Love Has a Name

So the tag of this blog is “1st Century Truth in a 21st Century World”. But why? Why would that be the line that I have chosen to represent the words that come out onto these pages?

Well simply put because it’s true. My mission is to offer inspiration to my readers as well as taking a syringe of truth and injec it into the the social media cyberspace.

Truth is not dead.

I strongly encourage everyone who reads to further read and investigate my claims of truth as I write them. I also encourage this for every news article, Facebook article or social media post on ANY other site. The truth will set you free.

There are a lot of people out there who have said, and continue to say, “the Bible was written so long ago how can it apply today?” or “that was then and this is now”.

I agree with the idea that God breathed His word many thousands of years ago but I adamantly disagree that it does not apply today. In fact there are many verses that will explain this. I, however, want to briefly provide my 2 cents as it was succinctly explained by Philip Yancey.

Recently I finished reading Yancey’s 1997 book What’s So Amazing About Grace? And let me tell you that if you haven’t read it then you absolutely must! This book was written 20 year ago however while I read it I was shocked that it so accurately applied to today’s world. I had to check the publishing date to confirm it did in fact not get published in the last 1-2 years.

I will attempt to keep this post short and use only 1 example. Abortion. Just the utterance of this 3-syllable word can cause a volcanic eruption of emotion. From fear, to anger, to pain to love.

In his book Yancey writes that Christians should be politically active and oppose abortion however he continues, “but you have to find a way to do it with grace … If I’m against abortion and I don’t find a way to love the woman who got the abortion and even her doctor, then I don’t understand the gospel.”

This can be a far cry from those Christian protestors who shout words of condemnation and hate while claiming to love people. I don’t quite understand how someone can love another person and also tell them that they are going to hell. Unless I am mistaken I can’t recall where Jesus ever said those types of things. However I recall many instances where Jesus expressed his love for people and pleaded with them to turn from sin. If Jesus never imposed words of condemnation upon others, how can we possibly do the same in his name?

The book was written during a period of time which had different laws, a different culture and a different set of societal rules and values. 20 years ago in the United States of America there were different judges, different congressmen and women and a different President. However I read this book at a time when in America there are some lawmakers are supporting 3rd and 4th trimester abortions where an infant already having been born can still be “aborted” or to be more accurately described, can be killed.

Now I do not write this in any form of political opposition, although I oppose abortion I recognize the need, nay the requirement, to love all those who are facing and involved in making the decision.

I write this to simply express that the Gospel of Jesus Christ does and forever will apply to society and culture today until the time when he returns. Now abortion is just 1 issue that is cross-cultural and will forever apply through the pages of the Gospel. But let me list a couple more just to inspire some thought:

• Money and Possessions, it is spoken of 800 times and was spoken about frequently in terms of idolatry. Jesus mentioned this then, and it still applies today, that money can quickly and easily become more important than God. Although in and of itself money is not a sin, money/ possessions deceive humanity everyday. Is this not exacerbated in today’s world when society tells us to work, work, work and make money to prove ourselves successful?
• Love Thy Neighbour, this is the single more important command. Did it apply then and does it no longer apply now? I think not! If we choose to pick apart the Bible and use only the good and neglect the bad or challenging aspects we are doing ourselves a disservice. Believing in Jesus does not always mean an easy road but in fact it allows us to see inside ourselves and where our weaknesses are. If we choose to overlook the verses which challenge us are we helping or are we hurting ourselves?
• All or nothing, we must take the entirety of the Bible as it is written 100% of the time or 0% of the time. The fact that the Scriptures were written by man but inspired by God means that all of it is truth and relevant. If we believe a single verse of the Bible then we must take the rest of it. As previously mentioned we cannot dissect the Word of God and choose what to apply, we must apply ALL of it or NONE of it. While there may be issues with Leviticus (among others) as it is written, we are no longer commanded to not wear mixed fabrics or eat shellfish there are other passages that explain when it may or may not be appropriate to follow these laws today. Romans 14:14-16 explains that we should not do anything which causes another to stumble in the faith.

These 3 points I hope inspire simply, if nothing else, a moment of reflection about how the Word of God is inspired by God in full and not in part. The following Scripture explains this briefly and clearly.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.