Love Wins by Rob Bell

Posted on 05/18/2011 by Paul Pavao

I’ve been reading Love Wins by Rob Bell. I’m 89% done (percentage courtesy of Kindle).

***I wrote this a week ago; I’m finished with the book now.***

Originally I was not going to blog about it. After all, a thousand blogs have already covered his book. What could I possibly add?

Then I reached 89% of the way through the book.

I definitely have something to add.

Universal Salvation

First, a couple things need to be stated clearly. Rob Bell most definitely teaches universal salvation in the book. He doesn’t hint at it. He doesn’t suggest it might be true. He doesn’t ask questions only to get us thinking about it. He clearly and forcefully argues for universal salvation, providing one of the most comprehensive list of verses on the subject I’ve ever seen.

I read a blog post by Greg Boyd back when he was one of the only people who had read the book. Boyd suggests that Rob Bell is just speaking generally and asking questions. That’s very sweet of Mr. Boyd, but I don’t believe it’s accurate.

It’s true enough that when Rob Bell gets down to the very heart of the question—when he directly confronts the issue of universal salvation—he does indeed refuse to answer it. He says we can be free to speculate. But look at what he says along the way.

Chapter 4 of Love Wins is entitled “Does God Get What God Wants?” In that chapter Rob Bell points out that God wants all people to be saved, referencing the statement to that effect in 1 Tim. 2. 2 Pet. 3:9 says the same thing.

He makes it clear what the central point of the chapter is:

Will all people be saved, or will God not get what God wants? Does this magnificent, mighty, marvelous God fail in the end? (ch. 4; emphasis his; I have no page numbers since I’m reading this on Kindle)

A little later he adds:

This insistence that God will be united and reconciled with all people is a theme the writers and prophets return to again and again. They are very specific … constantly affirming the simple fact that God does not fail.

Then:

At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church have been a number who insist that history is not tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins and all will be reconciled to God.

Finally, at the end of the chapter, when he dodges the question of universal salvation, he dodges it by saying the following:

How could someone choose another way with a universe of love and joy and peace right in front of them—all of it theirs if they would simply leave behind the old ways and receive the new life of the new city in the new world? The answer to how is “Yes.”

Bell goes on to explain that we see people “choose to live in their own hells all the time.”

Thus, the question is left open, but look at how it is left open! It is left open by the statement that anyone can be saved, even in the afterlife, because God wants everyone to be saved. They will only not be saved if they continue to reject the love of God eternally.

Saying What You Mean

I don’t have a problem with questioning tradition until it’s proven to be apostolic. I do it myself regularly. But I believe one should honestly admit when he’s purposely disagreeing with the status quo.

When people ask if Rob Bell is adopting a position of universal salvation, they are asking if he is rejecting the common teaching that some—and probably most—people will go to hell eternally, being tormented by God.

Bell not only rejects that teaching, he says that teaching creates a God that is horrific and that no one could possibly want to believe in. He spends a lot of chapter 5 explaining why.

Again, I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. In fact, I agree that eternal torture never seems just. But why deny it when asked about it?

And I’ve seen Rob Bell being interviewed about his book. He does not get to the point.

Do I Agree With Love Wins?

I’ve already said that I agree that no one can really believe that it’s just to torture a person eternally for sins committed during a short time on earth.

Even worse, most fundamentalists believe that God will torture a person eternally if they commit even one sin during their lifetime. In other words, we’re supposed to believe that God is a just judge when he torments a person in flames—eternally—for cheating on a test in 5th grade.

Sorry. That’s nonsense.

If that’s Scriptural, then I have to admit that I’m prepared to reject the Scriptures. That’s not justice. Only a monster would do such a thing, and I refuse to believe that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God who delivered me at the name of Jesus, is a monster.

I don’t believe that going to hell for one sin is even remotely Scriptural, however. That teaching is less than a thousand years old, and the teaching it came from, that we’re all guilty because Adam sinned, didn’t show up until at least three centuries after Christ. We inherited death from Adam, a death we are already living in (Eph. 2:1-3), but we did not inherit a guilt for Adam’s sin for which we will have to face judgment on the last day (or immediately after death).

Scripture teaches that even those who don’t know about Christ can be “excused” by living according to their conscience (Rom. 2:14-15). Scripture also teaches that God will forget all the sins that a person has committed if they turn from their sins to a righteous life. No sacrifice is mentioned as necessary for this (Ezek. 18:21-22). Even further, King David says that God doesn’t want sacrifice to forgive sins; he wants a contrite heart (Ps. 51:16-17).

Thus, it’s clear that Scripture does not teach that people go to hell for committing one sin. In fact, people won’t go to hell even for many sins if they turn from their wickedness and do righteousness. Their wickedness will be forgotten, says the Scripture, and because of the righteousness which they have done they will live (Ezek. 18:21-22).

Rob Bell makes some beautiful, powerful points in Love Wins. I highly recommend reading it … unless you haven’t read the New Testament a few times. If you haven’t, then you should read the writings of the apostles first. Read Rob Bell later.

Rob Bell is a great, great teacher, but it is the apostles to whom Jesus committed the faith.

And Rob Bell leaves some important parts of it out.

Vengeance and Wrath

Jesus, according to the apostles, really will take vengeance on those who reject the Gospel.

The Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and that do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. (2 Thess. 1:7-8)

Admittedly, Bell takes the time to argue that the word “everlasting” there shouldn’t be everlasting. Okay, fine. Let’s give him that.

Nonetheless, nothing about Love Wins acknowledges the God who punishes with “age-lasting” destruction and takes vengeance.

Nor do I think he’s terribly honest about the history of universalism in the church.

Errors in Love Wins

I’ve read all the writings of the 2nd century church. The claim that those who deny an eternal hell have been “at the center” since the first church is just not true. No one in the 2nd century church suggests such a thing.

Rob Bell references Origen and Clement of Alexandria as sources for such a teaching. There is no doubt that Origen taught universal salvation. Clement of Alexandria was one of his teachers, so it’s not a stretch to think that Clement agreed with him, but I don’t think it’s true, and Bell gives no reference and no quote for his claim.

Origen, by the way, belongs to the third century, and Clement began teaching around A.D. 190, almost at the end of the second century.

Either way, two men do not constitute “at the center,” especially when we remember that one taught the other. They were both from Alexandria, though Origen moved to Caesarea over disagreements with the bishop (probably jealousies by the bishop). Alexandria was a center of learning, the kind of place from which unusual speculation is likely to arise.

Descriptions of the Faith Vs. Teachings

Not only that, both Origen and Clement are teachers, and their writings are teachings.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want to find what is “in the center” of Christian teaching in the early churches, you should read descriptions of the faith, not teachings and arguments.

Justin Martyr, for example, writes a description of what Christians believe to the emperor in an effort to have persecution dispelled. He is not trying to argue a position or think through a teaching. He is trying to honestly describe Christians and Christianity. He writes:

Among us the prince of the wicked spirits is called the serpent, satan, and the devil, as you can learn by looking into our writings. He will be sent into the fire with his host, and the men who follow him, and will be punished for endless duration. (First Apology 28)

Thirty years later, Irenaeus wrote a defense of the Christian faith directed against gnosticism. In it he describes “this preaching and this faith,” which the church “although scattered throughout the whole world … carefully preserves … as if she had but one soul and one and the same heart” (Against Heresies I:10:2). Only a few sentences are given to describe this faith that the church held through the whole world as though she had one on the same heart, but it includes this:

… just judgment towards all, so that he may send … the ungodly, unrighteous, wicked, and profane among men into everlasting fire, but may … confer immortality on the righteous, holy, and those who have kept his commandments. (ibid. I:10:1)

Punishment of “endless duration” is what you find being taught by the early Christians “as though they have but one soul.” These things represent what was “at the center” of the first churches. Speculation by two men from Alexandria don’t change that.

Really Great Things in Love Wins

Rob Bell has some really great teachings in Love Wins.

For example, I think his description of the story of the Prodigal Son is by far the best I’ve ever heard. He explains that there are several stories in this one story. Each son has a story about himself, and the father has a story about both sons.

The father’s story is different than the sons’ stories, and believing the father’s stories about themselves can be life-changing.

The prodigal son himself believes that he is unworthy to be the father’s son. The father explains that nothing of the sort is true. The brother believes that he has slaved for years for nothing. The father explains that he was not a slave and that everything that belonged to the father belonged also to the sons.

Bell also provides a pretty decent description of the atonement in Love Wins. He explains that there are many descriptions of the atonement, and that we should embrace all of them and use the ones that are most relevant in explaining the atonement.

That portion will give you a bigger–and more Scriptural–picture of the atonement than you’ve ever had before. Simply excellent.

It’s not what Bell says to which I object. It’s what he doesn’t say–what he leaves out. That I’ve explained above in the errors section.

It seemed to me that these things were worth mentioning. My conclusion? It is the same as what I said above.

Read Love Wins, but make sure you’ve read the apostles repeatedly first.

Posted in History, Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Electronic Church?

Posted on 05/16/2011 by Paul Pavao

I read a very interesting paragraph in a blog by Lisa Miller, former religion editor of Newsweek.

“When Bible study can be done on Facebook as easily as in the church basement, and a favorite preacher can teach lessons via podcast, the necessity of physically gathering each week in the same place with the same people turns remote.” (http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/15/my-take-how-technology-could-bring-down-the-church/)

My book, In the Beginning Was the Logos, is now in print! It will be on Amazon in about a month, but it’s already at lulu.com, and it will be cheaper there even next month.

You can go to Christian History for Everyman to read more about it and to get to the lulu.com link. I’ll keep that page updated with any specials that Lulu is offering. My book will always (probably) be 20% off there, but Lulu is offering an additional 15% until May 31.

Only someone with a very modern view of the church could make such a statement. Not that the stament is inaccurate! If the church is what is commonly portrayed, at least in North America, then Ms. Miller’s assessment is spot on. If church is nothing more than a meeting you attend on Sundays–and perhaps on Wednesdays as well–then why bother? Ms. Miller specifically mentioned Rob Bell as one of those “favorite preachers.” Rob’s preaching is much more interesting and inspiring than the sermons in 99% of the churches out there. And if you sing at home, you can play whatever songs are your favorites, sung by professionals, on whatever sound system you have and at whatever volume you prefer.

But put that in context of the early churches:

—————
Acts 2:42: And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers … and all the believers were together and had all things in common … and continuing daily in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they took their meals together with gladness and unity of heart.
—————

You can’t replace that with an internet sermon!

Or how about this one from a century later:

————-
We who once valued above all else the acquisition of wealth and possessions now bring what we have into a common stock and share with everyone in need. We who hated and destroyed one another and, on account of of different customs, would not share the same fire with men of a different tribe now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them. (Justin Martyr, First Apology 14)
————-

You can replace a weekly meeting with an exciting, excellent teaching by podcast. You can even, in a sense, replace corporate worship by watching it on a TV or computer screen.

But the church is not a weekly meeting!

The Scriptures call the church the household of God (1 Tim. 3:15). We say the same thing today, calling the church the family of God and referring to each other as brothers and sisters, but it must have some invisible, spiritual, or symbolic meaning for us because the majority of us can replace church with something we watch on a screen and listen to with headphones!

Obviously, the apostolic churches took the Holy Spirit’s words differently than we take them. They actually “lived familiarly” with one another and brought their extra money together to take care of “everyone” in need. They broke bread from house to house and ate their meals together with gladness.

That’s the sort of thing a family would do.

Wouldn’t you love to be in a family whose every member devoted their lives to kindness and love and in which every person was empowered by the Holy Spirit to achieve some measure of success living in love and service to others? Wouldn’t you love to be in a family that shared their lives and took care of each other with “singleness of heart,” so that you could count on changing the world together because you were devoted to ministry together?

That is what is supposed to be offered in every church.

It may seem hopeless to see that happen, but the first step is simple.

You have to give up your devotion to an organization that offers meetings because the church isn’t an organization anyway. (Remember? We’ve all heard that said, right?) Then you have to change your devotion to people.

And not to any people! One of the problems in churches today is that no distinction is made between those who are sold out to the will of Jesus Christ and those who are not. The sons of God cannot and should not be unequally yoked with the sons of Belial. The context of that verse is not marriage, though that’s the only context in which modern believers ever mention “unequally yoked.”

You need to devote yourself to others who love God like you do. No, not to others who have the same doctrine on the hundreds of non-essentials we normally divide over. It’s unity of Spirit that comes first, and the **result** of that unity of Spirit will be unity of faith (Eph. 4:3,13).

It doesn’t matter where they go on Sunday morning. Chances are that you can’t see them Monday or Tuesday morning, either, because they have a job that is different than yours. I know from experience that it’s not that hard to find time outside of church and work to fellowship with those who work somewhere else than you do.

There’s a lot of advice I’m tempted to give here, but it’s a temptation. We have to get a vision for what the church should be, know that it’s God’s vision as well, then trust God and make real efforts–efforts we can feel good about before God–to see the will of God happen.

At that point, it’s God who’s got to help you go forward. If the Lord’s not building the house or watching the city, then you’re laboring in vain. It’s Jesus we’re following, and it’s his Spirit that has the power to make the will of God happen.

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God’s Righteousness

Posted on 05/05/2011 by Paul Pavao

I was quoted last night. One of the elders told the church here that I had said that we should not pursue righteousness.

Everyone was nodding. No one minded. Let me tell you why.

There is a useless righteousness. The apostle Paul once wrote:

[The Jews], being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going around trying to establish their own, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness for everyone who believes. (Rom. 10:3-4)

What is the difference between our righteousness, which becomes an idol keeping us away from God, and God’s righteousness?

Our Righteousness

We are often deceived into thinking that just because Paul was talking about the Law of Moses in Romans 10, then that means that the only false righteousness we can have is one based on carnal, earthly interpretations of Moses’ Law. Or, even worse, we think that now that Christ died, it doesn’t matter whether we live righteously at all. (That last one, as common as it is, has got to be the most egregious misunderstanding of any book of any time period.)

The real problem is that the Jews had a righteousness based on the letter—that would be Scripture—rather than on the Spirit.

We can be just as guilty as they.

First, just in case you think that’s not what Paul was talking about, listen to Jesus’ complaint about the Jews and their righteousness:

You search the Scriptures because you think that you have life in them. But these are they which testify of me! And you refuse to come to me so that you may have life! (John 5:39-40)

Who can deny that today it is a normal, mainline teaching that we should search the Scriptures because there is life in them?

God’s Righteousness

God’s righteousness doesn’t come from the Scriptures. It comes from heaven.

Listen, I’m not making a case against the Scriptures. You may notice that I’m quoting from them in this blog. I know which verses to quote because I read the Scriptures often. This blog post, and all others I write, are founded on the Scriptures.

The Scriptures "are they which testify of [Christ]."

Having read them, I know to go to Christ.

Having read them, I know that the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14), not just the Scriptures.

Having read them, I know that the church is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15), something that the Scriptures never say about themselves.

Having read them, I know that God’s righteousness comes from God, through his Spirit, and not from reading the Scriptures and going off to do what we think are good works.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10)

Is Jesus Christ our example? Are we not supposed to imitate him?

Jesus didn’t do anything that he didn’t see his Father doing. In fact, he states, "Of myself, I can do nothing" (Jn. 5:19 and Jn. 5:30).

How much more can we not do anything of ourselves? How much more should we not do anything we don’t see our Father doing? How much more do we need to lean on the Spirit of God?

God has prepared some works in advance for you to do! If you get too busy doing your own works, you’ll miss his!

Your Righteousness, God’s Righteousness, and Hypocrisy

All of us have things we’re good at and things that are very difficult for us.

For me, it’s very easy to receive admonishment. I consider all of it. Harsh words don’t upset me, and insults don’t bother me. I bear them patiently, and I try to learn from them. I don’t even have to wrestle my fleshly nature to be that way.

But if I try to explain something to you, and you’re not getting it? Well, then my blood pressure rises. I get frustrated, and I want to yell, "Are you not listening? Why can’t you get this?"

There are worldly temptations that are not a temptation at all to me. There are others that are a terrible difficulty.

All of us are that way.

Left to ourselves, we’ll pat ourselves on the back for our strengths and ignore our weaknesses.

We’ll do that even if we’re reading our Bibles.

I’ve known several men that seemed to be bold, brave speakers. They knew the Scripture, and they weren’t afraid to stand up for God to anyone.

What was really true of them, however, was that they were terrified someone might see or point out their own faults, so they had become experts at jabbing, poking, and stinging others with the Scriptures in order to keep them at a distance.

Oh, what righteous men they appeared to be! Jesus, however, would have pointed his finger at them the same way he pointed his finger at the Pharisees.

There’s no saving such men. You can rebuke them, point out their hypocrisy, then leave them be. Chances are, they’ll never repent.

But you …

You can repent. You can do what’s right. You don’t have to fall into the same hypocrisy.

And don’t fool yourself; you will.

Unless you submit to the righteousness of God.

Pursue a relationship with God. You can always fool a book, even if that book is Scripture.

You can’t fool God. God has something for you to work on today. He knows. He knows what you’re hiding. He knows how hard or not hard it is for you. He knows when to put his finger on your faults, and he has the ability to give you the grace to overcome them.

When the Scripture speaks, it’s possible that you might miss it. It’s possible that you won’t even catch what was said. It’s also possible that even after you catch it, you’ll find it impossible to follow through.

But when God speaks?

When God speaks, you may ignore it, but you won’t miss it. It’ll drop in your heart, touch your conscience, and you will be forced to struggle and wrestle with that word and grow and live, or you will ignore it and slowly die a spiritual death. God won’t say another word until you deal with that one.

And when you deal with it, you will live. As horribly hard as it might be, it will be within your grasp. You will feel the smile and pleasure of God with each step forward even as you struggle.

How many people are sidelined, reading the Bible, looking for their own righteousness, all the while ignoring the last thing God said to them. They’ve been without the presence of God for days or even years. They’re worn out, exhausted, powerless, and unable to find anything in the Scriptures that will set them free.

If you’re one of those, it’s time to look up and ask God, "What was that you said to me?"

A Picture of Righteousness

Aargh, I hate adding one more thing. I’m scared you’ll lose what was already said.

Most of us have a picture of what it means to be a real man or woman of God.

That picture’s wrong.

Crush it. Throw it away. It’s an idol.

Only God knows what it means for you to be a man or woman of God.

Your picture will get in his way.

I’d try to explain it to you, but there’s no way to do that. If you have a confidently held picture of what real righteousness looks like, then you’re hopelessly off the track. I can’t tear that picture down for you; God will have to do that. And he will, if you’re a follower of the Spirit of God rather than a man who pats himself on the back with the Scriptures.

The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruit, without partiality, and without pretense. (James 3:17)

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Easter, Passover, Resurrection Day? What Is It?

Posted on 04/22/2011 by Paul Pavao

I have read dozens of articles and sections of books that talk about the pagan origins of Easter.

What about the Christian origins?

From the very earliest times, the apostles’ churches celebrated the Passover each year. We know that there was a dispute over the date on which to celebrate Passover in 160 and again in 190 (dates estimated based on the reign of the Roman bishops involved). The first was resolved by the intervention of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and the second resolved by the intervention of Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in what is now France.

During the second dispute, Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus wrote:

Philip, one of the twelve apostles … John, who … reclined upon the bosom of the Lord … And Polycarp of Smyrna, who was a bishop and a martyr. All of these observed the fourteenth day of the Passover according to the Gospel. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History V:24)

Polycrates and the bishop of Rome (Victor) were arguing whether to celebrate Passover on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan or to celebrate it on the Sunday nearest Nisan 14. Polycrates argues that it was the habit of Philip, John, and Polycarp to celebrate Nisan 14. Victor, bishop of Rome, argued that Paul and Peter had taught them to always observe Passover on a Sunday.

The point is that Passover was observed all over the Christian world by the middle to late second century, whichever day it was celebrated on. Further, the Christians of the latter half of the second century claimed that they had received this practice from the apostles.

I have a question.

Does anyone care?

Why don’t we ever hear any sermons about the fact that Easter descended from the celebration of Passover? Why aren’t we told that Christians everywhere celebrated Passover each year?

The huge majority of us follow in the footsteps of the early churches, and we don’t keep a weekly Sabbath; at least not one on which we physically rest. The early churches believed that Jesus had expanded the Law, bringing it to a spiritual fullness, and thus they kept a daily, spiritual Sabbath.

We follow their footsteps in rejecting a physical, weekly Sabbath, but we do not follow their footsteps in recognizing Passover. Instead, we’ve applied some pagan term to the day.

I’m not even objecting to the pagan term. I’m objecting to the fact that we don’t tell Christians what was before the pagan term. The apostles’ churches celebrated Passover each year!

Celebrating Passover

Not much is said about the way the early churches celebrated Passover. I see no indication that they had a Seder meal each year.

A new deliverance was wrought when Christ, our new Passover lamb, was sacrificed for us. Jesus delivered us from a spiritual Egypt, and he delivered us from a much more dangerous spiritual death and Angel of Death.

The Passover meal in fleshly Israel was a lamb that had lived among the family. The Passover meal in spiritual Israel is God’s Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world, that also came and lived among us. We eat his body, and we drink his blood.

Our Passover food is the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. It is true meat and true drink.

As far as I can tell, this is the only Passover meal that the Christians of the apostolic era celebrated. I can’t be certain of that because so little is said, but the whole feel of the early church writings makes me confident that they weren’t doing a Jewish Seder meal. They were eating the Lord’s Supper because Jesus is our Passover.

Baptism on Passover

It eventually became a habit to be baptized on Passover.

In the Book of Acts, all baptisms are immediate. The Philippian jailer was even baptized in the middle of the night.

The time from belief to baptism began expanding very quickly, however. The Didache, a late first or early second century document, speaks of fasting for one or two days prior to baptism. Later we read about it being a week. Finally, it’s Tertullian, around A.D. 210, who first discusses baptism happening on Passover, apparently only once each year.

That’s not surprising. False conversions had been a problem from the earliest times. Simon the Magician in Acts 8 is an excellent example. Asking a person to fast for two days before being baptized is an effective method for weeding out those who are just putting on a show!

It wasn’t effective enough, however, and it became normal in the third century for converts to be put in "catechism" classes to learn basic doctrine for a long period. Then they would be baptized when Passover rolled around.

I’ve often wondered if this is where the fast—what we call Lent—prior to Passover came from. When Justin Martyr mentions having a convert fast prior to baptism, he mentions that "we pray and fast with him" (First Apology 61). So were Christians fasting prior to Passover because of the baptisms that were coming?

Whether that’s the source or not, Christians fasted anywhere from one or two days to forty days prior to Passover. At the Council of Nicea in 325, this was standardized to forty days for all the churches, and our modern forty-day lent was born.

Fasting in the early churches wasn’t always completely doing without food. Sometimes it was limiting food intake to just bread and water, and any money saved was given to the poor. Other Christians might fast all day long, but then eat after the sun went down (much as the Muslims practice Ramadan).

Conclusion

That’s our heritage. I thought you might want to know. You don’t have to call it "Resurrection Day," though you can if you want. You can use the term the apostles’ churches used: Passover.

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Looking for the Kingdom of God

Posted on 04/21/2011 by Paul Pavao

One of the things that has always stood out to me about God is how he takes sides. Me, I honor peace-making in all situations. I’m always looking for a way to reconcile everybody, and I’m very slow to pick sides in an argument. I prefer never having to.

Not God. He’s God, so he figures everyone ought to be on his side. He also figures no opinion is as educated as his, so he always has a side.

It can be good to be slow to pick a side in an argument. Modern Christians are very prone to having a nauseous obsession (this is one possible translation of noseo in 1 Tim. 6:4) with disputes. In many such cases, God’s position is that both sides are in sin.

But even in such cases, God usually isn’t looking for a man (or woman) who sweetly settles the disputants down. He’s looking for a disciple who will speak straightly enough that the Holy Spirit has something to back up.

We forget—I know I often do—that our words can carry power because they are of God, not just because they’re full of wisdom. God doesn’t want to persuade the world with words. He wants to convict them by his Spirit.

Who can deny that Jesus was a straight talker, giving God something to back up?

Looking for the Kingdom of God

I’m not really on subject yet. My subject is the fact that Joseph of Arimathaea was considered honorable by God because he was looking for the kingdom of God (Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50-51), despite the fact that he was being a disciple only secretly because he feared the Jews (Jn. 19:38).

Joseph was taking God’s side. He wanted God to rule. His opinions agreed with God’s opinions, not those of the Pharisees around him, nor those that made others happy.

This mattered to God. The Scriptures call him a disciple, and they call him good and just.

I read a book by N.T. Wright that said that "righteousness" is a very "covenant" word. It doesn’t have so much to do with good deeds (though 1 Jn. 3:7-10 makes it clear that it can). It has to do with being in good covenant standing with God. Righteousness means you are fully in the covenant; you have not violated it.

I believe this. It not only rings true with me, but it helps reconcile some of the things Paul says about righteousness as a gift and what John says about the practice of righteousness (1 Jn. 3:7-10, as just mentioned, and 2:3-4 as well).

Joseph had a big problem. He was being a secret disciple. Jesus once said that if we fail to acknowledge him before men, he won’t acknowledge us before his Father. In some way, though, Joseph was at least acknowledging Christ because Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all knew he was a disciple. Further, Jesus has acknowledged Joseph as a disciple to the whole world by having the Holy Spirit include him in Scripture.

And he gave him one kudo … one only. Joseph was looking for the kingdom of God.

What Are You Looking For?

So you don’t smoke pot, you don’t cuss, you buy Girl Scout Cookies (mint chocolate, of course), and you don’t watch that obnoxious, evil, offensive, and effeminate Jack Sparrow on Pirates of the Caribbean. Congratulations for all those good things, but …

What are you looking for?

Are you looking for the kingdom of God? Or are you looking for a nice retirement, a job with benefits, a college education, and the eternal reign of the glorious congress, president, and supreme court of the U.S. of A.?

Beyond the question of whether you’re doing good things, who’s side are you on?

God really cares about that.

Do you wonder why a man like David was "after God’s own heart"? I assure you, it wasn’t because he had nine wives, ten concubines, nor because he killed Uriah to marry Bathsheba, nor because he gave Abigail two whole months to mourn before he married her. It also wasn’t because he flipped back and forth between ordering people to leave Shimei alone and ordering them to kill him.

David was always on God’s side.

And he didn’t care whom he offended. (As a side note, I’m campaigning for the reinstatement of the word “whom.” You use it wherever you would use “him,” and you use “who” where you would use “he.”)

Even Samson, who did not qualify as a man after God’s own heart, was greatly used by God. Despite his problems, he always fought on Israel’s side, even when the motivation was sometimes really, really selfish and juvenile.

It’s God’s Feelings That Matter

Real prophets are persecuted.

It’s because they’re really careful about God’s feelings.

It’s okay, even important, to be kind.

It’s not okay to risk hurting God’s feelings.

Who will walk in the holy hill of the Lord? He … in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord. ~Psalm 15:4

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How to Pick an Excellent Wife

Posted on 04/19/2011 by Paul Pavao

I was at a wedding a couple weeks ago, and something someone said got me to thinking about the qualities of a good wife.

If I were to give advice to someone—my sons, for example—about what constitutes a good wife, here’s what I would say. I base this on 23 years of marriage, 29 years of watching Christian marriages, and 15 years of living in community and thus getting to live with other married couples under the same roof. I’m also speaking to Christians who want to do God’s will with their spouse. If you don’t want to do God’s will, then I have no advice for you on any subject except that you should repent before the day you wish you had.

An excellent Wife Who Can Find?

This post turned out pretty long, so let me just list the three qualities I think are most important in a wife, then explain why.

  • Devoted to God
  • Adventurous
  • Independent/Ambitious

Devoted to God

There are religious men who are very concerned about whether their wife is submissive. It’s true that the Scriptures command wives to submit to their husbands, but a wife that submits to her husband without making it clear when she believes him to be outside the will of God is worthless.

If you’re a disciple, you want a wife that loves God more than she loves you. Such a wife will benefit you.

That’s not to say that wives shouldn’t submit when they disagree with their husbands. Within reason, they should.

Submission and Conquering

If you’re in a hurry, looking for a short blog, skip this text box.

For those of you that are women’s libbers to the point that you don’t think a wife should submit to their husband, you should learn something about submission in general. Submission isn’t giving in. Submission is conquering. Again, I’m speaking to those that want to do God’s will over their own. God is real. The truth has real power to overthrow tyranny, whether by husbands, church leaders, or governmental leaders. Rome killed Christians for 300 years, and Christians boasted that they conquered as they died.

Submission is too complicated a subject to say much more. Some women should flee their husbands, in particular if their husbands hit them. Others should benefit their husbands by refusing to join their husband in his sin, rebellion, or laziness.

But submission wherever God will let you submit is powerful.

I’ll quit. This blog is for husbands, not wives. ‘Nuff said.

You don’t want a wife who will simply do what you say when you’re out of God’s will. You don’t want a wife that you have cow into submission. You want a wife that is devoted to God. Then submission will take care of itself.

The Scriptures may command a wife to submit to her husband, but it never commands a husband to rule his wife. A good husband will lead his wife, and a good wife will know when her husband is trusting God and trying to do his will. (It will make no difference whether she actually agrees it’s God’s will. Submission is not about agreement. If a wife only submits when she agrees, then she’s never submitted at all. Nonetheless, a wife should always be heard and considered.)

Hmm. What a complicated subject. I hope I haven’t said too much. That all seemed important, though.

Okay, the point is, men, you want a wife that is devoted to God first and you only second. You need a wife who will be greatly offended if you offend God. You want a wife you will speak her mind.

And you want a wife who will follow you to the very gates of Hell because she can trust God that far as long as she knows his will is being pursued.

Deception, by the way, is never a Christian’s problem. Deception is the result of disobedience (or of not being in the church). Where the church exists and obeys, there will never be deception, because God will speak to the church and cure deception.

Most churches, however, have too many rules to completely obey God. When God starts breaking out of their box, they let him go. Then they safely and peacefully settle into their rebellion and deception, thinking that everything’s just fine because they haven’t wandered and are sitting in the same place.

I’m off subject again.

Get a wife who loves God more than she loves you.

Adventurous

Adventurous is better than even courageous. An adventurous woman is already a courageous woman, by definition.

If you’re going to follow God, then you better have an adventurous woman because you never know when God is going to make you an adventurous man, whether by sending you somewhere or asking you to take a stand that he needs taken.

An adventurous woman will also be a selfless woman. You’ve already chosen a woman devoted to God, adding adventurous to that assures you’ll have a wife who isn’t worried about the things of this world. Too much to do for God! She’ll let you fill the house with the needy (I don’t necessarily mean needing money) and those who can’t pay you back because she delights in the adventure of caring for Jesus. She’ll let you move her out of her perfect home because she wants to see what God has at the other end of your move.

Independent/Ambitious

You want an independent, perhaps even ambitious wife. She has her own ideas of how to serve God. Why should your service for God be based on only your mind and spirit? Between the two of you, you have two minds and two spirits. Praise God for a wife who brings hers to the partnership!

None of us ought to be selfishly ambitious, but your wife ought to be dreaming about how she’s going to serve God. She ought to have things God has put on her heart, as well as helping you with what God has put on your heart (and vice versa). Marriage is a partnership.

The man should lead. He should have one major quality that qualifies him for leadership. He should be able to take a beating, take responsibility, suffer, and care nothing about himself, but only about God. In that sense, he should be stronger than his wife. He should have the final say, and he should take all the blame and make every effort to bear all the pain of every bad decision.

And he ought to do so gladly.

There’s nothing more useless than a wimpy husband.

Sorry for being so blunt, but cowards and the faithless are listed before murderers, the sexually immoral, and idolaters as those who are thrown in the lake of fire. Yes, my friend, you might want to consider that it’s possibly worse for a Christian to be a chicken than to be an adulterer or a homosexual.

Pluck it up.

Summing It Up

This post is kind of rambling. I did not stay on the subject very well. I hope there’s something here than benefitted you.

I have a wife that’s devoted to God, adventurous, independent and ambitious. I picked her carefully. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes, and I have my fair share of weaknesses, but I proved to be a master at picking a wife.

Of course, you better love God enough and be tough enough to have a wife like that. You don’t have to be particularly smart or talented. You just have to be courageous and full of love for the will of God. Everything else will work itself out.

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The World’s Worst “Wife Birthday” Card

Posted on 04/18/2011 by Paul Pavao

Today I found the worst “wife birthday” card ever.

I was at WalMart (yes, I confess I was shopping at Corporate Evil HQ) for a birthday card for my wife, and I found one that said … Well, I’ll have to paraphrase because I can’t remember word for word:

Dear wife,
I love you because you understand me. You love me despite my faults, and you see me for who I am.

What???

Now, I want you to pause here, look away, and decide whether you agree that’s a really terrible card. If you don’t understand, then what I’m about to tell you will change your life and your relationship with everyone.

Pause, pause, pause, while you’re not looking and deciding why it’s a terrible card.

…

The World’s Worst “Wife’s Birthday” Card

Can you paraphrase what that card says? Here, let me give you a different paraphrase:

“I love you because you think about me and let me talk about myself even when it’s your birthday. You’re not bothered by the fact that I can’t get my mind off myself.”

If you’re a Christian, you have to do a lot better than that—and with more than your wife.

At Rose Creek Village, we like to say that if you want to speak into another person’s life, you have to answer three questions for them: Do you love me? Do you see me? Do you care?

You can answer those questions with your eyes or with your words. You can answer that question in advance by the way you treat the person that you’re talking to. But in some way, you need to answer those questions—and answer them all with yes—before you can really expect them to hear what you have to say.

That world’s worst wife’s birthday card doesn’t answer those questions, it asks them.

Husbands, at least on your wife’s birthday, surely you can answer those questions for her, not tell her you appreciate that she answers those questions for you! Talk about selfish! Good grief.

If you’re one of those guys who would have bought a card like that, then it’s time to look at yourself ONE LAST TIME. Acknowledge your selfishness, repent, and forget about whether anyone, including your wife, understands you. UNDERSTAND THEM INSTEAD!

I think it was Frances of Assissi who prayed:

Father, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all of my heart

Time to pray that prayer, then buy a card that talks about her, not you.

A Final Note

Some years back, I used to run a warehouse by myself. Every day UPS would come by and pick up the packages I’d packed. The UPS driver was a real chatty fellow, very pleasant to be around.

Anyway, he’d get to telling stories, and then he’d stop and say, "Enough about me. Let’s talk about you. What do you think about me?"

He was joking. Make sure when you act like that, you are, too.

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Grant’s Tomb and the Words of God

Posted on 04/16/2011 by Paul Pavao

"Get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding." – Proverbs 4:5

Recently I saw a movie called Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. There’s a modern remake, but I saw the 1936 version with Gary Cooper. Really good movie. I love romances, and this one was both humorous and insightful into human nature.

Anyway, at one point Gary Cooper, playing Longfellow Deeds, gets to see Grant’s Tomb for the first time in his life. The worldly-wise female reporter, who obviously was going to become the other half of the romance, says, “Well, there it is.” She clearly expects him to be disappointed, and she comments that most people are.

He then says, "Do you know what I see? I see an Ohio country boy who grows up to be a general in the United States Army. I see Lee surrendering to that Ohio boy. I see him standing and taking the oath to be president of the United States. That could only happen in a country as great as ours."

Grant's Tomb, public domain

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

It really wasn’t that moving of a scene, but it distinctly highlighted the difference that attitude can make.

I know people that are excited all the time about the Word of God. They are excited when they read the Bible. They are excited when they hear preaching and teaching. They are excited when people speak into their lives.

Free Gift

Here’s a little free gift that has nothing to do with today’s post: What’s the difference between preaching and teaching?

In modern parlance, nothing really. But in Scripture, there’s a very significant difference. For example, in 1 Tim. 2:7 and 2 Tim. 1:11 Paul describes himself as both a preacher and a teacher in the same sentence. If you look through the two words that are translated "preach" in most Bibles—euangelizo and kerusso—you’ll see that they are exclusively used of proclaiming the Gospel to the lost. Teaching, on the other hand, is for the church.

When we call a pastor a preacher, we lose the Scriptural distinction between a shepherd and an evangelist. Bad move, in my opinion.

The fact is, though, that we have already lost the distinction, and most pastors do very little actual shepherding, but instead are held responsible if the church isn’t growing! Hmm …

What’s even more amazing is that these people can listen to some pretty boring and occasionally rather shallow teaching and still be excited.

Why? Because the Word of God is the Word of God. It is the very life of a disciple. Thus, they happily sit through an hour of chopping rock to get one precious gem. (That’s supposed to be a mining analogy, which I point out just in case poor writing or my poor understanding of mining makes the analogy unclear.)

But how many of us struggle to find some time to read the Scriptures. How many of us sit through good or very good teaching, loaded with precious gems, yet complain because 50% of the teaching time was like chopping rock. Or worse, we complain if even 10% of the teaching time was a little slow.

We’re lazy people. We want the riches of God handed to us. We can find a YouTube video of some spectacular teacher, who never lets one minute of his sermon get boring. Why should we labor our way through the disorderly words of some lover of God who has to struggle to get his point across to us.

When Longfellow Deeds saw Grant’s Tomb, he didn’t see an unimpressive building. He saw an idea. He saw the sweat and labor of pioneers and soldiers.

It’s the exact same kind of thinking that makes the difference between a disciple, who is granted access to the treasures of God, and a member of an audience, who is happily entertained but for the most part granted access only to “strong delusion,” following the many in blissful ignorance of what Jesus said about what road the many travel on.

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Making Christian History Exciting and Interesting

Posted on 04/08/2011 by Paul Pavao

This is a shameless, self-promotion of my ebook. It’s a reprint of my Christian History Newsletter.

I’m allowing myself to do both because the general reaction to the ebook—It’s a full-fledged 440-page book on the Council of Nicea—has been surprise that it’s so interesting. This blog explains why they’re surprised, and why we shouldn’t be.

Ready?

The Council of Nicea transformed the faith to which you and I belong. But who knows?

Christian history doesn’t arouse images of excitement and urgency. When I write “the Council of Nicea,” almost no one thinks, “This will be fun!”

That’s not the fault of the story. The Council of Nicea could easily be a Hollywood movie. Intrigue, murder, vying for power, sinister plots, religious hypocrisy, but also some gallant, earnest, and courageous men and women.

The motto of Christian History for Everyman has always been that we’re rescuing our heritage and stories from the boring halls of academia. Think about it. What is history? Isn’t it the collection of stories and facts that we think are the most interesting, exciting, and memorable of all time?

How could that be boring?

It’s a saying that truth is stranger than fiction. We all can think of instances where we’ve said, “That’s too far out to be made up.”

Hollywood gives us, mostly, the made-up stuff.

Exciting as that is, real history’s BETTER!

In the Beginning Was the Logos

I’m releasing a book today (an ebook; the printed version will be available around May 15). Only friends have read it so far, and the universal reaction is:

  • Wow. I never dreamed this would be interesting!

Of course it’s interesting!!!

You have to work to make the Council of Nicea boring. You have to work even harder to make the Council of Nicea boring for Christians.

  • It affects your faith!
  • This is your heritage!
  • It’s full of fascinating twists and turns and the most incredible scheming!

Arius, the man who started all the hoopla, was excommunicated by a council of over 100 bishops.

Why didn’t that simply resolve the issue?

The answer is that a distant relative of the emperor used his political influence to move himself from the insignificant town of Berytus to the residence of the emperor in Nicomedia. His name was Eusebius, and he hated the bishop of Alexandria–the very man who had led the excommunication of Arius.

Further, both Arius and Eusebius had been taught by an elder from Antioch named Lucian. Lucian had been out of communion with the church of Antioch for at least 16 years and possibly 35. Later, though, he’d returned, was martyred, and today he’s “Saint” Lucian, whose feast day is celebrated every year on January 7.

Eusebius gave Arius just the leg up he needed, and the rest, as they say is history.

But what history!

In their efforts to have the bishop of Alexandria framed for some crime and removed, Eusebius managed to get hold of a severed human hand. He claimed that the bishop of Alexandria had tortured a bishop who agreed with Arius, then cut off his hand to use in magic rites.

Unfortunately, the supposedly tortured elder, named Arsenius, couldn’t contain his curiosity. So he turned up in a tavern not far from the court.

He was spotted.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

The stories are incredible. The twists, delightful. The information, crucial.

The Bishop of Alexandria

I mentioned the bishop of Alexandria above. I actually mentioned two of them, but I didn’t tell you because it seemed a distraction. Eusebius hated both of them.

One excommunicated Arius and battled Eusebius at the Council of Nicea. The other was Nicea’s greatest champion afterward.

How did that first bishop meet the second?

That story, too, is fascinating, but I’m not telling it to you here.

The Book

If you’re getting this newsletter, then you’ve been to Christian-history.org, and you liked something enough to sign up for my newsletter. I haven’t had time to do the newsletter since December because I’ve been writing this book, which was research-intensive, to say the least.

Hopefully, if you’ve read much of my site at all, you know the incredible effort I put into every page. I don’t gloss over things. I research them, and I tell you where the stories came from. Whenever possible, I tell you stories from the people who were there.

In the Beginning Was the Logos is no different.

The Council of Nicea made some decisions. Their creed is recited in millions of churches every week to this day.

I want to show you that almost every church that recites it pays very little attention to what it says.

Two Men Named Eusebius

There was another man named Eusebius at the Council of Nicea. He was a historian, and he was having some trouble with both sides of the debate.

So when the creed was formed, Eusebius the historian asked some questions. He asked lots of questions. Then he wrote a letter.

  • “We have all concurred, but not without due examination.”
  • “On justifiable grounds we resisted to the last moment”
  • “[We] received them without dispute when, on mature deliberation … they appeared to agree”

He asked the meaning of every controversial expression in the creed. Then he wrote to his church and told them what the council itself said those words meant.

Does anyone care? Why would we forget such things?

They brawled in bars over these words, and they beat each other–quite literally to death–in the streets over these things.

Why? What was so important?

What can we learn from this most momentous event in the history of the church?

I believe that this is the easiest to understand, the easiest to verify, the most interesting, and the most believable book answering those questions that exists.

What I’m hoping is that this email and what you’ve seen on my site makes you believe me enough to find out. I’ve convinced the friends who know and trust me. They expressed genuine surprise as well as some joy that this history can belong to them as well. But can I convince you?

It’s an ebook right now. It will also be in print in about a month. You can buy it now at:

That link will take you straight to Christian History for Everyman’s page about the book.

For this blog and for the Christian History Newsletter, I’m offering half price, at $9.95, until April 15. (This book is over 400 pages. It’s a full treatment of the subject, and it’s quick-paced all the way through.) I’ll put the price back to $19.95 the next day and advertise it on Christian History for Everyman as well. For now, it’s just those who read this blog and get my newsletter that can get the book!

You will never have felt so close to history before, and you will never have been more confident that you know what, where, who, and why about any other event of history. This event matters to all of us.

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Church or Weekly Speech?

Posted on 04/03/2011 by Paul Pavao

Today, when we stopped for our lunch in the midst of our travels, I watched Dr. Drew on TV.

The emphasis here is on “watch.” There was no sound. I was in a restaurant. It was apparent that Dr. Drew was in church, speaking very dramatically and with excellent hand gestures and body movements. Otherwise, I know nothing about him. I never heard about him before I saw his name on the screen after his speech.

I like entertaining speakers. I like them even better if they have something worthwhile to say. I listened to Zig Ziglar in person once, about 25 years ago, and I was impressed. I also thought, and think, his motivational ideas and positive attitude towards life are worth following.

In fact, what I remember from his speech is his wonderful, positive attitude and all the glowing things he said about his wife, “the redhead.”

I like Rob Bell, too. Excellent, excellent, speaker, and once more I’m recommending everyone listen to his excellent teaching called Covered in the Dust of Your Rabbi.

Christians should hear inspiring teachings like the ones Rob Bell gives. They should read articles by N.T. Wright. They should even occasionally catch people like Zig Ziglar, and at least once they ought to read How to Win Friends and Influence People.

But I wish there were some way to communicate how ludicrous it is to call a speech a church!!!

The Church

The Church is wonderful.

  • It is the body of Christ, the Son of God seated at the right hand of God in heaven. Thus, the church is a people moved and animated by Jesus Christ!
  • It is the household of God. What better family could a person be in than one in which God himself is the Father? What care, what joy, what power, and even what fun that family must have!
  • It is a place where extra money comes in solely to be held for the care of those who are short of money. What wonderful love the members of the church must have for one another!
  • It is people whose love comes not from themselves, but from the Holy Spirit. God’s love—that love which is deeper, more practical, and more insightful than any human love—is "shed abroad" in their hearts, available abundantly for all to partake of.
  • It is the people among whom everyone is needed, and where no one is independent or completely self-reliant because none of them are able to say they don’t need the others.
  • It’s the people where your every pain and joy is shared because it’s a body with the blood and life of Christ flowing between them and giving them a shared life.
  • It’s the pillar and support of the truth, where the members can come together and be led by the Anointing into what is true and not a lie, so that we no longer have to wonder about direction for our lives.

The Weekly Speech and Songs

Weekly speeches are also wonderful … though not as wonderful as the church, of course.

  • The Weekly Speech is a place to learn potentially life-changing truths.
  • The Weekly Speech is a place to be entertained by a skilled speaker and a skilled singer and also get to participate in inspiring group singing and praise.
  • If you attend the right weekly speech, it can be a good place to meet people who are in God’s family, though the vast majority don’t actually participate in that family.
  • The Weekly Speech is a place to contribute up to ten percent of your income—based on a grossly-misused Old Testament command—to professionals and programs while people all around you—who don’t know you and thus are embarrassed to tell you—lose their jobs, their houses, their cars, and move in with a biological relative because although they’ve been told they’re in God’s family, they don’t actually know anyone in God’s family who would do the same for them.

I better quit. I tried to check the sarcasm, but it just came gushing out.

The Travesty of the Church

"Travesty" means "an exaggerated or grotesque imitation" (TheFreeDictionary.com).

It is amazing to me that we can read the Bible and claim it’s our "sole rule for faith and practice," and then join a Weekly Speech club and say we’re joining the church! Have we really paid no attention to the Scriptures that produced the description of the church I gave above?

"Grotesque imitation" seems like a very fair description of the Weekly Speech when it masquerades as the church.

An Illustration

Let’s say I ran across some poor, lonely person with nowhere to live, and I said, "You don’t have to be without a family anymore; you can join my family!"

"Really?" asks this person, whom I’m about to con in a most terrible manner.

"Yes, really! It’s a great family, too, filled with a supernatural love."

"What do I have to do?" this poor sucker asks.

"You just show up for our weekly meeting," I explain. "There, we’ll sing some songs together, and my dad will give you an inspiring speech to help you know how to live life. Oh, and in between, we’ll collect ten percent of your income. Then you can go away for a week. Do call occasionally if you need some counseling, and if dad’s not busy working, he can give you some."

Isn’t that great? What an awesome way to join a family!

Enough said.

Lighting a Candle

I’ve pointed out the darkness. Let me light a candle.

Weekly speeches are good. Attend them if you want. Maybe once a month or something. More if you find a really good one. They can be a good place to meet other Christians who have been deceived into thinking they’ve joined a church.

But do this, too:

  • Quit paying them an Old Testament tithe. They’re not Israelite priests, and you don’t live in Israel. Even if they were and you did, you should be keeping 2/3 of your tithe to spend on good food and strong drink at the yearly festivals (Deut. 14). Good speakers can get by on a lot less than that.
  • Join a real church that’s like what I described above. That’s almost impossible to find, but Christians aren’t. Get involved with some (try meetup.com, googling "men’s breakfast," or attending a Weekly Speech and actually talking to people about getting together like family.
  • I’ve never been among committed Christians where I couldn’t find several that, when removed from the pressure to "be a witness," didn’t admit to being lonely, confused, or in doubt. Find one or more of those, and meet their need. That’s what family does. You’ll get off to a much better start if you’re concerned about someone else’s need rather than your own.
  • You don’t have to create that family with such people. By the blood of Jesus, you already are family. The Scriptures command us to maintain the unity of the Spirit, not create it.
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