A History of Idolatry and false worship
Mike Oppenheimer
The Greeks had a monument to every
God known at their time. Paul’s appeal at Mars Hill gives insight to his
Biblical view of their history. Did Paul turn them back to one of their
gods, did he appeal to their own culture as God given? No. Acts 14:15-17
Paul preached to them “that you should turn from these useless things
to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all
things that are in them, “who in bygone generations allowed all nations to
walk in their own ways. “Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without
witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful
seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” Paul is certainly
NOT saying is that God has been present working in every culture from the
beginning. Because of the witness of God in nature (Rom.2), his provision,
mankind knew He existed, but no nation knew God personally outside the
nation God took and formed for himself. Now I realize in the time we live,
with the popular teaching of dominionism and replacement theology much of
the church believes she has replaced Israel. That it is spiritually
incorrect to side with Israel or believe God is still going to use this
nation (Satan always hates what God loves and has plans for). But the fact
remains, all of Israel will be saved one day (Rom.11), God is not finished
with the people he first called and formed to be His own and He is not
finished with the nations either. Let us consider the history of the
nations and their desire to worship in their own ways (Acts 14). From Adam
to Noah we find mankind degenerating into corrupt worship, the only time
it ceased was from Noah after the flood for merely a few generations. Noah
was born 1056 years after the fall. He was a true worshipper of God and
was 600 years old (Gen. 7:6) at the time of the flood and he lived 350
years after. Genesis 10 lists all of the descendants of Noah's three sons.
Genesis 9:19: “These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the
people who were scattered over the earth.” All the families in the world
descend from these men. After the flood the customs of the tribal people
were shared from Noah’s sons. But they soon united to worship God contrary
to the way He instructed man. Gen. 11:1-2: “Now the whole earth had
one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from
the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt
there.” After the flood the succeeding generations rejected the God of
their fathers. The descendants of Noah's sons traveled east toward
Babylon, which means that Noah's family of eight and their descendants
lived west of Babylon (Israel is located west of Babylon). They traveled
east united in the plain of Shinar. Before they even built the tower of
Babel they were in rebellion against God and abandoned the faith in that
was to be passed down. We see this rebellion repeated in history on
different levels, with the quick loss of faith by those who left Egypt
along the way to the Promised Land and those entered the land. And we see
it again in the last days by Jesus who said it would as in the days of
Noah before He comes back. We are not going to influence the world in
Christianity but instead it will be rebellion, false worship and violence
escalating. It is very possible they were intent
on re-establishing some of the practices they heard the people held in the
pre-flood era as the story was passed down. God said “nothing they propose
to do will be withheld from them.” It was about 150 years after the flood
that the Tower of Babel, The Ziggarut was built (Genesis 10-11). Most
believe it was built so that they could seek other gods, in their own
way. When the people came together to build the tower of Babel under
Nimrod’s leadership they were one in language and purpose (Genesis
10:8-12), they were united. which proves not all unity is a good
thing. God personally visited and did this
scattering to prevent the tribes, the families from establishing a united
religion that would leave the true God out (the scattering of nations took
place with l70 languages). In the last day’s Babylon will be
revived, God will let it succeed for a short time. Mystery Babylon will be
the unity of all nations in worship together before God comes down once
again to visit mankind and judge severely. Gen 10:1-5 Gives the genealogy
of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth-- From these the coastland peoples of the
Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his
language, according to their families, into their nations. Genesis 10:32
states that “From these the nations spread out over the earth after the
flood.” into their territories by their clans within their nations,
each with its own language.” Abram’s father Terah, was in
Mesopotamia, in Ur of the Chaldeans. He lived to 205 years old. This is
all taken place about 2100-2,000 BC. Ur was a flourishing metropolis where
there was commerce and trade between cities. They had a center tower,
probably similar to the one at Babel that was built to worship among the
many gods, the moon goddess. The cities of Ur and Haran both had the moon
goddess as their main deity. Terah, Abram and Nahor were Gentile
idolators, Terah, father of Abraham, worshipped “other gods.” God’s
sovereignty is displayed in that he chose Abram who was no better or worse
than anyone else at the time. He was called out from his country, his
people, from their customs and most importantly their gods. Abraham left
Haran and until the Exodus it was exactly 430 years later (Gen. 12:10; Ex
12:40; Gal. 3:17). these are approximate dates from
the Bible Genealogy
-year bc Lived
Year Abram -Abraham became the
first Jew, or Hebrew, meaning- one from the other side. He crossed over
and was brought into the land of covenant, (approx. 2000 BC.) Joshua 24:3:
“Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him
throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave
him Isaac.” Egypt was the greatest civilization at this time of history.
We know from history the Pharaoh of Egypt in the time of Abraham
(Gen.12:14-20; Ps.105:14.) was not monotheistic. We know from Scripture
that before 1500 B.C. Israel was enslaved by Egypt was not worshipping the
true God. There were no redeeming qualities to be found then? Exodus
8:25-27 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go,
sacrifice to your God in the land” obviously they had a
different God. The gods of Egypt had nothing in common with the God of
Israel. This is why the true God said, “For I will pass through the land
of Egypt … against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the
LORD” (Exodus 12:12). These are the gods they had from the beginning.
(Thus God fulfilled Gen.12:3 “God will bless those that bless you and
curse those that curse you.” This is part of the land covenant that God
made with Abraham.) Prints, Crumbs and
Pieces Does God leave his fingerprint on
all cultures that are manmade? Moses and the nation of Israel that came
from Abraham are warned of the same nations that came from Noah's lineage
that have survived the flood and flourished. Deuteronomy 12:30: “be
careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How
do these nations serve their gods? We will do the
same.” The true God distinguishes himself,
He is continually called the God of Israel- the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob and contrasts himself to the gods of the nations. Jer 46:25: “The
LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring
punishment on Amon of No, and Pharaoh and Egypt, with their gods and their
kings-- Pharaoh and those who trust in him.” 2 Kings 19: the gods of
Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel
Assar? 2 Chronicles 25:20 “they sought the gods of Edom.”
These are the Gods of the nations they were different Gods. Not one nation
had the same God of Israel, not one. So how are we to make a connection in
the past to say their God had a son, how do find any redeeming religious
qualities in their cultures that God put there? The fact is they were
inclined to worship false gods. We can’t turn their false God[s] into a
true one by stating their God had a son. Letting them think that their
(false) God has the same qualities as the true God is not using wisdom to
evangelize. Some people do this with Islam, saying, Allah had a son who is
Jesus. This wrong to do, one is then changing the whole religion delivered
to them. For the Quran itself says God has no Son. Herein lies the danger
of the modern contextualization, when there is a revision of a religion.
We cannot forget or eliminate that one must have a revelation of truth to
truly be converted. Conversion does not take place by moving two opposing
pieces together to illegitimately make them fit by
stories. Rom 3:29 Paul writes about the law
and faith and then says of God, “Is He not also the God of the Gentiles?
Yes, of the Gentiles also” (see also Rom 9:24). However, Jesus makes it
clear Salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22). The God of all people is
called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not of anyone else. He
continually calls Israel his inheritance “Then you shall know that I am in
the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other”
(Joel 2:27). God calls himself “The LORD God of your fathers, the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to
you” (Exodus 3:15). God calls Himself: “the God of Israel” (Exodus 5:1)
over 700 times; Jesus is called the King of the Jews (Matthew
27:11). As one reads the bible they will
notice that Israel is unique among all the cultures and nation. 2 Samuel
7:23-24: “And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the
earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself
a name-- and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land--
before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations,
and their gods? “For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people
forever; and You, LORD, have become their God. To tell people that God has had his
hand in their culture, that their God had a son is to make up a
new way that is contrary to everything God has written to us through
the Bible. It is affirming that cultures God (or gods) are the true God
because His Son is Jesus Christ. This is a completely wrong approach to
evangelize, it is false and can be damaging to the truth of the gospel.
The indigenous/cultural approach ignores Israel’s importance and then
generalizes revelation, bringing it to its lowest common denominator by
rationalizing that there are redemptive qualities in the culture. The
problem is that one can find some kind of Bible story that is injured by a
cultures redefinition everywhere in the world. It is like looking for
scraps of paper spread out on the ground and trying to put together a
puzzle; one that has already been put together in the
Bible. Where are the redemptive qualities
that can be extracted from the worlds religions? Cultures that had long
departed from monotheism in Noah's day sank into Polytheism, Totemism and
Animism. The major tenets of Animism are basically the same the world
over. Animism is the belief that all of nature is inhabited by spirits,
i.e. trees, rivers, animals, stones, and people. Some believe they
and nature were indwelled by a god that is more powerful than all the
rest, sometimes called the “Great Spirit” (this is pantheism or
panentheism). Totemism is where certain objects or animals are treated
sacred, like birds, animals, plants or the earth (the theory of
Gaia) all this is explained in Romans 1. Where does YHVH allow for
adoption of other culture’s beliefs? We do not see God’s approval of
adoption of any nation’s customs into Judaism nor Judaism into their
culture. There was no syncretism for Israel or the church. What we hear is
“don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” In this matter God did!
Unfortunately, we have thin skin on these subjects because some take
offence to the narrowness of the gospel. There is only one people God made
into a nation and personally instructed. The way today is through His Son
Jesus Christ and it is a narrow road, some want to widen it There is no
Christianized form of Yoga or eastern mediation or use of centering to
draw us or sustain us in a relationship to God. You cannot Christianize
another’s religious practice. When syncretism occurs Christianity loses
its power, purity and of course its influence. This is a large issue in
the church today. This kind of syncretism will do as much damage to the
church as it did after Constantine. Many doctrines were no longer
necessary to believe and uphold to be Christian. People became members of
the church through baptism. They then began to synthesize their pagan
practices in the church, the people kept the same ways they worshipped in
their culture and called it Christian.Many Supreme
God[s] The various nations may have known
of a supreme God, but many religions had stories of other gods along with
the supreme one. This is what is called Henotheism, one superior God over
the others (like in Mormonism today). If all these cultures had a supreme
God why was he not described the same. Why are there differences in the
legends? Why did they battle each other? The historical evidence shows the
majority belief in a supreme god did not mean creator of both the heavens
and the earth (all that exists) by the sheer fact they also had a sun God,
a moon god, and other gods named after the planets and
stars. Just because certain people groups
have recorded stories about a supreme God does not mean he is the same God
presented in the Bible, nor does it mean they worshipped God correctly, in
truth. This new missiology is ignoring what the Bible says about why God
took Abraham out and made a nation for himself. And Joshua said to all the
people, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Your fathers, including
Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other
side of the River in old times; and they served other gods” (Joshua
24:2). 1 Corinthians 10:6: “Now these
things became our examples….” V:11 “Now all these things happened to them
as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of
the ages have come.” The Bibles history is our example and it is to be our
only source of revelation to know and understand God and His salvation
throughout history. Israel was the only nation God took for His own and He
warned them about the other nations influencing them in their customs and
worship. Deut 9:4: “ it is because of the wickedness of these nations that
the LORD is driving them out from before you.” Deut. 29:16-18 (for you
know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the
nations which you passed by, and you saw their abominations.” This was
God’s instruction to Israel, his called out ones, Deut. 12:29-32: “When
the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to
dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, “take heed to
yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are
destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods,
saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.'
“You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every
abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for
they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it
nor take away from it.” What other nation did the God of the Bible ever
say they held to his commands or worshipped him correctly? One must make
up their history and deny the Bibles account to come to any other
conclusion. Deut. 18:9-14: “When you come into
the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to
follow the abominations of those nations.” Through Moses God said (Deut.
28:1-2) “if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe
carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD
your God will set you high above all nations of the
earth.” Joshua 23:3: “You have seen all that
the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the
LORD your God is He who has fought for you.” God himself dealt with these
nations that were against Israel which meant they were against
Him. Joshua 23:11-13 God warned if they
go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations, make marriages with
them, the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations from before
you. But they shall be snares and traps to them.” We are told in Judges
2:21-23 He did not deliver all the nations into the hand of Joshua but
left the nations after Joshua died, to test Israel, whether they will keep
the ways of the LORD. Israel was not faithful all the time and was
influenced when they intermarried with the other nations. Judges 3:5-8 the
children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites,
the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And they took their
daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and
they served their gods” They forgot the LORD their God, and served the
Baals and Asherahs. God called it evil in his sight.
God’s instruction to Israel was not to intermarry because they will turn
their hearts after their gods I King 11:1-2 “But King Solomon loved many
foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites” 2 Kings 17:13-17: “They followed
idols, became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around
them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them that they should not do
like them.” God warned Israel over and over NOT
to worship Him as the nations do their gods. It does not make sense to
hold to God leaving redeemable qualities in these cultures if the Bible
says clearly the opposite. 2 Kings 17:39-41: “However they did not obey,
but they followed their former rituals. So these nations feared the LORD,
yet served their carved images; also their children and their
children's children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to
this day. “And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against
the gods of the people of the earth--the work of men's hands” (2
Chronicles 32:19.) If a culture is corrupted then
what redeemable qualities can be found in its corruption. Nowhere do we
find the Roman or Greek empire called redeemable in the time of the
inception of the church. Surely, they would have implemented these ideas
that are used in missions today if they were valid. Not one time do you
find God approving of a nation worshipping and obeying him, except for
Israel whom he gave the instructions to.An Indigenous
people movement I’m glad to hear people are
working in third world countries and among natives and seeing results of
the people coming to Christ, but at the same time there is an animosity
that is evident with some of the people. We hear of curses on indigenous
people because of the unrepentance of those who brought them harm. The
indigenous movement wants the church to repent of any atrocities that
have been perpetrated by the church, “Christian”
nations. They believe we need Reconciliation
Walks and apologies to various religious groups to make peace and to bring
an openness for the gospel (of course this has much to do with the gnostic
model of spiritual warfare also being promoted in these groups). Do we see
any examples of this in the Scripture? Did the Romans apologize to the
Jews to heal the land? These may be good intentions but it will not bring
the desired results. I’m not trying to belittle the
wrongs done in various cultures but let me ask you have you personally
done any atrocities to them? Should we take credit for something we did
not do – good or bad. This absurd to repent for those you have no
connection to. To say the white man must repent for something we ourselves
are not guilty of, nor know who the people are that did these things is
absurd. You don’t admit guilt for something you did not do. They are
laying to our account what God has not, I find this to be manipulative and
guilt ridden. We should not forget there were atrocities done on both
sides, not just one (though one may exceed the other). Furthermore, it
would make sense if one is going to repent for something they did not
participate in, why stop there, why only repent for these actions? Why not
repent for Adam and Eve and erase the curse on the earth from the
beginning. As Gentiles, Indigenous people who
received Christ and anyone else are to be considered brothers and should
not be stigmatized; neither should those who are not indigenous. These
spiritual exercises for national reconciliation by repentance and marches
are not necessary. It wasn’t in the beginning of the church, and it isn’t
today. What people need to hear is the plain and simple gospel message of
God's proof of his love for them by sending His Son to pay their penalty
for their sin. The Bible states in Eph. 2:15-19:
“having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of
commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new
man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them
both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death
the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to
those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to
the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of
God.” “After this I looked and there
before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every
nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the
throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were
holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the
Lamb” (Revelation 7:9-10) Notice the people before his
throne are from (out of) every tribe and nation but they are not the
nations themselves. God redeems people out of cultures not the culture
themselves. They are all wearing white robes in heaven not western
designer jeans, not the newest fashions nor ancient tribal clothes. The
emphasis is that we are all there and are in equality, as we have all come
to the Lord the same way-through His Son.The Jewish
Expressions in the New Testament “...we see God working in
terms of Jewish culture to reach Jews, yet, refusing to impose Jewish
customs on Gentiles. Instead non-Jews are to come to God and relate to
Him in terms of their own cultural vehicles. We see the Bible
endorsing, then, a doctrine we call biblical sociocultural adequacy in
which each culture is taken seriously but none advocated exclusively as
the only one acceptable to God” (Dr. Charles Kraft, Anthropology for
Christian Witness, Orbis 1996) Though I find agreement on a portion
of the first point I’m going to have to disagree with his point of
non-Jews relate to Him in terms of their own cultural vehicles” and
“none advocated exclusively as the only one acceptable to
God.” It was Judaism that was completed as the Christian faith. And it
was from a Jewish perspective that Paul and the apostles taught the
Scriptures (with numerous quotes from the Old Testament). There is not a
gospel for the Jew and another for the Gentile, both groups had to learn
to get along. We are told by Richard Twiss- The
next 10 to 20 years will bring Native cultural expressions to the body of
Christ that will be a tremendous blessing to many. Twiss repeats
basically the same idea, “Biblical Christianity is never found apart
from a culture. It is always part of a culture. The Christianity of the
New Testament was a part of the Greco-Roman world of the 1st century.
There is no such thing as plain Christianity. Christianity always
expresses itself through a culture. It is unique in that it can be
expressed equally well in any culture” (Ywamfirstnations
website) Does Christianity express itself
through any culture? What parts did Christianity take from the Roman
culture? Are there any parts that need to be abandoned in a culture?
What parts of a culture should accepted? Is Christianity meant to be apart
from its Jewish roots or based on its Jewish roots? Let me give a few
things to think on: Moses built a tabernacle that was a replica of what is
in heaven. God did not show any pattern to be made from mans culture but
from what was in heaven (Acts 7:44; Heb.8:5).The one in heaven is still
there. The way into the Tabernacle is illustrated through Jesus Christ
being the veil and the high priest, that is part of the Jewish culture
ONLY. Some things in the Jewish religion are completed and we have
dispensed with. (We no longer sacrifice, or have a high priest or
pilgrimages to congregate. There are other things related to morality that
are continued to be upheld.) You cannot say that the Gentiles had
no obligation to the Jewish way of life in the New Testament. Paul taught
Jesus from the Jewish cultural perspective because that is the ONLY
culture that had the true God, and a history with God working with them.
In 1 Corinthians, he used the feast days within the Jewish lifestyle to
explain Christ. To say Paul did not teach in a Jewish context is to show
ones ignorance of Scripture. To claim it is not relevant to teach from a
Jewish context is to separate it from its authors. To say they can worship
God in their own cultural context removes one from Jewish Scripture. Paul
constantly referred to the Old Testament and the culture the Jews lived
in. Paul was “persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses
and the Prophets” (Acts 28:23) not from their own religion. The freedom
Gentiles were given was not so that they could continue in their customs,
and Christianize their culture thereby making it acceptable. They were
taught of their root that they were grafted into. Paul taught them on the Passover,
the death of Christ; Unleavened Bread 1 Cor. 5:7-8 “Therefore purge out
the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are
unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for
us Therefore let us keep the feast, not
with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with
the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Firstfruits- 1 Cor. 15:20
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits”
Trumpets- 1 Cor. 15:52: “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” So they had to have been taught some
background from the Old Testament on what these things meant to understand
sufficiently Paul’s analogy. He and the apostles constantly quoted Old
Testament passages to give the Gentiles understanding of God's doings in
the past and their present. The gospels are related to the Jewish culture
of their day. For one to say the Gentiles have no cultural
identity to the Jewish faith is very wrong, its ignorant. All the gospels
take place in the Jewish lifestyle of their day and is explained from a
Jewish frame of reference. Even our Communion is the Passover meal, “And
when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat; this is my
body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” (1 Cor.
11:24). You can’t understand a good portion of the New Testament without
the context and background of Jewish culture; Jesus used the Matzoh to
represent Himself, His own body, as the Passover lamb. “The cup of
blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?
(1 Cor 10:16-17). It was God that instructed the priesthood and the
sacrifices. When some of the Corinthians took
communion they mixed their former cultures ideas of making a party of it.
Paul then rebuked them for not keeping it sacred. If one follows the
Bible, they will find that a good portion of their culture is not
conducive to anything God instructs us. If they use their ancient rituals
or customs in Christianity it is wrong. However, I need to clarify that we
can appreciate and enjoy the diversity of cultural customs in dance, food,
music, and architecture as long as they do not carry any spiritual
implication. We are not to join in participation. Paul gives the principle
of freedom in the new covenant by using the extreme example of meat
sacrificed to idols. We can eat this meat because food is necessary and
cleansed by our prayer of thanksgiving, but we are not to recognize the
ceremony, nor are we to use the ceremony as if it is clean, only the
meat. Without the Jewish prophets there
would be no revelation passed on to us today. Romans 16:25-26: “… the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept
secret since the world began but now has been made manifest, and by the
prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations. ”No nation had
the knowledge of the gospel or the requirements of the law. Paul makes it
clear as an apostle writing the word of God (Ephesians 3:1-7) “For this
reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles-- if indeed
you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to
me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I
have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand
my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made
known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His
holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of
the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the
gospel.” Thus the fulfillment Gal. 3:8-9:
“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by
faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the
nations shall be blessed.” Gal. 3:14: “that the blessing of Abraham might
come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise
of the Spirit through faith.” And this faith comes from hearing God’s
word. Acts 15:13-16 James answered,
saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: “Simon has declared how God at
the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His
name.” And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is
written:' After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of
David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it
up.” True worship was given to the
Hebrews and it is to be known taught to the gentiles. That both Jews and
Gentiles can worship together in spirit and truth. What He is not
referring to a revival of native worship and customs and calling it
Christian. 1 Thess. 1:8-9: “Your faith toward
God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they
themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and
how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” What a
testimony these Gentiles had in a very pagan culture. How did they do it?
It tells us, by the word of God, the gospel. Luke 24:47: “and that
repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” This is the gospel mandate, not
return to your culture and find ways to worship God through
it. No matter what culture one is, they
must know on a personal basis the Jewish Messiah who was prophesied in the
Jewish Scriptures. Acts 10:42-44 Peter in his sermon to the gentiles
states “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name,
whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” While Peter was
still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard
the word.” What prophets is he talking about? The Jewish prophets- not the
Greek, Roman or Babylonian or any other nation. Paul speaking of the Gentiles
(Ephesians 4:17-19) “having their understanding darkened, being alienated
from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of
the hardening of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given
themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
Exactly coinciding with what he wrote in Romans 1. Eph 2:11-3:15
“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh-- who are called
Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by
hands--that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope and without God in the world.” The Bible says gentiles were without
God having NO hope in the world. That is a very different message from
what we are hearing from some of the promoters of cross-cultural
evangelism today. One needs to look further into these subjects to be
acquainted with what is being suggested as a better way to win the
nations. Notice what Paul also says. “But now
in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the
blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and
has broken down the middle wall of separation, (that wall in the holy
place that kept the Gentiles out) having abolished in His flesh the
enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to
create in Himself one new man from the two (the body of Christ), thus
making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body
through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and
preached peace to you who were afar off (Gentiles) and to those who were
near (Jews). For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the
Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but
fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of
God.” What was unheard of in the Old
Testament has become a reality by the gospel. Jews who were separated from
the nations by the law and the nations are now one -united in the Spirit
of God. We may need to adjust our strategy
to reach the different people. but there are lines drawn that we should
not cross. Deficiency in understanding doctrine leads to this type of
experimental openness. Just as many are insisting on closing the borders
in America so illegal aliens do not cross over freely can also be applied
to this situation in the church. A do-it-yourself approach that is biblically illegal has a crossing over from each
side to merge beliefs and form new ones. What I have written may not sit well
with those promoting these concepts. I understand the pressure of not
being grouped as one of those who are not open to “new” and “fresh” ideas;
or be accused of being stuck in the old ways of doing things.
I think we all need to be open and flexible to a certain extent, however
if this means to be stuck with the tried and true way in the Bible then I
can accept that identification. Numbers are not the proof what we are
doing is right. I can only feel remorse for those who want to have us
become partakers of their trendy ideas without any
hesitation. God through Abraham made the Jewish
people a nation, no other nation had this relationship. He made covenant
with them several times and this is why the Bible says salvation is of the
Jews. The Gentiles are grafted into the covenant (Rom.11) by the Son of
David-Jesus the Messiah. Jesus said in John 14:6: I am the way, there is
no other way to God. There is something more important to consider for
evangelism. If you disconnect Jesus from Judaism then you have rejected
the Bible's revelation, you are separated from the source of
history, knowledge, wisdom and power.
Shem
2373
(600 years)
1773 bc
Arphaxad 2273
(438 years)
1835 bc
Shelah
2238
(433 years)
1795 bc
Ebner
2208
(464 years)
1744 bc
Peleg
2174
(239 years)
1935 bc
Reu
2144
(239 years)
1905 bc
Serug
2112
(230
years)
1882 bc
Nahor
2082
(148 years)
1934 bc
Terah
2053
(205 years)
1848 bc
