Thursday 27 November 2014

Great Quote RE: Postmodernism & Certainty

“When the prevailing philosophy claims that truth is relative or basically unknowable or strictly personal or largely irrelevant, in other words, when our only certainty is our uncertainty, there is nothing more irritating than someone coming along and smashing such nonconclusive conclusions. There is nothing more unsettling than someone who has settled things.” - Dale Ahlquist

Monday 1 September 2014

Great Quote

“The saint needed by each culture is the one who contradicts it the most.”
 - G.K. Chesterton

10 Books You Must Read

Below I have listed the 10 most influential books upon my Christianity (besides the scriptures themselves). I have put them in order & I would say the top three stand out far above the rest - read them and you will be changed. Most are written by men out of this century, half of them prior to the 20th century & have stood the test of time. I will provide links for the online editions of these texts if available.

1. Desiring God by John Piper
A brief summary:  God is most glorified when when are most satisfied in Him. The pursuit of God as the foundation of happiness - how commanding the glory of God as our purpose results in our ultimate happiness if He alone is our treasure on earth.

2. All of Grace by C H Spurgeon
Hands down the best book I've read on grace. This unwittingly introduced me to the doctrines of grace & I haven't looked back.

3. Man the Dwelling Place of God by A W Tozer
Many small messages from a man who walked with God.
 
4. Humility by Andrew Murray
Humility - the root of all virtue.

5. A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law
This book is somewhat catholic in its works emphasis but it still challenges Christians to a more devout life. Take it with a grain of salt.  I would recommended it for mature Christians only who understand the gospel well.  There is much good to take from this book - but at points it may emphasize self-effort above God dependance.  Also at points he implies our works justify us (they don't).  Again, this ones for mature Christians only, but an inspiring read despite its flaws.

6. Confessions by Augustine
I recommend the use of the Pie-Coffin or Boulding translations (both modern English) - buy it cheap somewhere. The online versions are in old english and are hard to follow.

7. Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem
You'll have to buy this as well. I doubt you can legally find a version to read online. The best systematic theology I have read.
 
8. Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin
Many people hate on Calvin for the infamous Calvinism named after him.  To be fair I would say most people think they hate Calvinism but what they are actually despising is hyper-Calvinism. Don't be fooled.   His systematic theology shows the fight he put up against the catholic church during the heated years of the reformation - it is gospel & God centered not predestination centered. That said he does not shy away from teaching election as it is taught in scripture when it is required. Being God centered - he does rightly infer the reality of divine election - God, not man being the author of a persons faith. That is for another post though. He is eloquent, thought provoking & saturates his text with scripture.  Highly recommended. If you hate Calvinism - I challenge you to read book 3 (his soteriology) & from scripture, find where he errs. Personally, I think he nails it.

9. The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun
The true story of brother Yun in China.  An amazing account of how Christ transformed his life and his community, despite severe persecution from the government.  God supernaturally intervening many times to save & preserve Yun.

10. A Prodigal God by Tim Keller
A rehashing of the story of the prodigal son - focusing on the elder brother, not the rebellious younger brother.

Sunday 17 August 2014

Only One Life - C T Studd

“Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its days I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say “’twas worth it all”;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. ”

-C.T. Studd

Sunday 15 June 2014

The Nihilists Rant

Something intangible permeates life. The hum in a mans heart, every pointless day, trying to make sense of things.  Trying to attach some purpose to the series of events that unfold in our ever so regular days.  Frequently, they meld into one blur.  The 9 to 5 grind.  It devours us.  Days come and go.  We work to live, and live to work and then die.

Purpose.  What purpose is there though besides survival?  This world pursues 3 things: sex, money and power.  All are appropriate if moderated, but if not, they are the causation of all pain and injustice in the universe.  The most dangerous word I mentioned though was 'pursue'.  Ambition.  Touted as the greatest virtue amongst almost all classes and creeds of men.  The ambition of man has destroyed so much.  Soaring to tantalizing heights on the backs of others.  Dog eat dog.  Welcome to life.

I am a disillusioned soul.  We live in an universal plutocracy .  The rich have and always will rule at the expense of the poor majority and there is nothing anyone can do to stop this. Forget politics.  Let them have their dose of power and wealth.  Give me shelter and food and I will be content.  "Whom have I in heaven but You?  And on earth there is nothing I desire besides You? My flesh and my heart may fail me, but you oh God are the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" - Psalm 73

The things of this world are meaningless and bland.  If I didn't know Christ I would have taken my leave from this worlds stage long ago.  Without God - life has no point, no meaning and is of no use.  Especially for common folk.  The herd.  Luckily this is not reality.  Reality is, God. Christ brought light to what it is to be human.  To love God with all we have and love our neighbour.  Life will end, but really, that is just the beginning.  Death is liberty from this life and body to be with Christ.  We must endure to the end though for the glory of God.  As Micah 6:8 states "He has shown you oh man what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do good, to love kindness and mercy; and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God".

Walk with God.  Sometimes life will seem pointless, sometimes you will feel like you have no influence or impact - live  life anyway, talk anyway. Your reward, as a Christian, is from God alone.  Work under His watchful eye, preach for the audience of one. "Why do you fear man who can only kill the body?" asked Christ.  "I tell you who you should fear, fear God who has the power to kill both body and soul in hell". Fear God not man. Life is a limited commodity.  Immortality belongs to those truly acquainted with Christ but not the majority that don't.  Preach the gospel by any means. That Christ died to save sinners.  This message alone is the reason we breath.  Nothing else matters while billions are en-route to an eternal hell.  No time invested in God is wasted.  In fact, only the time invested in God is worth any value at all. Peace.



Tuesday 10 June 2014

The Old Cross & The New - A.W. Tozer

Unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.

From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure, only now he takes delight in singing choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a higher plane morally if not intellectually.

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner anal jollier way of living and saves his self-respect. To the self-assertive it says, "Come and assert yourself for Christ." To the egotist it says, "Come and do your boasting in the Lord." To the thrillseeker it says, "Come and enjoy the thrill of Christian fellowship." The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death. It stands always on the far side of the cross. Whoever would possess it must pass under the rod. He must repudiate himself and concur in God's just sentence against him.

What does this mean to the individual, the condemned man who would find life in Christ Jesus? How can this theology be translated into life? Simply, he must repent and believe. He must forsake his sins and then go on to forsake himself. Let him cover nothing, defend nothing, excuse nothing. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God's stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.

Having done this let him gaze with simple trust upon the risen Saviour, and from Him will come life and rebirth and cleansing and power. The cross that ended the earthly life of Jesus now puts an end to the sinner; and the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

To any who may object to this or count it merely a narrow and private view of truth, let me say God has set His hallmark of approval upon this message from Paul's day to the present. Whether stated in these exact words or not, this has been the content of all preaching that has brought life and power to the world through the centuries. The mystics, the reformers, the revivalists have put their emphasis here, and signs and wonders and mighty operations of the Holy Ghost gave witness to God's approval.

Dare we, the heirs of such a legacy of power, tamper with the truth? Dare we with our stubby pencils erase the lines of the blueprint or alter the pattern shown us in the Mount? May God forbid. Let us preach the old cross and we will know the old power.

This was taken from "Man - the dwelling place of God" by A.W. Tozer - a man of God.

Sunday 1 June 2014

A Critique of the Emergent Church

The emergent church has gained traction over the past two decades.  I see it as a missional response to our post-modern society, where truth basically is said to be unknowable - aka postmodernism. Some churches have adapted to this culture in an attempt to be relevant.  Taking a non dogmatic relational approach they seek to engage with society.  To an extant, it works.  Crowds are drawn, mega churches are born and  preachers become celebrities.  I see the movements purpose, but I fear it over compensates one extreme to the detriment of the other.  My father always told me, wisdom is in the middle way - in balance, in moderation.  I really think that is Gods method.  An overemphasis on a truth or underemphasis is just as incorrect as a lie.  Its a distortion of the truth.  We should seek truth in its right proportions and to deliver that truth accordingly.
 
We can see two faces in the church.  One face is the traditional, those that sing hymns and focus on holiness, those who are conservative, who generally take scripture at face value.  The other face are the liberals,  those who think scripture is primarily a metaphor, who generally are more morally lax but more socially active - in the sense of social justice, such as ending poverty and the like. The liberals may deny the foundations of the faith, like Jesus' resurrection, virgin birth etc. At which point, it is safe to say they cease being 'christian' and begin being a person simply morally inspired by the bible.  Of course there are 20 thousand shades of grey between these two faces but that is the reality.

I see the emergent church as liberal leaning in ideology. Its focus is purposefully ambiguous so as to inspire but never confront or challenge.  This is something I struggle with comprehending.  Personally I feel like a judgmental stereotypical 'conservative' saying that. When I hear the names of emergent leaders anger kindles in my heart.  Why?  Because I feel the truth is being distorted and maligned.  People are taught that the bible wasn't addressed to you so there really is no way it is knowable to you personally. Most just wink at this though.  I sincerely ask myself - am I just conceited?  Am I just full of pride and want to feel superior so I critique?  I don't believe so.  I just value truth and see the movement as an enemy of the truth.  The aposlte warned of a time when people would heap teachers up for themselves to be taught what they wanted to be taught not truth.

I believe the church should be culturally relevant - with modern worship, understandable biblical translations (though still literal interpretations). I believe the theology taught and messages preached should not merely be biblically inspired but saturated with scripture - not cliche feel good motivational messages irrelevant to the text, but explanations of a chapter.  It seems as though its one or the other.  Either it is saturated with scripture, holiness is encouraged but the church is so bland and disconnected from society or the church is so blended with society you cant tell the difference between the church and the world.  Scripture is never quoted, but its a cool scene with nice friendly people seeking social justice. What I don't get with the latter is that you don't need to be a christian to do any of that.  Plenty of my secular friends are really cool, friendly and seek social justice too.  As I write this I am currently disillusioned with churches for the reasons listed and don't attend one.  I realize I should but its hard searching for a good one.  One that is both relevant and faithful to scripture.

So why can't I return to my old church?  I have many friends there.  I may have fought with a pastor but I've moved on.  That said I believe the reasons that I left - the root problems of many emergent churches are completely unaddressed and I believe I would just walk out every Sunday frustrated with the lack of scripture actually taught.  Here's a question...is it pivotal that a good amount of scripture is taught on a Sunday?  Am I just nitpicking at a minor problem?  Or is this reason enough to have left?  It is a very subjective question.  Personally I am of the opinion the primary purpose of an organized church is the proclamation of the gospel and teaching the word of God.  To others its 'being' the church and building relationships. Of course its both, and you cant have one without the other.  But if I believe the bible isn't proclaimed and the word is barely taught - what is the point of building relationships?  Some say to talk about scripture - and that happens sometimes yes, but the controversial issues people avoid.  The very issues that need to be talked about are frequently swept under the rug.  People want low key, entertainment oriented relationships - they don't want to be dragged into theological and philosophical discussion.  Politics and religion are the taboo subjects of our society - polite company will never bring these issues up to be discussed.  How ever so draining it is to be the token spiritual guy to constantly be bringing these topics up too.  That is why preaching these messages and addressing these topics from the pulpit is ideal.  People wont be surprised - its one of the prime reasons a pastor exists - to preach the word.

And there in lies the problem, the pulpit wont discuss issues and hard scriptures nor will friendships.  What about Jesus' prohibition on divorce and remarriage - that never is talked about nor ever will be, for fear of offending someone. Divorce occurred enough in Jesus' day too.  It was legal.  And Jesus raised the bar and said don't do it.  What about lust with the eyes - an even more common one.  Bringing these issues up sharpens us, warns us, rebukes us.  So many topics are taboo to discuss in churches and in society.  Why?  because social unity is valued above proclamation of the truth.  As someone once said to me when commenting on the emergent churches massive focus on social justice with minimal gospel preaching: "the emergent churches mission is to make people more comfortable on their way to hell".  Which is the truth.  What are riches when they turn to ash when you die and descend into hell not knowing Christ and never being taught the gospel?  Jesus said to some poor people "Do not work for the food that spoils [or perishes], but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." (John 6:27 NIV).

The church exists to proclaim the way of salvation, our reconciliation with God through trusting in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. In Him is our righteousness found, our hope for eternal life, the works we do here on earth profit nothing, law keeping, alms giving etc.  These we do for love for Him who gave His life for us.  Social justice is the fruit of salvation - it isn't salvation.  Nor is mere church membership.  That's for another post though.  To be in relationship with Christ is eternal life.

Sunday 11 May 2014

On Happiness and Truth - Excerpts from Augustine

Only a few people will probably appreciate or relate to the following excerpts. These citations struck a chord in me and anyone who has lived has experienced life's feeling of vanity and pointlessness at sometime in their life...especially if they ever have just stopped to contemplate it.  To think this man died 1700 years ago yet his experiences are so commonly felt.  Life never really changes.  His thoughts are on the pursuit of both truth and happiness in life.  Always pursuing but never attaining.

Augustine's " Confessions"

Book 6  - Seeking Truth 
CHAPTER XI - Frustrated and Aimless
18. And I especially puzzled and wondered when I remembered how long a time had passed since my nineteenth year, in which I had first fallen in love with wisdom and had determined as soon as I could find her to abandon the empty hopes and mad delusions of vain desires. Behold, I was now getting close to thirty, still stuck fast in the same mire, still greedy of enjoying present goods which fly away and distract me; and I was still saying, “Tomorrow I shall discover it; behold, it will become plain, and I shall see it; behold, Faustus will come and explain everything.” Or I would say Here begins a long soliloquy which sums up his turmoil over the past decade and his present plight of confusion and indecision.”O you mighty Academics, is there no certainty that man can grasp for the guidance of his life? No, let us search the more diligently, and let us not despair. See, the things in the Church’s books that appeared so absurd to us before do not appear so now, and may be otherwise and honestly interpreted. I will set my feet upon that step where, as a child, my parents placed me, until the clear truth is discovered. But where and when shall it be sought? Ambrose has no leisure--we have no leisure to read. Where are we to find the books? How or where could I get hold of them? From whom could I borrow them? Let me set a schedule for my days and set apart certain hours for the health of the soul. A great hope has risen up in us, because the Catholic faith does not teach what we thought it did, and vainly accused it of. Its teachers hold it as an abomination to believe that God is limited by the form of a human body. And do I doubt that I should ‘knock’ in order for the rest also to be ‘opened’ unto me? My pupils take up the morning hours; what am I doing with the rest of the day? Why not do this? But, then, when am I to visit my influential friends, whose favors I need? When am I to prepare the orations that I sell to the class? When would I get some recreation and relax my mind from the strain of work?

19. “Perish everything and let us dismiss these idle triflings. Let me devote myself solely to the search for truth. This life is unhappy, death uncertain. If it comes upon me suddenly, in what state shall I go hence and where shall I learn what here I have neglected? Should I not indeed suffer the punishment of my negligence here? But suppose death cuts off and finishes all care and feeling. This too is a question that calls for inquiry. God forbid that it should be so. It is not without reason, it is not in vain, that the stately authority of the Christian faith has spread over the entire world, and God would never have done such great things for us if the life of the soul perished with the death of the body. Why, therefore, do I delay in abandoning my hopes of this world and giving myself wholly to seek after God and the blessed life?
“But wait a moment. This life also is pleasant, and it has a sweetness of its own, not at all negligible. We must not abandon it lightly, for it would be shameful to lapse back into it again. See now, it is important to gain some post of honor. And what more should I desire? I have crowds of influential friends, if nothing else; and, if I push my claims, a governorship may be offered me, and a wife with some money, so that she would not be an added expense. This would be the height of my desire. Many men, who are great and worthy of imitation, have combined the pursuit of wisdom with a marriage life.”
20. While I talked about these things, and the winds of opinions veered about and tossed my heart hither and thither, time was slipping away. I delayed my conversion to the Lord; I postponed from day to day the life in thee, but I could not postpone the daily death in myself. I was enamored of a happy life, but I still feared to seek it in its own abode, and so I fled from it while I sought it. I thought I should be miserable if I were deprived of the embraces of a woman, and I never gave a thought to the medicine that thy mercy has provided for the healing of that infirmity, for I had never tried it. As for continence, I imagined that it depended on one’s own strength, though I found no such strength in myself, for in my folly I knew not what is written, “None can be continent unless thou dost grant it.”168168   Cf. Wis. 8:21 (LXX). Certainly thou wouldst have given it, if I had beseeched thy ears with heartfelt groaning, and if I had cast my care upon thee with firm faith.

----

CHAPTER VI - Lessons From a Drunken Beggar
9. I was still eagerly aspiring to honors, money, and matrimony; but You mocked me. In pursuit of these ambitions I endured the most bitter hardships, in which you were being all the more gracious the less you would allow anything that was not you to grow sweet to me. Look into my heart, O Lord, whose prompting it is that I should recall all this, and confess it to you. Now let my soul cleave to you, now that you have freed me from that fast-sticking glue of death.
How wretched I was! And you did irritate my sore wound so that I might forsake all else and turn to you--who are above all and without whom all things would be nothing at all--so that I should be converted and healed. How wretched I was at that time, and how you did deal with me so as to make me aware of my wretchedness, I recall from the incident of the day on which I was preparing to recite a panegyric on the emperor. In it I was to deliver many a lie, and the lying was to be applauded by those who knew I was lying. My heart was agitated with this sense of guilt and it seethed with the fever of my uneasiness. For, while walking along one of the streets of Milan, I saw a poor beggar--with what I believe was a full belly--joking and hilarious. And I sighed and spoke to the friends around me of the many sorrows that flowed from our madness, because in spite of all our exertions--such as those I was then laboring in, dragging the burden of my unhappiness under the spur of ambition, and, by dragging it, increasing it at the same time--still and all we aimed only to attain that very happiness which this beggar had reached before us; and there was a grim chance that we should never attain it! For what he had obtained through a few coins, got by his begging, I was still scheming for by many a wretched and tortuous turning--namely, the joy of a passing felicity. He had not, indeed, gained true joy, but, at the same time, with all my ambitions, I was seeking one still more untrue. Anyhow, he was now joyous and I was anxious. He was free from care, and I was full of alarms.

Seeking True Happiness

Now, if anyone should inquire of me whether I should prefer to be merry or anxious, I would reply, “Merry.” Again, if I had been asked whether I should prefer to be as he was or as I myself then was, I would have chosen to be myself; though I was beset with cares and alarms. But would not this have been a false choice? Was the contrast valid? Actually, I ought not to prefer myself to him because I happened to be more learned than he was; for I got no great pleasure from my learning, but sought, rather, to please men by its exhibition--and this not to instruct, but only to please. Thus you did break my bones with the rod of your correction.
10. Let my soul take its leave of those who say: “It makes a difference as to the object from which a man derives his joy. The beggar rejoiced in drunkenness; you longed to rejoice in glory.” What glory, O Lord? The kind that is not in thee, for, just as his was no true joy, so was mine no true glory; but it turned my head all the more. He would get over his drunkenness that same night, but I had slept with mine many a night and risen again with it, and was to sleep again and rise again with it, I know not how many times. It does indeed make a difference as to the object from which a man’s joy is gained. I know this is so, and I know that the joy of a faithful hope is incomparably beyond such vanity. Yet, at the same time, this beggar was beyond me, for he truly was the happier man--not only because he was thoroughly steeped in his mirth while I was torn to pieces with my cares, but because he had gotten his wine by giving good wishes to the passers-by while I was following after the ambition of my pride by lying. Much to this effect I said to my good companions, and I saw how readily they reacted pretty much as I did. Thus I found that it went ill with me; and I fretted, and doubled that very ill. And if any prosperity smiled upon me, I loathed to seize it, for almost before I could grasp it, it would fly away.

Taken From Book 6 - Seeking Truth , chapters 11 and 6, "The Confessions of St. Augustine" - by Augustine

He concludes extensively in  book 10 that the happy life is one lived in the truth.  Therefore God Himself is the source of true happiness. Heres an excerpt:

Book 10 - Probing the Depths of Self
Chapter23 - The Quest for Happiness Leads to Truth
33. Is it, then, uncertain that all men wish to be happy, since those who do not wish to find their joy in thee--which is alone the happy life--do not actually desire the happy life? Or, is it rather that all desire this, but because “the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh,” so that they “prevent you from doing what you would,”342342   Gal. 5:17. you fall to doing what you are able to do and are content with that. For you do not want to do what you cannot do urgently enough to make you able to do it.
Now I ask all men whether they would rather rejoice in truth or in falsehood. They will no more hesitate to answer, “In truth,” than to say that they wish to be happy. For a happy life is joy in the truth. Yet this is joy in thee, who art the Truth, O God my Light, “the health of my countenance and my God. All wish for this happy life; all wish for this life which is the only happy one: joy in the truth is what all men wish.
I have had experience with many who wished to deceive, but not one who wished to be deceived. Where, then, did they ever know about this happy life, except where they knew also what the truth is? For they love it, too, since they are not willing to be deceived. And when they love the happy life, which is nothing else but joy in the truth, then certainly they also love the truth. And yet they would not love it if there were not some knowledge of it in the memory.

Men Hate the Truth

Why, then, do they not rejoice in it? Why are they not happy? Because they are so fully preoccupied with other things which do more to make them miserable than those which would make them happy, which they remember so little about. Yet there is a little light in men. Let them walk--let them walk in it, lest the darkness overtake them.
34. Why, then, does truth generate hatred, and why does thy servant who preaches the truth come to be an enemy to them who also love the happy life, which is nothing else than joy in the truth--unless it be that truth is loved in such a way that those who love something else besides her wish that to be the truth which they do love. Since they are unwilling to be deceived, they are unwilling to be convinced that they have been deceived. Therefore, they hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is that they love in place of the truth. They love truth when she shines on them; and hate her when she rebukes them. And since they are not willing to be deceived, but do wish to deceive, they love truth when she reveals herself and hate her when she reveals them. On this account, she will so repay them that those who are unwilling to be exposed by her she will indeed expose against their will, and yet will not disclose herself to them.
Thus, thus, truly thus: the human mind so blind and sick, so base and ill-mannered, desires to lie hidden, but does not wish that anything should be hidden from it. And yet the opposite is what happens--the mind itself is not hidden from the truth, but the truth is hidden from it. Yet even so, for all its wretchedness, it still prefers to rejoice in truth rather than in known falsehoods. It will, then, be happy only when without other distractions it comes to rejoice in that single Truth through which all things else are true.

I found this convicting. I see myself in the subject of his writing.  In fact I find his book convicting. Hard hitting words. The inner journey of a mans pursuit of happiness...something we all seek yet few attain, and if they do its fleeting. He found a constant source of it....joy in truth, joy in God.  Yet as he states, men hate truth and to pursue God , to pursue actual solid happiness in God inevitably leads to a marginalized life in a minority going against the grain causing friction...which is a major source of misery in itself. Catch 22 I guess.

Salvation by Faith Shown in Scripture

I love these four passages, they explain salvation by grace in such a blunt way. The reception of a righteousness totally separate from our works...that is to receive Christs righteousness as our own through faith in His work on the cross, enabling us to enter heaven. (This principle is explained further in Romans 4).

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. - Philippians 3:8-9
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16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil....35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” - John 3:16-19 & 35-36 ...8That is, the word of faith which we preach: 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”[f] 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. - Romans 10:2-4&8-10
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"21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." - Romans 3:21-31

Live Life

Desire much, fear little. Take calculated risks. Let the threat of pain amplify the thrill and subsequent enjoyment of success rather than succumbing to the crippling paralysis of inaction. Fear choking your existence as you wilt away in apathy or trepidation accomplishing nothing. Embrace pain, run toward it, fear will diminish. If you fail, adapt, adjust, evolve - repeat. Tenacity. With enough patience you can attain or achieve anything. Resolutely fearless, take life by the horns and ride it into the ground. Engage. If not fear will keep you small. Shatter expectations, spurn the status quo, forge your own path. Surround yourself with ambitious and optimistic people.

"It is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire and many things to fear." – Fracis Bacon

Musings on Life

In the spectrum of human emotion, excepting love, anger is the most powerful of human emotions. It drowns all fear, focuses power and gives motivation matched only by love. It has over thrown tyrants, defended the weak and punished those that abuse others.

Love (for victims) necessitates justice, ie jail, fines, physical pain and even Hell at the universal divine level.

Justice is nothing but communal vengeance in an orderly way. Yet revenge is deemed wrong, but justice is good.  Revenge is a knee jerk reaction, charged with emotion and self interest; Justice an objective disinterested judgment and punishment of vicious, reckless or selfish behaviour.  The goal being to reform the person (fines, physical pain, jail time)...failing that, to make an public example of them to discourage the maladaptive antisocial behaviour (eg.public execution, and even more soberly: hell).

Love for the perpetrator results in grace - undeserved pardon at Christs expense for those who trust in Him.  As it is  undeserved there was no obligation on Gods part to provide a way of reconciliation to Himself. He could have justly wiped his hands of the human race and let us be punished for our rebellion and imperfection.

Want implies lack.

Value of anything is both objective and subjective. The subjective part depends on the subjects desire or need of the object. The more they need or want it, the more valuable it becomes to them...they are then willing to pay a higher price than others. This is conversely true also. Simple supply and demand. Deconstructed, it applies to all of life, to all things.

Axiology - the formal study of value. Simply put its the study of life mechanics. A division of philosophy but I think it belongs just as much to sociology - the study of human behavior. There is an objective yardstick that drives all people. A common denominator that all are driven by to some extent: the pursuit of pleasure and the aversion of pain.  The pursuit of enjoyment and happiness and the aversion of stagnation and misery. This is inclusive of higher pleasures and pains that go beyond simple senses. Eg... emotions, pride, shame, love and hate,self respect etc.  Love is the other driving factor, 'doing unto others as you would have them do to you'. That is the promotion of the universal good and minimization of suffering.

Value = utility + Aesthetics.
anything of any value to anyone can be broken down into these two categories:

Utility:that which is useful - eg. power, control, ability, knowledge, assets, wealth (for either aversion of pain or promotion of pleasure - of self and/or others)

Aesthetics: that which is intrinsically pleasurable (eg music, beauty, flavour, order, virtue, humour, fun etc)

Again, if anyone values anything its because they judge the object, activity or even person as 'valuable'.  Respect, money, time or attention given is proportionate to perceived value.  I say perceived because the judgment is made off of the limited knowledge or experience a person has of the object, activity or person.  It will always be limited knowledge.  This bypasses the natural innate value of all people given by God...as man was made in the image of God, there is a benchmark of universal respect, care and attention demanded by all people regardless of the aforementioned factors: utility + aesthetics.  For what profit is it to help a homeless man on the street who is neither useful to you, nor enjoyable? The value of this man is that he is made in the image of God, far above all animals...comparable to yourself.  Empathy and love demands you help him where possible but as to who does this is dictated by a persons outlook on life.

This is utilitarian thought but essentially it is just sociology, explaining why people do what they do, why they value certain things over other things...but different personal tastes adjust how pleasure is attained. What's amazing to me, may be average to you.  Still it will almost be universally observed that when given the option between a rotten apple or a good apple, people will choose the good apple.  There is a criteria we all use to judge things, it differs in some details for some things but at the macro level its the same.

All of life is just continual value judgments. To some extent behavior is predictable...even looking at your past decisions and reflecting as to why you did what you did or said what you said.  Its because at that moment in time you chose what you thought was most profitable (for yourself and/or mankind), or what you perceived to be most 'valuable' (not necessary what was actually most valuable).  This judgment criteria varies depending on how you live of course. Some live without regard to their fellow man, some live completely self-sacrificial lives for their fellow man, some for both God and their fellow man.  Most don't fall at the extremes but somewhere on the spectrum, contention between self-interest and the best interest of others continually exists, and always will.

All vice or 'sin' results from unbridled self interest disregarding the interests of the universal whole, this whole includes God and mankind - (murder, hatred, lies, slander, theft, idolatry, blasphemy, fornication, adultery, contention, pride, offense etc.).  All virtue takes into account the whole, the interests of all not just the self.  This explains why Christ called men to die to themselves daily: 'deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me in living and if need be dying' - no one perfectly fulfills this, but that's the aim.

God created life like this, he built the machine, created both pain and pleasure and determined their sources.  Its an explanation of life, not a method of directing life like hedonism - which says you should live by the pursuit of pleasure and aversion of pain -  such a bestial way to live.  The greater good at times demands self-denial of pleasure and endurance of pain which may be reversed if you were entirely selfish.  Undoubtedly the selfish life is the most profitable life in those terms, but devoid of love and the 'profit' comes at the expense of others.  Nothing in life is free.  Every action, every object  has its price.

People generally respond to pain in two ways: fear or anger.
Its self evident which response is the most useful. The other alternatives are no response or apathy - the stoic way. or responding positively with love and blessing - the christian way. The Christian way is not a natural response...only in Christ is this response even possible.

Grace

Grace - an overused, under appreciated and misunderstood word.  Religious jargon to the atheist, dead rhetoric to the christian formalist, something unheard of in all other religions (who generally work on the basis of merit) but to those convinced of their personal demerit and desert of hell, something sweeter than life itself.  A trust in Christ not for pardon alone, but that His righteousness may be accredited to their own account on the day of judgment.  Free for them, at the price of Jesus' life on the cross - that whoever would trust in Him would attain His righteousness and be saved from divine judgment and eternal hell.  That line "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me." carries so much more weight to it. There is more to grace than this. Reconciliation with God. A relationship with Him and enjoyment of Him forever.

Romans 4
 1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
       7 “ Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
      And whose sins are covered;
       8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.” 

Romans 10  
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”[f] 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Romans 3 
21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all[h] who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Seeker Sensitivity

In an effort not to offend and be politically correct, we often bypass explaining major truths of God like sin, the final judgment and even an eternal conscious hell.  I know I'm guilty of this. Like offering a medical cure to a sick person who thinks they're well, why would they take it? Christ is offered often as a life improver, or a relationship like you have never had. While this is true, this isn't why I came to Christ - and I never would have come had I not believed I was on my way to hell and life could pass at any moment.

The grace offered through Christ is savored to the extent that these harder truths are understood and felt personally: We are sinners, there will be a judgment after death where God requires perfection, there will be an eternal conscious hell where perfection hasn't been met (which is everyone) - yet Jesus died that whoever trusts in Him will have His perfection accredited to their account - that is grace, that is salvation, that is the gospel. Jesus said "He who is forgiven much loves much, he who is forgiven little, loves little." Likewise He who understands the severity of what he is saved from loves much.

The gospel isn't culturally relevant, its a constant. Preachers for centuries expounded these truths (the law to convict of sin, the fleeting nature of life, the final judgment and the eternal conscious torments of hell as the consequence of rejecting Christ) ushering in the gospel (trust in Christ crucified for salvation) as the life vest to cling onto in despair. A relational push is good, so long as truth isn't forsaken or subtracted from the message. The truth spoken in love, that's how Jesus did it. He spoke more on sin, judgment and hell than anyone but offered himself as the escape from them all. Paul also in his preaching in acts preached on the final judgment - preaching repentance and a turning to Christ to be saved. Seeker sensitivity and the fear of offending people or scaring them away is a hindrance to understanding the gospel in its entirety. It does a disservice in the long run both to the kingdom of God and the individual (who often doesn't realize their condition before God). The healthy don't see the need for a physician, and the public generally thinks they are good people on there way to heaven apart from Christ. They're not that bad, which may be true, but they aren't perfect, which is the standard God will measure us by.

The great revivals of the 17th-19th centuries were birthed out of prayer and frank, loving communication. "Here's mans problem, here's the solution:Christ"....Christ was savored so much because people soberly grasped the severity of what they had been saved from, making them cling to Christ even tighter. Too often only the solution is pushed: take Christ for a better new and improved life!. While that's true, when persecution and tribulation come, they are like the seed on shallow ground.The gospel is offensive somewhat, it says "you're not as good as you thought you were...you need Christ to get to heaven".  It shatters pride in people.  Jesus wasn't murdered because he went around preaching love and peace.  Who would find fault in that?  He was murdered because He proclaimed Himself as the only way to be saved from Hell...this angered people who wanted another path to God.

There are two extremes to avoid, one is the hell fire preaching that leaves people in despair, minimizing the gospel.  The Other is preaching "come to Jesus" with out an adequate explanation as to why, minimizing the aforementioned less pleasant truths of God.  Balance is everything.  The entire truth shared from a heart of love and care.

On the Happy Life

A quick preface:
While i think he is incorrect in saying virtue is the sum of happiness, his degredation of the popular and almost humanly intuative notion that enjoyment (hedonism) doggedly pursued in all its forms (power, money, fame, sex, fun) will produce happiness is refreshing. Virtue and a clear conscience is a major player in happiness, but ultimatly Seneca's stoicism leads a person to become an arrogant moralist concerned only with rules - not caring for others...only virute, only their own behaviour. It still begs the question of divine justice, which can only be reconciled through Christ, payment must be made for a person to be released from the inevitable justice his wrongdoings deserve. That reconciliation to God via trusting in Jesus (his death on the cross for our sin) and the relationship that ensues is the highest good a man may enjoy. For as Jesus said "what would it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his soul?". Stoicism (seneca was a stoic philosopher) like most of the world assume that good deeds some how cancel out bad ones, yet even in our courts you would never hear a murderer defend his case by bringing forth the good he has done..."but I gave 1 million to feed the homeless in africa"....yeah man, u still killed a guy. How much less will a perfect God do this? i honestly cant post this with a clear conscience without that preface - whats a post on happiness without any mention of Gods grace.

What Seneca says has some value. Virtue is good, but not the ultimate good to be lived for. Vice is bad and will lead to misery. Virtue as a means of living for God, in relationship with Him...that is the highest good and the happiest life. The fact of judgment and accountability to god doesnt enable blind hedonism...not with a clear conscience, which is a miserable state. Christ did say that for every idle word a man speaks, he will give account for it on the day of judgment. But hypothetically, even if there were no laws or no repercussion for completley disregarding God, seneca's arguments are excellent in deriding pleasure as the path to happiness. We all at some point have attained what we sought only to find the grass is always greener on the otherside. "Life is so constructed, that the event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation" - Charlotte Bronte. Senaca's weakness is that he fails in providing an adaquate alternative - and he didnt know of Christ so he couldnt. Christ is that alternative. A relationship with God at His bloody expense, is far greater than a proud self-sufficient moral existance. A sinner saved by a gracious God. Hope and joy in Him, combined with a (fallible) pursuit of virtue through Him, out of gratitude for what He has done, not as an attempt to buy a stairway to heaven, or curry favour - to attempt at this will result in eternal dissapointment.  All that said, here are my favourite quotes by the philosopher:



On the Happy Life by Seneca

Let virtue go first, let her bear the standard. We shall none the less have pleasure, but we shall be the master and control her; at times we shall yield to her entreaty, never to her constraint. But those who surrender the leadership to pleasure, lack both; for they lose virtue, and yet do not possess pleasure, but are possessed by it, and they are either tortured by the lack of it or strangled by its excess - wretched if it deserts them, more wretched if it overwhelms them - they are like sailors who have been caught in the waters around the Syrtes, and now are left on the dry shore, and again are tossed by the seething waves. But this results from a complete lack of self- control and blind love for an object; for, if one seeks evils instead of goods, success becomes dangerous. As the hunt for wild beasts is fraught with hardship and danger, and even those that are captured are an anxious possession - for many a time they rend their masters - so it is as regards great pleasures; for they turn out to be a great misfortune, and captured pleasures become now the captors. And the more and the greater the pleasures are, the more inferior will that man be whom the crowd calls happy, and the more masters will he have to serve.

I wish to dwell still further upon this comparison. Just as the man who tracks wild animals to their lairs, and counts it a great delight. With noose the savage beasts to snare, and Around the spreading woods to fling a line of hounds, in order that he may follow upon their tracks, leaves things that are more worth while and forsakes many duties, so he who pursues pleasures makes everything else secondary, and first of all gives up liberty, and he pays this price at the command of his belly; nor does he buy pleasures for himself, but he sells himself to pleasures.

"Nevertheless," someone asks, "what is there to prevent the blending of virtue and pleasure into one, and constituting the highest good in such a way that the honourable and the agreeable may be the same thing?" The answer is that the honourable can have no part that is not honourable, nor will the highest good preserve its integrity if it sees in itself something that is different from its better part. Even the joy that springs from virtue, although it is a good, is not nevertheless a part of the absolute good, any more than are cheerfulness and tranquillity, although they spring from the noblest origins; for goods they are, yet they only attend on the highest good but do not consummate it. But whoever forms an alliance between virtue and pleasure - and that too, not an equal one - by the frailty of one good dulls whatever power the other may have, and sends beneath the yoke that liberty which remains unconquered only so long as it finds nothing more precious than itself. For it begins to need the help of Fortune, and this is the depth of servitude; there follows a life of anxiety, suspicion, and alarm, a dread of mishap and worry over the changes time brings. You do not give to virtue a foundation solid and immovable, but bid her stand on unstable ground; yet what is so unstable as trust in the hazards of chance and the vicissitudes of the body and the things that affect the body? How is such a man able to obey God and to receive in cheerful spirit whatever happens, and, interpreting his mishaps indulgently, never to complain of Fate, if he is agitated by the petty prickings of pleasure and pain? But he is not even a good guardian or avenger of his country, nor a defender of his friends if he has a leaning toward pleasures.

Therefore let the highest good mount to a place from which no force can drag it down, where neither pain nor hope nor fear finds access, nor does any other thing that can lower the authority of the highest good; but Virtue alone is able to mount to that height. We must follow her footsteps to find that ascent easy; bravely will she stand, and she will endure whatever happens, not only patiently, but even gladly; she will know that every hardship that time brings comes by a law of Nature, and like a good soldier she will submit to wounds, she will count her scars, and, pierced by darts, as she dies she will love him for whose sake she falls - her commander; she will keep in mind that old injunction, "Follow God!" But whoever complains and weeps and moans, is compelled by force to obey commands, and, even though he is unwilling is rushed none the less to the bidden tasks. But what madness to prefer to be dragged rather than to follow! As much so, in all faith, as it is great folly and ignorance of one's lot to grieve because of some lack or some rather bitter happening, and in like manner to be surprised or indignant at those ills that befall the good no less than the had - I mean sickness and death and infirmities and all the other unexpected ills that invade human life. All that the very constitution of the universe obliges us to suffer, must be borne with high courage. This is the sacred obligation by which we are bound - to submit to the human lot, and not to be disquieted by those things which we have no power to avoid. We have been born under a monarchy; to obey God is freedom. Therefore true happiness is founded upon virtue. And what is the counsel this virtue will give to you? That you should not consider anything either a good or an evil that will not be the result of either virtue or vice; then, that you should stand unmoved both in the face of evil and by the enjoyment of good, to the end that - as far as is allowed - you may body forth God.

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For what prevents us from saying that the happy life is to have a mind that is free, lofty, fearless and steadfast - a mind that is placed beyond the reach of fear, beyond the reach of desire, that counts virtue the only good, baseness the only evil, and all else but a worthless mass of things, which come and go without increasing or diminishing the highest good, and neither subtract any part from the happy life nor add any part to it?

A man thus grounded must, whether he wills or not, necessarily be attended by constant cheerfulness and a joy that is deep and issues from deep within, since he finds delight in his own resources, and desires no joys greater than his inner joys. Should not such joys as these be rightly matched against the paltry and trivial and fleeting sensations of the wretched body? The day a man becomes superior to pleasure, he will also be superior to pain; but you see in what wretched and baneful bondage he must linger whom pleasures and pains, those most capricious and tyrannical of masters, shall in turn enslave. Therefore we must nake our escape to freedom. But the only means of procuring this is through indifference to Fortune. Then will be born the one inestimable blessing, the peace and exaltation of a mind now safely anchored, and, when all error is banished, the great and stable joy that comes from the discovery of truth, along with kindliness and cheerfulness of mind; and the source of a man's pleasure in all of these will not be that they are good, but that they spring from a good that is his own.

Seeing that I am employing some freedom in treating my subject, I may say that the happy man is one who is freed from both fear and desire because of the gift of reason; since even rocks are free from fear and sorrow, and no less are the beasts of the field, yet for all that no one could say that these things are "blissful," when they have no comprehension of bliss. Put in the same class those people whose dullness of nature and ignorance of themselves have reduced them to the level of beasts of the field and of inanimate things. There is no difference between the one and the other, since in one case they are things without reason, and in the other their reason is warped, and works their own hurt, being active in the wrong direction; for no man can be said to be happy if he has been thrust outside the pale of truth.

Therefore the life that is happy has been founded on correct and trustworthy judgement, and is unalterable. Then, truly, is the mind unclouded and freed from every ill, since it knows how to escape not only deep wounds, but even scratches, and, resolved to hold to the end whatever stand it has taken, it will defend its position even against the assaults of an angry Fortune. For so far as sensual pleasure is concerned, though it flows about us on every side, steals in through every opening, softens the mind with its blandishments, and employs one resource after another in order to seduce us in whole or in part, yet who of mortals, if he has left in him one trace of a human being, would choose to have his senses tickled night and day, and, forsaking the mind, devote his attention wholly to the body? "But the mind also," it will be said, "has its own pleasures." Let it have them, in sooth, and let it pose as a judge of luxury and pleasures; let it gorge itself with the things that are wont to delight the senses, then let it look back upon the past, and, recalling faded pleasures, let it intoxicate itself with former experiences and be eager now for those to come, and let it lay its plans, and, while the body lies helpless from present cramming, let it direct its thoughts to that to come - yet from all this, it seems to me, the mind will be more wretched than ever, since it is madness to choose evils instead of goods.
But no man can be happy unless he is sane, and no man can be sane who searches for what will injure him in place of what is best. The happy man, therefore, is one who has right judgement; the happy man is content with his present lot, no matter what it is, and is reconciled to his circumstances; the happy man is he who allows reason to fix the value of every condition of existence. Even those who declare that the highest good is in the belly see in what a dishonourable position they have placed it. And so they say that it is not possible to separate pleasure from virtue, and they aver that no one can live virtuously without also living pleasantly, nor pleasantly without also living virtuously. But I do not see how things so different can be cast in the same mould. What reason is there, I beg of you, why pleasure cannot be separated from virtue? Do you mean, since all goods have their origin in virtue, even the things that you love and desire must spring from its roots? But if the two were inseparable, we should not see certain things pleasant, but not honourable, and certain things truly most honourable, but painful and capable of being accomplished only through suffering.

Then, too, we see that pleasure enters into even the basest life, but, on the other hand, virtue does not permit life to be evil, and there are people who are unhappy not without pleasure - nay, are so on account of pleasure itself - and this could not happen if pleasure were indisolubly joined to virtue; virtue often lacks pleasure, and never needs it. Why do you couple things that are unlike, nay, even opposites? Virtue is something lofty, exalted and regal, unconquerable, and unwearied; pleasure is something lowly, servile, weak, and perishable, whose haunt and abode are the brothel and the tavern. Virtue you will find in the temple, in the forum, in the senate-house - you will find her standing in front of the city walls, dusty and stained, and with calloused hands; pleasure you will more often find lurking out of sight, and in search of darkness, around the public baths and the sweating-rooms and the places that fear the police - soft, enervated, reeking with wine and perfume, and pallid, or else painted and made up with cosmetics like a corpse. The highest good is immortal, it knows no ending, it permits neither surfeit nor regret; for the right-thinking mind never alters, it neither is filled with self-loathing nor suffers any change in its life, that is ever the best. But pleasure is extinguished just when it is most enjoyed; it has but small space, and thus quickly fills it - it grows weary and is soon spent after its first assault. Nor is anything certain whose nature consists in movement. So it is not even possible that there should be any substance in that which comes and goes most swiftly and will perish in the very exercise of its power; for it struggles to reach a point at which it may cease, and it looks to the end while it is beginning.

What, further, is to be said of the fact that pleasure belongs alike to the good and the evil, and that the base delight no less in their disgrace than do the honourable in fair repute? And therefore the ancients have enjoined us to follow, not the most pleasant, but the best life, in order that pleasure should be, not the, leader, but the companion of a right and proper desire.

The New Covenant

Jeremiah 31
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Ezekiel 36
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. 23 I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. 24 For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. 28 You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. 29 Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not [j]bring a famine on you. 30 I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 I am not doing this for your sake,” declares the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!”

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A new nature is promised, desires change, a new heart, a loathing of the old self.  Though these promises are made to Israel, Paul expounds on  the grafting in of the nations to 'Israel' through faith in Christ.  So we are one body, Jew and gentile.  I was actually reading Hebrews 10 this morning and the concept of the new covenant struck me as absolutely incredible.  God under no obligation decided to make it,  where he not only forgives our sin through Christ but causes in us an actual desire to obey and power to actually follow through with those desires.  Accompanied by the humbling retrospective glace back at past crimes committed against him with bitter regret.  This he does not for our sake, but to make His name great. To demonstrate his grace and mercy.

A challenge is found in this reflection though.  Am I a partaker of this covenant?  Are what these scriptures describe evident in my life?  Do we have new desires, or as Jesus said 'a hunger and thirst for righteousness'?  More importantly, do those desires show forth in action - do we bear fruit?  Or are we tasteless salt with no use and baron trees only good for the fire as Christ mentioned?

These thoughts have challenged me this morning. The apostle John iterated a similar challenge in his epistle:

1 John 2

3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

Also Jesus said a similar thing 'why do you call me Lord Lord but do not do the things I say?' and "whoever loves me will keep my commandments".

This isn't spiteful obedience murmuring under your breath - wishing you didn't have to but only do so for fear or custom.  The regenerated heart desires to obey, and disobedience hurts it.  Like hurting someone you love produces deep regret...the loathing the above verse talks about.

Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Saturday 10 May 2014

What Lies Ahead

We live in an unprecedented time in the history of mankind.  The world has been filled and conquered by the sons of Adam just as God had commanded.  Civilization has touched the four corners of the globe and Christianity has too. Yet there are still less than 30% of the world who call themselves followers of Christ.  And of these 30%  a fraction truly are acquainted with the living God. It stands to reason, the greater majority of the world will plummet into hell on that fearful day of God's judgement.   Christ has foretold this "for wide is the way that leads to destruction and many go in by it, but narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it." Here we stand on the brink of eternity yet few are aware or concerned for this fact.  We humans are lulled to sleep so easily by the basic duties of life we forget our lives brevity. We are entertained to death and content with easy meditations and shun these sober thoughts. We forget that one day we will stand before the Most High and give an account for the things done in the body and every idle word we have spoken.  Let this reality grip your heart and wrest your soul. For this reason I take up pen.

Do not shrink from seriously considering this life and the next. The spiritual realities of God, of life, of judgement, of grace and deliverance from the judgement through faith in Jesus. these eternal questions brood in the hearts of men. "Is there a God?  Will I enter heaven?  Is there a hell?  Is there forgiveness? Must I trust in Jesus to attain immortality?" Your answer to these questions will determine your destiny.  For this reason, at the outset of this blog I emphatically state that the approach taken here in will unapologetically deliver truths derived from scripture as fact - not mere opinion. Second to this I will relate truths and lessons that I have observed or learned through experience, though not authoritative I hope to lend an aid to the Christian pilgrims of this world as we journey into eternity.

These are times that try men's souls.  As our Lord uttered once "To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.". I pray my writing will aid you, or at least shine a dim lamp amidst the dense fog of this age.  This life is a moment, a fleeting breath. It is as if tomorrow we will meet the Lord.  Do not shrink from his call, but join me in taking up the cross and following Christ.