demons: “And what I do I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (2 Cor 11:12-15). People worshiping these demons may claim to have experienced miracles or other amazing things which convinces them that they are worshiping the true God. It should not be a surprise when people of other religions experience wondrous powers and miraculous signs because the Bible tells us “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders” (2 Thess 2:9).

If you get only one thing right in your life this should be it: that you understand “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Eternity for you and most likely for generations of your family after you hinges on your understanding and belief of this fact. Since there is only one God, He is the God of all creation, and He has given but one answer to the plight of sinners. There is one God over all the world, and so there is one message of grace that must be preached to everyone. If you put your faith in anyone or anything other than Jesus you will spend eternity being tormented in hell. If your faith is in the gods of Hinduism, the god of Islam, the gods of this world, the gods of Mormonism, the god of the Jehovah’s witnesses, the god of yourself, the god of money, or the god of anything else you will spend eternity in hell. Despite what Oprah has to say, there are not many paths to God, there is one and only one. Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” He did not say that he as “a way, a truth, or a life” he said he is “THE way, THE truth, and THE life.”

Jesus “gave himself as a ransom for all.” Think about that: Jesus, who is fully God, came to earth and gave his life as a ransom for all. This is an enormous difference, it is THE enormous difference between Christianity and other religions. The gods of other religions are all about what you can do for them. You’re entrance to heaven will be judged upon how much you sacrificed for them, or how much you gave to them, or how devoted you were to them, or how many people of other religions you murdered for them. In stark contrast, if you are a worshiper of the God of the Bible your entrance to heaven will not be judged on anything you have done, it will be judged by what Jesus did. Really take the time to meditate on this: the false gods of other religions demand you give up your life for them. The God of the Bible gave up His life for you. In other religions you give your life as a ransom to your demonic god. In Christianity Jesus “gave himself as a ransom for all.”

There is one God and his desire is that you put your faith in Him that you may have eternal life. He gave his life for you and is offering to give you His righteousness. Will you accept the gift that has been offered?

The Word of God

In order to get a better understanding of Christianity I am going to be writing a series of short papers on the basics of the faith. I'm going to be going straight through Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology so almost everything will be taken from there. This is not an attempt to come up with anything new or add to Grudem's work. A lot will be taken word for word from the text so please don't be offended if you feel I'm plagarizing, I'm just trying to get a better understanding of what I believe and writing it down helps. So, here is the first topic on the word of God:

In Christian circles we hear the term “the word of God” a lot. But what does that actually mean? What are we referring to when we say “the word of God”? In this short paper I will attempt an explanation of what “the word of God” refers to and cite several passages of Scripture to back up my explanation.

The first thing “the word of God” can refer to is Jesus himself. In this instance “the word of God” refers to a person. In Revelation 19:13 we see that “He (Jesus) is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” In John’s Gospel we also see Jesus referred to as “the Word”. Chapter one verse one tells us “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then in verse 14 John tells us “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” Jesus “has the role of communicating the character of God to us and of expressing the will of God for us.”

The second thing “the word of God” can refer to is actual speech by God the Father. We see this in a few forms. God speaks in decrees, or orders as we see in the creation account of the first chapter of Genesis. Psalm 33:6 also tells us:

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

God’s decrees cause something to happen or make things come into being.

God also sometimes addresses man personally. This is seen in Scripture when man hears the actual voice of God. Examples include God speaking to Adam in Genesis 2:16-17 and 3:16-19. God audibly spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai in giving the Ten Commandments. In the New Testament we see God speaking at the baptism of Jesus when He says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Additionally, God chooses human lips through which He speaks. Throughout Scripture God raises up prophets to proclaim His word to His people. Although human lips physically speak these words they still carry the weight and authority as being the word of God. Deuteronomy 18:18-20 tells us:

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.

Similarly in Jeremiah 1:9 we read, “Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.’” As I said earlier God’s word spoken through human lips carries the same authority as if coming from God himself. “To disbelieve or disobey any of them was to disbelieve or disobey God himself”

Lastly God’s words are also in written form (the Bible). The first instance of this written form was found in the Ten Commandments: “And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Ex. 31:8). “The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets” (Ex. 32:16). Men appointed by God beginning with Moses did further recording of God’s word. “Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel (Deut. 31:9). “And Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord (Josh. 24:26). God commanded Isaiah “And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever (Isa. 30:8). Likewise God commanded Jeremiah “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you” (Jer. 30:2).

In the New Testament we see the authors writing with the same authority as the writers of the Old Testament. In 2 Peter we see Peter referring to Paul’s writings as Scripture, referring to the books of the Old Testament:

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Likewise in 1 Timothy 5:18 we read, “For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer deserves his wages.’” The first part of that quote is taken from the Old Testament (Deut 25:4) and the latter from the New Testament (Luke 10:7) although both are referred to as “Scripture.” “Once again it must be noted that these words are still considered to be God’s own words, even though they are written down mostly by human beings and always in human language.”

Three major benefits arise from the recording or writing down of God’s word. First, there is a more accurate presentation of God’s word for future generations. Second, the opportunity to continually read, review, and test God’s word is available in written form. And lastly, God’s word in written form is much more accessible to many more people than when it can only be proclaimed through oral repetition.

To review, “the word of God” can be used to refer to Jesus himself, who is the Word incarnate, or “in the flesh”. It can also be used to speech by God in the forms of decrees which cause things to happen or create out of nothing (ex nihilo), personal address by God in which His voice is audible, speech through human lips like those of the prophets, and speech in the form of His written word, the Bible.

Thoughts on 1 Timothy 2:3-4

"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

"Evangelistic prayer for all people is rooted in the fact that God desires all people to be saved. It appears that Paul is countering an exclusivist tendency in the false teachers or at least their downplaying of the importance of evangelizing the Gentiles (along with their emphasis on the Jewish law). This statement figures prominently in theological disagreements over the extent of the atonement. It cannot be read as suggesting that everyone will be saved (universalism) because the rest of the letter makes it clear that some will not be saved (4:1; 5:24; 6:10; cf. Matt. 25:30, 41, 46; Rev. 14:9–11)” (Neste, 2008).

This is a controversial verse which many who hold to Arminian theology will argue opposes predestination. The question becomes can God desire something that does not come to pass? The answer is clearly yes. It is clear that God loves all men and Paul’s statement here that God desires all men to be save is completely in line with God’s character. God does not want anyone to perish, but that they would sincerely repent (cf. Ezek 33:11). 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Although God desires all people trust in Him, it is clear from the rest of Paul’s letter to Timothy that some will not be saved (4:1; 5:24; 6:10; cf. Matt. 25:30, 41, 46; Rev. 14:9–11).

How then do we reconcile God’s desire for all to be saved with the fact that not all people are saved? John Calvin states that by “all people” in this current context “the Apostle (Paul) simply means, that there is no people and no rank in the world that is excluded from salvation; because God wishes that the gospel be proclaimed to all without exception. The present discourse relates to classes of men, not to individual persons; for his sole object is, to include in this number princes and foreign nations.” So “all people” here is referring to all types of people, all classes of people, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, sinners and saints.

R.C. Sproul says “the Lord desires one thing more than the salvation of all – His glory (Isa 48:11). In one sense, God can truly want all who have ever lived to be saved; however, this desire always defers to His will to glorify Himself, the will in view when the Bible says His will is always done. The Lord is glorified when sin is punished in hell, and so God’s supreme desire is met even when people are not redeemed.”

However one understands the extent of the atonement, this passage clearly teaches the free and universal offer of the gospel to every single human being; “desires” shows that this offer is a bona fide expression of God's good will.