There’s a shofar (trumpet) sale going on now at Israel-Catalog.com if you want to check it out. Get a jump on finding a shofar for the Feast of Trumpets coming soon. We also use them at the start of Sabbath, Yom Kippur, every day of Tabernacles, and whenever we feel like it. We have the giant Yemenite shofars which are a little hard for kids to blow but our grandkids are managing to learn.
Speaking Evil
What does it mean to speak evil of someone? Jesus spoke some heavy things about the religious leaders in Matthew 23. He said they were “hypocrites,” “whitewashed tombs” full of dead men’s bones, “son(s) of hell,” “blind guides,” that they loved places of honor, blocked the way into the kingdom refusing to enter themselves, and added to men’s burdens not lifting a finger to help among other things. So was this speaking evil? I don’t think so. What the leaders were doing was evil, and Jesus just called them out for it.
The modern meaning of speaking evil is somewhat different. Mostly it means saying something someone doesn’t like. As long as we speak in generalities, it’s acceptable to the people of the world. If we name names however, make it personal, then they don’t like it and we are probably going to be accused of speaking evil. Not that we are, just that we are accused. For instance I can say that some leaders block entrance into the kingdom. But if I say that, oh, Joel Osteen blocks entrance into the kingdom yet refuses to enter himself, then people get upset.
I get people mad at me because I’m somewhere in between. What I will say is if a person doesn’t follow the Word then he’s a wolf or whitewashed tomb or some of those other things that the Messiah said. I don’t make it personal by calling names. But I do make it personal by saying something like, “If people observe Easter and/or don’t observe Passover, then they are false teachers (hypocrites, tombs, blind guides, etc.). They are not Scriptural.” That way I’m not naming names, but I am holding up the leader’s work to the light of Scripture.
It’s amazing the number of people that get upset when you merely point out that they are not following Scripture. A lot of times the rebuttal is that following the whole of the Word (including Passover for instance) is “just a matter of opinion.” I’ll be told I “can’t throw stones” because I’m not without sin. This is not true (the stones part, not the sin part). The “can’t throw stones if sinful” doctrine is a false one so it’s not a surprise that evil people use it as a defense. The “opinions” defense is also wrong because the Word is clear. Speaking God’s Word is not evil. Intentional or not, it is the insistence on steering people away from God’s living oracles that is evil.
Speaking the Word, or pointing out how people are not following it, is not evil. People doing wrong (against the Word) are evil. People who tell me I’m not supposed to follow God’s Word are evil. Like a lot of words in modern times meanings have been reversed. Good has become evil, and evil has become good in the thinking of evil people.
Seek First the Kingdom
What does it mean to “seek first” the kingdom of God, and His righteousness? Seek is an active word, not a passive word. Seeking means to keep going until you find what you are looking for. It is not half-hearted effort, poking around in convenient places with a toe or a finger. It is a whole body effort, straining to move heavy objects if they get in the way or pushing past people who might try to stop you. Seeking gets to be single-minded, forgetting everything in the urge to find what is being sought.
To place something first means to give it priority over everything else. Coupled with the word “seek” Jesus is saying the kingdom and God’s righteousness are before everything else in our lives. Even food and clothes. All activities or goals or plans or priorities get subordinated to the kingdom and God’s righteousness. Placing these things first frames our life, informs every decision, and drives all the other parts of living. We ask ourselves if what we are doing or where we are going will take us further or get us closer to the number one thing on our priority list. We don’t let anything as mundane as food or clothing stop us from attaining our goal.
His kingdom is His household, and His righteousness is outlined for us in His Law.
And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? (Deuteronomy 4:8, ESV)
The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness’ sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious. (Isaiah 42:21, ESV)
For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. (Romans 2:13, ESV)
If you have to find your car keys before going to the store for groceries you tend to seek in ways that you wouldn’t if you were just looking for dropped popcorn between seat cushions. Take out your “To Do” list (or lists). Put God’s kingdom and righteousness at the top. Does it change the items on your list? Does it change your priorities? Does it characterize things differently? Do you begin asking yourself if the other things on the list will help you realize the one at the top? Or do you just skip over it or put it off for another day like a trip to the hardware store?
Whence Cometh Whole Bible Christianity?
We didn’t set out to “create” whole Bible Christianity. We stumbled across it as we were searching through many existing church ideas and congregations for truth over the years. In some ways we were forced to whole Bible Christianity because in our search for truth we were rejected by the standard church on a regular basis. “If you’re not being ministered to here then you need to find a place where you can be ministered to” is a fairly common way to tell people to hit the road.
The love that many in the church preach lasted only as long as we agreed with the power structure. “Unconditional love” and “tolerance” are for those who don’t make waves or rock the boat with pesky questions like “Where does that teaching come from in the Bible” or “Why aren’t we doing what the Bible clearly says to do?”
At one time we thought the Messianic movement had a great chance of reaching a lot of disaffected people with the message of the whole Bible. Sadly they haven’t been up to the task. They have become so distracted by genetics, Judaism, language, divine invitations and the like that God’s Word is getting neglected as badly as in the church. In some ways they make the craziest people in the church look orthodox by comparison. Even the people closest to sticking with the whole Bible get lost in Jewish tradition.
So in a way it is the existing structure of church and Judaism that has led to our rediscovery of whole Bible Christianity. We don’t want a separate movement, but they do. We want access to God without intermediaries telling us their version of truth and chastising us if we deviate. In reaching for God we don’t want our hands slapped by people who see a threat to their power. We’re tired of getting our hooves torn off, being maimed and malnourished. It isn’t our fault that we’ve wandered away from dry and grassless desert hungering and thirsting after soul-satisfying food and drink. We’ve found green pastures beside still waters in whole Bible Christianity, and we ain’t goin’ back.
Take A Stand
When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. (John 12:9–11, ESV)
So not only were the religious leaders of the Jews plotting to kill Jesus, they also wanted to remove the evidence that Jesus was really who He said He was. There might be just a teeny bit of a reason for killing Jesus in the fact that He claimed to be equal with God and maybe some blindness on the part of the leaders is expected. And Jesus asks the Father from the cross to forgive them because they “know not what they do.”
However, this is not the case with plotting to include Lazarus in the festivities. The only thing Lazarus did wrong was coming out of the grave when Jesus told him to. Nothing in the Law could be used to persecute him; they just decided to do it anyway. Probably because they thought of themselves as doing a favor for God. This shows how the Law was typically used and abused by people without love. The hearts of the leaders were filled with hate and jealousy, so the use of the Law was false. They used it in a false way to condemn Jesus, and just ditched it when it didn’t suit their purposes. Either way, the Law was not in their hearts. We get a pretty complete picture of this in these three references close together in John 12.
So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.” (John 12:19, ESV)
If love for God’s Word was in their hearts, they would’ve rejoiced that the world was going after Him. Instead, they were upset that no one wanted to listen to them. They were tweezed that they were losing “their place” (John 11:48). This explains why John the Baptist, though a priest, worked outside of the system in the desert.
Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. (John 12:42–43, ESV)
The leaders used the fear of being put out of the synagogue (life revolved around it more then) to keep people in line with their perverted version of God’s Word. Some of the leaders had a chance at something different. At this point they chickened out, but hopefully later they realized the error of their ways. Sooner or later we have to take a stand. We can’t let the bullies who threaten us with cutting off fellowship in whatever form keep us from saying and doing what is right. People with hate in their hearts, who twist the Word for their own purposes, even if they are in leadership positions in the church, have to be opposed. Take your stand on the Word at all times no matter what the risk.
“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. (John 16:1–4, ESV)
Judas, Compassionate Betrayer
But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12:4–6, ESV)
Lots of people are trying to make Jesus into some kind of social worker concerned with redistribution of wealth like any good liberal. However, if you want a biblical picture of a liberal, look no further than Judas Iscariot.
It appears on the surface as if Judas is very compassionate. He is compassionate about the poor. He is compassionate about redistributing money and a fair share. But mostly he is compassionate about Judas. He is like today’s liberal politician or Christian – he is very compassionate about other people’s money. Mostly so he can get his cut. He looks at the pure nard perfume as a cash windfall, and wants to use compassion for the poor as a cover for getting his fingers on it. He tries to lay a guilt trip on Mary about the waste and the expense so he can slip a few coins into his own pocket, and makes himself look holier-than-thou in the process.
The bottom line is he is the one who is guilty of theft, betrayal and hypocrisy. Interesting how those tend to go together. He looks like a believer but underneath his whitewash the love of money drives him to steal and eventually sell out our Messiah Jesus. So many today are spiritual descendants of this man. On the surface they look holy and spout biblical one-liners like they really mean them. Yet they betray Jesus with every dollar pinched and every selfish agenda pushed. Hands are in the cookie jar or held out for a 30-piece “fair share” payoff while pious lips stridently preach concern for others. They have no intention of practicing what they preach. Secretly they sell Jesus out by trading His precious Word for the kingdoms of the world. And look good doing it too.
Funny how Jesus didn’t do anything about it at the time. He just kept feeding Judas rope until he had enough to hang himself.
Teacher Born in Sin
Some of the most complex or hard to understand ideas are understood and accepted by the most uneducated of people. The man born blind in John 9 is a case in point. He was healed of his blindness by Jesus, and knew exactly why.
The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. (John 9:30–34, ESV)
The educated (and to their own minds sinless) religious leaders of the time couldn’t seem to figure it out. More likely they knew but refused to accept. Not so different from so many today who are blind though their eyes work perfectly fine.
Education has a place, but when it feeds an overweening pride it blinds. Here the blind people cast a man who could see out of the congregation (synagogue). We see the same effect today – blind people are casting those of us who can see whole Bible principles out of congregations. So the congregations are made up mostly of blind people. Proof that the religious leaders were not following God’s Word was in the fact they didn’t know from whence Jesus came and refused to follow His teachings.
The blind are convinced they have no sin, and attack any who imply different. The couldn’t biblically dismantle the formerly blind guy’s teaching, so they attacked his character and hit him with the worst they could dish out. Except it didn’t do anything, because he went right back to Jesus and worshiped Him (verse 38).
If your eyes work as they should, worship of Jesus including doing what He did is the natural result. He did what the Father told Him to do, and people who can see are right in line with that. Getting kicked out of the congregation is no indicator of sin or sinlessness. In fact, it might be an indication that your eyesight is very clear.
The Word is a Mirror
Some try to peddle the falsehood that because there is some “bad stuff” in the Bible that it is God who is promoting or responsible for it. Bad stuff is different for different people. Some don’t like God’s judging of homosexuals. Some think that because bad people did bad things like rape or murder it must be God’s fault because He didn’t stop it. But every person who makes this kind of judgment gets it wrong. They blame God when they should be blaming people for not following what God, the source of life and love, commands.
If a person thinks God is hard, or mean, or unjust, or approves evil, it’s because those things are in their own hearts. The Bible merely reflects what is inside. Since God doesn’t sit or roll over or jump through hoops or bark on command like a circus dog for them, they pass judgment on His methods and motives as if they were in His place. Secretly they buy into Satan’s vision of “be like God,” and judging Him is one way of trying to get there.
People have one of two reactions when they read His Word – humility or pride. The prideful heart looks in the mirror, rejects the reflection of his own heart, judges God and says, “I will not accept what you are saying about me.” The humble heart sees his evil reflected and says, “Father, have mercy on me a sinner. Forgive me for the sake of your Son’s sacrifice.”
All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2, ESV)
Who is Whole Bible?
Since we started using the name whole Bible Christian in the early 2000’s, we’ve gradually seen somewhat of an increase in other groups who use the name too. Some use it for sermon titles, while others claim the designation for their church. A church in the UK uses a website address of wholelifewholebible. There’s a church in California (led by a former friend no less) that uses a tag line of “The whole Bible, a whole Christian, the whole World.”
Of course, whole Bible is not a new concept. A.W. Tozer for instance gives us a famous quote that “nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” Lots of people and groups have thought of themselves as believing in the whole Bible through out history.
Pharisees are an obvious example of a group practicing “whole Bible” belief. Except while they “believed” the whole Bible they still crucified the Messiah. Lots of people want to use the name “Christian” too but having the name tag is as far as it goes.
Using the term is not enough. Just like using the name “Christian” is not enough to make it into the kingdom (nor is claiming “Jewish” ancestry). To be “whole Bible” is to do everything God speaks. It is to abide in every word from Him. Whole Bible belief includes whole Bible behavior. It means looking for reasons to do what He says as we discover it rather than making up excuses, or holding to a belief in men’s doctrines according to the elemental spirits of the world (Colossians 2). It includes repentance when we falter, and renewed commitment to eat His body and drink His blood (take in His Words and do them) on a daily basis.
It makes sense that people would want to claim this term for themselves. If one person says they are “whole Bible Christian” then that implies that there are people who are not. No one wants to be pinned down to a “part Bible” belief, though it might be prominent in their lives.
Like the UK church or the one in California, a woman told me she was whole Bible but “not like you.” She meant that she “believes” the whole Bible but that she didn’t observe God’s holy days or modify her diet according to God’s living oracles as I do, among other things. How she manages to say this with a straight face I’ll never know. She, like many, sits in judgment on the Word using the fruit from the tree of knowledge to pick and choose what she’s willing to accept from Him. Unfortunately, this is how she looks at the whole Bible, too. Her attitude of picking and choosing is also apparent in her practice of mercy, justice and compassion. She wants to sit at the table, but is fastidious in her choice of bread and wine. She wants to be at the banquet, but doesn’t want to wear the clothes (Matthew 22:1-14). Lots of people are like this. There’s another ancient name we can use for them too, besides Pharisee.
Hypocrite.
The Measure We Use…
The measure we use with God’s Word is the same one He uses for blessings. If we measure out small, incomplete portions of His Word, our blessings come back to us the same way.
You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. (Haggai 1:6, ESV)