Sanam Doctrinam

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
For you will heap burning coals on his head,
And the LORD will reward you.

Proverbs 25:21-22

Sometimes in Scripture, we run across something that’s so at odds with the culture in which we’re immersed, it almost gives us whiplash to consider its truth. The way of the world is so often diametrically opposed to the perspective of our Creator, we have to give some significant time to step back and think about what He’s said.

Today’s verses, which speak to the way we treat our enemies—those we like least—comprise such a passage. Solomon, the sage of Israel, wrote that those who followed the God of Israel were not only never to seek revenge on those who hurt them, but more so, to do them active good! That’s a lot to swallow, isn’t it? We might try to imagine ourselves off the hook if the Apostle Paul hadn’t picked up Solomon’s words and applied them directly to the church (Romans 12:20).

It’s easy to do good for those who do us good, but it gets difficult when it’s someone who has done us harm.

Some Bible students have suggested that these verses speak of the internal effect we cause when we show kindness to an enemy. That is, when we do good to someone who hurts us, it brings conviction and shame in their hearts. It is believed that the verse refers to when, in the ancient world, a person’s fire went out in their home. The person with no fire would have to go to a neighbor’s house with a pan, get coals from the neighbor’s fire, and carry them home on his or her head. Although the coals caused discomfort, they were an evidence of the neighbor’s generosity. So, showing this sort of generosity would cause an emotional fire in the likeness of the physical heat of the coals.

That’s an interesting thought, but I don’t think it’s what’s in view here.

It’s probably best to understand that God will visit those who do us harm with retribution as a result of our righteous response to their mistreatment of us. I say that because in these verses we see the language of reward and retribution. The consequence of our obeying this proverb’s instruction is, “the Lord will reward you.” For a near-context cross-reference, we might consider 24:17-18: “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him.” Throughout Scripture, we see the principle that God deals justly with injustice (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19), and today’s verses are no exception.

The mystery here is that we can either seek to get our own revenge by treating our enemies as we believe they deserve, or let God mete out His justice as a result of our doing them good.

One caveat: We may have to wait a long time for this judgment to fall upon them. Paul underscored this truth with the believers at Thessalonica , as he instructed them about those who were persecuting them. In 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8, we read, “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” God’s judgment may be slow in coming from our limited perspective, but it is certain.

While reading the journal of a gentleman who reflected on the visit of his friend, I was touched by how closely this friend’s discovery betrays the hearts of many Christians. “[What he] mentioned was that, several years ago, in dealing with the estate of an elderly relative, they had come across a small book which was entitled, ‘Things I Will Never Forgive.’ It was filled with carefully hand-written lists of fairly trivial affronts from others, which apparently so occupied the mind of this person that she felt it important that none of them ever be forgotten.”

This was a woman who would not entrust judgment to God. She wanted to execute the judgment herself in the form of grudges and bitterness. She could not bring herself to give food and drink to those who hurt her. In so doing, she traded places with God in order execute the justice she felt these folks deserved. That was a bad trade.

Don’t take your own revenge. Entrust yourself to the God of justice by doing good to those who hurt you.

Some of you may or may not be aware of something called ECT. It stands for Evangelicals and Catholics Together and is about 13 years old. The premise of the statement/movement is that Evangelicals and Catholics have enough in common that their should be no proselytizing between the two.

The problem with this, however, it that there are major theological differences, the greatest of which is in regard to the Gospel itself. I can here the cries already, “You are narrow minded!”, “You don’t understand, Rome has changed!” I hope to show in this and possibly more posts, that Rome has not changed and that the Bible specifically tells us not to be a party of those who preach a false gospel.

Unfortunately, in recent days, it has become the conviction (or lack thereof) of some that there indeed has been change on the part of Rome, and it is because of this that I am writing.

Let’s begin with the foundation. Where does the authority come from in order to establish what the Gospel is? Does it lie with the Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura) or does it lie in the “authority” of the Church?

Let me clear up one matter with a side note here. For those who have little or no schooling in Church History, the word “catholic” is not a bad word. It means universal, and if you believe what the Scriptures say about the church you believe in a universal or catholic church. The issues I bring up are about Rome, and with that said, I think it is also important to say, if you are not brushed up in your Church History, It would be a good idea to spend $40 to $80 and become so.

Back to the question at hand. According to the Council of Trent, the authority lies with the Church. In the fourth session of the Council it is stated,

in order to restrain petulant spirits, It decrees, that no one, relying on his own skill, shall,–in matters of faith, and of morals pertaining to the edification of Christian doctrine, –wresting the sacred Scripture to his own senses, presume to interpret the said sacred Scripture contrary to that sense which holy mother Church,–whose it is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the holy Scriptures,–hath held and doth hold; or even contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers; even though such interpretations were never (intended) to be at any time published.

I know the protest is going to be that this is Trent and not Vatican II. Well here is what Vatican II says,

But in order to keep the Gospel forever whole and alive within the Church, the Apostles left bishops as their successors, “handing over” to them “the authority to teach in their own place.”(3) This sacred tradition, therefore, and Sacred Scripture of both the Old and New Testaments are like a mirror in which the pilgrim Church on earth looks at God, from whom she has received everything, until she is brought finally to see Him as He is, face to face (see 1 John 3:2).

And so the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved by an unending succession of preachers until the end of time. Therefore the Apostles, handing on what they themselves had received, warn the faithful to hold fast to the traditions which they have learned either by word of mouth or by letter (see 2 Thess. 2:15), and to fight in defense of the faith handed on once and for all (see Jude 1:3) (4) Now what was handed on by the Apostles includes everything which contributes toward the holiness of life and increase in faith of the peoples of God; and so the Church, in her teaching, life and worship, perpetuates and hands on to all generations all that she herself is, all that she believes.

This tradition which comes from the Apostles develop in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. (5) For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. This happens through the contemplation and study made by believers, who treasure these things in their hearts (see Luke, 2:19, 51) through a penetrating understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience, and through the preaching of those who have received through episcopal succession the sure gift of truth. For as the centuries succeed one another, the Church constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth until the words of God reach their complete fulfillment in her.

It is clear that the authority of Rome lies not only in Scripture, but in how the Church has interpreted it over the centuries, and how it has been “preserved” in one tradition, conveniently enough, that being their own tradition.

Those who were a part of the Protestant Reformation, however, saw that it was Scripture Alone (Sola Sciptura) that carried authority and not the traditions of the church.

2 Timothy 3:16 states, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” Notice there is no addition to this, no need of the Church to come along and make sure that everything is in line. This is not to say that there is no authority in the church. Certainly we recognize the need for local assemblies to have leadership (elders) and for there to be governance according to the Scripture, but we do not and should not posit our own authority over and above the Scripture.

It also does not state that there is a need for the traditions of the church to carry on or interpret the Scriptures.

All this to say that if the foundation is different, then the outcome will be different as well.

So you may wonder why this post is titled the way it is. The idea is, “What are the essentials for someone to believe, in order to be made truly right with God.”

I hope to continue this discussion in the near future…

Mark your favorites/bookmarks, solidusdoctrina.org is now sanamdoctrinam.org. This is the correct Latin phrase found in Titus 2:1 (our theme verse.) Solidusdoctrina.org will expire in December, so make those changes now, before you forget how to find us!

Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot
Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.

Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
Is a faithful messenger to those who send him,
For he refreshes the soul of his masters.

Proverbs 25:19,13

Why are so many aspects of the business world pervaded by contracts? The answer is clear: Contracts attempt to force people to do what they say they will do.

It’s something of a misfortune of our times that contracts are necessary with all their fine print and legalese, but they are, because so often people are unfaithful and don’t do what they say they will.

Perhaps you have had the displeasure of counting on someone at a critical time, and having that person fail you. That’s tough, isn’t it? It may have been a phone call you were depending on someone to make, a letter you were waiting for them to send, a task you were counting on them to perform, or simply a place you were expecting them to be, but they didn’t follow through. They dropped the ball, and left you disappointed and frustrated.

Solomon expressed the disappointment depending on a unreliable person brings in Proverbs 25:19. He draws upon human anatomy when he compares an unreliable person to a bad tooth and an unsteady foot. If you have ever tried to chew food with a bad tooth, you know firsthand the difficulty that brings. Every bite is painful and you fear that the tooth may crack. The word Solomon uses to describe the foot is literally “slipping.” If you’ve walked on ground that was unstable because of mud or loose gravel, you know the constant, nagging concern of whether or not the ground will hold up and support you, or whether your foot will give way and you will wind up on the ground.

Both of these are apt metaphors of the unreliable person. This sort of person will let you down, just when you need him the most.

Lest the picture become too dark, we need to turn our attention to another verse, only six verses previous. There, Solomon tells us of the person who is reliable. His comparison in verse 13 concerns weather. He says that a person who proves reliable to those who have sent him is like snow at the time of harvest. Snow is refreshing. It is accompanied by cool, crisp air that enlivens and awakens those who are exposed to it. Perhaps some can identify with me when I say how much I love those early, chilling cold fronts that announce the advent of winter. That’s what a faithful person is like.

The challenge today’s verses present to us is clear. They both beckon us to be faithful people. Do we keep our word to others? Our faithfulness or lack thereof touches other lives. We can be a blessing or a burden to others, depending upon how seriously we take our obligations and commitments to them. It’s up to us as to whether we will be a bad tooth, a slipping foot, or a refreshing fall snow.

Ephesians 5:1 calls us to be imitators of God. Do we accurately portray our God as the faithful God He is through the way we live?

Some of you may know and others, what am I talking about there are only three of you who read this!  What am I talking about, I barely write on this anymore!

Hopefully, I’ll be back on task here at solidus over the next while.

The whole changes thing, refers to my position at NCC.  For the last (almost) seven years, I have been engaged in Student Ministries working mainly with middle school and high school students.  I am now venturing out into the world of Family Ministry.  What this means exactly, I am not sure.

Let me explain.  We as Elders, are really trying to see to it that NCC is a family oriented place.  We first and foremost want to exhibit the same sort of goal and passion that Paul has in Colossians 1:28 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.” (NASB 95)  Seeing this as our goal, part of my job will be to look at and adjust everything we are doing to make sure it fits this.  The question I will be asking is, “What are the essentials of teaching, and what folks most learn if we are to accomplish this?”  Secondly this new position involves seeing to it, that we are admonishing fathers to do the work of Deut. 6:6-9 in teaching their children the things of the Lord diligently, as well as directing the whole church to be involved in Titus 2 (Older teaching the younger) activity.

So as you can see I have a lot of work ahead of me.  My hope is that in the midst of that, I can join back up here more regularly.

I do hope everyone has enjoyed Todd’s run as “master blogger.”  Now if we can just figure out where Jeff has run off to…