I’ll try to make this a short blog. In this one I’ll show you HOW the New Testament LAWS are GOOD for us today, on the authority of JESUS CHRIST himself! I got a number of blogs started since last blog, but didn’t finish them due to time constraints (doing the research for the idea takes time!). So let’s see if this can be short (or at least shorter than usual!).
The idea for this blog comes out of our study of Acts 18-20. We’ve been doing readings on the historical CITY OF EPHESUS. After looking at some of the archaeology, history, and politics of ancient Ephesus, we looked at Paul’s LETTER to the EPHESIANS. Then we looked at Paul’s First letter to Timothy. We did that because we looked up every occurrence of EPHESUS in an exhaustive concordance, which brought us to those two Pauline letters. Here’s what we DISCOVERED:
ANCIENT EPHESUS WAS LIKE OUR WORLD IS TODAY.
That was our first CLUE for seeing HOW the Bible is the Answer for today’s problems.
Here’s the next thing we ACKNOWLEDGED:
THE MANDATES IN PAUL’S LETTER TO EPHESUS ARE THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE.
That was our second CLUE for seeing HOW the Bible is the Answer (specifically the the Ephesian Letter) for today’s problems with HUMANITY.
And finally, here’s what we discovered that ties the above two REALITIES together:
PAUL’S LETTER TO TIMOTHY IS JUST LIKE EPHESIANS, EXCEPT THAT THE CONTENT PAUL COMMUNICATES CAME DIRECTLY FROM JESUS HIMSELF.
Factually-speaking, in Ephesus we find our modern world (minus the electronic technology); and from Paul’s letter to Ephesus we learn the SOCIETAL FUNDAMENTALS which Paul required Ephesus ‘Christians’ to implement among themselves; and finally, Paul required his hand-picked leader, Timothy, to IMPLEMENT those social fundamentals, BECAUSE THEY ARE JESUS’ TEACHINGS, which Jesus himself REQUIRES of his people. Let me rephrase that:
JESUS REQUIRES HIS PEOPLE TO RETURN TO BASIC SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES TO SATISFY GOD.
Now compare that with what is going on today in all the SOCIAL TURMOIL being perpetrated by criminal elites world-wide. NOBODY references the BIBLE on these matters. All you hear is EMPTY PROPAGANDA!
Now let’s take a look at some NT texts and history to see what I’m talking about. First the the texts, then the history. We’ll start at the end and connect the dots back to the beginning.
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:3)
There you see that JESUS CHRIST is the SOURCE of Paul’s INSTRUCTIONS to Timothy. Those instructions come from a LEADERSHIP viewpoint:
As I urged you [Timothy] upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. (1 Timothy 1:3-4)
Right there you see Paul giving Timothy orders to WORK AT EPHESUS. The particular work involved DOCTRINAL TEACHINGS. Now let me say something about the word “DOCTRINE”. Way back when I was in my early 20’s in Babble Shoal, I learned what DOCTRINE is (or at least I learned what the MEN taught me that it is). They taught me that DOCTRINE IS RELIGIOUS IDEAS AND IDEOLOGIES BUILT WITH WORDS. You can read all sorts of VARIANT ideologies in MANY VOLUMES created by what I call MEN OF WORDS. They used to be called MEN OF LETTERS. But today, with all the worthless babbling they do in writing FOR PAY, I just refer to them as MEN OF WORDS. They certainly aren’t like the MEN OF OLD, who didn’t have anything but THEIR OWN SKILLS in the ancient languages and literature to rely on for their REPUTATION. The first point I want to make about today’s ‘Christian’ DOCTRINE is that IT IS MAN-MADE. ALL OF IT is man-made. It’s just like the RABBI, except that it’s not LAW (like the rabbi’s ‘doctrine’ is).
The second point I want to make about ‘Christian’ DOCTRINE is, it’s strictly relegated to the realm of IDEAS. Compare that with what you read in Paul’s letters, especially 1 Timothy and Titus. According to Paul, DOCTRINE IS HOW YOU BEHAVE, and HOW YOUR SOCIETY IS STRUCTURED. Go ahead and read it for yourself in Paul’s letters and compare that with the GARBAGE that people FILL THEIR BRAINS with today in CHRISTIAN RELIGION. Is it any wonder there are so many DIVISIONS among ‘churches’? They’re called DENOMINATIONS. Jesus HATES division. The ‘Jewish anti-missionary’ LOVES division. ALL politicians and legal people LOVE division. Why? Because it’s HOW THEY GET THEIR MONEY! Let me summarize what the term DOCTRINE means in Paul’s letters:
DOCTRINE IS YOUR BEHAVIORAL HABITS AND YOUR SOCIAL STRUCTURE.
My parents had a saying: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. DOCTRINE is COMMUNICATED by WORDS. You are either telling the truth with GOOD MOTIVES and you’re living in reality, or you’re telling lies with EVIL MOTIVES as a political operative who’s spewing propaganda. That’s how you separate the GOOD people from the BAD people in this world. Mind you, MANY (if not most) of the propaganda artists don’t even realize what they are and what they’re doing! That’s why Paul says this in 2 Timothy:
But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived … (2 Timothy 3:13)
Paul’s next phrase in the above verse is: SOUND WORDS, THOSE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. “Sound words” is a reference to the DOCTRINE. And it’s obvious that “those of our Lord Jesus Christ” refers to the JESUS’ TEACHINGS, such as we read about in the Gospels. So right there, PAUL IS EQUATING HIS OWN TEACHINGS ABOUT PROPER BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE WITH JESUS CHRIST’S TEACHINGS, which gives Paul’s words JESUS CHRIST’S AUTHORITY. In other words:
PAUL GOT HIS DOCTRINES FROM JESUS CHRIST.
In other words, Paul taught the Christians to RETURN TO FUNDAMENTALS of BEHAVIOR and SOCIAL STRUCTURE because that’s what JESUS REQUIRES. That means, ALL the instructions in Paul’s letters COME FROM JESUS (unless otherwise noted, such as 1 Corinthians 7:10 & 12). That means all the words and ideas that DISAGREE with Paul’s words and ideas effectively contradict Jesus Christ’s teachings. That makes anything and everything that disagrees with Paul’s teachings (as properly understood) the proverbial ANTI-CHRIST! See what I’m saying?
So, Paul’s telling Timothy that LEADERS have an OBLIGATION to TEACH Christians what JESUS REQUIRES. Compare that with what ‘teachers’ are teaching today in the schools and media. TOTALLY OPPOSITE, right?! Same with LAWYERS and JUDGES, as we said in our ‘James’ blogs. These ANTI-CHRIST ‘leaders’ are IN BIG TROUBLE with Jesus, that’s for sure!
The next texts we want to consider are found in Ephesians. Since the texts are lengthy, lets just reference them. They begin at Ephesians chapter 4. Verses 1-16 talk about the FOUR OFFICES in the ‘church’. By ‘church’ I’m not talking about today’s MAN-MADE DENOMINATIONS. No! I’m talking about the communities of ‘believers’ who obey God’s Law in the OT and Christ’s and his Apostles’ mandates in the NT. Those communities have LEADERS who were DIRECTLY APPOINTED by Jesus Christ. Do you know any churches like that? I sure don’t! More about that in another blog.
Ephesians 4:17 begins the LEGAL MANDATES to those in the Ephesian ‘church’. These mandates are what I refer to as MORAL LAW. The rest of chapter 4 through to 5:21 contains the moral law applicable to CONDUCT IN THE COMMUNITY.
Ephesians 5:22 thru 6:4 contains the moral law applicable to MARRIAGE and FAMILY.
Ephesians 6:5-9 contains the moral law applicable to SLAVERY. Today’s equivalent to yesteryear’s slavery is EMPLOYMENT. That’s right! EMPLOYMENT means SLAVERY in the legal dictionary. You won’t find it in Black’s Law Dictionary. But you will find it in the early the American dictionary by Bouvier. But today’s CORPORATE SLAVERY and associated MONOPOLY ON LABOR is another subject all together!
Ephesians 6:10-20 contains the LEADERSHIP mandates. These texts give you a picture of the REALITIES that TRUE Christian LEADERS face on a daily basis. This kind of activity is not for that ‘faint of heart’!
In the above summary you can see the BASICS OF 1. PERSONAL BEHAVIOR and 2. SOCIAL STRUCTURE. They are REQUIRED to prepare us for JUDGMENT DAY. Just look at life as a gigantic, long, drawn-out TEST that will be GRADED BY GOD some time after you go into your grave. These instructions are what PREPARES YOU for PASSING the tests (Judgment Day).
I’m not going to get into it now, but take a look at 1 Timothy, so you can see the LEADERSHIP VIEWPOINT of the above Ephesus MANDATES. Here’s Paul’s SUMMARY STATEMENT:
… the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)
We took a lengthy look at the term LOVE in our COVENANT blogs. I believe that’s what Paul had in mind here. Essentially, LOVE is not some EMOTION. Instead, LOVE is OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S LAW with GOOD INTENT. Today’s churchians have the GOOD INTENT right (for the most part), but they have the GOD’S LAW part TOTALLY BACKWARDS! Anyways, that verse is Paul’s concise SUMMARY STATEMENT of his ENTIRE MINISTRY as a leader in Christ’s ‘church’. In other words:
LOVE IS THE GOAL FOR BEING A CHRISTIAN.
To say it another way, OBEYING GOD’S LAW for creating a WELL-ORDERED LIFE and WELL-STRUCTURED SOCIETY is the desired result of BEING A CHRISTIAN. It’s what LEADERS are SUPPOSED TO be teaching Christians, whether they are RELIGIOUS or POLITICAL leaders. Re-read that last phrase. I’m saying that SECULAR LEADERS will be held accountable to God’s standard BECAUSE their LAWS effect the LIVES and COMMUNITIES of Christians. THINK ABOUT THAT! That is how it will be, whether they know it or not, and whether they like it or not!
We see in those two Bible letters by the Apostle Paul the SUBSTANCE and ESSENCE of what it means to BE CHRISTIAN, as well as what LEADERS are supposed to BE and TEACH Christians.
Now let’s take a brief look at the HISTORY of Ephesus.
When you read about the NT city of Ephesus, you discover that they were a BANKING CENTER. They also were POLITICALLY INDEPENDENT from Rome, who was the ‘lord of the world’. Rome had conquered most of the then-known ‘civilized’ world. But Ephesus was INDEPENDENT from that! Also you come to realize that Ephesus was THE leading PORT CITY of the times. In fact, Ephesus was THE LEADING CITY of that entire region. They were also the banking center for that entire region. The city of Ephesus was located along the MAIN TRADE ROUTE that connected Rome with the East (Persia). Another intriguing fact is, many of the ASIARCHS lived in Ephesus. Asiarchs were today’s equivalent of the ultra rich, like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, the Dupont family, the Rockefellers, etc. (Maybe in a future blog I’ll get into who these ARCHONS were and how they INFLUENCED society, b/c that’s a very important subject relevant to today!) So, Ephesus was packed with “the idle rich” (as America’s federal Congress calls them). Ephesus was also filled with high-level political figures. Ephesus was A CITY OF CITIES during Paul’s time, especially as concerns EMPEROR WORSHIP and worship of Artemis/Diana/Ishtar/Venus (their chief IDOL). Ephesus held the Roman Honor (title) of TEMPLE WARDEN. And you can be sure that a LOT of residents were Merchant Jews, considering the COMMERCE that was going on at the time.
You can be sure that Ephesus, being a ‘modern’ city of ‘ancient’ technology and commerce, was rife with SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION. By ‘corruption’, I mean PEOPLE making their living using INSTITUTIONALIZED SIN to EXPLOIT the working masses of society through various social and financial SCHEMES. Just take a look at what goes on today, and the MONEY behind it. Take for example CHARGING INTEREST, DIVORCE, TAXATION, LAW SUITS and WELFARE.
Charging interest is the basis for all the financial schemes that the ‘idle rich’ use to embezzle the LABOR of the entire working class (via the GDP), little bits at a time. Divorce, today at an all time high, has divided up the family and weakened society by children being raised in SINGLE PARENT or MULTI-PARENT families. That’s a recipe for emotional disaster for children! And those children grow up to be adults (of sorts!), with all their emotional and mental dysfunctions. How can that kind of person be the basis of a healthy society?
Then there’s taxation. Think about how much money the government gets through the MYRIAD of taxes it ‘lays and collects’ against you. Go ahead and figure out all the taxes you pay on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Then compute what percentage of your ‘income’ that amounts to. You’ll be amazed! Let me tell you THE reason they do that to you. I promise it is NOT ‘to pay the expenses of government’. No! It’s so they can have PERPETUAL DEFICIT SPENDING by REMOVING from YOU your PURCHASING POWER. Just in case you don’t know what deficit spending is, I’ll tell you. It’s running up DEBTS that you lay on the backs of FUTURE GENERATIONS. That’s a kind of SLAVERY that people don’t think about. It’s ENSLAVING YOUR CHILDREN BEFORE THEY’RE BORN!
So there you have three typical institutionalized CORRUPTIONS which you’ll find in any given society of any era in human history. You can be sure all that was going on during the days Paul worked in Ephesus. And THAT is WHY he wrote what he did to the Ephesians. Basically, Paul was offering the people of Ephesus (and of the entire Province of Asia), REAL LIFE IN THE HERE AND NOW, through Jesus Christ, the ruler of God’s Kingdom. And to accomplish that, he instructed them to RETURN TO BASICS!
Now, back to the Bible. Based on the above, we can see that Ephesus was a VERY POWERFUL CITY during Paul’s time. When you read Acts, you can clearly see the POLITICAL JEWS stirring up SOCIAL TURMOIL and causing LEGAL TROUBLE. You can be sure they did that because their COMMERCE was at stake, being at the heart of it all the CORRUPTION. Look: don’t mess with a man’s MONEY and POWER, or else! And in the Ephesian letter you see layers of POLITICAL and LEGAL problems being addressed by Paul for the well-being of the ‘Christian community’ he was leading. In his letter to Timothy, Paul clearly FINGERS those trouble makers, both INFILTRATORS in the ‘church’ and POLITICAL SUBVERSIVES outside the ‘church’ (businessmen and government officials). All-in-all, no doubt, the SOCIAL CORRUPTION ran high in Ephesus. I believe that’s why Paul mandated that the Ephesian church people RETURN TO BASICS, for both their personal lives, and their society, beginning with their marriages and families. The only way for a nation to prosper if they OBEY GOD’S MANDATES for the marriages, families and businesses, among other things.
THAT is the message of this blog. Considering all the social turmoil going on in America today, the BIBLE IS THE ANSWER because BY LAW, God, Jesus, the Apostles REQUIRE all Christians to RETURN TO BASICS. That means they need to REPENT of their deviant personal and social behavior, and OBEY God’s Law in replacement of their errant lifestyle. In manufacturing there’s a sure method of fixing BAD PRODUCT that comes off the production line: RETURN TO BASICS. That’s what’s needed today in America, because the PEOPLE and SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS in this nation (such as marriage, family, education, finance, etc.) are BROKEN, DEFECTIVE, DECAYING. So we need to RETURN TO BASICS to fix these social institutions. And for Christians, the most important BASICS is GOD’S LAW (both OT & NT). And for their social structure it’s CONSTITUTION-BASED GOVERNMENT (that’s not in the Bible, but it’s the basis of THIS society). And for finance, we need to return to TANGIBLE WEALTH CURRENCY, instead of fiat money fraud and theft through expropriation and embezzling. You get the point. Now take this blog and think about the BASICS in EVERY AREA of your own life and every area of this nation, and then consider how we all need to RETURN TO BASICS. In a word:
PAUL, UNDER JESUS’ AUTHORITY, COMMANDS ALL CHRISTIANS TO RETURN TO BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS OF PERSONAL BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL ORDER.
Wow, that was a mouthful! Thanx for stopping by. See you in the next blog …
Reality Bible 