"And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." - 1 Corinthians 3:13
What is interesting about the word 'love' is that in English all we have is one word. If I wanted to describe the feelings that I have for my wife, I would say, "I love my wife." However, I'm limited to using the same word when I am asked to describe what I think about pizza. "I love pizza." Obviously, the love I have for my wife and the love I have for pizza are different but I'm limited in the words I can use. In the Greek language (which the New Testament was written), there are a few different words that we translate as 'love':
"eros" - it is fairly easy to see that the English word 'erotic' was derived from this Greek word for love. "Eros" refers to sexual love and the arousal feelings that accompany that. It was commonly used to describe the love of two people who were physically attracted to each other.
"storge" (pronounced "store-gey") - this refers to familial love, the love that is shared between family members. This Greek word is not found in the bible.
"philia" - this word was used to describe love that was shared between friends. Whereas 'eros' deals with a person's libido, 'philia' has to do with feelings of the heart.
"agape" (pronounced "a-ga-pe") - this refers to a type of love that is self-sacrificing. It is a love that looks out for others with no regard of the personal cost. This love is able to love even when it is not loved in return. This love is given not expecting repayment.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, Paul uses the Greek word "agape" throughout, which actually makes sense when you read the chapter knowing the Greeks had different words that we translated into 'love'. Now that you have a sort of scholarly knowledge of this passage, what does it all mean?
Quite simply, Paul is declaring that as Christians, we need to have the "agape" type of love. No matter what spiritual gifts we are blessed with, if we do not have "agape" then we are missing the point of those gifts. What is the point of having knowledge if you can't share it in love? What is the point of having complete faith if you can't express it in love?
Jesus Christ was the ultimate form of "agape" love. Because He loved you with an "agape" love, He sacrificed His life on the cross so that you could have eternal life with Him. To drive the point of "agape" love even further, Christ died knowing that some people would reject that love but He chose to die anyway. That is the ultimate love. If you haven't chosen to experience the "agape" love of Christ, I would encourage you to do so.
As for Christians, we must have an "agape" love for people. I know it is not easy and there are people who don't always seem deserving of "agape" love but we must do it anyway. Christ commands us to in Luke 6:35. Jesus says, "Love your enemies". Guess what Greek word is used for "love" in this passage? That's right, "agape". We must love everyone, even our enemies, with "agape" love.
1 Corinthians chapter 13 is quoted has become a go-to piece of scripture whenever Christians try to define and describe what love is.
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
My challenge to you is to take out the word "love" and replace it with your name. Does it describe you?
"[insert name here] suffers long and is kind; [insert name here] does not envy; [insert name here] does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
After replacing "love" with your name, does it describe you? If you are like me, it doesn't but I will continue to try to love with an "agape" type of love.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Should Prayer Only Be Done Privately?
"And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." -Matthew 6:5-6
It is a very common idea by those who are not familiar with the Bible that Jesus was against praying in public. Of course, many people read only these two verses and so of course it is easy to see how they come to that conclusion. It is interesting how many do this with the Bible but if those same people were to read a certain quote from a newspaper or magazine, chances are they would read the entire article. Why would they read the entire article? Because they are looking for context.
What is context? Context is a word or passage surrounding a discourse that clarifies meaning. For some reason though, when people read the Bible, context doesn't seem to matter. If you want correct context of a verse or passage in the Bible I strongly suggest that you never read a verse. That's right. If you want context in the Bible, you should never read a single verse. Rather, you should always read more than one verse. Does something sound off to you? Read the verses before and after and it may help you clarify.
Now back to Jesus being "against" public prayer....
If you read Matthew, chapter 6 verses 1-21, it's clear that Jesus is talking about a person's intentions for doing certain things. In verses 1-4, Jesus talks about doing charitable deeds in secret. Why? Because as Christians, we should not do things for approval or praise from people. We should do these things because Christ has called us to do them and we want to honor Christ. Jesus says that those who do things for earthly rewards will not receive heavenly rewards. Likewise, in verses 16-18 Jesus discusses the issue of fasting. If Christians are going to fast, we should do so with the right intentions, i.e. not to seek the approval of people but rather to honor God.
Now, that I have discussed the verses before and after, it is clear that Jesus being anti-public prayer does not fit in the context of this section. What Jesus is really talking about is what our real motives should be. Notice Matthew 6:5 even starts by Jesus saying, "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites..." Who were these hypocrites? These people that Jesus are referring to were the religious leaders of those days. What made them hypocrites? Jesus considered these religious leaders to be hypocrites because their intentions for being "godly" were way off. Whenever they did a charitable deed, they would call attention on themselves, seeking approval from others. When they were fasting, they would make their faces seem sad and disfigured so people would feel sorry for them. And when they prayed, the religious leaders would stand in the synagogues or street corners so that all could see them and think that they were so religious. Apparently, these leaders would also say the same prayers over and over again (verse 7). These prayers were probably really long and consisted of very long or educated words designed to impress the people.
IFJesus meant for prayer to be only a private action, surely Jesus only prayed in private right? Nope.
While there are many examples of Jesus stepping away from the crowd in order to pray privately, Jesus also prayed among other people:
Jesus was not anti-public prayer. Jesus was anti-praying in such a way that was not with proper intentions. The context surrounding Matthew 6:5 clearly shows this. If you are going to pray in front of people, make sure that you are doing so with the right intentions. Pray to honor and give thanks to God, not to seek praise from those around you. Prayer should not be done for earthly rewards. Prayer should be selfless, not selfish.
It is a very common idea by those who are not familiar with the Bible that Jesus was against praying in public. Of course, many people read only these two verses and so of course it is easy to see how they come to that conclusion. It is interesting how many do this with the Bible but if those same people were to read a certain quote from a newspaper or magazine, chances are they would read the entire article. Why would they read the entire article? Because they are looking for context.
What is context? Context is a word or passage surrounding a discourse that clarifies meaning. For some reason though, when people read the Bible, context doesn't seem to matter. If you want correct context of a verse or passage in the Bible I strongly suggest that you never read a verse. That's right. If you want context in the Bible, you should never read a single verse. Rather, you should always read more than one verse. Does something sound off to you? Read the verses before and after and it may help you clarify.
Now back to Jesus being "against" public prayer....
If you read Matthew, chapter 6 verses 1-21, it's clear that Jesus is talking about a person's intentions for doing certain things. In verses 1-4, Jesus talks about doing charitable deeds in secret. Why? Because as Christians, we should not do things for approval or praise from people. We should do these things because Christ has called us to do them and we want to honor Christ. Jesus says that those who do things for earthly rewards will not receive heavenly rewards. Likewise, in verses 16-18 Jesus discusses the issue of fasting. If Christians are going to fast, we should do so with the right intentions, i.e. not to seek the approval of people but rather to honor God.
Now, that I have discussed the verses before and after, it is clear that Jesus being anti-public prayer does not fit in the context of this section. What Jesus is really talking about is what our real motives should be. Notice Matthew 6:5 even starts by Jesus saying, "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites..." Who were these hypocrites? These people that Jesus are referring to were the religious leaders of those days. What made them hypocrites? Jesus considered these religious leaders to be hypocrites because their intentions for being "godly" were way off. Whenever they did a charitable deed, they would call attention on themselves, seeking approval from others. When they were fasting, they would make their faces seem sad and disfigured so people would feel sorry for them. And when they prayed, the religious leaders would stand in the synagogues or street corners so that all could see them and think that they were so religious. Apparently, these leaders would also say the same prayers over and over again (verse 7). These prayers were probably really long and consisted of very long or educated words designed to impress the people.
IFJesus meant for prayer to be only a private action, surely Jesus only prayed in private right? Nope.
While there are many examples of Jesus stepping away from the crowd in order to pray privately, Jesus also prayed among other people:
- In John chapter 17, Jesus prays in the upper room in the presence of his disciples (minus Judas, who had left to betray Jesus). We know Jesus is praying because the chapter starts by saying, "Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said..." (verse 1).
- In John chapter 11, verses 41-42, Jesus prays at the tomb of Lazarus. Verses 31 and 33 show that many people had followed Jesus to the tomb of Lazarus so they must have heard Him pray.
And if the disciples and a group of Jews are not big enough for you:
- In John chapter 6, verse 11, Jesus gives thanks for the loaves of bread before He feeds the crowd of five thousand. And if there is any question as to who Jesus is giving thanks to, in Matthew chapter 14, verse 19, the writer adds that Jesus looked up to heaven and blessed the loaves. It should be noted that five thousand was the number of men in attendance, not the total amount of people. Verse 21 indicates "those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children." So it's reasonable to think that there could have been ten thousand people (or even more) in attendance. Certainly that large of a crowd could be considered "public".
Jesus was not anti-public prayer. Jesus was anti-praying in such a way that was not with proper intentions. The context surrounding Matthew 6:5 clearly shows this. If you are going to pray in front of people, make sure that you are doing so with the right intentions. Pray to honor and give thanks to God, not to seek praise from those around you. Prayer should not be done for earthly rewards. Prayer should be selfless, not selfish.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
The G.O.S.P.E.L. In the Bible's Most Famous Verse
"God so loved the world, He gave His
Only begotten
Son that whoever believes in Him shall not
Perish but have
Everlasting
Life" - John 3:16
The word gospel is used more than 75 times in the New Testament. The New Testament was written in Greek and when you look at the original language that was used in the manuscripts, the English word gospel is used to translate the Greek noun euangelion "good news" and verb euangelizo "to announce the good news". Of course the English word does have more meanings but essentially the Bible declares the gospel, or good news, of Jesus.
As I was listening to the radio this week, I heard a pastor talk about how the G.O.S.P.E.L. was in John 3:16, probably the most well-known verse in the Bible. As I wrote above, here is where you can find it:
God - the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Your Father in heaven who loves you unconditionally.
Only begotten - there was no other who could take the punishment for the sins of the world.
Son - speaks to the relationship that Jesus had with the Father.
Perish - those who choose not to accept the free gift of salvation that Christ has paid for will eventually have to pay the price of their own sin. But you don't have to. Jesus did that on the cross.
Everlasting - those who trust in Christ are assured an eternal life in heaven. Take a moment to truly think about eternity. It never ends. Would you rather spend an eternity with God or without Him? We all answer that question here on earth and reap the consequences of our answer after we die.
Life - the opposite of death. Those who trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins will experience a life with God that is beyond words.
So what exactly is the good news? Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a sinless life, took the punishment and wrath of God for the sins of the world and most importantly resurrected so that we could experience an eternity with Him in heaven. THAT is the gospel and it is good news indeed.
Only begotten
Son that whoever believes in Him shall not
Perish but have
Everlasting
Life" - John 3:16
The word gospel is used more than 75 times in the New Testament. The New Testament was written in Greek and when you look at the original language that was used in the manuscripts, the English word gospel is used to translate the Greek noun euangelion "good news" and verb euangelizo "to announce the good news". Of course the English word does have more meanings but essentially the Bible declares the gospel, or good news, of Jesus.
As I was listening to the radio this week, I heard a pastor talk about how the G.O.S.P.E.L. was in John 3:16, probably the most well-known verse in the Bible. As I wrote above, here is where you can find it:
God - the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Your Father in heaven who loves you unconditionally.
Only begotten - there was no other who could take the punishment for the sins of the world.
Son - speaks to the relationship that Jesus had with the Father.
Perish - those who choose not to accept the free gift of salvation that Christ has paid for will eventually have to pay the price of their own sin. But you don't have to. Jesus did that on the cross.
Everlasting - those who trust in Christ are assured an eternal life in heaven. Take a moment to truly think about eternity. It never ends. Would you rather spend an eternity with God or without Him? We all answer that question here on earth and reap the consequences of our answer after we die.
Life - the opposite of death. Those who trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins will experience a life with God that is beyond words.
So what exactly is the good news? Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a sinless life, took the punishment and wrath of God for the sins of the world and most importantly resurrected so that we could experience an eternity with Him in heaven. THAT is the gospel and it is good news indeed.
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