Free The Church

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting and please leave a comment after you read the blog!

Morals are not the same as ethics.

There is no difference between the meanings of the two words, ethics and morality from an etymological view. They are from two different languages: ethics being a Greek word, and morality being a Latin word, which means manner and customs of people. Ethics, however, carries the additional connotation of internal standards because of Aristotles’s philosophical treaties on ethics, “Nicomachean Ethics“.   Morals, on the other hand, tends to lean in meaning towards the mores of a people or the outward manners and customs of a people just as the word customs is the root to the word costume.

The technical distinctions aside, words have a predominant meaning by the current usage.  In deed, most words are used by people without regard to the etymological meaning.  For example, the word “blessed”  has moved beyond Christian usage and is used by people of all faiths to mean privileged and favored, with happy circumstances.   The etymology of blessed is uniquely Christian, however, because it literally means “blood-covered”  (bled-sion) and comes from Medieval Catholicism.  To be covered in the blood means to be in covenant with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Consequently, such a covenant brings favor and privilege in happy circumstances.  But the word is used without any regard to its origin.

Likewise, I wish to elaborate on the deeper differences between our subconscious usage of the words “ethics” and “morality” which merit having two different words from two different languages grafted into English usage.   Ethics, in my opinion, leans more towards decisions of the conscience, whereas morals leans towards accepted public opinions and customs.  As such, ethics are expressions of God’s will, and morals are the expression of man’s will. Read the rest of this entry →

Seeing and knowing what is right

Too many people do not trust their own senses.  Too many believers rely on the law instead of the leading of the Spirit in their lives.  We have been encouraged to not trust ourselves which results in rootlessness.  The political government encourages us to rely on them not ourselves.  The church government does the same.  The book of Judges is considered to be a time of anarchy by most in the Church.  The famous line that is quoted is,

In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6  KJV)

which is also repeated in Judges 21:25.  As I began my journey away from organized religion and began to question the role of governments both in the Church and politically, I wondered if we had misunderstood the book of Judges.  In 2008 I wrote my first blog on the topic .  No one responded to the topic, so I let it go.

However, the Lord has brought this back to my mind and I have been meditating upon it again.  I must confess at the outset that I am so influenced by the general negative opinion of the verse that it still seems like a negative statement.  But the facts of Scripture speak against that feeling  which shows how we are so easily influenced by other people’s opinions that it blinds us to the plain facts.

The influence of the world permeates every area of our thinking.  Christians think that more laws are the cure for society’s ills.  Recently I heard Jerry Tuma make a similar statement in his radio broadcast.  He recognized that the problem is government, and broadcast  the soundbite of Reagan’s famous saying:

“Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem.”
—  Ronald Reagan Read the rest of this entry →

How do we know the truth when so many lie?

I said in my haste, “All men are liars”. (Ps 116:11 KJV)

I am continuing to meditate on what it means to have root in oneself.   I am convinced that this is essential for discerning truth from lies.   Its bottom line is one’s trust in one’s own senses.  But it is not just trust in the 5 senses for the physical world,  but  also includes one’s spiritual senses.

Our spiritual senses are developed as we listen to our heart and gut feelings.   Sensitivity to the spirit increases as we meditate on the meanings of our dreams.  It develops as we sense right and wrong through our conscience.  It develops as we learn to trust our instincts.

Developing root in oneself must occur before salvation.  Everyone who comes to Christ has developed some roots in themselves, otherwise they would not believe in Jesus.   Belief is the foundation of knowledge.  All that we know is what we genuinely believe.   To know something is the completion of faith.  Mental assent is the beginning of knowing but it is not knowing.   To know something is to be fully convinced in the conviction of what one knows.  It is completed faith. Read the rest of this entry →

Jesus still loves the Jews

I bought this picture while a student at Christ for the Nations.  It is still hanging over my fireplace as a reminder of the love God has for the Jewish people.  As a student at CFNI I earned a Jewish Studies Minor degree.  The degree program required that I go to Israel during the summer, where I lived on a kibbutz for 3 months at Ramat Rachel.  The kibbutz is between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  In the early morning hours I would sit in the ruins on Ramat Rachel which overlook the Temple Mount for prayer.  I had been to the Wailing Wall on several occasions since Jerusalem was in walking distance from the kibbutz.

The Jewish people have had a profound influence in my life.   When I was in 7th grade I was drawn to two Jewish girls,  Laurie Lieberman and Leslie Snyder, although I was too immature to have a relationship with them.  In high school I lived with my best friend, Daniel Benveniste and his family for 1 school year.  The Benvenistes are Sephardic Jews from Spain many generations back.  I was drawn to Dan because of his innate since of morality.  I was not a Christian then.  I was raised in a secular atheist family who believed in evolution.   I love their family and Dan’s parents gave me the first  example of  a loving husband and wife since my own parents were divorced.  I love Paul Wilbur and messianic worship.  I love Jewish humor.

A Messianic Jew led me to Christ when I was 32.  Igor was an Ashkenazi Jew.   As a brand new Christian I worked at the Jewish Community Center while I read the Old Testament.    Since I had no religious background, the practices of the Christian Church at large seemed unbiblical (and still is), so I naturally gravitated towards messianic congregations, although I found the prancing around with the Torah scroll to seem a bit idolatrous.  My draw towards a Judaic expression of Christianity ended while I was working on the kibbutz.  The Lord spoke to me suddenly, and said, “Stop it, you’re not Jewish.” Read the rest of this entry →

After the death of their husbands, the wives forgave the Ecuadorian Waodani and brought them to Christ

Because organized religion is part of the world system, it is difficult for those of us who have left it to understand what is the Way of Jesus Christ.  The organic church is not house church meetings, but the organic life of God Himself within the heart of every born again believer.  Being led by the Spirit is the foundation of the Way of Jesus Christ.

But for the last few weeks, the Lord has impressed upon my heart the admonition of Paul to overcome evil by good (Rom 12:21).  The way of the world is so infused into church thinking that we do not realize that we are trying to “fight” the world with the weapons of the world.  Having our minds renewed means discerning the difference between the ways of the world and the way of Christ. Read the rest of this entry →

James Cameron digital masterpiece

I was not going to write about this movie, even though I have already seen it two times in 3D.  I have talked on Facebook about this with my friends, and felt that was enough.   However, my second viewing of the film was at the IMAX theater and I had bought my tickets online in advance since the local IMAX is a 30 minute drive from my home.

The online ticket system sent me an email asking me to write an review of the film.  I usually write my movie review on the Internet Movie Data base (IMDb), but figured there would be a multitude of reviews already, so I didn’t.   But this was a small group, so I thought I may as well.

They limited me to 750 characters, which meant I had to keep editing it down  until I reached their limit.  But then they told me that my review had profanity and was unacceptable.  I had no profanity.  However, I did call the movie a New Age and Politically Correct film.  To them that was profanity.  So I erased what I wrote and simply re-wrote, “Go to Hell.”  They responded by saying that I was not using their minimum of 5o characters!

So now I find myself motivated to write out what was rejected by that group, who apparently don’t want any comments on political correctness.  So here is what I wrote. Read the rest of this entry →

Perhaps the Grinch had the right idea

Happy Holidays is becoming a sore point for many Christians.  They cite this as another attempt to undermine Christianity by the secular world.   Christmas for many Christians is a sacred time of remembering the birth of Christ.  The sentimentality of the manger scene and Christmas songs are held as sacred to many believers.  These ancient songs are a testament to faith in their minds.

I love Christmas songs, so I am not taking the position of the Grinch who Stole Christmas.   But, as a late comer to Christianity (Christ came into my heart when I was 32 and I was raised as an atheist with no church background),  I have had to become a student of church history to catch up.

From my studies I have found that Christmas songs, for the most part, only date to the 19th century.  To be sure there are several songs that go back in history, but the majority of the songs we sing are from the 19th and 20th centuries.

More significantly, Protestants did not celebrate Christ-mass until the 19th century for several reasons.  The many pagan roots and the winter solstice are supporting reasons, but not the main reason.  The main reason for not celebrating the Catholic Christ-mass is because the Mass itself is an abomination to the Reformation Protestant mind.   We have forgotten its significance. Read the rest of this entry →

God has to deconstruct before He can rebuild

Jer 1:9-10
9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. (KJV)

The Didache is receiving renewed interest.  I had it brought to my attention again by Brother Maynard who shared on a new issue of the document in a book by Tony Jones.

This document has been available for years online, and I have provided my own PDF version of it in my own website.  I agree that this document has a timely application today.  With so many people forsaking the clergy system they are looking for alternatives to Christian living either in house church gatherings or else where.  The Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles is an early church document that gives practical advice on following Christ before the clergy system developed. Read the rest of this entry →

Jesus never reacted, but always responded

As I have continued to meditate on the need for us to have root in ourselves, I am naturally drawn to the example given to us by Jesus.  Jesus, more than anyone, had root in Himself.  He knew who He was. While addressing the Pharisees who were trying to find fault with Him, He said to them:

John 8:43-46
43    Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.
44    You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
45    Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!
46    Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? (NIV)

He knew He was sinless.  He knew He was the Son of God by the time of His Bar Mitzvah as demonstrated in Luke chapter 2.  It would be a mistake to think the devil never tried to assault his identity before the wilderness trial.   The accusation of being a bastard began in infancy.

But, more than that, wisdom requires humility. Humility is an honest assessment of truth.  The humble are teachable.  Pride is a defense mechanism that hinders truth because it is too busy defending its error.  Truth needs no defense.  Because he is the Truth He was able to empty Himself.   These verses are often misunderstood regarding Jesus: Read the rest of this entry →

Having root in one's self

Jesus said in the story of the sower and the seed:

16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17  And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. (Mark 4:16-17 KJV)

In a recent discussion on theology as the problem of the Church, I came to a realization of what is the real problem in the American Church.   The discussion I was in blamed theology as the barrier to a personal relationship with God in the heart.  I disagreed and made the case that we need both a mental theological understanding of God as well as a heart sensitive relationship with God.    The people in the discussion are the “gratefully disillusioned”  who have left organized religion, and blame the professional clergy for telling them that they were to live by biblical principles.   They are now “liberated” and living in a “Spirit-led” relationship with Father.  Even though I have placed quotes around “Spirit-led” I do believe that many of them are truly experiencing a fresh relationship with God.   The reason for the quotes, however, is that I know from personal experience that what we think is God can sometimes be our own imagination, or even demonic, if we do not test the spirits against the Scriptures. Read the rest of this entry →