Badge of Courage

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Revelation 21:1
 

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Luke 6:22

This is not the first or the only time Jesus accused His disciples of lacking faith. (Matt 6:30, 14:31). After His resurrection, He called Thomas faithless. (John 20:27) What are we to make of all of this? There are many lessons to learn from the account in Mark 4:40 of Jesus calming the storm. One frequently overlooked is simply that it takes time to comprehend Jesus – more than a lifetime. This account in Mark 4:35-40 isn’t simply a demonstration of Jesus’ power over nature; nor is it merely to test the faith of the apostles. It is another, one of many, time Jesus was instructing the Twelve in just who He is. They had not yet fully comprehended who He is. The disciples had the Master as their teacher; they saw Him perform many miracles, yet it took them time to comprehend who He is. It takes a life-time and more to become a disciple

According to the Book of Mark, all but Simon, James, John, Andrew and Matthew (Mark 1:16, 1:19, 2:14) were called just prior to the events culminating the confrontation described in 4:35-40. How much time elapsed between their calling and His calming the waves really cannot be assessed. We know, however, that it was within a three year period of time. Whatever amount of time had passed or how much instruction the disciples had received, they were still thinking of Jesus as a man. That they were still thinking of Him that way is testified to by what ensued. In fear they turned to one another and said, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4:41) They probably couldn’t fathom that He was God, but as Jews they were accustomed to praising JEHOVAH as one who had power over all things including the raging sea. ( Psalms 89:9 , 93:4 ) Yet there with them in that sinking boat was one they believed to be a man, not God, who controlled the ocean. In all likelihood, they didn’t imagine it was He, God.

With their Jewish heritage, in all probability, they were thinking He was the Messiah, the next David-like ruler of Israel. That this did not yet fully convince them of his divinity is witnessed by the events leading up to His crucifixion; And they all forsook him, and fled. (see Mk. 14:48-50 ) except Peter (Mk. 14:54) and possibly John. (Jn. 18:15) As we know, Peter later denied his association with Jesus (Mk. 14:66-72) Even in the account of Jesus encounter with two of His disciples (one likely Peter) on the Road to Emmaus after His resurrection, they told Him they thought He was the one who would free Israel from Gentile oppression. (Luke 24:16-26) Through the years, Israel sang of JEHOVAH, "Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, Thou stillest them!" "The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea!" ( Psalms 89:9 , 93:4 ). But, lo, in this very boat of ours is One of our own flesh and blood, who with His word of command hath done the same!

There are many fallacies (short-cuts) about our becoming a disciple of Jesus. One of the most prevalent is that the process ends with our being baptized. Baptism, like being saved is just the beginning of a life-long process, not the end of it. About the only thing baptism does is get one wet. One of the mistakes the evangelical church makes is it acts as though the whole process of becoming a disciple is completed when we come up out of the waters of baptism. Faithful church attendance is another. If the goal of the church is to save the lost, it will be little help if any. The only time this is true is when a primary goal of the church is to teach believers. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:42); when it is a "soul building station." (Acts 20:28-32) This would mean that in what is being taught is more meat and less and less milk of the "Gospel;" (1 Pet. 2:2) not neglecting the rest of the Word. (Acts 20:27, Matt. 28:20, 2 Tim. 3:16) Learning tricky (gimmicky) ways for presenting Christianity to the unsaved instead of understanding, presenting and living the Word.

One of the most pervasive fallacies is failing to recognize the fact that discipleship is not a "one shot deal." One could well argue that the three years Jesus carefully tutored His disciples wasn’t even enough. Speaking to His Disciples He said, Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. (John 16:7) If they knew it all what need would there be for the Holy Spirit? It takes many, many lessons (years) from a good teacher and prayerful, arduous, Bible study to truly become a disciple of His. Even then, some don’t make it – Judas didn’t.

We should never stop striving to learn more. We should never delude ourselves into believing that we have "arrived" – we know it all. Paul counsels Timothy to, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15) Nowhere in this passage is there an "until" the study to grasp the Word is a life-long occupation. Were we in that sinking ship, would we believed or acted any differently? Would Jesus have been able to say to us, "Ye are not fearful because of thy faith." No? Study!

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 1 Corinthians. 4:1

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Although, in many respects, Monasticism, dating back to the 4^th century may be traced to the Nazarite tradition of the O.T., (Numbers 6:2-8) as is the life-style of John the Baptist, most Christian groups denounce monasticism way of life, characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work. One of the difficulties with this form of monasticism is that, although still in the world, it is questionable that this is what Jesus had in mind. The monasteries of Mount Athos, (the Holy Mountain) for example, are decidedly on this planet. Nonetheless, its near total isolation from the world hardly seems to qualify the monastic’s there as being of the world. Contrary to some interpretations, Jesus certainly did not so isolate himself on inaccessible mountain tops, on the equally inaccessible Greek peninsula of Halkidiki (the peninsula of Athos) virtually cut off from the rest of the world. Nonetheless, there is considerable merit to what we can learn from their extreme measures of isolation.

Persecution of Christians began with the Jewish leadership during the time of Jesus and became institutionalized under Roman Emperors from the time of the Nero (64 A.D.) through Emperor Diocletian; more commonly known as Constantine and Saint Constantine. (303-311) Even after this "legalization" Christians continued to suffer on an unofficial, sporadic basis. Although persecution continues in the 20^th century by various groups (e.g. Muslims, Hindus) and by "atheistic" countries such as Russia, China and North Korea, as well as Iran and Saudi Arabia, atheistic USSR and North Korea, it has significantly diminished.

This increasing acceptance has lead to the spread of what is called "nominal Christianity." A nominal Christian pays no heed to his "faith" because he really has none; he is "Christian" in name only. They may be practicing church members. Minimally, they will attend church on the major holidays such as Christmas and Easter and even be involved in some church activities. He may give intellectual assent to some basic Christian doctrines but not to anything that is the least controversial or might be considered bigoted or discriminatory in the larger community. What separates him from the real flock is the superficial nature of his understanding of the faith and his continued involvement with worldly concerns. The preoccupation of the nominal Christian is with his image in the world. That’s why survey after survey finds little difference between those professing to be Christians and the rest of the worldly population. If we are cognizant of the fact that 75-80% of the U.S. population accepts the title of being "Christian." and then look at the moral decay taking place, it is easy to grasp the extent of "nominal Christianity" in our country. They are found everywhere doing everything the rest of the world is doing because, for them, the Bible bears no message about faith and everyday life. Realizing the extent of "nominal Christians," many churches cater to and endorse a "Worldly Christianity" by preaching worldly values. As a payoff, such "churches" have gained enormous popularity. (most with "congregations" numbering in the 10’s of thousands) By appealing to the masses, they give "nominal Christians" a church home that does not make them feel guilty or require any changes in what they are doing at all.

In response to this take-over of the church by "nominal Christianity," it is time for those who wish to maintain the intensity of the earliest years of Christian life to, once again, flee to the desert to worship, pray, and study the Word, free from the contaminating influence the catering to "nominal Christians that has virtually destroyed Christianity. The Embracing of "nominal Christianity" has pretty much ended the sullied worldly reputation of Christianity as an exclusive, judgmental religion. In turn, this is ending much of the accompanying persecution. The end of such persecution has also meant that martyrdom was no longer as common, and so asceticism as a form of living martyrdom came to be pursued.

It is time for a second Monastic movement; not a physical separation as formerly, but one that is spiritual – remaining in and witnessing to the world but isolating ourselves from worldly desires and values. Our "ascetic simplicity;" is having not just an external show of being religious, but rather through godly instruction (discipling) having the doctrinal wherewithal to live a godly life. (II Timothy 3:5 see also John 17: 11-16, 1 John 2:15-17, Romans 12:2, ) By physically withdrawing from the world, traditional monastic’s escaped its temptations and the inevitable persecutions. In this new monastic movement we remain in the world, resisting its temptations and enduring its inevitable persecutions. (John 12:25, 15:18-19) The level of persecution is a measure of the level of Truth to which we adhere. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15

End Times
 

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Whether or not He did drink alcoholic beverages is a debate that has literally gone on for centuries. Like so many other issues, this one has divided churches and denominations with each side of the spat calling the other unflattering names. Two issues are at the core of this divisiveness; the word "wine" and the phrase "fruit of the vine. The word wine appears 13 times in the Gospels and 25 times in the New Testament; at first seeming to give credence to the assertion that Jesus, and others, drank wine. But this knotty problems is not as easily resolved as counting the number of occurrences with which these words and phrases appear in the NT. If we turn to Strong’s NT Greek Lexicon for some clarification, we’d learn that the Greek word translated as "wine" (Oinos) means, of all things "wine;" not very enlightening. "The word fruit," as "that which grows on trees and vines," is one translation of karpos, meaning, among other things, "fruit." It, karpos, is used 66 times in the KJNT; very informative. "Fruit of the vine" appears three times in the KJV of the New Testament; all three times are alluding to the same single event recorded in Matt. 26:29, Mark 14:25 and Luke 22:18. "Fruit in these passages is Gennema translated as fruit or generation. Here vine is Ampelos which, interestingly enough, is "vine" in Greek. As stimulating as this foray into the world of Greek may be, in the context of our concern, it has made everything as clear as mud. We still don’t know whether Jesus imbibed or not.

The term Oinos is used medicinally in Luke 10:34 as it is in 1 Tim. 5:23. Although the debate has raged over the centuries whether the "wine" referred to in the NT is fermented or grape juice, it is unlikely grape juice would be medically useful. Furthermore, the caution found in Eph. 5:18 about not getting drunk with wine, the "wine" is our old friend Oinos. So it is in the instruction to deacons not to be given too much wine in 1 Tim. 3:8. It would be extremely difficult for one to get drunk on grape juice and it hardly seems reasonable for Paul to prohibit deacons from drinking too much of that as well. In like respect, the caution against "drunkenness" found in Matt. 24:45-51 and Luke 21:34 could hardly be referring to the overindulgence of grape juice. Those favoring alcoholic consumptions frequently cite these passages to bolster their argument that drinking alcoholic beverages is Biblically acceptable Others take the tack that the wine of the first century, though containing some alcohol did not have nearly as much as their modern counterparts. With regard to the alcoholic content of first century wine, there is no reference, none at all about the consumption of Jack Daniels, Bud Light or vintage Bordeaux in Scriptures.

The problem with this ongoing feud is that it has masked the real problem of alcoholic consumption by Christians. What kind of witness are we when we publically consume alcoholic beverages? That some might "stumble" over seeing a Christian drinking at a bar to say nothing of staggering out of the bar in a drunken state. While the Biblical stance on the consumption of fermented grape juice may be subject to interpretation, being a stumbling block to another is not. In a number of ways found in several passages warn Christians against anything they might do which would offend or alienate fellow Christians or cause non-believers to reject the faith that would save them. Notable among these are: Matt. 18:6, Luke 7:23, Rom. 14:13, 1 Cor. 1:23, 1 Cor. 8:9, 2 Cor. 6:3, 1 John 2:10, 1 Pet. 2:8, Rev. 2:14 The point seems sufficiently made.

It matters little whether the miracle of water was into alcoholic wine or grape juice. It doesn’t matter one wit if the "fruit of the vine" is wine or grape juice. Nor does it matter whether, in the Bible, Jesus’ "blood" taken in remembrance of Him is fermented, potentially intoxicating wine or a fruit juice or juice. All of this is totally, completely, irrelevant. What matters, and all that matters, is appearances. Some Christians and many non-Christians believe that it is against the Christian religion to consume alcoholic beverages. Here is a Christian in a bar drinking 6% wine, might that not be an occasion to fall for a baby Christian? Might not this liberty of ours be a stumbling block for those who are weak? Isn’t it possible that our moderate imbibing be offensive to onlookers causing them to blame the ministry? If we are truly a royal priesthood, shouldn’t we act as if we were rather than sink to the level of the rest of the world? As we down the suds, are we the light of the world, a city on an hill cannot be hid or just another average Joe enjoying his booze? (Matt. 5:14) At that point, is our light on a candlestick or hidden under the Budweiser? (Matt. 5:15) We won’t even broach the subject of over indulgence or by whatever term politely refers to a drunk or an alcoholic. In light in all that has been written, lets us just close with this thought; a church in a pub is not a church at all, be that one person or a congregation.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 1 Peter 2:9

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