Friday, April 20, 2018
Warning:Toxic
The scene was
surreal and what unfolded was unforgettable. A crowd had gathered at the edge
of a steep cliff outside what appeared to be a natural cave. Over the entrance
hung a brightly painted sign that read: “Come in for an amazing ride that will
tantalize your senses and make your heart beat faster.” To the side was a
smaller sign that read: “Warning noxious/toxic.”
People eagerly
approached the cave dressed in various contraptions. Many wore safety glasses
and body suits. Most had heavy duty rubber gloves. It was obvious that they
were aware of, and perhaps even excited about, some danger and risk that
accompanied their excursion.
Standing off to
one side behind an official barricade stood an old man who was waving his arms
in an attempt to get the patrons’ attention. The word was that he had been
there for years and everyone considered him a weirdo. He didn’t run with the
pack. He was always hollering about something. More specifically, he was
imploring people to wear some strange looking masks. But most people were not
about to be caught dead in those contraptions.
At opening time,
the crowd disappeared into the cavern and all was quiet for an hour or two. Suddenly
paramedics arrived. They were wearing masks just like the ones being offered by
the stranger preaching at the entrance to the cave. They entered the cave and
returned carrying people on stretchers. Some were moaning, others gasped for
breath. Some were limp. When asked, the paramedics explained that the cave housed
noxious gases. They went on to say that this was a regular occurrence and that
many would not survive.
For years
people had come for the thrills and ignored the warning sign. They wore body
suits and gloves but not the all-important gas masks. They failed to recognize the most powerful
threat was not to their skin, but to their lungs. A toxic chemical in the cave
was injuring and killing people who thought their body suits and rubber gloves
were sufficient protection.
This is a true
story of our current world culture and the cave of sexual pleasure. Many protect
their bodies against communicable disease but fail to understand that the most
wonderful and dangerous thing about coming together is what happens in the
heart and soul. They fail to protect their souls. Just as the only protection
against some chemicals is to not breath them, the only protection against
sexual wounds is exclusivity.
The real danger
of physical intimacy outside of marriage is not physical, it is spiritual and
emotional. Sex outside of marriage is toxic and noxious to the soul. This
principle was engraved by God, in stone, thousands of years ago. Entire
civilizations have collapsed because they insisted on removing the most
important protection possible… authentic intimacy. This is how the ancient warning sign read: Thou
shalt not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14 KJV)
Saint Paul added
this warning in the first century: “Run from sexual sin! No other sin so
clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin
against your own body.” (1 Corinthians
6:18 NLT)
The best protection against loneliness, emotional mutilation, and disrespect is to be wholly given to the person with which you are intimate. The most powerful protection for one’s soul is trust and exclusivity. The rarest, most valuable people in the world are those who remain pure. These wise people are not prudes; they just understand that the real power of physical unity and a strong relationship is exclusivity. They are protecting their ability to love and be loved. They are making their family ties precious and valuable. They heed the ancient warning signs and choose to be wise in a foolish world.
Friday, April 06, 2018
Authentic Christianity
Eight-year-old
Tommy stared quizzically at the TV screen and wondered out loud, “Why is that
gold medal Olympian biting his medal?”
“Because,”
explained his older, wiser sister, “money used to have real gold in it, so
people would bite it to see if it was authentic. If the coin was too hard they knew someone
was giving them fake money. Those medals aren’t real gold, but they are doing
that to remind us of how it used to be done.”
In
our world it is not always easy to tell the difference between fake and real.
Ironically this is especially true when it comes to the most important things
in life. For example, there now seem to be so many versions of Christianity,
how can someone tell which beliefs are authentic and which are simply
traditions?
The
answer to this question is relatively simple; like any honest researcher or
academic will attest, the key is to go back to primary sources. Providentially,
God has preserved a primary source for those who are willing to let it carry
the weight it deserves. That source is the Bible. It has been challenged,
tested and proven more than any other book on the planet.
For
those who are genuinely discovering what is church tradition and what is
authentic Christianity, the first order of business is to go back and read the
Bible without trying to make it fit a preconceived set of beliefs. For example,
if someone is interested in how the original Christians converted to
Christianity, all they need to do is read the book of Acts, which was written
just a few years after Jesus established the Christian Church. They will discover
that an authentic conversion included repentance, baptism and the infilling of
the Holy Spirit.
A
lot of discussion and activity has taken place in the name of Christianity over
the past 2000 years, and many people have done things in the name of God and
Christianity, but there is something powerful and settling about going back to
the primary source. Rather than trying to understand all of church history or
sort out all of the arguments that have taken place throughout the centuries,
one can simply go back to the original Apostolic historical accounts and personal
letters as captured in the New Testament.
The
Christianity launched by Jesus and His Disciples was not a weak and anemic set
of beliefs that needed centuries of improvement. The original Christian faith
produced a group of people that “turned the world upside down.” (See Acts 2:48) If we want to turn our world
rightside up, we must return to the Authentic Christianity of Scripture. That kind of Christianity will look, taste
and feel like the first century Christianity. In other words, Authentic
Christianity will include miracles, signs, wonders, baptisms, other tongues,
Gifts of the Spirit, and much more.
Life
is too short to waste it on the fake. The stakes are too high to risk not
having the real thing when it comes to eternal issues. Go to the primary
source. Don’t settle for anything less than Authentic Christianity.
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