As I state in my Bio, I consider myself a minister without portfolio. I haven’t attended any seminaries, Christian colleges, etc. to acquire supposed/expected credentials required to hold any type of pastoral office. However, I have been a student of the bible for about 36 years and I obviously think I have an understanding of the word of God that in my estimation can only be achieved by direct and deliberate consideration of the words on the page. I’ve made that argument over and again in Cows in the Pews And the Atheists Too and a number of my posts.
For the record, I don’t think I know everything, but what I do think I know is that something happens to your view of the world after 36 years of being taught of God. Am I saying my view is right? Not necessarily. What I am saying is that something has been produced in me. The way I look at the world. The way I perceive the human condition. The understanding I think I possess, because of what God has taught me through His word, has led me to change my mind about many things. In other words, after years of studying the Bible and pondering it in the deepest parts of my soul, I think I know and understand God’s view of fallen man.
With this view, on a daily basis, I interact with family, friends, coworkers, and the like. I read news, watch television, and in a general sense, just like everyone else in the world, live life, such as it is. And every day observe human interactions in my immediate surroundings, on the national level, and the world stage. I’m talking about years. Years of watching, years of experiencing human relationships, of observing people both getting along and not; all in hopes of discovering the root cause of the on-going breakdown of our society, because that’s certainly what I see happening every day. And thanks be to God almighty for what he has produced in me to finally reach this point in my life where I think I see it.
It’s like that scene in the movie The Fifth Element where Leeloo (the fifth element) is sitting in front of a computer zooming through the images that depict the destructive history of mankind and his insatiable desire for power, for control, for killing, for blood, for everything that God tells us marks the absolute desolation of fallen man. I realize this is heavy, heavy stuff and as I said, I believe it is exactly how God sees it and in turn, by my own observations, I think I see things the way He does.
Before we get too deep into this subject, let’s first consider the difference between the scriptural doctrine and secular doctrine of judgement. It’s an important distinction to understand since like most moral subjects, what God teaches and what the world teaches are more often than not diametrically opposite.
In the simplest terms, secularism teaches that a “judgmental” person is someone who tends to be critical of others and often finds fault with people who somehow don’t measure up to some moral code or standard. In the extreme, “you’re being judgmental” is a typical defensive reaction to someone who dares suggest that a person’s behavior is wrong. Again, in the extreme, when someone says “you’re being judgmental”, they’re essentially saying that whatever the subject is, they are rejecting anything that even hints at being corrective. The expectation is that people are to “accept” behavior that is viewed by many, as being contrary to normal mores be they of a religious or non-religious origin.
Now consider what God’s word teaches:
Mathew 18:15
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Ephesians 5:11
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them].
From Strong’s Concordance for fault and reprove in the verses above:
G1651 elénchō, el-eng’-kho; of uncertain affinity; to confute, admonish:—convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove.
Romans 14:10-13
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
For it is written, [As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in [his] brother’s way.
From Strong’s Concordance for both instances of judge in verse 13:
G2919 krínō, kree’-no; properly, to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by implication, to try, condemn, punish:—avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.
Again, in simple terms, these passages suggest that there is a difference between telling someone they are somehow at fault and condemning someone for being at fault. Clearly, we are encouraged to do one thing and not the other. After all, we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. It’s a very subtle difference, but even in many religious organizations, this distinction seems to escape the understanding of the typical religious Christian.
Secularism seems to teach that any and all correction intends to condemn the person for their behavior, which also suggests that there are no absolutes when it comes to right and wrong. Those things are subjective and depend on external factors that become the basis for arguing things like “MY truth” is not “YOUR truth” and what I believe to be “right and wrong” can be and is different than what you believe to be “right and wrong”. In essence, the world teaches to hold onto the offense of being criticized, which is essentially correction, to the extent that a person who believes in secular doctrine struggles to think past being offended to know if the criticism/correction is true. The most extreme manifestation of this carnal characteristic is when the person being corrected deflects the correction and flips it around in retaliation by criticizing you for criticizing them and “who the hell do you think you are?” “You do the same thing, you hypocrite”… “Pull the beam out of your own eye before trying to remove the twig in my eye…”
The title of this post is Absence of Correction and here’s why: I think this is what’s wrong with us. In the simplest terms and in the depths of carnality, I think this is where all of our problems stem from. Maybe it’s obvious to most, but I’m saying it here because it needs to be said again, and again, and again. I think on an individual level, on a community level, on a national level, and certainly, at the world level the absence of correction has brought us to the brink of what? I’ll save that for another post, but for now let’s explore the cause and effect of fallen man’s and thus, society’s obvious and utter unwillingness to receive correction. Correction from whom you might ask? Well, primarily from God of course, but secondarily from each other.
To begin with, let me just say in the broadest sense that the division between believers and non-believers becomes more and more stark every day. As I’ve argued time and again, take any and every issue down to the heart of the matter, and I do mean any and every issue, what you find are people who reject God, the bible, His morality, His Righteousness, His Son the world’s savior, His truth (the truth), and on the other side you find believers. Again, I’m sure that’s obvious to most bible believing Christians.
For arguments sake let’s lump people together on the non-believer side as atheists, liberals, leftists, democrats, socialist, communists, what have you. And on the believer side let’s lump them together as religious, conservatives, republicans, capitalists, etc. The point being that the dividing line is clear from a high altitude perspective. However, the case I’m making here is that regardless of the group you, as an individual, have chosen to stand with, what I see are people who exhibit the same unwillingness to allow themselves to be corrected.
In a general sense, it seems apparent that a non-believer is very unlikely to accept correction from someone from the “religious right” side of things:
“No way!” “You’re not gonna impose your “religious” morals on me…”
Likewise, a believer is very unlikely to accept any type of correction from someone from the “secular left” side of things. Again:
“No way!” You’re not gonna impose your amoral “secularism” on me…”
But that’s too shallow and superficial a view when considering the effect of living life avoiding, ignoring, or outright rejecting any type of correction from anyone, which is the real point I’m driving at.
My experience has been that there are very few people who willingly receive correction from any one; especially from someone who is not of their ilk. And what form does the rejection invariably take when it comes time to reject someone who dares offer up some type of correction? I’m sure everyone knows the drill:
“You’re being judgmental.”
“Who do you think you are?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Et cetera, et cetera…
As I said, and it bears repeating, it doesn’t matter what side of the coin you’re on, there are very few who willingly accept any type of correction, especially when you get to the subject of God and His word. And just so you know, I realize the tone of this whole post is corrective and I’m pretty confident that you are likely rejecting much of what I’m saying here simply for that reason alone.
I can hear it now; “Who do you think you are?”
If that’s how you’re reacting to this, thanks for making my point. I don’t say these things to be popular, to be “liked”, to be “accepted”, to get attention; none of that. I say these things out of necessity because if things continue the way they’re going, no one open to, receptive to, and rejecting of all things corrective, we’re on course for the inevitable end of our society as we know it. After all, Peter warns us of the end to come:
II Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Enough of all that. It’s time for me to provide the scriptural basis for the dark and foreboding future I believe we’re headed for due to Absence of Correction.
Let’s start here:
II Timothy 3:16-17
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
From Strong’s concordance, the word correction in this passage is:
ἐπανόρθωσις epanórthōsis, ep-an-or’-tho-sis; from a compound of G1909 and G461; a straightening up again, i.e. (figuratively) rectification (reformation):—correction.
This is obviously where I lose most on the non-believer side of things because they reject the word of God as the word of God. Even so, the bible says (not me) that all scripture is from God to us and is profitable for all of these things, correction being one of them.
Now consider the following “instruction in righteousness” from Proverbs:
Proverbs 22:15
Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 23:13
Withhold not correction from the child: for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
From Strong’s concordance, the word correction in these passages is:
mûwçâr, moo-sawr’; from H3256; properly, chastisement; figuratively, reproof, warning or instruction; also restraint:—bond, chastening(-eth), chastisement, check, correction, discipline, doctrine, instruction, rebuke.
If you’re wondering why I chose these passages from Proverbs to delve into the problem of living life void of correction, allow me to explain. If you compare and contrast the teachings from God about child rearing with the prevailing “instructions of UN-righteousness” offered by the secular world, you can’t help but notice how it is in direct opposition to God’s instruction. No surprise there, right?
I mean, just search on the subject and you’ll find study after study, doctor after doctor, all attempting somehow to refute and reject the instruction from God. The arguments range from “it’s OK to “spank” a child every now and then” to “it’s never OK to hit a child”. In fact it’s outlawed in many states as if the secular world knows better than God how to raise a child to the extent that if a parent is seen administering a good old fashioned ass-whoopin’ they can expect a visit from social services to decide whether the parents get to keep their children or not. If that’s not utter and complete rejection of instruction from God, I don’t know what is.
To be clear, I am not talking about abusing children. There is a point where spanking a child as a means of discipline goes too far; that’s common sense. And granted, many people lack common sense. Likewise, never spanking a child also goes too far, which gets to the other reason I started with this subject.
Paraphrasing God’s instruction, I assume most have heard the phrase “spare the rod, spoil the child”. Meanwhile, the secular world teaches it’s never OK to hit a child. And what do we end up with? A generation or two, or more of spoiled adults who were raised without correction of the “rod” to the extent that they raise their children the same way, perpetuating generation upon generation of people who in many ways are just children in adult bodies.
I mean, think of today’s millennial liberals; in particular, those in the public space. If you take time to listen to their arguments, in many ways they sound exactly like a child. There’s no maturity, there’s no reasoning; there’s only emotion, and arrogance, and yelling, and demanding, and frankly idiocy. There’s too many examples to list here and to try to list them is beside the point.
As a father who raised our children in the 1980’s, I believe much of this started with the introduction of “self-esteem” into the public school doctrine of indoctrination. It probably started well before that but let’s just say that’s when I became aware. That’s the point in my life when I realized the secular doctrine of never correcting a child’s behavior was diametrically opposite of the doctrine of God, which also coincides with the time in my life when I chose to become a believer.
Now, what I’m really trying to say here is that this absence of correction and its deep rooted effect can be seen happening on both sides of the spectrum of, let’s call it faith. I use the term faith since it stands to reason that to not believe in God is as much a “faith” as believing in God; non-believers on one end and supposed believers on the other. I say “supposed” believers because as I’ve argued before, saying you are a believer, a Christian, a person of faith, what have you, doesn’t make it so. There is bad doctrine out there, there are false teachers, and counterfeit Christianity is packaged and sold on the world stage for all to see. We are warned of this many times in Paul and Peter’s writings. Jesus, from His own mouth, warns the disciples and us:
Matthew 24:4-5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
There are many who are deceived. There are many who think that what they have been taught is the truth. Yet, if you try to show them how the doctrine of salvation that they’ve put their faith in and the doctrine of salvation taught by Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, is somehow different, they will not accept it; they will not receive correction. And in that, they are no different than your everyday, run-of-the-mill non-believer. Absence of correction.
Let’s consider a couple of specific examples. These are current, societal issues where the divide between people is huge on both ends of the spectrum of Faith. And let me just say, agree or not, these are moral issues. Although they’ve been politicized to the greatest extent possible by the left, at the heart of the matter, they are moral.
First, consider abortion and not only your regular run-of-the-mill pre-heart beat abortion, but also partial birth abortion as it’s known. Very controversial for me to even hold an opinion on this subject since I’m a man. I mean, “Who do I think I am”, right? The reason I bring this subject up is that it is replete with ways in which “Pro-Choice” advocates reject any type of correction offered in the name of rectification, whether the source of correction is from a biological standpoint or from God himself.
Today’s secularism teaches our children that promiscuity is OK. God teaches that it is not, and that sexuality is reserved for those who give themselves in holy matrimony. That’s the first instance of absence of correction. The boy and girl who engage in premarital sex, who in actuality are engaging in pro-creation have either not been taught that God calls it lasciviousness or have been taught that He calls it lasciviousness and reject that teaching. Then, they find out their actions have created a baby, a human being, a child who will come into this world if allowed to develop to term in the womb.
“Pro-choice” supporters say it’s a “woman’s health” issue or a woman’s “reproductive right” and no one else’s business. What a lie… I don’t care what you want to call it, it is the consequence of the act that caused it in the first place. You had sex and likely, out of wedlock, you pro-created, you acted in rejection of the teachings of the Bible and God, and you don’t want to accept responsibility for your actions. You want the “right” to cancel out the consequence, which means you want to take the life that you created inside of you. And what many non-believers stand for is the most horrendous act of all, partial birth abortion, which has nothing to do whatsoever with “women’s health” and everything to do with murder, which, by the way, is another thing God tells us is WRONG! And yet, what do you do? Reject any correction; couch it all in terms of “choice” and “women’s health” that I guess is intended to help you sleep at night. Absence of correction…
One passage from Romans kinda sums up what pro-choice women are choosing to do with their bodies:
Romans 1:26
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Take time to study the passage and what you’ll find is that “natural use” here means child birth. I assume most can figure out what “against nature” means.
One last thing before I leave the subject of abortion. In no way am I suggesting that the burden of responsibility for choosing abortion falls on women. In fact, I believe men are more to blame than women since they’re just as responsible, if not more so, to know God’s will regarding human sexuality. In other words, the unmarried man could have, dare I say, should have, said no… But alas, the carnal man, be he a believer or an un-believer doesn’t do a whole lotta thinking with his head…
Next let’s consider homosexuality, LGBTQ, “alternative lifestyle”, what have you. I assume most are aware of various denominations “allowing” or “accepting” homosexuals into their fold, into their denominations, into the priesthood, etc. The attempt to normalize this choice, this behavior, becomes more and more prevalent in our society as the years pass. And just to make it clear to everyone, I, in no way, shape, or form, advocate killing, maiming, shaming, or any type of punishment for people who CHOOSE homosexuality. Clearly, I reject the notion that people are born this way and believe it is a choice because in the end it ultimately gets down to what the secular world teaches and what God teaches and what we choose to do with either doctrine in the face of it.
Secularism teaches it’s “OK”. God teaches us that it is an abomination, which simply means disgusting. It’s just that cut and dry, which is why people from the LGBTQ “community”, as they call themselves, cannot and will not abide. Again, absence of correction… They want to impose themselves on society, they want to force people to “accept” them despite whatever biblical/scriptural/spiritual reason a person might believe that prevents them from doing so. Those of the LGBTQ “community” are not happy to just live their lives in the choice they’ve made understanding that it is not acceptable to most Bible believing Christians across the world.
Personally, I don’t begrudge anyone their choice. If you choose to live your adult life as someone who identifies as of that “community”, have at it. What I do reject is their overt attempt to inculcate children into their lifestyle by indoctrinating them at the earliest age possible in hopes of creating more homosexuals to fill the ranks of the LGBTQ “community”. I mean think about it, think about how they have introduced sexuality and homosexuality in school curriculum at an earlier and earlier age. The latest manifestation comes in the form of transgendered men dressing up in their “I’m a woman on the inside” outfits and reading books to kindergarteners. I mean, my God.
Now consider homosexuality and its “acceptance” into various denominations. There are numerous examples of churches and religious organizations splitting because some believe it’s okay to accept openly gay parishioners, openly gay preachers, pastors, priests, and the like into the ”fold”, as it were, while other “hard-core traditionalists” as they’re referred to, disagree. Once again, you have people who think they know better than God what is right and acceptable, taking it upon themselves to re-write the rules so to speak and in actuality, they will not be corrected.
Like it or not, the word of God seems to make it pretty clear as to where God stands on the subject of homosexuality. Here are the passages that essentially have to be ignored, explained a way, or just out right rejected to conclude that it is “okay” to be gay and accepted of God at the same time:
Leviticus 18:22
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it [is] abomination.
Leviticus 20:13
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood [shall be] upon them.
Romans 1:27
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Now, I realize the two passages from Leviticus are from the Mosaic law and that I’ve shown scripturally that the Law of Moses has been nailed to the cross of Christ and is no more. However, I’ve included these passages to show how God’s view of this behavior hasn’t changed from the establishment of the Levitical Law all the way through to the dispensation of the Grace of God as dispensed by Paul, the apostle to the gentiles.
The fact that this had to be said certainly shows that homosexuality isn’t new. The fact that it was part of the Law of Moses delivered to the nation of Israel tells us it’s been around for a very long time. And these passages also make the case that it is a choice. I mean, “burned in their lust” is no different than a heterosexual man burning in his lust for a woman, vis. a vis., being tempted and choosing to commit adultery or lasciviousness. Furthermore, in the face of God’s “instruction in righteousness” regarding this matter, to think that it’s possible to claim to be a Christian and that it’s okay to continue in that “lifestyle” is deluded to say the least and is… absent of correction.
I chose these two highly contentious issues to illustrate the obvious rejection of God, his word, his Son, His instruction in righteousness by atheists when comparing and contrasting secular doctrine with religious doctrine. I say obvious because the public square is saturated with the doctrine from the secular world that is intent on normalizing these behaviors while at the same time persecuting Christians for not accepting what is contrary to the will of God.
What’s not so obvious, but very prevalent is the absence of correction in the “Christian” community at large. This is a difficult discussion to have because I think many people assume that whether you’re a Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, you name it, all are “religious” people as viewed by Atheists. And as such, stand in the way of progress towards the free-for-all utopian society they hope for that is nothing more than complete and utter rejection of anything or anyone who would oppose what is little more than subjective morality. If it feels good, do it…
What’s even more difficult, is the fact that many claiming to be Christians aren’t much different than the typical atheist in the sense that they believe what they believe and “ain’t no one gonna convince them otherwise” when it comes to trying to correct someone who has lived a life within any of the “mainstream” denominations. It’s amazing to think how many people claiming to be “Christians” fail to realize how they are off the mark. I know it sounds audacious and judgmental for me to level such strong accusations at so many people across the world. I really do. But, I’m convinced it needs to be said even if it only resonates with a few people.
There are many “Christians in name only” who approach God and His word with a superficiality that leaves them open to being persuaded to believe that the word of God is somehow in need of correction, that it needs to be updated to better appreciate the world we live in today. What a slippery slope…
What this really does is pervert the word of God. It confuses who is and who isn’t a true Christian. It also pits Christians against Christians and Christians against atheists, secularists, and the like leaving everyone to go about their life void of correction… It results in division and ultimately destroys genuine Christian fellowship…
Heavy charges, I know… But think about it… As I’ve pointed out many, many times, thirty thousand plus denominations… How can that be?
Ephesians 4:4-6
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who [is] above all, and through all, and in you all.
As I assert above, that I see many non-believers behaving as children in adult bodies, likewise I see many “Christians” who are in the same state. They believe themselves to be Christians, they claim it, they proclaim it, they wear their crosses, their rosary, and their church attendance for all to see in hopes of what? I mean who are they trying to convince?
If you cross the line and ask what they believe, why they believe it, and go so far as to ask them to show you the passages that make up the foundational basis for their version of “Christianity”, they will react as a child does when their behavior is being questioned. They get mad, defensive, and emotional; they yell, scream, and throw a fit simply because someone dares suggest that what they have put their faith in is not right. Now, admittedly, their reaction isn’t quite as overt as an immature child. I mean a child in an adult body does posses some level of sophistication that equips them with the ability to not just drop down on the floor and start throwing a fit in public like some children do at the most inopportune time in a public setting.
However, essentially, their reaction is still that of a child who has been caught at something they clearly don’t want anyone to know about. I mean, think about it… You’re going along through life, living what you’ve convinced yourself is the “proper” Christian life filled with the typical Christian indicators like church life, prayer life, Sunday School, Christian Holidays, you own a bible or two, your read it every now and then, etc.
And then someone comes along and questions your faith…
“How dare you…”
“Who do you think you are?”
“My faith is a deeply personal matter and I don’t appreciate you intruding into that area of my life because it’s none of your business.”
“My pastor warned me about people like you…”
“Wolf in sheep’s clothing… That’s what you are…”
“We all have the right to believe what we want about the Bible…”
“So, you believe what you want to and I’ll believe what I want to and we’ll get along just fine…
Childish… Absence of correction… Albeit sophisticated in some sense…
It’s a full on defensive block of anything from anyone who might suggest that what they believe is off the mark…
It has been and remains one of the biggest quandaries in my life. That is, how does one break through? How do you get people to let down their guard? How do you get people to drop the defensiveness? How do you get people to stop digging their heels in? How do you get people to grow up? How do you get people to take responsibility for their own soul to the extent that they open themselves to God, His word, His correction, His instruction in righteousness?
I am so perplexed by people’s apparent unwillingness to open up the Bible and just read it; and I mean read it as it’s presented. If you have any knowledge of the contents of the bible and you stop and think about it, it is a book of time to be taken in context of time and circumstances. Yet, if you consider the prevailing method of teaching it to the masses, organized religion has so conditioned people to view the bible as something that can only be, and for that matter, should only be taught by the ordained. To presume to do otherwise is blasphemous and misguided to say the least.
This gets to the heart of and the purpose of this post. This is the deep seeded correction I offer from God to you, whether you’re a churchgoing Christian steeped in religious tradition or an atheist steeped in the traditions of the secular world. The written word of God as contained in the Authorized King James version of the bible is right there in front of everyone. It can be read, it can be understood. You don’t have to rely on anyone but yourself to pick it up and start reading it for the sole purpose of gaining the knowledge and understanding God has given to the world. The knowledge and understanding about Him, about us, about good and evil, about fallen man, about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
Galatians 1:4
Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
I can’t tell you how much I long to find mature saints, true Christians who have read and studied the bible as intended. Who possess the knowledge and understanding resulting from their own pursuit of the truth. Who are taught of God and not the “religious world” at large…
Lastly, what does God through Paul teach us about correction?
I Corinthians 3:1-3
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ.
I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able.
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Romans 15:13-14
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
