I’m sorry I haven’t been writing here more, but we’ve been trying to catch up on a number of things, as I mentioned earlier.
But that’s not to say that nothing has been happening!
For example, one Sunday this chicken ended up on the church property. (No, this has nothing to do with Church’s Texas Chicken.) It did get out alive, you’ll be glad to hear (although there was some talk about wanting to illustrate the burnt offerings in Exodus). (Many of us may or may not have been inspired to have some yummy chicken dinners, though…)
For example, the last class of the Church History course was completed, with certificates being handed out. These are currently being given under our “civil association”. That’s how our community centre is recognized by the government.
This last class marked the end of three years of classes, with four churches involved, covering five college-level courses. We will likely be continuing with something in the new year, but we’re not sure yet what that will look like. We would like to do some more pastorally-focused courses (such as a preaching class), but I’m sure there are others who would like to continue their education as well, so we’ll see.
Shari and Nathanael enjoyed some time with other missionaries to Mexico at the annual InterMission Conference. What happened to Jim? Well, he was a little sick and so decided to sit this one out. Thankfully, it was a quick recovery.
Last Sunday I spent some time with some of the leaders of the churches in the Mexico City area. We’re hoping to restart having some meetings and activities on a regular basis, starting in the New Year. It was great to see some familiar faces and share and pray together.
Services and studies continue, of course. I won’t speak for everyone, but I’ve really enjoyed our study of Exodus! Lord willing we’ll be finishing our study in November, after more than a year. Right now we’re talking about the priests – their special clothes and their consecration.
Shari was teaching Sunday School last week. Look – rainbows! As you might guess, they were in Genesis 9. A wonderful testimony of the mercy of God in the face of our sin. They’re going through the Generations of Grace curriculum, which takes them right through the Bible.
And meanwhile, we’re trying to get some personal things done – some fixes around the house (our internet is still suffering, but a lot better than it was!) – Nathanael catching up with school – some doctor’s appointments – and working toward Nathanael’s new permanent residence visa. (Yes, he already has a “permanent” visa, but because he got it before he was an adult he needs to renew it once to get his adult version.)
There’s lots of planning going on as well. We’re already looking toward next year and what will be happening in the church. But more immediate is our church’s 6th anniversary – on the 6th of November! Lord willing I’ll be able to show you some pictures – maybe even some video, if I’m on the ball.
Getting back home to Mexico, and getting back into ministry, can sometimes be a challenge. Not that there’s anything particularly wrong, mind you. And we’re glad to be here!
Part of it is simply that (1) there were a few things we were planning to do over the summer here that we didn’t do, because we went to Canada, and (2) we’re still dealing with some things from our trip, on top of regular ministry.
But also, there’s quite simply a lot going on and a lot that needs to be done! 🙂
In a few minutes I’ll be going over to help set up for the institute class, which our church is hosting this week. The Church History course is continuing, this week the topic being “The Era of Liberalism, Progress, and Missions”. A few light topics, including Marxism, slavery, liberalism, missions movements and religious sects to finish off our week.
We’ve been enjoying a study of the Tabernacle as we continue our journey through the book of Exodus. I’ll be speaking tomorrow about the court and the altar.
Yesterday was Independence Day, so we had a bit of a focus on that last week, and we will again this week from what I understand. Last week I led the music and we sang quite a few Mexican worship songs.
Other activities are continuing – the men’s and women’s Bible studies, and youth group tonight. A kids’ class started up again while we were gone. So we’re looking at how things might change and adapt in the weeks ahead.
We’re so thankful for the men and women who are serving the Lord here with us. We appreciate so many of you who are praying. It’s completely cliché to say that these are challenging times, but indeed they are.
But as we continue our study of the Tabernacle, I’m reminded that when God gives the work, He also provides for the work. And somehow He gives it an eternal value. Praise the Lord!
We’re still on our third perspective on the topic of justice – law. We’ve already seen certain problems with the way that the world wants to apply law.
For example, who decides who is guilty (or “oppressed”). Well, the “experts”, of course! And the experts often seem to assign guilt not only based on their opinion of your actions, but also based on the group you’re a part of.
Now, as Christians, when we hear a question like, “Who is guilty?”, our minds race to verses like Romans 3:23 or Isaiah 53:6. Everyone is guilty, right?
Well, yes of course. God says, if you’ve broken My law, you’re a sinner – you’re guilty. It doesn’t matter what socioeconomic or racial group you may be a part of.
But wait – doesn’t the Bible talk about the sin of families? For example, in Exodus 34:7, God describes Himself as “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Yes, but be careful. Here we’re talking about children who are continuing in the sins of their fathers.
Deuteronomy 5:9-10 clarifies things a bit: “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”
In other words, if the children continue in their hatred of God, they go on accumulating more and more judgement.
But these are brief statements. God explains more carefully in another text – Ezekiel 18. So let’s go there to see what God says about sin, especially sin in families.
The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
Ezekiel 18:1-2
You know how your teeth feel when you eat sour grapes, right? You might be making a “sour face” right now! This proverb says, our ancestors at sour grapes, but it’s our teeth that are feeling funny! That’s kinda weird.
In other words, the Israelites were blaming God for judging them for the sins of their ancestors. It’s not fair!
So how does God respond?
As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.
Ezekiel 18:3-4
Could you please clarify what you mean, God?
If a man is righteous and does what is just and right— if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 18:5-9
So this is a just man, a good man according to the Law of Moses. An individual who is just before the law, due to his own actions.
But this man had a son…
If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things (though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.
Ezekiel 18:10-13
You come from a Christian family? Cool. If you sin apart from Christ, you’re punished. Your family will never save you.
So now we have a wicked son of a just father. Now let’s see what happens if the wicked son has a son of his own…
Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor’s wife, does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall surely live.
Ezekiel 18:14-17
So let’s summarize:
The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
Ezekiel 18:20
Now, this is pretty black and white. Sin comes from the individual. The evil of another person is not a punishment for you to bear, verse 20.
But wait – what happens if that evil man repents?
But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?
Ezekiel 18:21-23
Remember, we are in the Old Testament here. Now we know the background – God saves us through Christ. But in the OT, even though people didn’t know all about the cross quite yet, they did know that God is merciful. He wants to forgive. If the wicked person repents, God will forgive.
But what if the opposite happens?
But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
Ezekiel 18:24
This doesn’t mean that you can lose your salvation. You can’t. What it does mean is that if someone decides to do evil, they will be punished – even if they have lived a good and moral life up until that point.
So if you want to know if you’re pleasing to God, here’s the question to ask. How am I living today? And of course, that includes whether or not you’ve repented of your past sins, and if you’re willing to make things right. We’ll talk more about that later.
Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
Ezekiel 18:29
People love to judge God, and call Him unjust. But what does God do? What are His actions? He doesn’t punish the innocent for the sins of their ancestors. He only punishes those who are personally wicked. And if the wicked repents? God is merciful – He forgives. But humans think they have found a better way.
So let’s make it clear how God’s Law works.
Justice >> Life —— Evil >> Death Repentence >> Forgiveness
Do we experience earthly consequences from the sins of our parents? Yes. But God will actively fight against us if we continue in those sins, and will show us faithfulness, mercy, and love if we leave them behind. “. . . the soul who sins shall die”. The just will live.
And remember this: It’s God, our Creator, who tells us what is a sin, and who is a sinner. We are responsible for our own sin. Don’t blame your parents or your grandparents. You’re free from the sins of whatever supposed group you’re a part of – as long as you’re not a participant in their sin. As long as you’re living for the Lord.
We can (and should) remember the sins of our ancestors, and learn from them. We should also remember the brave sacrifices that our ancestors have made, that we benefit from. And listen – this is important – sometimes both of those are found in the same person!
But what is most important for me? How I’m living today.
Well, we’ve spent a long time talking about the perspective of law. We have four more perspectives on justice to go – see you next time!
In our study of Biblical Anthropology, we’ve already talked a lot about truth. But let’s look at it a little more from the perspective of justice.
What is our ultimate authority – the source of all truth? That would be the ultimate Being – God – but because of that, we can say that our ultimate source of truth is His revelation to us – God’s Word.
We could also say, the Person of Jesus Christ, revealed in the Bible.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me…”
John 14:6
Colossians 2:3 says, “…in whom” (that is, in Christ) “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Truth is in the unchanging mind of God. He has given us physical laws, logic, math, science. God is truthful, God is consistent, and so when we are truthful we imitate Him.
That’s why Leviticus 19:36 says, “You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
I am God, and you are my people. And so, when you sell someone a gram of corn, make sure that it’s actually a complete gram of corn – not a little less. It’s about truth.
Exodus 20:16 – “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.” Honesty! Don’t lie. Don’t deceive.
“Truth” is basically a question of what is real. Lies aren’t real, right? Satan himself is the author of the unreal, the false, the empty. Jesus explained:
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
John 8:44
And how does the devil distort the truth? He introduces doubt. “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)
You may think that you have your truth and I have mine. Maybe “truth” is relative – it’s only a matter of perspective. And in this way we can destroy truth completely.
This is actually a big problem for the world. If there is no truth – that is, solid, absolute truth – it’s not possible to unite together. Because what could we actually have in common? Matthew 12:25 – “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.”
And so you can’t actually completely reject God’s truth. But you can use parts of God’s truth along with the lies to build something temporary and unstable, and try to attack God from there.
Let’s use this image to illustrate. It’s a half-built house, or a house in ruins. Look at it and remember it. If you want to reject God, you need to use some lies – some things that are not real – in order to build. But you can’t build anything with only “nothing-bricks”. You’ll also need to use some truth mixed in. That there is the headquarters of the enemy.
In this way, certain “experts” must build this house with lies mixed with truth, and everyone is supposed to follow their theories.
And of course, these will be the wise and powerful philosophers of this world. The sociologists. The politicians. The psychologists. The scientists. The professors.
Now, of course, I’m talking about unbelievers. Thanks be to God, there are many believers in all of the fields I just mentioned. And note again, I’m not saying that everything that unbelievers say is wrong – far from it! But it can never be a “complete structure”.
We’re going to look at a very influential thinker from the past, Karl Marx. Marx lived in the middle of the 19th century, and he hated both God and Christianity. He wrote:
Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and also the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of spiritless conditions. It is the opium of the people. To abolish religion as the illusory happiness of the people is to demand their real happiness.
According to Marx, in order to have real happiness, we must get rid of the “illusion” of religion. We need to free ourselves from God and His truth. But wait – what will we have in His place? Truth mixed with lies.
Before we go on with our other perspectives on justice (remember, we’re just on the first one – Truth), it will be useful to talk about the Marxist worldview in general, and how this and other ideas are affecting the world today.
For now, get the picture of that house in your mind. A temporary, unstable structure built with both the real and the unreal. That image will help a lot in the posts to come.
The Tower of Babel was an example of technology used to rebel against God. In some ways, it was the opposite of a new project – the Tabernacle. Read this carefully, with technology in mind (as we defined it last time).
You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.
Exodus 28:3
Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.
Exodus 35:30
As we think about this, remember the three keywords from the first part of our Biblical Anthropology study. Truth – we know the truth through the Bible. Dependence – we depend on the creation, on other people. But most importantly, all of creation depends on God. And – Purpose. Purpose in life comes from God.
And remember, yes, there is purpose in life – in this life, in the world. God Himself became man, and so we know that all of time and space has a real and eternal purpose.
And as we see how knowledge, engineering, art, and science permitted the Israelites to build the Tabernacle, we recognize that technology has a purpose and an eternal significance.
Another example? When Jesus wanted to give us a way to remember His death on the cross, what did He use? The results of human technology. Wine and bread.
And the cross? Human technology.
Good technology is the use of our knowledge of God’s creation the fulfill the Mandate of Creation to glorify God and to bring others to Him.
We use technology for His glory. And we all use technology in some way. But we should be using it to help others and to glorify God. In our workplace. In our home. And if you’re in school, learn as much as you can about the creation so that you can maximize your use of it!
Think about the sound system in a church. A hospital. Highways. Antibiotics. A violin. A toilet. Soap. The internet. All of these things can be used for a good purpose.
Joy Ridderhof was a missionary in Honduras In the 1930s. But she became ill and had to leave, assuming that she would be back in a few weeks. But her health didn’t improve sufficiently.
She remembered a poor widow that she had left behind. The widow didn’t know how to read, and couldn’t even memorize a verse of the Bible. How could Joy help her now? And others like her?
Then she remembered how people in the village listened to music on their record players.
What if… what if she recorded her own voice, and sent it to her friend back in Honduras? And she did just that. And before too long, people all over Central America were asking for Bible recordings from Joy.
Later, a group of native Americans asked for recordings in their language. It looked like she would need some help!
Eventually, Joy started an organization. The Gospel Recordings Network, or GRN, now has recordings in over 6000 languages.
Here is a woman who used technology to glorify God all around the world.
So there is no doubt that we can cooperate with God to use technology for good things – to help others, and bring them to Him.
But this raises some questions. For example, is technology completely neutral? Or, maybe we should say, is an item made using technology neutral? Ready to be used equally for good or evil? Should we only evaluate whether a use of technology is directly sinful or not, or should we evaluate these new discoveries and applications in themselves?
It was a big question in the last century. If you can make a bomb that can destroy a city – should you? Or should you even continue to pursue knowledge that would allow you to do it (instead of pursuing other knowledge)? Because, after all, someone will figure it out if you don’t – what if it’s your enemy? Is the bomb bad in itself? What If it’s used as a deterrent?
And similar questions must be applied as we approach new technologies – and we will get to artificial intelligence, transhumanism, CRISPR and genetics…
As we continue our study of Biblical Anthropology, and specifically technology, we’re going to see how humans used technology, starting with the early days of our race.
Again, and we talked about this last time, very often when we talk about “technology” today we’re thinking about electronics and digital information. But on a basic level, technology for us as humans is simply the application of our knowledge in order to use God’s creation.
Abel used technology to construct his altar. His brother Cain used technology to build a city. Noah used technology to build the Ark. But let’s pause at a very interesting story in Genesis chapter 11. This is something that happened 42 or 43 centuries ago, a little after the Flood…
Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Genesis 11:1-3
There you are – technology. They are applying their knowledge. What are they going to do now?
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
Genesis 11:4
Now, when Abel built his altar, it was for God’s glory. These people are building for their own glory. And what’s the problem with what they’re doing?
Quite simple – they’re planning to disobey God’s command to fill the earth (Genesis 1:28). No, they want to all stay together. Their plan is to glorify themselves, and create their own purpose (in contradiction of the Creator’s purpose).
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
Genesis 11:5-9
God had created humans with incredible abilities. But if they came together and gained knowledge at such a rapid rate, “nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them”. That is, nothing evil. So God, in His mercy, divides the earth. He slows the progress of sin.
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…
Romans 1:21-22
Dr. Peter Jones has called this “one-ism”. According to the world, the only thing that exists, or the only thing that is important, is the universe. We ignore the transcendent God and glorify ourselves, and the creation itself, as god; “…images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”
Instead of one-ism, two-ism knows the truth – that there is a Creation and a Creator. Two.
Or, instead of the word one-ism, we could say “scientism”. This is the belief that “science” is all that there is, or all that is important. Our knowledge, our technology, of this world. Science can resolve all of our problems and answer all of our questions eventually.
But thanks to God, and the imago dei, good technology is not lost completely. And in a sense, after the disaster of the Tower of Babel, we see technology redeemed many years later. Yahweh said to Moses: “…let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it” (Exodus 25:8-9).
God uses human technology – actually, a mix of human and divine technology – to glorify Himself. Humans return to using technology to glorify the Creator.
Within the limits given by God, people used their abilities and knowledge to build the tabernacle, and later the temple. Technology is always a cooperation between God and humans.
In fact, it’s interesting that when Samuel Morse (of the “Morse Code”) demonstrated the first long-distance telegram in the United States, the message that he sent was, “What God hath wrought!” – a quote from Numbers 23:23. All technology is cooperation with God in some sense.
Next time we’ll look at how we cooperate with God in technology, as we spend some more time in history.