Is the Bible Culturally Irrelevant?

In today’s news there was an article about Richard Alden Samuel McCroskey III, who is suspected of committing the bludgeoning deaths of four people in Farmville Virginia. When reporters asked him why he did it he is reported to have said, “Jesus told me to do it.”

Most rational people would scoff at his response because they know that Jesus would not have ever commanded such a thing. Even if they know very little about Him, they do know this. In the Garden of Gethsemane Peter drew his sword and cut off a nearby servant’s ear. Jesus promptly reprimanded Peter and replaced the ear.

Matthew 26:47-53 “ While He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him." Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. And Jesus said to him, "Friend, do what you have come for." Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him. And behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword, and struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. "Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

On the cross Jesus asked the Father to forgive his murderers even though He had the power to call down legions of Angels to halt the proceedings.

Luke 23:33,34 “ When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."

But many in the religious world today say that certain commands and instructions in the Bible don’t apply to our current culture. This reasoning is normally given when something in their teaching or practice disagrees with what is found in the Bible. This is a very dangerous path to follow. Who gets to determine what in the Bible is a hard and fast command and what is now culturally irrelevant? If the Bible is God’s divine will then He gets to determine those things, not us. If God is apathetic and only cares that we believe in Him, then who can argue with Mr. McCroskey’s assertion that Jesus told him to do it? After all, how do we know that the prohibition on murder in Bible times was not just a cultural issue and really doesn’t apply today?

Our culture, to one degree or another, readily accepts lying, stealing, cheating, adultery, fornication, drunkenness, homosexuality, and a host of others. If you disagree then let me point out a few examples.

1. Lying – When was the last time you made up a resume? Or called in sick when you weren’t? Have you ever bought an expensive item of clothing for a special event and taken it back the next day saying it didn’t fit?
2. Stealing – Is it acceptable to take home office supplies for your personal use? How about eating produce in the grocery store?
3. Cheating – Do you work the full eight hours your employer pays you for? Ever take long lunches? How about parking in a handicapped spot when you aren’t handicapped?
4. Drunkenness – How about the office Christmas party? That particular one floors me with the contradictions. New Years Eve? Spring break for college kids?
   

I could go on but you get the point. Either the Bible is totally relevant to our culture or we have to say it is totally irrelevant. And if we say it’s irrelevant then we have to say that Mr. McCroskey may have been right in his assertion. But no, you say, murder is always wrong in God’s eyes. Well I hate to tell you this but there are many in the religious world who approve of abortion.

So if we are going to say that murder is wrong based on Bible command then we also need to follow its instructions regarding lying, stealing, cheating, adultery, fornication, drunkenness, homosexuality, and a host of other items found within its pages. Once we buy into the idea that much of it is culturally not applicable then we must throw the whole thing out.

Which path makes sense to you? Follow all of it, or follow none of it? I will tell you this; I sure don’t want to live in a world where the majority chooses the second path. It will become a very deadly and horrible place to exist. Can I use the word “Hell”? I hope the illustration is not lost. But there is hope as we see in the letter to the Church at Corinth.

I Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

In the coming weeks we will be examining many more topics like this and I hope you will study these things for yourself to see if they are true.

In His service.

An Apathetic God?

I'd like to begin this blog with a basic observation.

Many in the religious world will tell you that as long as you believe in God you'll be okay.

Does this honestly make sense to you? The logical conclusion of that thought is that the Creator of the Universe doesn't care what we do, or how we act, as long as we believe in Him. That means that one can be a murderer and a rapist, and continue to commit those crimes with no remorse, and as long as one believes in God, they will go to Heaven. If that were true then why bother with any standard of behavior or law? The only benefit is having an easier life while we are still living. But it has no impact on the hereafter.

So the conclusion is either that God cares what we do or He doesn't. There's not really an in between.

Some might say that He only has problems with the really bad people. So who would that be? Adolf Hitler? Sure - he murdered millions. Saddam Hussein? Sure - he murdered tens of thousands. Jim Jones? Sure - he murdered hundreds. John Wayne Gacy? Sure - he murdered 33 men. So God condemns murderers and those people are wrong in His eyes. Or is what these people did okay?

What about the drug dealer selling outside the elementary school? Is God okay with that as long as the dealer believes in Him? What about the pimp? What about the guy who beats his wife within an inch of her life every Saturday night?

Do you see the difficulty here? Where do we draw the line? Does the statement, "As long as you believe in God you'll be okay" make any sense at all? The honest person will agree that it does not. You see, we all understand that true belief requires action based on those beliefs. The remorseless serial killer does not believe in God in the sense as defined by the Bible.

James 2:19 says,
"You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder."

So if belief in God is all that's required then the demons are saved. I think that most people would heartily avow that demons are not saved. But that is the logical conclusion if you hold to the idea that all you have to do is believe in God and you'll be fine.

Jesus had some pretty specific things to say about the definition of belief. In Matthew 7:21-27 He says,

"Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."

Jesus is pretty clear that belief in God must be coupled with the correct actions. According to this passage one must not only believe but also must, "...do the will of my Father who is in heaven..." Notice He also mentions in the verse about hearing the words and "acting" on them. And notice the actions must be based on what God says - not on the words of man.

So the concept of "as long as you believe in God you'll be okay" is clearly in error. It doesn't make sense from a purely human standpoint and it's certainly in opposition to what the Bible says.

There are many other Bible passages regarding the concept of belief and I encourage you to read them all. There are many online Bibles available and they will allow you to search for a specific word or phrase.

In His Service