NowTHINK!AboutIt

What Is The Purpose of Bible Study?

November 9, 2009 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Bible study is one of the cardinal practices of today’s churches. It happens at least once and often multiple times weekly in most Bible believing churches. It is so heavily featured that most pastors aspire to be great teachers of the Bible and work hard at honing their teaching skills as if there are no other significant activities to ministry. To be recognized as “knowledgeable” or “clever” is considered a great honor. Unfortunately, style and originality don’t vary that much between churches. If you’ve heard one you’ve heard most of the others as well.

And for the church member, attending these studies in addition to regular Sunday services is the gauge of their spiritual vibrancy. When they miss too many they are treated condescendingly at arms length as if they have contracted a communicable disease. Having this rule in place, of course, keeps people coming back even when the teaching is less than compelling. In many cases it is far less. [Read more…] about What Is The Purpose of Bible Study?

If Not Perfect, Things Can Be Better

October 24, 2009 by EnnisP 1 Comment

Jesus used very human sensations, hunger and thirst, to make an important point about righteousness and, at the very least His remarks suggest that we’ll never achieve it if we don’t develop a taste for it.

Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.

What that means is righteousness does not happen automatically.

“Hunger and Thirst” are naturally occurring biological indicators that need no conjuring. We don’t have to work at being hungry. Biology does that for us.

But, even though hunger develops very naturally on a biological level it doesn’t guarantee a taste for a nutritionally balanced diet. Hungry people eat anything and will often eat wrong things just because they are hungry. So Jesus was suggesting that the same intelligence and discipline we use to establish a healthy diet should be employed on a spiritual level also.

Just as sating your hunger can be done without meeting nutritional needs, cries for righteousness can easily be muffled with no regard for what is right.

The righteousness Jesus referred to was more than a personal matter or an abstract spiritual issue. It applies here, now and to everyone and there are, in fact, several observations to be considered about this pursuit: [Read more…] about If Not Perfect, Things Can Be Better

What Does It Mean To Be Meek?

October 12, 2009 by EnnisP 1 Comment

Jesus’ Teachings Correct
Common Misconceptions
Then And Now

Jesus never used the word “success” but He didn’t ignore the topic either. Rather than throw the word around superficially He dug a little deeper and referred to the emotional outcome of success, which is blessed or happy, and He mentioned several things that would produce this result.

Being poor in spirit
Mourning
Being merciful
Being pure in heart
Making peace,
Thirsting and hungering for righteousness
And enduring persecution.

He also mentioned Meekness, which is what I would like to discuss here. [Read more…] about What Does It Mean To Be Meek?

OT Law – Restrictive Not Prescriptive

October 6, 2009 by EnnisP 1 Comment

Commands And Laws
Never Change
Statures Always Do

Exodus through Deuteronomy are the four books of the Old Testament that contain what is called the Law of Moses and these laws are the topic of many discussions.

Some people misguidedly attempt to superimpose these laws on today’s cultures, a hopeless and useless endeavor.

Refrigeration and modern farming methods have made Old Testament dietary restrictions obsolete. We eat pork today with no nutritive repercussions. Even in Jesus’ day improved food handling had overcome the obvious dangers of eating “unclean” animals.

Of course, Old Testament laws are not all given an equal hearing. Some people attempt to uphold certain laws while completely ignoring others. We love the laws relating to monogamous marriage but are a bit embarrassed to admit polygamy was regulated rather than run out of town. Regulation, however, wasn’t meant to endorse polygamy but was rather a way of controlling it or keeping it from getting out of control. The plan worked. You rarely hear of polygamous marriages in most Bible-influenced societies today.

Moralists today are adamant about one and embarrassed by the other. It’s difficult to argue loudly for monogamy from an Old Testament perspective without getting tripped up by the likes of Jacob, David, and Solomon to name a few. It raises additional questions also: Why wasn’t polyandry regulated? And a question like that opens the door for discussions about chauvinistic tendencies in OT history. [Read more…] about OT Law – Restrictive Not Prescriptive

Pragmatism – No Excuse!

September 24, 2009 by EnnisP 6 Comments

Jesus worked very closely with His disciples for only a few years. During that time, He said very little about the look of their future ministries and He gave them very little in the way of specific theological detail. What He did provide was a goal.

For example, Jesus made a few comments on divorce and remarriage (Matt. 19) which left the disciples bewildered. Their conclusion was, why bother to get married at all. Obviously, they, along with many others since, missed His meaning. We still fight over that one.

The fact is, there were many points of theology which Jesus did not attempt to address in great detail. But, the one thing Jesus did was give the disciples a target. After His resurrection and before His ascension (a period of forty days), on more than one occasion, He made His expectations very clear. In brief, He said… [Read more…] about Pragmatism – No Excuse!