With July 4th just around the corner, let's remember that it is not all about cookouts and fireworks, but freedom and independence. And yes, Xander, those marvelous horseflies that played such an instrumental part in making this day a celebrated one.


CAESERISM - ABSOLUTE GOVERNMENT; IMPERIALISM

 As this country gets closer and closer to this type of autocratic government that thinks it can control every aspect of our lives, we must stand firm in our devotion to God and our determination to obey him rather than men (or government). Since this topic was covered under the A’s (Absolutism) I won’t belabor the point and instead pass along a poem I received from Mark McWhorter that paints the picture very clearly. As way of disclaimer, I am a pacifist and would never encourage physical acts of violence against our present government or any other government that I might live under, but there are ways of fighting that do not shed blood, and we must realize that there is a battle going on.

Title: A VISITOR FROM THE PAST”
Author: Thelen Paulk
I had a dream the other night, I didn’t understand. 
A figure walking through the mist, with flintlock in his hand.
His clothes were torn and dirty, as he stood there by the bed. 
He took off his three-cornered hat, and speaking low, he said:

“We fought a revolution, to secure our liberty.  
We wrote the constitution, as a shield from tyranny.
For future generations, this legacy we gave.  
In this, the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

“The freedom we secured for you, we hoped you’d always keep.
But tyrants labored endlessly while your parents were asleep.
Your freedom gone, your courage lost, you’re no more than a slave.
In this, the land of the free and the home of the brave.” 

“You buy permits to travel, and permits to own a gun, 
permits to start a business, or to build a place for one.  
On land that you believe you own, you pay a yearly rent.
 Although you have no voice in choosing, how the money’s spent.”

“Your children must attend a school that does not educate.
Your Christian values can’t be taught, according to the state.
You read about the current news, in a regulated press.
You pay a tax you do not owe, to please the I.R.S.”

 “Your money is no longer made of Silver or of Gold.
 You trade your wealth for paper, so your life can be controlled.
 You pay for crimes that make our Nation, turn from God in shame.
 You’ve taken Satan’s number, as you’ve traded in your name.” 

“You’ve given government control, to those who do you harm, 
so they can padlock churches, and steal the family farm, 
and keep our country deep in debt, put men of God in jail, 
harass our fellow countrymen, while corrupted courts prevail.” 

“Your public servants don’t uphold the solemn oath they’ve sworn.
 Your daughters visit Doctors, so their children won’t be born.  
Your leaders ship artillery, and guns to foreign shores, 
and send your sons to slaughter, fighting other people’s wars.” 

“Sons of the Republic, arise and take a stand!
Defend the Constitution, the Supreme Law of the Land!
Preserve our Great Republic, and each God-Given Right!
And pray to God, to keep the torch of Freedom burning bright!”

As I awoke he vanished, in the mist from whence he came.
His words were true, we are not free, we have ourselves to blame.
For even now as tyrants, trample each God-Given Right.
We only watch and tremble, too afraid to stand and fight.  

If he stood by your bedside, in a dream, while you’re asleep, 
and wonders what remains of our Rights he fought to keep.
What would be your answer, if he called out from the grave:
“IS THIS STILL THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE??”

BUDDHISM - RELIGION OF INDIA STARTED BY BUDDHA TEACHING REINCARNATION
 It amazed me to find out how Buddhism is infiltrating our society. It often comes masked within the New Age Movement. ‘Buddhism’ is not the name this religion uses in the far east, no, the religion’s name is Buddha-Dharma. If the second half of that doesn’t look familiar to you, then, you are among the lucky few who have not seen one of ABC’s shows, “Dharma and Greg” ("Lost" is a more recent show that uses the name Dharma. ). I remember thinking the first time I heard of this particular show that she had a very strange name, now I know why. The premise of this show is that this couple; Dharma, a New Ager and highly enlightened individual, and Greg, a regular American guy with old fashioned and obsolete Christian values, must learn together how to handle married life. (Well, at least they are married). The television industry and movie industry alike are pushing Buddhism on us. A few years back there was a movie called “Little Buddha” where an American boy was discovered to be the next Buddha.

I for one would much rather have a Buddhist neighbor than an Atheist neighbor since the former, if true to his religion, would have the better morals. From an eternal standpoint, however, the Buddhist has no more hope than the Atheist. Buddhism does not acknowledge Christ as savior, in fact Buddhism teaches that man of his own accord, by his own will and determination can and must save himself. There are many in the religious world that would make this same accusation of the churches of Christ, and there may indeed be some among us who even believe that they can save themselves, BUT there is salvation in or by or through no one other than Jesus Christ. While the Bible teaches that certain works of faith are essential in order to obtain and keep salvation it also very clearly teaches that those works are not anything to boast about and in fact the works aren’t what saves us. It is quite a paradox. There are many in the religious world who may never be able to come to an understanding of how we must do something to receive a free gift.

Buddhism teaches many morals similar to those in the ten commandments and New Testament, but it also holds many dangerous pitfalls. Reincarnation is a foundational belief of Buddhism. The belief that we come back to this earth again and again in different forms is refuted quite simply by the Hebrews writer, (Heb 9:27) “And as it is appointed unto men ONCE to die, but after this the judgment:”.  The type of meditation done by it and other Eastern religions is also contrary to the Biblical pattern of meditation. King David said, (Psa 1:2) “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”  Paul told Timothy, (1 Tim 4:15) “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” The meditation approved of by David and Paul is focusing your mind upon something thinking intently about it and as a result gaining a better understanding. Buddhist and Eastern meditation on the other hand requires one to empty himself of all thoughts and if one is successful he will slip into Nirvana, which is their equivalent to heaven. The Bible does teach us to empty our minds of certain kinds of thoughts, but never are we to just blank out and become zombies.

There are many other dangers in Buddhism, but time and space fail me. Beware of these and search out others, for, Buddhism often comes disguised. Sometimes it even comes wearing Christian terminology.

BROMISM OR BROMINISM - SKIN ERUPTIONS CAUSED BY EXCESSIVE USE OF BROMIDES
What are bromides? The dictionary gives basically 3 definitions for ’bromide’, 1) a salt consisting of two elements one of which is bromine (a dark red, fuming, toxic liquid), 2) a platitude, and 3) a boring person. As you can see any of those could be problematic for the church.

1)When Jesus said we should be the salt of the world I don’t think he was referring to this kind of salt. Salt is very important and we need it in our physical bodies as well as our spiritual bodies, but we also know that many health problems are aggravated or even caused by an excess of salt. In our spiritual lives we need to strive for the proper proportions. If we lose our flavor as Jesus said we won’t be ‘worth our salt.’ We will need to be thrown out. On the other hand, if we have too much salt; as the sons of thunder did when they wanted to call down fire from Heaven to consume those who rejected Jesus, we will do damage to the cause of Christ. Some ‘Christians’ were blunt to the point that instead of showing an individual what the scriptures said in a loving way, and allowing that individual to realize his lost state, they would tell the person something to this effect, “You are going to hell.” Not only were the words harsh, but the impression left behind was, ”You are going to hell to suffer for eternity, and I am glad of it.” Anytime we leave that kind of an impression with someone we have done more harm than good.

I often think back to the homosexual man who was killed out in Wyoming. At his funeral there were people claiming to be Christians with signs and banners proclaiming the judgement of God against homosexuals, and explaining how they would spend eternity suffering. I did not see a single one that told the people attending that funeral of God’s love and desire for all of us to come to him, or of the fact that if they will repent He will freely forgive. It is no wonder many in the sin homosexuality don’t want to become Christians and change if they think we all act like those individuals.

2) On the other hand we don’t need to be spouting meaningless or overused platitudes. If you have just experienced some tragedy in your life, even if I went through a similar tragedy, I don’t know how you feel. Telling me that all things work for good, which I already know, doesn’t help much when I am in the depths of despair. There are so many things that we say that just don’t help. Sometimes it’s best to just be there and be quiet. Job was comforted by the presence of his friends until they started talking. (Job 2:13) “So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.”

3) Many in the world think that the Christian life is boring. Some of them think this way because we don’t get drunk, sleep around, do drugs, or any other of the things that sinful people seem to think is exciting. If that is the reason then let them keep thinking that way, I will take the boring path. There are some though that have gotten the impression from us that a Christian has to be miserable, or at least somber, all the time. We have given that impression at times. If we walk around looking like we were baptized in vinegar and weaned on a pickle what do we expect. It isn’t very pleasant to be around someone who never smiles or laughs, never plays a game, and never whistles or hums a tune or sings a cheery song.

There is an old story that you may have heard. Jesus was showing one of the angels around the earth. He pointed out all the places He had been when He was here; the temple, the garden, the cross, the tomb, etc. Then Jesus took the angel to an assembly of the church and explained to the angel that these were the people who had accepted his love and returned it in their obedience. Jesus told the angel how these people were on their way to Heaven and could spend an eternity there with the other angels, and with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The angel was excited about this even though he had known it for 2000 years, and he looked at the people gathered together singing and praying and studying the Bible. After seeing the looks of boredom, solemness, sadness, and seriousness on their faces the angel turned to Jesus and asked, “Do you want me to tell them or are you going to?” Let’s be sure to live our lives in such a way that others know that we know that Christianity is a better way to live in this world and in the next.

BRAHMANISM - RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE HINDUS CHARACTERIZED BY PANTHEISM
Brahmanism like Christianity teaches that there is only one true God. Unlike Christianity it teaches that God IS the universe, the earth, the plants, the animals, and even us. That’s right, they don’t believe God created it all, they believe God is all. Their god is called Brahman, which is the name Americans have given to the cattle from India that is sacred to them, and a belief in Brahman is part of Hinduism (to be covered in the H’s).

The Brahmans hold the belief of animism - that all things have a spirit, and they consider many things sacred as a result. When you couple this with the belief that we come back in another animal form if we have not lived well enough, reincarnation, you have people who can’t help but be vegetarians for fear not only that they are eating God, but also that they might be eating grandma if they eat any animals.

There are a multitude of problems with this idea, but let us focus on just two. If this Brahman is God and we are all part of him, why don’t most of us know it? And, secondly, If we and all the universe are all God, how can there be evil, and more specifically, how can we be or do evil? As far as I know Brahmanism has never answered these two problems. The Brahmans, continue in their pursuit of living well enough that they will become literally part of Brahman and not have to come back to this life again. I guess the old saying, ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again’ would certainly be their motto. Unfortunately, we only get one life in which to obey God. It seems that even though they say we are all supposed to be part of God, we must have some sort of amnesia, and can’t remember who we are. I don’t know how part of an all-knowing God could not know something that basic, but that is the logic behind Brahmanism. Secondly, the evil; most of the adherents to Brahmanism or its like have historically denied the existence of evil. Well, that’s easy enough, if you can’t explain it just deny it. As Christians, we understand that God often works so that even the evil is overcome with a good result, i.e. Jesus’ crucifixion, or trials that strengthen us. God and the Bible, however, never deny the existence of evil. How could anyone who has even heard of the planet earth, much less someone who lives here be so suckered in as to believe that there is no evil? It is clear to anyone who will examine the evidence that there is evil here. So, if the entire universe is God, or Brahman, and there is evil in the universe, then, Brahman must be at least partially evil. Ouch! I for one am glad that I am neither part of a god, nor do I serve a god that is evil. Let us praise the Creator, not the created. (Rom 1:22-25) “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, {23} And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. {24} Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: {25} Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”

BOURBONISM - EXTREME CONSERVATISM IN POLITICS
I would hope that Christians who are to any extent involved in politics would be extremely conservative. Unfortunately, that is not the way it is. There are many Christians who are swayed by their wallets, or by the charisma of a certain candidate, and don’t use the principles and teaching of scripture. We must realize the necessity of having a government that is in subjection to God, or at least one that acknowledges that there is a supreme power above them. God raises up governments and brings them back down as He sees fit. That being the case we should realize that governments fall when they reject God. We are somewhat schizophrenic spiritually if we think we can believe in the Bible and be pleasing to God without having our Christianity controlling every aspect of our lives public and private.

There is a danger; however, that we may be conservative in politics and think that voting for officials who take a hard moral stance and will make laws accordingly will somehow change the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans. Don’t let Satan deceive you. There is a significant difference in legislating morality and converting the heart of the immoral. I am not saying that we should not have laws and punishment for immorality, what I am saying is that until something changes the hearts and minds of the sinners in this country they will continue to sin even if it is illegal. What government, no matter how moral and Godly it is, can never do with laws and punishment, the church can do with the gospel and only the church through use of the gospel can do it.

Many have said, and rightly so, that making guns illegal or making new laws to restrict who can own a gun will not solve the problems of gun violence that we have seen in the last few years. The reason is clear if we will think about it. In every case of these shootings, either the guns that were used were illegal, or they were illegally obtained, or both. You see the very nature of the terms ‘crime’ and ‘criminal’ imply something illegal. We can’t expect laws to change hearts, only the love of Christ shown through the gospel can truly accomplish that.

One last illustration. Do you ever speed? Be honest now. Would it make a difference if the government made a law making it illegal? Ooohhh! They already did. Well, would it make a difference if they passed a new law that made the speed limit 45 MPH? Be honest. Would it matter to you if they raised the fines to $100 for every MPH over the speed limit? Maybe after you got caught the first time and had to pay an outrageous $900 fine, but probably not before that. You see it is true with many of us in the small areas of breaking the law, and it is true of the hardened criminal in any area. It is good to have a government that can punish the evil doer as Romans 13 tells us they should, but don’t expect the government to do the church’s task here on earth. Don’t think you have done all you should when you have voted for some ‘righteous’ official.

BOTULISM - DISEASE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM CAUSED BY BOTULIN IN SPOILED FOOD
What a topic for Friday the 13th, hope you know what you ate last night. If you have ever had any kind of food poisoning, you know how dangerous it can be. Our next door neighbor has had a baby in the hospital with it for the past week. I don’t know the statistics, but I know many people die from the different kinds of food poisonings. Amazingly, many of us may get food poisoning and never even know it. Our body fights it off in small enough amounts, and even in larger amounts a healthy adult can overcome most food poisoning if it is not a continuous occurrence. Since there isn’t really much danger of the church being destroyed as a result of food poisoning deaths, we must turn to a spiritual application.

The Word of God and the doctrines and teachings that come from It are referred to on many occasions in scripture as food. Of course we know that we can’t live on only the teachings of the Word, but Jesus also told Satan, and recorded it for us as well, that man can’t live without it either. Oh sure, people exist all around us without the Bible, but they aren’t really alive. We must have spiritual food to feed our souls, and without it we can’t have true life.

(1 Pet 2:2) “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
(1 Cor 3:1-2) “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. {2} I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.”
(Heb 5:12-6:2) “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. {13} For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. {14} But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. {6:1} Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, {2} Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”
(John 6:31-35) “Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. {32} Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. {33} For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. {34} Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. {35} And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

We see there are many different spiritual foods: Milk for the newborn, meat for the full grown, and Jesus, the bread of life, for any who are hungry and will come. We were talking about botulism and food poisoning, however, and all of the above are free of any dangers. There is a type of food that is spiritually dangerous that we should watch out for. It isn’t referred to as botulism in scripture since the people of that time would have never understood that term. Jesus spoke to his disciples about dangerous teachings and likened them to leaven. (Mat 16:5-6 & 11-12) “And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. {6} Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
(11) How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? {12} Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”

I think that if Jesus were teaching today he would find the food poisoning analogy to be a good one as well. When we consume false teaching, like food poisoning, it will make us sick. If we are healthy Christians, we will be able to fight off the poison, but if we are very young (spiritually), immature, or weakened we may succumb to the poison and the result could be the loss of our soul if we don’t find the cure. Be careful what you put in your spiritual mouth just like you are careful what you put in your physical mouth.

BISEXUALISM - SEXUALLY RESPONSIVE TO BOTH SEXES
”There is no such thing as a homosexual or heterosexual person. In theory all are bi. In practice some are this, some are that, some exclusively, some part-time. The point is that were it not for the three monotheistic religions that have made a nice hell of all human relations—so that we shall love God the father all the more? -- no one would have thought to categorize anyone because of his sexual interests. ... I suggest we work together to flush Judaism, Christianity and Islam into the Mediterranean and restore the Greco-Roman world, where, believe it or not, there was no word for fag or dyke, nor was there any conception that an occasional sexual activity constituted an entire personality.”—Author Gore Vidal to London’s Gay Times, February issue. (Planet Out, email news service, 3/3/99)

I bet you didn’t know that we are all bisexual. The funny thing is neither does our creator. More and more the twisted thinking in our country tries to come up with ways to excuse sin. Mr. Vidal is probably correct in one thing, ”were it not for the three monotheistic religions (i.e. those that teach there is only one true God, even though Judaism and Islam don’t teach the whole truth about Him - jp). . . no one would have thought to categorize anyone because of his sexual interests.” How true it is that without God there is no moral standard, no reason to do one thing and not another, no right and wrong. The only problem for these individuals that want to make up their own rules is that no matter how hard they try or even succeed at getting rid of the influence of God, He will still be the one to judge us all in the last day.

I can refuse to believe in trains, or I can refuse to believe that they can hurt me, but if I remain on the train tracks I will eventually pay for that decision with my life. No one would think it hateful, intolerant, or bigotry to warn someone of this danger. How then is it that when we lovingly try to warn people about the danger to their souls, they think we hate them. Sin separates us from God and only repentance can bring us back.

(Rom 1:24-32) “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: {25} Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. {26} For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: {27} And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. {28} And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; {29} Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, {30} Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, {31} Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: {32} Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” God would never condemn someone for something they had no choice about. Notice that He did not make them this way, but He allowed them to choose this way. God doesn’t want them to go to Hell for these actions, but if they will not repent He will have no other recourse. (2 Pet 3:9) “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

BIOLOGISM - DOCTRINES FORMULATED ON PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
There is nothing wrong with using science. At least that is true of real science. Paul warns Timothy that not everything that calls itself science really is. (1 Tim 6:20-21) “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: {21} Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.” Read that statement one more time. Don’t ‘oppositions of science falsely so called’ sound an awful lot like humanism, atheism, and evolution.

Science, true science, consists of only those things which mankind can prove with the five senses. There are, as a result, many things which lie outside the realm of science. Which is better chocolate ice cream or vanilla? Science can never answer that. Does God exist? Science can’t answer that either. Did we evolve? Science can never answer that in the affirmative no matter how hard it tries. This doesn’t mean that those questions don’t have answers, only that the answers lie outside the realm of our five senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing). With those five senses the first question can’t be answered by science because even though we all taste ice cream if we eat it, we don’t all enjoy the same flavor, and some don’t like ice cream at all (hard to believe I know). The second question is somewhat different. Notice, I did not say the existence of God could not be proven one way or the other, only that science could not prove it. There are several evidences of God’s existence. We take the things that are scientifically knowable and then use logic, reason, and rational thinking to draw inescapable conclusions. We must remember that not everything we can know is knowable on the basis of science, even though some so called scientists would never admit that. The third question falls into a category that can be proven false by science, but can never be proven true. Think about the fossil record which would be the only thing science could examine in regards to evolution. Unless some form of evolution happened and was observed by people, then all we have is leftovers.

Here is the problem true science would have with evolution: 1) nobody was there, 2) it is not happening now and cannot be recreated, 3) There would have to be in the fossil record massive numbers of intermediate (meaning half one animal and half another or somewhere in between) fossilized animals, 4) Here is the kicker; even if there were in the fossil record those intermediate forms it would not and could not prove that evolution occurred. Think about it without sensing it, science cannot prove it true. The lack of condition 3 can prove it didn’t happen, but the existence of condition 3 doesn’t prove it did. The reasoning behind this is that in order for something to be a scientific fact all other alternatives must be disproved as well as the proposition you like being proved. For example: If I were to prove that there is oxygen in our atmosphere, and then jumped to the conclusion that our atmosphere is 100% oxygen I would have made a scientific error because I did not prove that there weren’t any other gases in the air. Therefore, even if the fossils evolutionists are looking for so hard did exist they would first have to disprove any other explanations. Well, you may ask, “If they do exist what other explanation could there be besides evolution?” Easy they could quite plausibly be the fossil remains of animals that once existed as a result of creation, but that are now extinct. Just like the dinosaurs, the whale shark, and the dodo bird, God could have created any number of other animals that are now extinct.

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that science can answer all the questions of life, it can’t, and never will be able to. It is fine to use science as far as it goes, but don’t sacrifice faith in God for faith in science. Science when used properly can be beneficial, but be careful. As Paul warned Timothy, false teaching in any form can destroy faith.

BINOMIALISM - NAME CONSISTING OF A GENERIC AND SPECIFIC TERM
This is, of course, a scientific term for the type of naming that scientists do. “Homo sapiens”, for example, is the binomial name for humans. This in and of itself has caused some problems for Christians because of the fact that different species (that is the second part) can sometimes breed. The wolf and the domesticated dog have been mated to produce mixes. Scientists have tried to use these occurrences to prove evolution, and to throw doubt on the Biblical account of creation and the flood. The Bible, however, never says anything about “genus” and “species”; rather it speaks of kinds which is broader than the “species” that we know today. A wolf and a dog are two separate species, but they are the same kind. But, we want to look at a spiritual application.

From a spiritual point of view, Binomialism could refer to the way many who claim to be Christians aren’t satisfied with wearing the name of Christ and only the name of Christ. There are many that claim to be some ‘kind’ of Christian. Many use their denominations name along with Christ’s. Others try to describe some distinction between themselves and others. We have probably heard terms like: Evangelical Christian, Protestant Christian, or Pentecostal Christian. We often hear the question, “What kind of Christian are you?”. The reply may be: Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, etc. Paul condemned this type of thinking when he wrote to the church in Corinth. (1 Cor 1:10-13) “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. {11} For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. {12} Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. {13} Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?”

If ever unity is to exist we must, among other things, first stop using man made names and titles and stick to what God has given us in his word. We seem to want to insist on this use of man made distinctions, however. We have: non-institutional or anti- churches, one-cup churches, black churches, white churches, liberal churches, mainstream churches, conservative churches, ultra-conservative churches, etc. We must continually ask ourselves as Paul asked the Corinthians, “Is Christ divided”. I am not in any way advocating union without regard to doctrine, quite to the contrary I am emphasizing that we can never truly be the church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ until we give up human names and doctrines and fully embrace his name and doctrine. 

BASAL METABOLISM - THE ENERGY TURNOVER OF THE BODY IN A BASAL STATE (BASAL INDICATES THE STANDARD AT A LOW LEVEL OF ACTIVITY)
If you live anywhere that has been suffering this miserable heat this summer, you have probably been trying to experience basal metabolism as much as possible. When it is 105 degrees with a heat index close to 120 we try to avoid any activity that isn’t absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, this attitude is present in our spiritual lives and the spiritual lives of other Christians far too often. Many of the ‘saints’ would more accurately be termed ‘ain’ts’. They just ‘ain’t gonna do nothing I don’t have to’.

There is an old cartoon that I have seen in church bulletins that illustrates this attitude. In the cartoon, there is a long line of people standing at the gates to heaven and one fellow is running toward the end of the line shouting, “He isn’t counting Wednesday night attendance.” Everyone in line shouts, “hooray”. This describes perfectly the attitude many have. They are doing only what they think they ‘must’ to get into heaven. Let’s test ourselves. Would you come to Wed. Night Bible study if you knew that you didn’t have to in order to be saved? What if you found out that instrumental music wouldn’t necessarily send you to Hell? What if it was discovered that you really only needed to be assembled with the saints once on Sunday, would you come back Sunday Night? What about singing, or praying, or giving? Would you continue to be active in these things if you found out that God would let you slide into Heaven without them?

Children will often ask the question, “Do I have to?” whenever there is something unpleasant like eating broccoli. It is disheartening to realize that many of those for whom Christ gave his life feel the same way about pleasing him. We are asking the wrong questions. There is nothing in life that we ‘have to’ do. We have free will and if we don’t want to there may be certain consequences, but we don’t have to do it. In Christianity, the question we should be asking is “can I?” not “must I”. The basal metabolism attitude and resulting behavior is more likely to keep most out of heaven than any other sin. If we have the proper attitude, God will freely forgive us when we fall and then get up to try again. Sadly, many are still thinking like the Pharisees did about completing a checklist instead of thinking in terms of giving their life to Christ. The Pharisees were condemned not because they didn’t believe the right things or even because of horrible sins in their lives, but Jesus condemned them because they had the detailed minutia figured out and had forgotten about the matters of greatest importance. Like many today they would be asking exactly how many Wednesday nights they could miss and still be okay and then miss them. (Luke 11:42) ”But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”

In college there were two kinds of classes that I took. The first was the one that I “had to have to graduate”. The other was one that I wanted to take. You may remember similar experiences in school. The Gotta Have It class was missed as much as possible without failure, the work was done adequately, tardiness or last minute arrival was the norm, and interest was minimal. The Chosen class, quite to the contrary, was never missed, always arrived at early, extremely interesting, and aced in the grades department. I couldn’t understand why some people would skip these incredible classes. Of course, the reason was that to them it wasn’t a chosen class it was a have to class. The point, however, is that in actuality there was no difference in the classes. They were both necessary for graduation. The only difference was in my attitude toward them. The same is true in religion, one command of God is just as necessary as another, but we have different attitudes about different aspects of Christianity. I may have never had a desire to kill anyone, so not killing is easy. On the other hand, I may like to sleep in on Sunday morning, thus making Sunday school attendance undesirable. When we correct our attitude our eagerness and energy output will be increased and we won’t be suffering along at a basal metabolism rate. (Rev 3:15-16) “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. {16} So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”