Wednesday, September 23, 2015

It's Over!



A multitude of memories covering most of my 72 (73 tomorrow) years were touched by grief today and a pall has covered Yankee fans of my generation.  Yogi Berra died today.  Most recognize some of his favorite malapropisms: 90% of baseball is half mental.  It ain't over til it's over.  If you come to a fork in the road, take it. and deja vu all over again.  However, those of my generation who mostly still hate the Dodgers, remember his skill as a baseball player in spite of his size.  One memory that stands out for me is his tomahawk swing for a home run in a televised (black and white) Yankees' game in the early 1950's.

The above picture shows (l. to r.) Joe Dimaggio, Yogi, and Mickey Mantle.  Mickey was my #1 favorite, Phil Rizutto was #2, and Yogi was #3.  The only disagreement my dad and I had (we didn't communicate much) was over baseball.  He hated the Yankees and I loved them.  He always rooted for the other team, no matter who the opponent was.  Some of the greatest joy of my childhood was the Yankee World Series victories in five straight years, 1949-53.  1954 was Cleveland Indians and New York Giants and included Willie Mays' amazing over-the-shoulder catch off the bat of Vic Wertz to turn a double play.  The Giants swept the Indians but I didn't care.  If the Yankees weren't in the World Series, I usually didn't even watch it.  In 1955, horror of horrors, the Dodgers finally beat the Yankees in the World Series for the first time.  We got even in 1956 and even included Don Larsen's perfect game, the only one in World Series history.  Most baseball fans have seen the film of Yogi jumping on Don Larsen after the final pitch.

The Yankees have won 27 World Series and lost 13.  No other team in the history of baseball even comes close. Yogi played in ten World Series.  In the 1950's, Sport magazine contained full page photographs of athletes and I had pictures of the most famous Yankees tacked to the wall in my bedroom.  They included Mickey Mantle, Phil Rizutto, Yogi Berra, Allie Reynolds, Whitey Ford, Billy Martin, and others.  I used to get the Yankee yearbook back then.  Sure wish I had kept them.

Don't follow baseball much any more but I do check the scores and standings for the Yankees.  Guess I always will.  Yogi, a member of my favorite baseball era, is the last great Yankee in my opinion.  I drove around the new Yankee stadium in the summer of 2014 probably just to stir up memories of the glory days of the the Yankees of the 1950's and 1960's.  Baseball is the great American past-time, you know.  But sadly, for Yogi, it's over!  Gone, but not forgotten.  You were one of a kind.  RIP Yogi....


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Heaven Bound? - Don't Be Too Sure!

I ran across these verses a few days ago in my daily Bible reading.  They can be the most frightening and the most comforting verses in all of Paul’s writings.  The context is a letter written to a church that had serious sin problems which Paul has been addressing.  The severest appears to be a case of incest which is mentioned in chapter 5.  Paul admonishes the Corinthian believers to remove this person from the assembly and to not associate with him (! Cor 5:13)  He then discusses conflicts among the church members that were leading to lawsuits.  Again, for the sake of unity, he chastises them and states that they are guilty of the same acts as those who are the objects of the lawsuits.  He states that believers should be able to settle things without bringing in unbelievers to be their arbitrators and judges.

He then pens the following verses which should sum up the Christian life although certainly every sin is not contained in the verses.  He does, however, seem to focus on the sins that are so closely identified with an immoral society.  Sort of like the United States today, you think?  Slowly read these verses, taking in each and every word and let the Holy Spirit stir you to self-examination as he has stirred me upon reading these verses again and again.

1 Cor 6:9-11  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither  fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

What does he mean by the unrighteous in verse 9?  (94) Greek word is’ adikos’ which implies one who violates or has violated justice; unjust; sinful; one who deals fraudulently with others; or a deceiver.  Other verses include Matt 5:45, Luke 18:11, 1 Peter 3: 18, and 2 Peter 2:9.

45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

18 For Christ also suffered[a] once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,[a] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

However you wish to define unrighteous, it means those who have not been savingly joined to Jesus Christ.  They are lost, condemned, and under the wrath of God and if they remain in that condition, they will never enter the gates of heaven.  Therefore, there is reserved for them eternal punishment in hell forever.  I pray that you belong to the first group and not the last.  The good news is that you can change that by repenting of your sins and believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  Would you do that today?   There is still time.
Paul then issues an imperative; ‘Do not be deceived’.  Simply put, do not stray from the truth.  This is the greek work planao which means deceive, err, go astray, seduce, wander, or be out of the way.  This is used 39 times in the New Testament.  Here are some examples from which you can see that we can be self-deceived, deceived by someone else, or deceived by Satan.

Matt 22:29  But Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

1 John 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 3:7  Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is 
righteous.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world— he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
From the above, we can deduce that both believers and unbelievers can be deceived.  Satan has been described as the great liar or great deceiver, but we must be aware of our own weak thinking as well as the influence of those around us.  Next, Paul points out to the Corinthians (and to us), the multitude of sins that focuses on immorality and how the continual practice of these sins is usually equated to unsaved persons.  Believers may fall into these sins on occasion but they must not be their on-going lifestyle.  We will now examine each of these.

Ø  Fornicators – is the Greek word ‘pornos’ from which we get pornography.  It is defined as immoral, sexual immorality in general and unmarried people in particular.  Today, in our country, it hardly causes a ripple and appears to be the normal instead of the exception.  ABC recently received the second ‘Excellent’ rating ever issued by GLAAD (Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).  This was because 55% of their 103 prime-time hours clearly reflected the quality and relative quantity of LGBT representations in their  original programming. The following is from John MacArthur’s commentary.  “But fornication in any form is an abomination to God and should be an abomination to his people.  Those who habitually practice and defend it cannot possibly belong to God.”  Wow !


Ø  .Idolators – is the Greek word ‘eidololatres’ which means an image worshipper and refers to those who worship any false gods and false religious systems, not simply to those who bow down to images.  In today’s world, there are numerous idols that we have worshipped and it is only getting worse.  A few examples would be:  a political party or ideology, money, fame, a family member with high intelligence or athletic prowess, our jobs, sports or entertainment personalities, our accomplishments, and I could go on and on.  The believers’ worship is to be reserved for God.

Ø  Adulterers –is the Greek word ‘moichao’ and describes those who have unlawful intercourse with another man’s wife.  In the Old Testament, it was punishable by death so God must not look favorably on it.  It corrupts the participants and their families and defiles the God-established relationship between husband and wife.

Ø  Homosexuals and Sodomites – various translations show different wording.  Some use the word effeminate, some use abusers of self, male prostitutes. The first Greek word used is ‘malakoi’ which often referred to a catamite which was a young male companion of an older male.  They were usually the passive partner in sexual relations.  The other Greek word is ‘arsenokoites’ which refers to one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual.  Everyone is familiar with Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament and many references in the New Testament.  God destroyed these two cities because their sin was exceedingly grave (Gen 18:20)  The latest Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage is simply an indication that the majority of mankind has no fear of God and Romans 1 has come true.  Whoever heard of the term gender neutral until recently.  The Word of God is very clear and condemns homosexuality throughout.  Those who would have believers to be silent on this issue do not realize the dangerous ground that they are standing on;  God will not be mocked and you reap what you sow.

Ø  Thieves – the Greek word is ‘kleptes’ from which we get the term kleptomaniac.  No hidden meaning is to be found here.  Stealing stems from the sin of greed.  We want more than we have and will do almost anything to get it.  The news today is replete with thieves in action, from cigarettes and beer to millions and even billions of dollars.  We are living in an entitlement society and if you or the government won’t give me what I ‘deserve’, then I will take it.  Don’t I have my rights!

Ø  Covetous – the Greek word is ‘pleonektes’ and describes one who is eager to have more, especially what belongs to others.  This is very close to thievery but perhaps the coveter doesn’t have the courage to actually steal, they simply want and this often becomes an obsession that does eventually stir them to action which then becomes thievery.

Ø  Drunkards – the Greek word is ‘methusos’.  Again, this is very straight-forward.  It describes one who is intoxicated and not in control of their actions.  We are commanded in Eph 5:18 to not be drunk.  The horror stories from past and present alcoholics confirm how damaging this type of behavior is.  Much mental and physical damage has been inflicted by those under the influence and many deaths are attributed to ‘demon alchohol’.

Ø  Revilers – the Greek word is ‘loidoros’ and is used to describe those who destroy with their tongues.  Sort of like a 24-hour a day political smear campaign.  The book of James describes the awfulness of reviling and we know that scripture teaches that our tongues only reveal what is in our hearts.  Damage done by the tongue can last a life-time.

Ø  Extortioners – the Greek word is ‘harpax’ and some translations use the term ‘swindlers’ which is probably more common today.  Scam artists, blackmailers, false advertisers, and embezzlers are just a few of the types that would fit this category.  They usually steal indirectly so that their conscience can be seared over and they can convince themselves that their behavior is just a ‘little’ bit shady.

Quite a list wouldn’t you say?  I’m sure that most of us know people who would fit into each category.  However, our greatest concern should be that we do not fit into any of them.  By deceiving ourselves, we may be participating and acting as one of these while condemning others in a different category.  We highly condemn drunkards yet we cheat on our income tax.  We see red when homosexuals flaunt their behavior but we think our fornication, ‘shacking up’, or living together is perfectly acceptable.  We tongue-lash other drivers nearly to the point of road-rage (reviling), yet we neglect our family because of our self-made idols such as gambling, fishing, hunting, golf, or fill in the blank (idolatry)  I’ll let you come up with some other examples.  Just don’t look too closely at my behavior.

The only hope for unbelievers caught up in any of these is a changed life brought about by responding to the call of God who is wooing you to repent and be saved.  For believers, a new life is not needed, but repentance is.   Some verses on repentance are: 

Rom 2:4-5 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. 

2 Cor 7:10  For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 

Repentance simply means a change of mind and direction.  We must turn from our sinful behavior and turn to our Savior.

The good news and encouragement is found in verse 11 which needs very little explanation.  ‘And such were some of you.  But you were washed……….’  Here, Paul is speaking to the believers and I am sure that he knew many of them when they were walking down the sinful paths either as unbelievers or believers who had stumbled.  In any event, he is now focusing on their current condition which is one of sanctification and justification.  Their sins have been forgiven and they are marching down the path to Christ-likeness.  This path is different for each of us.  Some seem to run a four-minute mile when it comes to spiritual maturity while the rest of us seem to be crawling like infants.  Regardless, each of us will make the run successful.  Jesus Christ will lose none that the Father has given him.  No one can pluck us out of the Father’s hand or the Son’s hand. (See John 10:28-29).

To wrap this up, I would like to quote again from John MacArthur’s commentary.  He can say things so much better than I.  “The Corinthian believers had experienced transformation in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.  God’s name represents His will, His power, and His work.  Because of Jesus’ willing submission to the Father’s will, His death on the cross in our behalf, and His resurrection from the dead, He has provided our washing, our sanctification, and our justification.  A transformed life should produce transformed living.  Paul is saying very strongly that it was unacceptable that some believers were behaving like those outside the kingdom.  They were acting like their former selves.  They were not saved for that, but from that.”