“It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” Matthew 15:11.
Gossip.
It’s big business.
Just look at the grocery store rags like “The National Enquirer”, or any of those other papers of that ilk. How about the celebrity gossip shows on TV such as Entertainment Tonight and the reality shows like Big Brother, Survivor, The Bachelor, or any of the others. These shows trade on real time gossip. Voyeurism brought into our living rooms. The gossip media preys on the worst part of our human nature. The part that wants to see someone hurt. Gossip is a horrible thing.
As Christians we should be furious any time we hear gossip because it’s 180 degrees away from how we’re supposed to behave. The Bible has a lot to say about gossip; and none of it is good.
Proverbs 16:28 (NIV), “A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.”
Proverbs 20:19, (KJV) He that goeth about as a talebearer (gossip) revealeth secrets. Therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.”
Proverbs 26:20 (NIV), “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.”
James 3: 5 - 6 (Living Bible), “…the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A great forest can be set on fire by one tiny spark. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness, and poisons every part of the body. And the tongue is set on fire by hell itself, and can turn our whole lives into a blazing flame of destruction and disaster.”
Matthew 12: 34 – 36, “…a man’s heart determines his speech. A good man’s speech reveals the rich treasures within him. An evil-hearted man is filled with venom, and his speech reveals it…And I tell you this, that you must give an account on Judgment Day for every idle word you speak. Your words now reflect your fate then: either you will be justified by them or condemned.”
Each one of us is here as part of the Body of Christ to love and care for one another. We are here to bring others to Christ through our witness and our example. Is gossip the kind of example we wish to present to others? The words in the Book of Proverbs are quite specific. Gossip serves only to harm others. Its only purpose is to tear someone down. Gossip doesn’t care about what is true and what is false. It only seeks to harm. In the general parlance of today we must ask the question: “How Christian is that?” The answer is, “It’s not Christian at all!”
We hear in the quote from James just how powerful and vile gossip is and just what damage it does to others as well as ourselves. Jesus is no less specific. He says that our speech reveals how we behave and who we really are inside. If we truly love others and care for them as we should, people will be able to hear that in the way we talk. If we are evil with a vile heart inside our speech shows that as well. Jesus also warns us that evil speech and gossip will be dealt with harshly at our judgment.
How can we build the church if we’re tearing others down? Have you ever visited a church several times and decided not to make it your church home because of gossip and division that you witnessed?
We are called to be greater than gossip. As the Body of Christ we are called to love, not hate; help not harm. The next time you’re tempted to talk about others in a negative way, or someone tries to draw you into such a conversation ask yourself these questions:
1. Are we talking about ways we can help this person?
2. Is our speech lifting this person up or tearing them down?
3. If this person walked into the room, would I stop talking?
Someone needs to explain to me how gossip fulfills the second great commandment in Jesus’ Summary of the Law: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Gossip flies in the face of Jesus’ teaching and should not be tolerated by us, His children. We are each made in the image and likeness of God. Each of us is called to imitate Christ in our daily lives. Don’t be known as a gossiper and don’t participate in it when it’s going on. Don’t allow yourself to be defiled by gossip.
“Let your so light shine before men that they may see your good works (and words) and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Soul is the Sole Reason for the Incarnation
Easter Sunday was last week and what a wonderful day of joy it is for all us Christians! It’s hard for me as a Christian to understand how the resurrection of Jesus could be seen as anything other than the greatest event in history. I mean, I might be a simple guy, but it seems to me that when eternal life is available to me through Christ’s death and resurrection I should sit up, take notice, and celebrate. After all, that’s no small thing. However, to rejoice in the resurrection is to also accept the reason why it needed to occur at all. Of course, I’m talking about the Fall of Adam and the sin which is part of our lives as human beings.
The soul is the sole reason for the Incarnation. The salvation of mankind from sin and death is the reason Christ’s incarnation was necessary. After all, if there’s no sin, then there’s no reason for the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus. If the entire world is sweetness and light, if we’re all basically good people at heart, if all we need to do is be good to others, then we really don’t need Jesus. We can do this all on our own. It seems the current Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church seems to hold this belief. Just look at her statement in Parabola, Spring 2007 as quoted in the report of the American Anglican Council: “The question is always how can we get beyond our own narrow self-interest and see that our salvation lies in attending to the needs of other people.” O.K., so all I need to do is work in a soup kitchen and I’m good to go! Right? Oh, gosh, that’s just wrong on so many levels.
First it denies Original Sin and the basic fallen nature of mankind. It denies the need for a savior at all. In fact, it says we are our own saviors. We don’t need Jesus. This is not a new idea. Back in the fourth century a monk named Pelagius thought the same thing. Basically, he said that the Fall had no effect on human nature and therefore there was no need for divine grace. Well, I don’t think he was a very observant person because the fallen nature of man and the impact of sin have always been readily observable to anyone with eyes to see. (Must have been that cloistered monk thing.) The rose colored glasses this provides keeps us from looking at ourselves and others realistically. It can cause us to deny our sins and rationalize our behaviors. If mean, if the Fall had no effect on us, then we’re pretty much perfect as human beings right now….right? I guess we mess up now and then, but we can fix it by donating old clothes to the poor. According to Bishop Schori, we’re attending to the needs of others and therein lies our salvation.
This is such self-involved nonsense that it goes beyond the pale. It not only reduces Jesus’ death to an inconsequential act, it denies God’s judgment. It’s part of the slippery slope to the “feel good” gospel. You know what I’m talking about. I’m O.K., you’re O.K., God loves us anyway, so let’s just focus on the good stuff. We don’t need to think about all of that unpleasant bad stuff that can happen because we’re basically good anyway. Why focus on negative things when we can just look at the positive side? What can’t we all just feel good? There are lots of "feel good" preachers out there today and they're making a lot of money telling people what they want to hear. Giving motivational speeches instead of the truth of the cross.
The theologian H. Richard Niebuhr criticized the “feel good” gospel when he said, “…a God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” In one sentence, Dr. Neibuhr has told us what’s wrong with the “feel good” gospel. It denies God as a Father who cares about us and can be angry with us when we separate ourselves from Him through sin. The “feel good” gospel takes away from us a Trinity that saves us and replaces it with pabulum that salves our conscience and minimizes our faults.
You know what? I don’t want anyone minimizing my sins. I’m a normal human being which means I sin like everyone else. I don’t want to hear that I’m my own savior. I don’t want to hear I can fix it myself. Just like everyone else, I’m lousy at the job. I want to know that my God loves me in spite of my errors. That Christ loved me enough to die for me. I want to know that Christ’s sacrifice means something. I want to know that no matter how I distance myself from God, I’m always welcome home. I need a savior. You need a savior.
Don’t buy the pabulum of the “feel good” gospel. So many churches are trying to sell it these days because it fills the pews. It might fill the pews, but it does nothing to save our souls. It’s a lie that denies who Jesus really is and why He became man. It tricks us into looking at ourselves for salvation rather than looking to Christ. Don’t be fooled. Wake up! We need a savior and we’ve got one!
The soul is the sole reason for the Incarnation. The salvation of mankind from sin and death is the reason Christ’s incarnation was necessary. After all, if there’s no sin, then there’s no reason for the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus. If the entire world is sweetness and light, if we’re all basically good people at heart, if all we need to do is be good to others, then we really don’t need Jesus. We can do this all on our own. It seems the current Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church seems to hold this belief. Just look at her statement in Parabola, Spring 2007 as quoted in the report of the American Anglican Council: “The question is always how can we get beyond our own narrow self-interest and see that our salvation lies in attending to the needs of other people.” O.K., so all I need to do is work in a soup kitchen and I’m good to go! Right? Oh, gosh, that’s just wrong on so many levels.
First it denies Original Sin and the basic fallen nature of mankind. It denies the need for a savior at all. In fact, it says we are our own saviors. We don’t need Jesus. This is not a new idea. Back in the fourth century a monk named Pelagius thought the same thing. Basically, he said that the Fall had no effect on human nature and therefore there was no need for divine grace. Well, I don’t think he was a very observant person because the fallen nature of man and the impact of sin have always been readily observable to anyone with eyes to see. (Must have been that cloistered monk thing.) The rose colored glasses this provides keeps us from looking at ourselves and others realistically. It can cause us to deny our sins and rationalize our behaviors. If mean, if the Fall had no effect on us, then we’re pretty much perfect as human beings right now….right? I guess we mess up now and then, but we can fix it by donating old clothes to the poor. According to Bishop Schori, we’re attending to the needs of others and therein lies our salvation.
This is such self-involved nonsense that it goes beyond the pale. It not only reduces Jesus’ death to an inconsequential act, it denies God’s judgment. It’s part of the slippery slope to the “feel good” gospel. You know what I’m talking about. I’m O.K., you’re O.K., God loves us anyway, so let’s just focus on the good stuff. We don’t need to think about all of that unpleasant bad stuff that can happen because we’re basically good anyway. Why focus on negative things when we can just look at the positive side? What can’t we all just feel good? There are lots of "feel good" preachers out there today and they're making a lot of money telling people what they want to hear. Giving motivational speeches instead of the truth of the cross.
The theologian H. Richard Niebuhr criticized the “feel good” gospel when he said, “…a God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” In one sentence, Dr. Neibuhr has told us what’s wrong with the “feel good” gospel. It denies God as a Father who cares about us and can be angry with us when we separate ourselves from Him through sin. The “feel good” gospel takes away from us a Trinity that saves us and replaces it with pabulum that salves our conscience and minimizes our faults.
You know what? I don’t want anyone minimizing my sins. I’m a normal human being which means I sin like everyone else. I don’t want to hear that I’m my own savior. I don’t want to hear I can fix it myself. Just like everyone else, I’m lousy at the job. I want to know that my God loves me in spite of my errors. That Christ loved me enough to die for me. I want to know that Christ’s sacrifice means something. I want to know that no matter how I distance myself from God, I’m always welcome home. I need a savior. You need a savior.
Don’t buy the pabulum of the “feel good” gospel. So many churches are trying to sell it these days because it fills the pews. It might fill the pews, but it does nothing to save our souls. It’s a lie that denies who Jesus really is and why He became man. It tricks us into looking at ourselves for salvation rather than looking to Christ. Don’t be fooled. Wake up! We need a savior and we’ve got one!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
