What the Lord Says

A friend translated this sermon for me and I want to share it with all of you, with my comments afterwards.

"The Lord says in His Word..."

(What is wrong with this statement?)

Philip Liebenberg - The Chapel

Copyright© Philip Liebenberg 2009

The Bible as the written Word

•It's not God's own words. Even when the Bible let's God speak in the first person, it is people talking on behalf of the Lord.

•It's the sword of the Spirit. The Spirit speaks through the words in the Bible (it only becomes the voice of God/words of God when the Holy Spirit, after proper study of the text, ministers something to you.) Literal interpretation of the Bible is not correct. Paul said to Timothy that he should the divide the word correctly. Studying the culture, the thoughts and origin of the text helps us understand the statements in the Bible.

What do we modern Christians typically do with the Bible?

•We think logically and from our own spiritual convictions about the way the people and the times of the Bible were different than our times and we realize that we don't have to apply certain statements anymore. We debate certain rules right out of "our times". This is 100% fine and correct. BUT what is not right, is the fact the we do not act consistently. We don't apply this to all the statements in the Bible. In other words, we stand with one foot in Fundamentalism and with the other in the Post modern era, where we realize that we have to do with ancient Israel and that we have to dig and study (and most importantly listen to the Holy Spirit!) to find how everything applies to our times.

Just see how inconsistent we Christians of today are:

•A) The Bible forbids a person to marry a second time with anybody but your original
spouse. Except for the Catholics, heterosexual Christians justify second marriages quite comfortably. They don't take Jesus’ command very seriously. But that is where they stop with their "liberal" outlook on the Scriptures. They don't need to go further. For the
rest..they take the Bible as "The Words of God".

•B) The gay Christians go further: we justify gay marriages. But then we also stop right there. For the rest we are also fundamentalists and talk about the other statements in the Bible as "The Words of God."

"TheLord says in His Word"

•We must stop using this phrase if we want to be honest with ourselves! Every gay Christian living a gay lifestyle most learn to be consistent. If you believe the words in the Bible to be the spoken words of God, you have to take the gay texts literally as a command from God. I agree wholeheartedly with people that then tell us that we take some things literally and ignore other things. That we are selective. They are right. This is where I differ with many theologians over the gay texts. I realize more and more that the translation of those texts is not really a problem. The Bible does not like sex between people of the same sex and that's that. That is how Israel felt about it. The Bible definitely says "no" to that.

Granted: the Bible does not talk about monogamous gay relationships, but I can assure you that it would have been forbidden too, because they only believed in sex that brought forth children and that was between a man and a woman. My theology does not involve getting too technical over translations, but to look at the mindset of that time period. They did not know that all people are not heterosexual by nature. They thought that homosexuals "turned gay" in rebellion. Rebellion against their nature and against God. And that that rebellion made them spiritually blind.My theological argument is that I read that command against being gay in the light of their knowledge vs. the knowledge we have today. And with the belief that it does no harm if a person who is gay also finds love. That it's just as bad for gays to be alone as for straights. My heart still loves God, and I get to know Him better every day. The Holy Spirit in my heart has not at any time said to me that I should ignore my findings about being gay. Just as the Lord did not tell me the sun stood still just because Joshua said the sun stood still. I know the earth rotates around the sun and not the other way around as it says "in God's Word".

Practices that are Fundamentalist should be unlearned

One day in Welkom my head elder and I differed about something in the Bible. He then, without thinking it through well, said to me, "Pastor, I know I am right because my Bibles says I "must hold fast to what I have learned." I asked him where in the Bible it said that to him personally, because as far as I knew it was something Paul told Timothy. "Yes, pastor, but every word in the Bible is for me too," he answered full of bravado. I was dumbstruck.

That kind of Bible interpretation also shocked two people in my Bapsfontein congregation: their son died of a heart attack at the age of 13. They just could not accept it and stopped coming to church. When I talked to them, I found out that they were angry at God because "He lied in His Word." "The Lord says in His Word that the lifespan of man is 70 years and if he's strong, 80," they "quoted the Lord." I struggled long to bring them to the realization that that statement was not the Lord's, but of a Biblical author's general observation of the life expectancy of homosapiens. That's generalisation. That's not dogma. You cannot claim it from God like you can claim it as a clause from your insurance company.

This is my problem with fundamentalism: we "hold God to His Word." We quote with big ease text like: "God speaks the truth and fulfills His word", without taking the time to think about what that means. This does not mean that God will fulfill everything that is written in the Bible to you personally. One has to differentiate between what God said and what people observed in the Bible. God did not write the Bible and he can't be held accountable for everything little thing a human wrote in it. God is not the Bible. God is bigger than the Bible. God can do what He wants to. You can't hold him to anything that is written in the Bible. You must first ask His Spirit to teach you to put the statements in the Bible in context and secondly you must ask Him for specific guidance or "word" for your own situation.

Some people die from illness and others heal from that same illness. The reasons are many: God's will, positive thinking, a request that God would lengthen your life, medical personnel's expertise. Some people are okay with their lot and don't ask for healing. Some people believe they don't have the right to ask for healing. Sometimes the Lord let nature run it's course and someone goes to be with the Lord at a young age. Life is not simplistic. Don't let cheap answers or simplistic ideas about this type of thing take root in your mind.

"Praying, quoting and confessing the Word" has certain conditions:

•Realize that you can't "talk with God" when you confess texts over your life circumstances. You are quoting text that people wrote. You make sure you realize this when you encourage yourself with text verses. I would suggest that, as an example, you take David's Psalms as encouraging, exhorting thoughts and not as dogma. You must ask for the Lord's specific "word" regarding your circumstances. The Lord speaks to us all when we ask for insight or if we need promises. Get personal in your relationship with God and stick to what you believe He told your personally - not merely a text in the Bible. (The text must be divided correctly if you want it on your plate. In other words: what does the Holy Spirit say to me personally through this encouraging text? It can be something that you confess or that you stand on.)

•When my Dad received a visit from his pastor nine months before his death at 59, the pastor told him to stand on the healing texts in "God's word" for his healing. With that he added a prophecy: my dad would be completely healed of his emphysema and that he would be used mightily by God for an additional 20 years. And that was okay (that my Dad still died). What was not okay was this: a Fundamental pastor treated texts about disease and healing much too literally and also added false prophecy on top of that. And my dad clung to that prophecy. He prayed it. He confessed it. He quoted it as if God told it to him Himself. My dad did not talk with God, but to Bible texts and prophecy. People have to be very careful when they claim God said something. Even is if it's a Bible text. That text was written by a human, and under certain conditions. Get your own "word" from God directly. Individual Bible texts must be placed within the bigger picture. Always get the bigger picture when you're reading the Bible. And listen to God's voice. He speaks today in our hearts. He explains the Bible in our hearts so that we have greater insight and can interpret it more accurately.

I totally agree, the literalism and fundamentalism that exists in most Christians is harming so many people, either themself or the way they treat others. Its hard for people to get that concept. To read the Bible and think of who God is talking to, and why He said what He said, and what context, and what was the lesson, and what does it reveal about the nature of God? So many things to consider beyond the exact words. I find it difficult to claim certain text as "my verse" or a word from God to me, unless it was a general encouragement God meant to give to all of us.

I like how Philip approaches the Word of God and homosexuality. I often get the same message when I study the Bible... That in the day it was written, and considering the person that wrote it, homosexualtiy, in the context it is spoken of, is considered a sin. And marriage between two same sex people, where it is impossible to procreate, would never be accepted. But today we don't marry for that reason, we marry for companionship and love. And God is very clear in His teaching through Jesus and the Apostle Paul that being single and celibate is a spiritual gift. Definitely not something anyone should be forced into. So that is why I believe marriage for Gays is fine. And another reason for accepting homosexuals is that I know for the majority out there this is not a choice. It is a very few minority that have left ther heterosexuality for homosexuality due to a poor relationship or marriage with someone of the opposite sex, this I do not condone. And the best reason for accepting Gays, and believing they are capable of being a Chrsitian as well, is that Jesus came to die for everyone and calls all of us to love God and to love our neighbor and to not be the judge of people. Only the Holy Spirit can judge the hearts of men and call them to Himself and ultimately bring salvation, I can't do any of those things for anyone.

I will post in another entry the verses that Pastor Philip was referring to and how it supports his arguement and my beliefs and discoveries in my journey to understand why all Christians need to learn to love our fellow homosexual Christian brothers and sisters, minister to the unsaved homosexuals, and that homosexual Christians need to also adhere to the same standards for their life in Christ as I do, as a straight Christian. The dividing line should not be such a wide chasm between heterosexuals and homosexuals in the Christian realm and the church. This is why I started writing this blog, I feel passionate about this subject.