“When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 1:8
As believers we are called to give our best to God, but do we? Or like the priests in Malachi’s day, do we give God only what we don’t want. They were sacrificing blind and lame animals to God and taking the best for themselves. We no longer offer animal sacrifices but we are told to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God.1 Do we give God our best, or do we give him the rest? How do we spend our time? Everyone knows about tithing our money, do we tithe our time? Do we spend 10% of our day (2.4 hours) Seeking God, studying the scriptures, or evangelizing? If not we should consider our ways.
We are told to love God with all our mind2, how much of our mind is occupied in studying theology, wrestling through scriptural truth, and memorizing scriptures? Men, if you can remember all the stats of your favorite athletes, but can’t clearly explain the gospel, you should be ashamed. Women, if you know all about Oprah, but don’t have a clue about Orpha, you are investing your time foolishly. I will set no wicked thing before my eyes 3 declares the psalmist, do we watch wicked things? If so Christ warns that our whole body will be full of darkness.4 Paul the apostle declares you are not your own, for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.5
If we are his disciples we must put him first, give him our best, and seek first his kingdom.
I am vividly aware this book has been reviewed probably thousands upon thousands of times, I am writing about it nonetheless, probably for the same reason so many other people have written about it…it is worth doing.
As an avid reader, I must state that this book is not for everyone. I have read reviews by Christians who suggest that it is a, “Must read.” While I generally agree with the sentiment, I also recognize that this is a difficult book. Many of the things said require a lot of thought. Not only do they require a lot of thought, but you have to be able to maintain a large mental log of points, because Chesterton takes about seventy pages to develop his thesis. Not only that, but understanding some of his metaphors require some heavy mental boulder rolling, but it is calorie burning work, so it is certainly worth the effort.
The first seventy pages will cause many to wonder, “Where is he going with all these odd fractured points?” I did this exact thing numerous times during my read, but he kept me going with many worthwhile quotable quotes, and barn-burning statements. On occasions he rev’s his thesis’ engine with unique and entertaining humor. All the while his observations made me feel as if I was seeing the world through the eyes of a six year old philosophical savant who also happened to be writing probably one of the greater apologetics penned.
When at first you try to wrap your mind around his thesis you will probably feel like a car does when it gets its front end wrapped around a tree. I hope you have a lot of bondo and carnauba wax. The scope of this book reminded me of project “Deep Impact,” where NASA hit a comet with a satellite, due to the difficulty of Chesterton’s thesis which was almost as complex to resolve as hitting a philosophical comet 83 million miles away. Somehow he does it though, with striking clarity, if you are able to not jump off his train of thought.
Chesterton literally mows the forest of humanist philosophy with the fortitude and efficiency of Paul Bunyan. His axe takes two or three trees at a blow, and does not relent from cover to cover. I was stunned to realize that he had cut down trees which have found root and re-growth in the some of the institutional church today. And herein lies the reason I want to recommend this book. There are many things we believe with nonchalance, because we have been told to believe them. We need to get our truth from truth, and Chesterton expends all his effort like a blacksmith in the foundries of war by reminding us that Christ is the truth.
There has never been a book of theology, or apologetics, that made me cheer or cry…but this one did. At one point I jumped out of my chair and pumped my fist and wished to high heaven there was someone to share the moment with me. The last two chapters actually had my eyes leaking a bit, and my heart threatened to beat itself out of my ribcage. It is far from often, dare I say never, that apologetics does this. Either I am twisted weird, or this book was actually that good.
The one thing I observed is that Chesterton keeps his quotes from the bible to a bare minimum, but I think he does this for a reason. I almost can picture that the thesis and conclusion are like the great pyramid of Egypt that he is slaving to build, and once built he places at its top, a great golden pinnacle which is the scripture he references. I think that it actually makes the passages he quotes beautiful in a unique way. Almost as if he is endeavoring to give the bible its right place at the top, by building his analysis underneath the power of the word. Another way of looking at it is like he is a man holding a torch aloft in a dark cave for many to find their way back to the light.
This is definitely a great book to read, Orthodoxy is one of the most adventurous and daring books on Christian Apologetics ever written, hands down.
Since this book is largely Chesterton’s personal testimony, it is worth being reminded that, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lived unto the death.”-Revelation 12:11
This book is posted online for free at this catholic website, I however never recommend reading books online, it is bad for the future employment of wood chips, and I am an equal opportunity wood chip employment advocate, unless of course you cannot afford it, or plan to buy it later anyhow. If you are also a revolutionary like I am you can buy the real deal here, from the American Chesterton Society.
The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. Proverbs 28:1
Why is there such timidity in our lives today? Rather that demonstrating the power of the gospel, by the power of the Spirit, we tend to lob Christianity with all the conviction of a softball pitch. We commonly tip-toe around bold truth in order to avoid offending unbelievers and we talk to them in an apologetic tone, what is wrong with us? Do we see anything like this in the life of Elijah, Paul, or Jesus Christ? No! Why not?
I would suggest to you that the answer is staring us in the face. It is my fear that the church today is filled with primarily tares and lost sheep, sin is the norm. Jesus warned that whoever relaxed one of his commandments would be the least in the kingdom of heaven, yet pastor and parishioner do it with impunity today. We love our sin and in refusing to turn from it, the church has become quite fearful.
When we give ourselves free license to sin, we are simultaneously quenching the spirit, and spiritually emasculating ourselves. If we want any boldness, vigor, or life we must stop compromising. Jesus proclaims, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”1 What does this mean to us? Simply this; if we pray to God to help us to overcome the big sins in our life, while excusing the small ones with clever phrases like “that isn’t my conviction, bro”, we are deceived and should not be surprised when we experience constant spiritual defeat.
To live the victorious Christian life we must repent, turn from our sins and follow God. We cannot give ourselves permission to indulge in the “little” sins, or the “big” sins will not have dominion over us. If we were totally unable to resist sin Paul would not have told us “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts“.2 So we must follow James guidance and Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.3
If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. I Corinthians 13:2
In the pursuit of divine truth, a right, deep, and full understanding of the scriptures, there is a great hazard that must be avoided…failing to love! The scripture proclaims countless times, the centrality of love, and the priority of love. ”If I have not love I am nothing.” In rebuking the Pharisees Christ proclaimed “Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.1 How can we get so focused on splitting every doctrinal hair that we leave our central calling as Christians ignored? Jesus compared this theological gaffe to straining out gnats while swallowing camels, I think he was trying to make a very strong point.
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.2 I am told that when Hitler was taking over Germany the theologians were all arguing over how long the draperies should be. Have we missed the baby by seeking to thoroughly study the bathwater? We may know the correct temperature, the exact well it came from, and whether or not it contained any E-coli but to what avail! All of the law and prophets hang on love. And if we lack love, no matter how much theology we know, our very salvation is in doubt for this is the sign of our authenticity.
. . . Who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Romans 9:20
Why does modern man consider himself in a position to judge God? Let me explain what I mean…when I attempt to dialogue with unbelievers, they will often point to something about the Christian Faith, that seems unfair or illogical to them (such as God sending anyone other than Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and George W. Bush to hell) and then they will say something to the effect of . . . Aha! This does not make sense, therefore God doesn’t exist, and you are a fool! They suppose that because something seems unfair or illogical to them, it cannot be true. This is a giant leap indeed, very little in the world is fair, or logical. Some men grow tall, others stay short, is that fair? Some women are born beautiful; others are not, is this fair? Some children in Africa, born to mothers with AIDS become orphans shortly after birth, others are born to rich Americans, and are doted upon and spoiled from birth, is this fair? No! None of these things are fair, but they are all true. Fairness and truth have no necessary relationship. In other words just because it isn’t fair doesn’t mean it isn’t so.
There are many things modern science has no explanation for, last I checked there is still no reasonable explanation for how bumblebees take flight. The wings are too small to create enough thrust to get off the ground, yet it flies nonetheless. In an atom the nucleus is composed of tightly packed positively charged protons squeezed together with some neutrons, while negative electrons spin around it. The electrons are not attracted to the protons, and the protons do not repel each other. Why does the atom appear to violate understood scientific law? Could it be obeying some sort of higher law that we have yet to discover? Science’s lack of explanation for these phenomena does not mean they do not occur, it only means the explanation is beyond us. If we cannot explain these mysteries on earth, how can we presume ourselves qualified to judge God? How can we with finite brains, containing limited knowledge confidently declare God nonexistent, or the Bible untrue?
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? -Job 38:4
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said this unto thee, ye must be born again. – John 3:5-7
He only gets one chapter of scripture dedicated to him. His exploits were scandalous, but only to those with an eye to discern. He certainly lived in the shadow of others, yet he earns a judgment from on high rarely witnessed. As a matter of fact, the judgment he receives is almost entirely unique.
His name was Belshazzar. His great sin…a party. However, this festive occasion was unlike anything ever witnessed on earth. In a cosmic effort to not just keep up with the Joneses, but rather flatten any chance of their future competition. Belshazzar breaks out the furniture stolen from the temple in Jerusalem prior to the Jewish captivity in Babylon. Those in attendance drank wine from the temple vessels and carelessly caroused; slaking their lusts with the items that Hebrews calls, “Shadow(s) of heavenly things.1”
What could be so wrong? Does not God want his blessings on display for the world to see? Would you not marvel, walking into the great dining hall and seeing the altar of sacrifice, with its blood tipped horns? Would you not think that maybe the King would find a degree of purification by washing his hands in the laver? What about the menorah? Its light would add a great degree of needed direction to a dark kingdom!
Unfortunately, for poor Belshazzar, things are about to get serious. With a great need for a new pair of pants and with his knees knocking, his party face turns a pale retched sickly color as he witnesses one of the single most unique events in the entire Bible. A hand, disconnected from any other apparatus, begins to write on the wall. After a series of events, our man Daniel tells Belshazzar what just happened. God had decided that He was done with Belshazzar, as a matter of fact, He was done with Babylon. He had been weighed, measured, and found WANTING…to top it all off the kingdom was going to be divided. As to be expected, Belshazzar was slain that very night. I guess he probably really didn’t want to know what that mean old hand had to say after all did he?
Before our eyes glaze over with the repetition of a popular passage of scripture, I think it is worth noting that, to the untrained eye, Belshazzar had all the accoutrements and trappings of religion in his possession. They were on display for everyone to see. To the modern “Christian,” I think this concept could fly past blind eyes. How happy we can be if we externally display our religion like a peacock, just to find that it is all feather and fluff. We can have all the right things to say, and can have all our pet doctrines, a license plate that says “Sav3d,” or a bumper sticker warning of the rapture. You may even be the happiest person in the world and tell everyone you know that it was Jesus that made you so, and if they would just accept Jesus they could be happy too. Happy just…like…you.
I would define the trappings of Christianity as the fruits of the Spirit, if I could do so with absolute reverence. However, the strange thing about the fruits of the Spirit, “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith,” is that they can be imitated. Not a single one of these fruits are exclusive to Christianity. I know some people are shouting at me right now…wondering how I could possibly suggest such a thing. You may even be reaching up to delete Newbereans.com from your bookmark list. Please just bear with me a moment longer.
The problem with Belshazzar’s usage of the temple vessels was that they were used from a wrong motivation and most assuredly in the wrong context, and not according to the divine “pattern 2” God had established, not to mention they were used in a sinful fashion. The Bible calls believers the temple of the Holy Spirit in 1st Corinthians 3:16. In order for the fruits of the Spirit to work according to the dictates of the Spirit, that fruit has to be budding in a Temple. Just like the furniture was only meant to be used in the ancient Temple. This process has to be done according to Gods pre-ordained pattern. In order to be the temple of the Spirit you first have to be born again. You must become a new creation in Christ, all the old things must pass and you must be made new. Without this authentic step through the narrow gate, all the “trappings” will quickly fade; your leaves will whither away if you were not really born again. This process is spiritual and must be so according to Gods pattern. If this progression of new birth is circumvented, the most terrifying truth is that we can actually pretend to be Christians our entire lives and all that will await us is the same sentiment afforded to Belshazzar. Weighed…measured…wanting. How is this possible? Because in the king’s court there was no blood, there was no sacrifice there was no priest, worst of all there was no kabod, and without any of these, there is certainly no atonement.
The furniture has to be in the Temple, under the blood, and washed clean by spirit and water, then and only then will the fruits of the spirit be nourished in a proper fashion. The only way you can be not weighed, measured and found wanting is to be in Christ. Marvel not that this has been said unto thee.
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
-Colossians 1:16-18
If we do not apply this understanding to our theology, our foundation will always be slightly askew. If the house is just crooked enough to be perceived, we may wonder why it is so displeasing to the eye. Or we may marvel at how ramshackle it is. For without a high view of God, there is not a glimmer of hope that our lives can manifest His true glory. It is a familiar temptation for me to jump to the physical implications of this passage and miss the yawning chasm of deep soaking truth. We and every other bit of matter, right down to the up-quark and charm-quark are made by Him, and for Him. This means that we are here for His pleasure and His alone. We may find deep satisfaction in giving our souls over to His Lordship; however we must never forget that His glory is the ultimate purpose for each breath escaping our lips.
This means we must look at every intrusion of God into history, and recognize that every grace and judgment he presents to Eve’s children, are for the purpose of Him getting the glory He deserves. The death and resurrection of Christ, while for your salvation, and redemption, is under the umbrella of Gods ultimate purpose of glorifying His name. This is so that He, the Son of God, will receive the every last concentrated ounce of preeminence.
The Messiah was God come in the flesh to be seen by human kind. The Messiah was man subjected completely to God. The two coalesced into one as they were on display for the world to see. If God was one cord, the Man was another, and the manifestation of the combination was a third cord, then how surely that three-fold cord cannot be broken. When the Messiah prayed, “Father, glorify thy name,” earth and its denizens hung from the very heights of heaven, and the three fold cord grew taut with all the weight and tension of the universe in between the two. Then, through the thick of it all, the voice of the Father ripped the heavens asunder with more power than all the dynamite that has ever been ignited. “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” I imagine that heaven here erupted with all the elegant thunder of Cherub praise, the elders would not be able to prevent the chorus of worship exploding within their breast; the Seraph’s wings would cover weeping eyes in complete deference. The three-fold cord was not broken, it was sure and it was strong and it was decided to be sufficient for the glorification of the Father.
Would be to God that we as those who take the name of Jesus, hopefully not in vain, upon ourselves, could get an inkling of understanding about this divine communique. Within this conversation is a galactic nuclear powerhouse of sin-wrecking, blood pumping, cross-bearing, gate of Hades crushing, impermeable truth.
Cast your spiritual pride to the four winds. Crush, by the power of the Spirit, any doubt that Christ is incapable of accomplishing His sanctification in your life. Do not think, even for a moment that Christ’s work was inadequate for your deliverance from besetting sin. If none of these things are being accomplished in your life as a Christian than you may need to take another look at Calvary. If the Messiah cannot deliver you from your addiction then he died in vain. For within these few words exchanged between the Elohim of creation, we find that Gods purpose in you is His glory, your part is to simply yield, bend, and decrease that He might increase.
. . . In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men . . . Full well you reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. . ..making the word of God of none effect through your tradition. -Mark 7:7-13
One great roadblock to Revival, and Biblical Christianity, is tradition. We have traditions that make behaviors not identified as sin, sinful. Yet we rarely preach against socially acceptable sins. I can’t remember the last time I heard a sermon decrying covetousness. Fierce nationalism is preached, but the Bible tells us we are pilgrims and strangers on this earth. Wearing hats is sinful, but gossip is fine. Tattoos are sinful, but divorce and remarriage is fine. Drinking alcohol in moderation is sinful, but covetousness . . . that’s not only fine, it’s the American way. We haven’t thrown out the baby, but we haven’t thrown out the bathwater either, instead we preach and extol the virtues of the bathwater, and minimize the baby. I’ve heard it taught that “we shouldn’t try to be like Jesus, we just need to like Jesus”; but Jesus said, I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. *
You may protest; if we don’t look to ecclesiastical tradition as our model, how will we know what the church should look like? How do we know what an authentic Christian looks like? The answer is radically simple. The scriptures! The Sermon on the Mount is a good start; Jesus clearly tells us how to act, how to think, how to pray, and how to treat our fellow man. A study through the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament will fill in the rest of what true Christianity is, and how it works. Don’t go rooting around the Old Testament to find church practice; because much of the practice of the Jews was concerned with fulfilling ceremonial law’s which as Christians we are no longer bound by. Examples of these would be sacrificing an animal when we sin, not lighting a fire on the Sabbath, and circumcision. We need to study our Bibles, to ensure that every doctrine we hold is scriptural, not merely cultural.
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. -II Timothy 2:15
To willingly place ones head on the proverbial chopping block is not really what I intend to do with this post. However, knowing human nature, some will instantaneously misinterpret what I am about to say. He who has ears to hear, will hear Gods heart from His Word, and not words according to men’s fallacious thinking.
What exactly was Sodom and Gomorrah punished for? The reactionary with an incorrectly divided viewpoint, will bring out the boiler plate and hide the china by stating, “Sodom was punished for the sexual abominations committed therein.” Granted, I understand why we jump to this conclusion so quickly, the activity of the men in the city was so obstinately rapacious towards the very angels of God, strange flesh indeed1! And while there is truth to this general observation, it is not the whole truth. This is a passage of scripture in dire need of commentary from God himself. Chapters eighteen and nineteen of Genesis do not offer it in spite of great want.
The word of the Lord came to that fascinating prophet Ezekiel, we read in chapter 16:49-50 the commentary from God on the scenario at Sodom. “Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.” It is strikingly clear from this passage that God had a view of Sodom we do not so quickly gather from the passages in Genesis. As is so often the case with scripture, we really need to rightly divide God’s word, and not jump to the first conclusion we draw. Here we see that our first impressions are only interlaced with partial truth. The whole truth is far worse! Pride…hedonism, and lack of compassion upon the unfortunate preceded abomination. The abomination was only the tip of the iceberg. All over the media, the internet, and from pulpits Christians are decrying homosexuality as the great sin of Sodom. In no way am I saying it was not a great sin; however, I am saying that we need to pull the tree out of our own eye and realize that we have been attacking the tip of the iceberg with a machete, using the grace, precision, and tact of blind zoo-monkeys. All the while, below the placid surface dwells this lurking monstrosity of iniquity. Upon which many ships are being wrecked 2. They litter the ocean floor in a jagged watery mausoleum.
Christians, pastors, activists, radio show hosts, bloggers, and anyone who cares about this issue, I plead with you. I beg that you would hear Gods heart. We need to repent; we need to take the log out of our own eye. Judgment begins in the house of God, not outside of it. Are we hedonistic in all of our pursuits? Are we filling endless hours consuming idle mediocrity? Have we forgotten to give to the cause and plight of the poor? Do we stand in the gap through prayer as much as we attempt to legislate our morality? Is legislating our morality even what we are called to do for that matter? Daniel is a man of whom the Bible mentions no sin or iniquity yet what was his prayer filled with? Repentance! Daniel pleaded Gods forgiveness for the iniquity of his people, he begged God to turn His anger away from His children, and away from Jerusalem. He was an intercessor, a man who stood in the gap, a man whom we all could learn a lot from. And certainly he was not a man pointing fingers outside himself but rather, upon his knees he took upon himself the sins of his people. This is the attitude most like our Lord, who was silent before his accusers, cognizant of the fact there was no excuse for the sin he was about to take upon himself for the sake of all those who would call upon his name.
As my beloved sons I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers. I Corinthians 4:14-15
The modern church has many members but few converts, many psychologists but few prophets, many teachers but few fathers. We have beliefs we don’t believe, practices we don’t practice, and a master we don’t obey. A pastor was never intended to be a cross between a comedian, a motivational speaker, and a psychologist. Paul never instructed Timothy to tell jokes, make people feel good, and explain away the Scriptures. Pastors are to glorify Christ, preach the gospel, exhort the body, and guard the flock.
The Lord declares, “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word”.1 Christians have lost their respect for the Lord, and who can blame them when Jesus is portrayed as some kind of young Jewish Santa Clause. He who created all things by, and for himself, is conspicuously absent in their theology. He is portrayed as being insecure and co-dependent, knocking at the doors of our hearts, and then waiting for us to let him in. Either unwilling or unable to influence us, he just stands there knocking like an imbecile. I have heard countless evangelical appeals that go something like this; “Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart, he won’t force himself in, he’s waiting for you to decide, just raise your hand and repeat this prayer after me. . . “ No wonder some have left the faith! I don’t worship some co-dependent spiritual pacifist; I worship the sovereign Lord of the universe. Rarely do they speak of the true nature of Christ; not breaking a bruised reed, yet driving merchandisers out of the temple with a whip. He doesn’t ask your permission to save you. He conceals the gospel from some, and reveals it to others. He turns away crowds of followers, but knocks his enemy to the ground, blinds him, and violates his will completely, resulting in the conversion of the Apostle Paul.
Instead of proclaiming the truth, some explain it away. They call it heresy to interpret dragons, locusts, and beasts allegorically, and then in the next breath, they allegorize the gospel itself. Their gospel has been greased, the word has been blunted, and the message distorted. Repentance is redefined as changing your mind about God, or feeling sorry for your sins. Turning from your sins taking up your cross and following him is alien to their message. Those attempting to live a holy life are marginalized and called legalists, then, they proclaim that living a holy life is impossible, so why even try. In fact by attempting to literally follow Christ, they say you are insulting him and suggesting the price he paid wasn’t enough. No need for a holy life; just sin and let grace abound. Their gospel comes neither in word nor in power.
The idea that a church should practice discipline of any kind is now considered archaic. Members can have affairs, leave their spouse, marry their lover and go right on attending. I’m not exaggerating at all. I attended a church where a woman got a breast augmentation , left her husband for the plastic surgeon, and was allowed to perform songs from her new album (available in the bookstore), practically before the ink had dried on the divorce papers. Does anyone else have a problem with that? You can be a known liar, thief, or adulterer, and be not only allowed in church. If you tithe enough, you may even get a spot on the board. Those charged with raising the sheep, are raising cash to build bigger buildings, all the while the sheep starve. The converts have few to care for, or disciple them. Those trying to grow in their faith are continually suppressed. Where are the spiritual fathers? Who will care for the sheep? Are all the pastors’ too busy building barns to care for the flock?
