Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth

Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, (I Corinthians 11:14 NASB) 

Is your hair too long?

            The scripture above seems to indicate that long hair is prohibited for Christian men, but what about Samson and John the Baptist?  Samson in the Old Testament and John the Baptist in the New were Nazarites, who by vow never cut their hair.  Did God change His mind? How do we reconcile these two seeming inconsistencies?  Remember, the Bible always interprets itself.  If we compare two scriptures and they seem to contradict one another, there is something that we do not understand about at least one of them.  The Bible is totally true from the first page to last one, but there are relative and absolute truths in it.  An absolute truth is always true in all periods of time and all cultural situations.  For instance, lying is always wrong at any time in any circumstance.  A relative truth is right in a specific cultural context, but may not be binding in all instances.  I submit to you that the prohibition of long hair that Paul talks about falls into the latter category.

 So why put it in the Bible for all to read?  The answer is simple; behind all relative truths are absolute ones.  Paul uses the issue of hair but he is really getting at rebellion.  To ignore a cultural norm that was embraced by the Church was wrong because it represented a lack of submission to authority.  Length of hair was the relative truth; attitude toward authority was the absolute.  Loren Cunningham, the co-founder of Youth With A Mission, with whom I worked, instructed our youth “you can grow your hair to whatever length you prefer, as long as it doesn’t get into you hearts”.   In other words, if you are growing you hair long to get back and Mom and Dad, you had better get it cut.  It was a matter of the heart not the hair.  Making a relative truth out of something that is absolute leads to liberalism.  If we take an absolute truth and interpret it in a relative sense, it produces legalism.  Neither of these paths take us where need to go in relation to Biblical truth.  As Christians we need to understand that “sum of Your word is truth,” (Psalms 119:160 NASB); not having preference for one scripture at the exclusion of all others.  If we allow the Bible to interpret itself we will not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15 NKJV). 

Pray with me:  Lord, help me to rightly divide Your word.  Give me the diligence to study and the humility to accept what I find.  In His name I pray.  Amen.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blog: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

Do You Have Wisdom Or Just Knowledge?

….Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church (I Corinthians 8:1 NLT)

            The world is in a frantic race for knowledge, but knowledge without wisdom it is like a horse without a carriage.  It is not going to take us anywhere.  Wisdom can be properly defined as the loving use of knowledge.  In this portion of scripture, Paul instructs the Corinthians that knowledge would allow them to eat meat sacrificed to idols, but wisdom based on love for those with weaker consciences would prohibit them from this practice.  What is the key to us acting lovingly with knowledge?  I believe Paul tells us in v. 2. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.  Knowledge is like humility, if you think you have it, you probably don’t.  Knowledge puffs up but love edifies.  It is through the process of truth going from head knowledge to heart revelation that God develops love in our lives.  You can get knowledge quickly but wisdom comes through a journey.  The eighteen inches between the head and the heart generally takes awhile. The more you understand you don’t have it the closer you are to getting it.  Without humility, it is possible to know the Word of God without knowing the God of the Word.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blog: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

Are You A Fool For Christ?

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise (I Corinthians 3:18 NASB).

            It is possible to be converted to Christ but still be carnal in nature.  The church in Corinth was a perfect example of this condition as their attitudes and actions reflected the ways of the world.  Paul admonishes the believers for their jealousy and quarreling factions.  Some were saying they I am of Paul and others were following Apollos.  How might this be expressed today?  I am a fundamentalists, a pentecostal, a charismatic, from reformed thought.  Obviously all these things have legitimate expressions in the Body of Christ today.  But, if said with an attitude of superiority and to exclude others, can be dead wrong.  What was Paul’s antidote for the irregularities in the church in Corinth?  Paul prescribes a little bit of humility.  If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish,…(v 18).   When we have too high of an opinion of human wisdom we are in danger of being deceived.  We need to realize that in ourselves we have no good thing.  We must comprehend our own ignorance, without which we will never totally submit our instruction to God.  Before we are rich we must recognize our poverty and before we are wise we must see ourselves as mere fools.  When we stray too far from the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we open the door to all kinds of error.

Pray with me.  Lord, by myself I can never understand You.  I need the help of all of Your people.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blog: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

Who Does God Choose?

but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, (I Corinthians 1:27-28)

            What qualifies us for Christian service?  What made the twelve disciples that Jesus chose worthy of their calling?   Was it that they realized that in their own wisdom and strength there was no way they could do it?  The Jewish leaders of that day were tied to religious form and self-righteousness.  The Greeks loved human wisdom and all of its trappings, but God looked to common ordinary fishermen.  Why?  God was planning on nullifying the things that are.  So he chose the base, the weak, and the foolish, the things that aren’t, to change the things that are.  It was common for the Jews to speak of Gentiles as “things that are not”.  The Greeks said that “are we to follow one who cannot save himself”? This was weakness and foolishness to them.   So God set in motion an avenue to salvation that would humble human pride and cease all boasting.  He did by instituting a path to Himself based on grace, unmerited favor, and a course that could not be navigated by self-righteousness or sheer intellect.  Therefore, He looked for a group of men who were not steeped in tradition or in love with their minds.  Education does not eliminate people from Christian service, but neither, by itself, does it qualify them either.  God’s intention was that all flesh glory in the Lord (v. 31).  He lovingly draws us to Himself in a manner where, as Matthew Henry once wrote, “people are humbled and God is glorified”.

Pray with me.  Lord, help me to understand that no matter what my state in life or my human condition; I cannot do it my self.  Grant me the grace, unmerited favor, to serve You.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blog: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com