The Book of Ten Sayings 1

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The Book of Ten Sayings 1

Introduction This "book" was intended to be an entire book when first conceived, consisting on an elaboration of the ten most important sayings of all time. But life circumstances have held it back into a very incomplete form. But perhaps there is a kernel of wisdom somewhere here that will resonate with you and help you to grow into a better person and friend. 

 The First Saying 

 1. Put God First .

Some have accused God of being self-centered and even egotistical for wanting to be worshipped and at the center of humans' attention. But the truth is, the fallen creature known as man has been so corrupted by Satan (who IS the egotist) that the only way to get man from being self-centered is to shift his focus onto something more powerfully attractive. Focus on God, knowing him, serving him, loving him, and you will find a better opportunity for happiness than through any other activity. Putting ourselves first results in unhappiness, to ourselves and others. 

Take a look at those who can theoretically buy anything, including happiness. Often they embark on a trajectory that traces the meteoric path across the sky, running on alcohol, sex, drugs, and wild behavior. But even ordinary teenagers can find misery--or death--by putting themselves ahead of everyone and everything else.

 I probably sound preachy, so I will just close with an anecdote. One year my friend Phil and I were driving on the way home from a computer conference in Las Vegas. Suddenly a small red sedan raced up behind us, swerved onto the median to avoid hitting us, and raced out of sight. Perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes later, we drove into a traffic jam. It soon cleared up. It was caused by the little red car, which was lying upside down in the ditch that separated the two sets of lanes. We read later that the car contained four teens. They died either by having their skulls crushed when the the top of the car collapsed on them, or else they drowned in the shallow--but deep enough--ditch water in the median. 

 The most serious and damaging of the "Seven Deadly Sins" is Pride because it not only does harm by its own misguided and misleading attitude, but it also stimulates some of the other of the sins, such as greed (or avarice) and anger (aka wrath). Finally, Pride affects and damages both the prideful person and everyone he comes into contact with. Some of the Seven Deadly Sins can be limited, generally speaking, to their owner. Sloth, for example, harms only the slothful one directly, although the damage done by shirking duty and by a attempting to skate by with shortcuts has negative effects on others, also.

There Is Joy in Hell Tonight: A Teaching Story

 

 

There is Joy in Hell Tonight: A Teaching Stoiy

Every day on her way to work, Edna passed the bakery where a man, whom she thought of as Mister Skin and Bones, sat on the ground near the door and breathed deeply each time the door opened, hoping that the delightful aroma would enter his lungs and provide some molecules of nutrition or if not, at least diminish his hunger pains.

She had wanted to help the starving man, but when she mentioned the need at her church, she was rebuffed with a sneer by the youth pastor, who said, “You should be ashamed even to think about such a so-called good deed. Giving that man something to eat would be a ‘good deed,’ which is prohibited by the church.”

“But why?" Edna asked plaintively. 

"Because helping him would contradict our theology that says people are saved by God's grace and not by any so-called good works." 

"But I’m afraid that man is going to die if I or someone doesn’t help him.”

“Are you trying to buy yourself into heaven my doing a bunch of ‘good works’?”

“No,” said the woman, her voice beginning to tremble. “I believe that God has saved me by his grace because I put my faith in Jesus.”

“Well, then, there you go,” said the youth pastor, brightening up and smiling with triumph. “Be careful not to slip into wanting to do a bunch of worthless good works.”

“But, what about—?”

“You don’t want to diminish the priceless, infinite sacrifice of Jesus, do you?”

“No, of course not. It’s just that there’s so much need.”

“Well, there are food pantries stocked by other churches where the indigent can go to get a warm cup of coffee and a bit of a sandwich. I myself donated an old blanket to one of those charities. And remember that Jesus told us that we would always have the poor with us, so don’t go out trying to cure them.”

After much soul searching and prayer, Edna decided to see if another church had a different view of giving help to the needy. She found a church whose statement of beliefs included, "We are saved by grace through faith and rewarded for the good deeds we do." 

Noticing that the new church supported its theology by quoting the Bible, Edna was impressed to begin a attending the services. She had finally found a place where Scripture made things clear. The passage that impressed  her most about this issue was in the book of Ephesians:

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." --Ephesians 2:8-10

Knowing that we are saved by the gift of God and rewarded for--created for--doing good works made Edna's world make sense.

 "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward."  --Matthew 10:42

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Questions

1. In your experience, do pastors and other teachers of the Word clearly distinguish between doing good works as a means of earning salvation and doing good works to help others?

2. Do you think that this distorted view of Scripture reduces the amount of good that the needy would otherwise receive?

3. Do you think that if you are good enough (or if your good deeds  outweigh your bad deeds) then you will be saved? If so, how did you conclude that? 

   

 

Do You Believe?: A Teaching Story

 

Do You Believe?

You have been selected to serve on an ad hoc jury to help improve the flow of cases through the trial court. Soon the bailiff brings into the courtroom  an accused offender, a lifelong, often-convicted criminal. As he looks down at the list of current charges, the judge can be heard to mutter, “Not you again.” Then the judge looks through some of the summaries of the man’s previous convictions, pausing and sighing more than once. After looking back and forth between the criminal himself and the thick list of his most recent crimes, the judge fixes his eyes on the man for several seconds, seemingly trying to understand. Finally, he breaks the silence.

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

The man remains motionless and continues to look at the floor.

Looking at the list once more, the judge asks, “Do you realize that you have broken every one of the Ten Commandments, some of them several times?”

The man just stands there, remaining silent for a few moments. Then he says, “It’s true, I guess.”

“You guess?” demands the judge, angered by the man’s apparent flippancy.

“Well,” the man replies, “I might have broken all the Commandments, as you say. Ten of them, are there? And maybe I did break several of them more than once.” The man looked up at the judge for just a moment, and then looked down again as he said, “But I want you to know, that, in spite of appearances, I believe in them all.”

“You what?” screamed the judge.

“ So I throw myself on the mercy of the Court.”

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Questions

1. If you served on this ad hoc jury, would you vote to increase or decrease or leave the recommended sentence of this seemingly incorrigible criminal? Why would you vote that way?

2. What does the criminal mean by, "I believe in them all"?

3. The obvious analogy from Earthly courtroom to Heavenly courtroom might make us stand back a minute before condemning the criminal. The question here, then, is, "Do you respect God's law and justice system? Do you want harsh justice for everybody else but melting mercies in great supply for yourself?"

4. For a recalibration of God's response to sin and crime, read the sermon by Jonathat Edwards, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," and then read the Gospel of John. God hates sin "big time" as the neighborhood kids used to say, but he loves us. The fact is, God loves  us so much that we often develop a too-easy attitude toward sin. 

 

Satan and the Stolen IFs: A Teaching Story

 

Satan and the Stolen IFs: A Teaching Story

One dull night in hell, an under-demon went up to Satan with an idea.

“We’re getting too much resistance to converting new Christians into new devils—except, of course, in churches that preach the Easy Gospel (those are the ones we call "easy-in, easy-out.")  Research indicates that in those churches where a set of moral and spiritual values (from that book) is not emphasized, the evangelistic message is watered down and presented as not having any universal behavioral application. But it makes it easy to call oneself a Christian. The term Christian is no longer a synonym for ‘deeply spiritual and loving follower of Jesus Christ.’”

“But what about that book? It tells them what to do and what not to do—in quite explicit terms.”

“Oh, Mighty Evil One. Excuse me, but you’re still living in 1950. No one reads that book any more. The new evangelistic come-on is ‘Come as you are and stay as you are.’ Converting those ‘believers’ to the Dark Side is like shooting fish in a barrel. Easy as eating devils’ food cake.”

“But certainly there are those few who have polluted society by using the old evangelistic appeal of ‘Come as you are and now change your world view and behavior to follow Christ and his teachings.’ And they probably read and try (I wish I could laugh at how hard it is for any of them to do this) to build their whole lives on the principles from that book.”

“You are exactly right. And my proposal exploits the principles of lying, darkness, error, mockery, confusion—."

“Yes, yes. Just blurt it out. I certainly hope you have some sort of good news in an idea that will cause damage to His kingdom and take away the pain you have just caused me by telling me your bad news. Tell me now. And the idea had better work or you will be in substantial pain for a long time.”

“My idea is this. We stop discouraging people from reading that book.”

“What? Are you seri—.”

“We just doctor it a little bit by removing all the ifs—.”

“Are you drunk, or just stupid?”

“—and every thing becomes lawful. Many of the new Christians are already running around saying that they are ‘free in Christ,’ ‘followers only of the law of Love’ and ‘the law of Liberty,’ and so on. They haven’t a clue as to what a conditional argument is.”

“For example?”

“Well, take that passage where the Son of the Enemy says that believers are commanded to forgive others. It’s in—.”

“—Remember that it is illegal to quote from that book.”

“Yes, well, ‘If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love’—gone,  zeroed, zippo, outta here! And, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’ They'll never miss it."

“That’s enough. You’re making me sick.”

“And by eliminating all the ifs, there are no longer any conditions for these careless misreaders to meet. The only criteria they have left for decision making are those drawn from their untaught, unthought, unexamined fallen natures. Already I have a vision of billions and billions of careless misreaders going out of their way to dance themselves into hell.”

“Thinking they are successfully battling us! Ha ha ha—the Sixties are back: If it feels good, do it!—Under the law of love, of course. Oh, you make me feel so much better! I will see to it that your stay in the Chamber is reduced to a half-torture for a week.”

“Thank you so much!”

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Questions

1. Some nations, in the past and still today, have outlawed owning the Bible under penalty of death. What is in the Bible that makes it so hated--or feared--that governments put power and resources to keep it and its messsage away from people?

2. Have you ever paid attention to the number of if-clauses in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments?

A Man on the Street: A Teaching Story

 A Man on the Street

On a slow news day, a reporter sees a man walking down the street rather aimlessly, and hurries over to interview him.

“Hello, Sir. I’m Ted G. Biff from station ZRXP TV. We’re doing human interest stories for a TV segment on the 10 o’clock news.”

“Uhh, okay. I’ll watch it. What time is it on?”

“Sir, may I ask you a question?”

“Sure, I guess so. Do I get a reward for answering?”

“I’m sorry, Sir, but No.”

“But it must be worth something to you. Come on, how about a few bucks?”

“All right. Jamie, give the man a ten.”

“Could you make it twenty?”

“Oh, all right. Here. Now, the question is, ‘Would you describe yourself as a Christian?’”

“A Christian? Why, yes, of course. Man, that was easy. I’ll answer another question for the same price. I know about the Trinity, the crown of thorns, Bethlehem—see, I do crossword puzzles. ”

“I see.”

“Yes, sir, I’m a Christian, set free by the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“I’m happy to hear that.”

“Sure. Why not? I have faith in the Lord Jesus, and Jesus said, ‘You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.’”

“You just now used the expression, ‘Faith in the Lord Jesus’ twice. Then Jesus Christ is your Lord?”

“Of course. He is Lord of all.”

“And how would you define ‘Lord’?”

“Hmm. I don’t know. . . . I’ve never been asked that question. Umm, maybe ‘Lord of my life, guide, helper, forgiver of all my sins. Or boss, perhaps?”

“How about, ‘A Lord is someone who has power and authority over servants, who do the will of their master.’”

“Hey, that’s not bad. How many other people have you asked that question? I’ll bet their answers helped you make yours.”

“I’m sure they did. But to keep focused on our question, if Jesus is your Lord, you must observe his rules, right?”

“Well, yeah, I guess so. —Wait. Rules? What are you talking about?”

“Can you tell me some of Jesus’ rules or commandments that he expects you to obey?”

“We don’t have to obey any rules. We are set free in Christ. What are you, some kind of legalist? Or a works-salvation robot?”

“If Jesus has no rules, then why does he say, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.—John 14:15 (NASB)’?”

“Well, he—.”

“Or ‘This is how we are sure that we have come to know Him: by keeping His commands. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” yet doesn't keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him —1 John 2:3-4 (NASB).’”

“Are you sure he—.”

“And, ‘If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love’ —John 15:10 (NASB).”

“I think I need to go now.”

“But Sir, we have many more questions to ask, and with them your eternal destiny is at stake.”

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Questions

Think about and discuss each of the following questions. Are these questions you have never asked before, or are they a regular part of your spiritual refreshing?

V  How do you know that Jesus is the Lord of your life?

V Are you careful and intentional to follow and submit to Jesus as your Lord?  

V  What does it mean to believe in Jesus?  

V  What does it mean to believe Jesus?  

V  What does it mean to obey Jesus?  

V  What does it mean to have faith in Jesus?

 

Living in Christ: A Teaching Story

Introduction

When thinking about moral and ethical values, objective and subjective claims, and the meaning, and understanding of difficult ideas, philosophers have traditionally used teaching stories. More impactful and often more challenging than non-fiction essays, these stories encourage their disciples to analyze and learn the condensed wisdom presented, to make connectioins, see relationships, trace out causes and effects, and go deeper into the implications of what is said and done. Even relatively simple tales about seemingly ordinary events can shed light on the human condition more clearly, immediately, and powerfully than a long, prose exposition.

 Living in Christ: A Teaching Story 

“Hey there, Stan. Good to see you back at church. We missed you the last two or three Sundays. How are things going?”

“Everything’s going great, just great. We had a little setback a few months ago, when the feds took down our main Web site, but now we are roaring forward.”

“What happened? Why did the feds--.”

“Oh, you know, there are still some very uptight types working to stop people from ‘exercising their freedoms,’ as our lawyers put it.”

“But how did that involve your company? Don’t you run an online pet store?”

“Oh, yeah, ha ha! The problem was that CuddleBunnies.com was mistaken for an actual pet store. Ha, ha, ha, ha.  Oh, did we get mail!”

“I don’t understand.”

“So we cleared things up by renaming it to Rent-a-TeenXXX.com and business has exponentiated. In fact, we are talking about removing the kiddie porn pages from our servers just to open up the bandwidth.”

“Kiddie porn? Stan, What are you talking about? I thought you were a Christian.”

“Oh, yeah, I am. I am. Just living my Christian freedom in Christ.”

“But God is very much opposed to what you are doing. And besides, kiddie porn is against the law.”

“Well, I’m just living the law of liberty. No longer a slave to sin, set free indeed. Free to follow my own wishes. Say, do you know any Fentanyl wholesalers near here?”

“Why no, I—that—it’s--."

“Yeah, it’s such a killer drug that I can’t keep it in stock. Hey, see if they have changed the Availability label on Devil’s-Candy.com That’s one of my public service Web sites. The URL is--.”

“Stan, you need to do some real soul searching—and some Bible reading. You’re going to--.”

“Great talking to you, brother. Maybe I’ll see you next week. Excuse me now, but do you see that girl over there, just shaking the pastor’s hand? Maybe I can get her to put a few pictures on Rent-a-Teen. Later, big guy.”

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Questions

1. Is Stan a genuine Christian, an imitation Christian, a self-deluded pagan, an anti-Christian, a plain vanilla con artist, or something else?

2. If Stan dies today, will he go to heaven?

3. Once a person is saved, accepting Jesus as his savior, does it matter whether or not he owns pornographic web sites or traffics girls? Why or why not?

Reading, Discussing, and Thinking 

When you read this story to some Christians, they will quickly hit you with, "The Bible says, 'Judge not, so that you will not be judged.'" Based on your understanding of  the following Scriptures and their surrounding contexts, and any other relevant Scriptures and their contexts, is it right or wrong to answer the first three questions, above? 

Matthew 7:1

Luke 6:37

Luke 12:57-58

Luke 18:2

John  3:17

John 7:24

Romans 14:3

Romans 14:13

1 Corinthians 6:3

James 14:11

James 5:9

John 12:48

 Bob Translation

What  good is it, my brothers, if someone says he is a Christian, but does nothing to show his allegiance to Jesus, by witnessing, worshipping, caring for the sick and needy, striving to improve morally, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually?  --James 2:14: