Christianity and Bible Study – The Big Difference

 

Christianity and Bible Study – The Big Difference

 

A good thing about “Christianity and Bible Study” is that we continue to look for and receive inspiration for the blog posts from the Holy Spirit through others.  For example, one of my teachers (Pastor A. R. Bernard) presented a brief sermon that was particularly appropriate in addressing the political climate in the United States at this time.  His message addressed the difference between those who profess to be Christians based on their knowledge of some Bible scripture, and those who truly live their lives in a “Christ-like” manner. See: (https://youtu.be/N7ukVKyT40E?si=OgjyhtP4GjTAGZhN )

As “Ambassadors for Christ”, Christians are to represent Him in both our words AND actions.  (2 Corinthians 5: 17-21)  Even recognizing that, unfortunately there are those who would like to be associated with the name of  “Jesus Christ”  but have no interest in following His example.  Their motivation could be politically or economically  based if they view  “Christianity” as “popular”.  Or there might be some other personal motivation. Nonetheless there is blatant hypocrisy.

Our Lord Jesus directly pointed to that hypocrisy during  the time of His Earthly ministry. He specifically pointed to the religious leadership of Israel (the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 15: 1-8 and Chapter 23; Mark 7: 1-9; the Chief Priest in Luke 13: 14-17;  and the Sadducees in Mathew 16: 1-12). He also pointed to the “lawyers” for their hypocrisy in not fulfilling the obligations that their titles indicated they should represent. (Luke11: 45-52) Unfortunately much of the Lord’s criticism of these religious and political / legal / lay leaders continues even today. Their dereliction of their responsibility  has led unsuspecting others away from the knowledge that Jesus would want them to have…leading to dire consequences for both. That is why the Lord begins in several instances by saying “Woe to (them)”… for they will ultimately pay dearly for misleading others.

Wise King Solomon said: “⁹ An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.” Emphasis added. (Proverbs 11: 9)  That knowledge for deliverance (from the penalty of death for our sins against God) is the primary focus and purpose of our Bible. We are to gain the knowledge and understand what our Lord Jesus has done for mankind by Himself paying the death penalty for all mankind that was incurred when Adam sinned. (Genesis 2:15-17, 3: 6)  The “good news” / Gospel of His Grace is that all He requires of man is that we have faith in / believe this message from our Bible. (1 Corinthians 15: 1-4; Romans 10: 9-13) 

As the Apostle Peter said in his final message to his fellow believing Jews:  “⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance…. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; ¹⁶ As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

¹⁷ Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. ¹⁸ But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Underline Added. (2 Peter 3: 9 and 15-18)

That brings me to another major point made by another of my teachers, Pastor Ron Carpenter. (https://roncarpenter.com )  The general theme of his sermon was that the Word of God is delivered to us by others. In other words, the “Content” is found in “Containers”. Of course the most reliable “Container” for God’s Word is our Holy Bible. But the Bible also points out that the faith that we need to become believers in Christ comes by hearing the Word. (Romans 10: 17)  That is where the “container” or person that brings us their knowledge (or lack of it)  of the Word of the Bible is key. 

At the beginning of this post I indicated that there are lots of “containers” who can cite Bible references or verses. But as noted above, our Lord Jesus pointed out there is a difference between simply “knowing” the full “content’ and “demonstrating” it through behavior and actions. Further, there are those “containers” who don’t even profess to know the Scripture, but want the “benefits” of being associated with it.  They use the name of “Jesus” as though it were a “secret password”. But true believers (and some non-believers) should be able to recognize their hypocrisy. They don’t act in a “Christ-like” manner, regardless of the words they use.

Even for those who as Christians are true believers in our roles as “Ambassadors for Christ”, we can stumble from time to time. (2 Corinthians 5: 17-20)  But our persona and collective body of work as believers should reflect the moral values, ethics and principles that our Lord Jesus would want of us. The Apostle Paul noted that we have this “treasure in earthen vessels”, acknowledging our human frailty. (2 Corinthians 4: 1-7)  Even so, as those “earthen vessels”, we are the “containers” that bring the true “content” and meaning of God’s Word into today’s fallen world.  Being “Christ-like” is being guided by the Holy Spirit not only in words, but in our behavior / acts / deeds. Then we give the world a glimpse of the glorious nature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson

https://christianityandbiblestudy.blogspot.com

Aesop's Fables Found in The Bible

 

Aesop’s Fables Found in The Bible

 

In reviewing a recent Bible lesson by Les Feldick, I was drawn to comments made relating to Jesus as the “Stone of Scripture”. (https://www.lesfeldick.org/lesbk78.html )  Les noted these comments made by our Lord Jesus in His “Sermon on the Mount” as recorded in Matthew Chapter Seven (Verses 24-27):  “²⁴ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock   ²⁵ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. ²⁶ And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: ²⁷ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.  (Underline added for emphasis.)

That scripture reminded me of the story I heard as a child about the “Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf”. (https://americanliterature.com/childrens-stories/the-three-little-pigs ) In that story the wise pig built his house of “bricks” / stone. In doing that he was able to save the lives of his two brothers who had foolishly chosen building materials of  straw and sticks respectively, after they were endangered by the hungry wolf.

With that background, I wondered whether any of the other stories or “sayings” I could recall from childhood might have a similar moral or ethical link to what the Bible teaches us.  As a starting point, Aesop’s Fables came to mind. At that time I had no idea the list of “Fables” attributed to Aesop was as extensive as it seems to be.  Further, many of the stories in the list I had never heard. (See: https://www.read.gov/aesop/001.html , and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Aesop%27s_Fables ) Even so, I did recognize some of those Fables that were familiar enough to investigate further. For example:

·       The Story of the Tortoise and the Hare: (Read the story at: https://www.read.gov/aesop/025.html ; and / or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tortoise_and_the_Hare ).   In that fable, the tortoise had virtually no chance to defeat the hare in a race.  But the impossible did happen. The lesson taught in that story could be compared to the Bible verse of Ecclesiastes 9: 11, that reads: “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” (Underline added for emphasis)  Perseverance and determination can be rewarded, even in the face of practically impossible odds against success.

 

·       The Ants and the Grasshopper: (Read the story at: https://www.read.gov/aesop/052.html , and / or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ant_and_the_Grasshopper#cite_note-14 )  In that fable the industrious ants worked diligently to prepare for the coming winter. But the free-living grasshopper idled his time away. The lesson taught could be compared to the Bible verse of Proverbs 30: 25, that reads: “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;” (Underline added for emphasis).  Consider also another Bible passage from the mind of King Solomon from Proverbs 6: 6-15, that reads: “⁶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:  ⁷ Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,  ⁸ Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.  ⁹ How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?  ¹⁰ Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:  ¹¹ So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.  ¹² A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.  ¹³ He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;  ¹⁴ Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.  ¹⁵ Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. (Underline added for emphasis)  Note also Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” There is a time to work, and a time to play.

 

·       The Frogs Who Desired a King: (Read the story at: https://www.read.gov/aesop/048.html , and / or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frogs_Who_Desired_a_King )  The lesson from that story could be compared to the Bible passage from 1 Samuel Chapter Eight: (https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1-Samuel-Chapter-8/ )  Israel had long before  been selected to be God’s “Chosen People”, a holy nation and His Kingdom of Priests. (Exodus 19: 1-8)  But Israel wanted to be like all the Gentile nations and be ruled by “their own king.”  Despite the warnings of the dire consequences, the people of Israel              insisted.  Having been given the choice to follow the LORD, they chose to reject Him. God then told His Prophet Samuel to do as Israel demanded and give them a king. The hard lessons learned by Israel over the following years have been warnings for mankind even until today. The consequences of choosing the wrong leadership will invite evil to come forth. Be careful what you ask for, because you might actually get it.

 

·       The Jar of Blessings (Also known as “Pandora’s Box”): (Read the story at: https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/pandoras-box-myth/ ; and / or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora%27s_box )  The first reference above says: “In Greek mythology, Pandora was created by the gods as a punishment to mankind. She was given a box by Zeus and told never to open it. Curiosity got the better of her, and when she opened the box, she released all the evils and miseries of the world, such as sickness, death, and sorrow.”  Note that the writer places the blame for the evils of the world on Pandora, the first woman. That fable could be compared to the Bible passage from Genesis 3: 1-19. The Bible records how the first woman (Eve) was deceived by the Serpent, and in doing so influenced her husband Adam to sin against God. However it was Adam’s disobedience against God’s command that opened the evils of Satan onto mankind and the world. [This example was not listed as a “Fable” in the listing of “The Aesop for Children”, but it was too good an example to ignore. 😊]

       

·       The Wolf and the Shepherds: (Read the story at: https://www.read.gov/aesop/110.html , and / or  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wolf_and_the_Shepherds )  This brief fable is worth sharing in its entirety: “A Wolf, lurking near the Shepherd's hut, saw the Shepherd and his family feasting on a roasted lamb. "Aha!" he muttered. "What a great shouting and running about would there have been, had they caught me at just the very thing they are doing with so much enjoyment!"   The lesson from that story could be compared to the Bible passages cited in Matthew Chapter 23.  The Pharisees were cited by Jesus for their hypocrisy. They were supposed to be in the forefront of Israel’s leadership to teach and practice God’s Laws.  However, as it met their personal needs they intentionally disregarded God’s standards that they imposed for others.  Note this and other examples at: https://christianityiq.com/examples-of-hypocrisy-in-the-bible/ . The Fable noted in the first reference above closed with the following statement: “Men often condemn others for what they see no wrong in doing themselves.”

With those examples, I would encourage you to look for and / or consider others from the secular literature.  There are positive examples of moral and ethical values in several places that reinforce the messages that the Bible teaches Christians. They teach the positive thoughts and actions that the Holy Spirit wants to guide us. However, there are also many negative examples that would undermine God’s messages.  This distinction is especially important when we consider what young and impressionable children read and hear in today’s social media devices. Aesop’s Fables are but one example.

Dr. W. A. (Bill) Robinson

https://christianityandbiblestudy.blogspot.com