Scriptures, Without Context

In my years of enjoying sermons, songs, and theology I have encountered many uses of scripture that have been taken out of context and twisted to mean something else. When something is take out of context the surrounding scriptures are ignored, surrounding stories are not mentioned, history is overlooked, and cross references are conveniently not used.
It’s like renting a movie you’ve never seen and only watching 5 minutes of it in the middle of the movie. You then claim to know the entire plot from just seeing 5 minutes of the movie! This is the leading cause of error in the Church.

“Calls those things which do not exist as though they did” – Romans 4:17

This scripture is used often by followers of the “Word of faith movement” when they instruct believers to speak things in to existence, declare and it will be done for you.

Rom 4:17- (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations” ) in the presence of Him whom he believed God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

With this scripture you don’t even have to read contextual scriptures to figure it out: it’s speaking about God, not the believer. We as God’s creations have no creative power, only He does. When we are in right relationship with God we can ask things of Him and He may do them but that is not what most Word of Faith or “Name it Claim it” teachings propose. We don’t convince God to follow our will, we follow His will. He originally gave man dominion and stewardship over the Earth but this does not mean that believers can speak money, cars, or health in to being. We put our faith in the Father, not in our faith.

“New Wine in New Wine Skins” – Matthew 9:16-17

This scripture has been used to back “new moves of God” or some new revolutionary thing that God is supposedly doing.

Mat 9:16 – “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.
Mat 9:17 – “Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

However, the message of new wine in old wineskins and new cloth on an old garment signifies the complete newness of the New Covenant. The context reveals Jesus’s reason for why His followers did not need to fast while He was present. Fasting was connected to the law heavily and the pharisees expected Jesus and His followers to follow the Law if He was truly from God. The New Covenant isn’t the Old Covenant plus Jesus and the cross it’s a whole new deal. The Old Testament was completely finished by Christ’s life death and resurrection, not partially finished as some thought who mixed Jesus’s teachings with their Judaism.
So the “new wine” (or the New Covenant) was poured in to the “new wine skin” once and for all time back at the crucifixion, not every time a local church thinks they have something new and fresh from God.

“When you have shut your door, pray to the Father” – Matthew 6:5-6

I actually had this one used against me after sharing the Gospel with a student outside of U.T. in Austin. He said “Jesus said when you pray to go in your closet and close the door and pray to God, your religion is between you and God. It’s not a public thing”.

Who is Mary

This is a study on the and historical identity of Mary, the mother of Jesus. First we will look at what the Catholic catechism says. The Catechism is the universal doctrine held by all Roman Catholics, the statements contained there in are decided by and established by Popes as absolute, and theological truths. I also looked in to the accounts of approved apparitions of Mary to see what they reveal about Mary, I did this because Catholics hold that they are true and trustworthy representations of Mary. And thirdly I we will examine what the Word of God, the ultimate authority says and reveals to us about Mary.

The identity of Mary as proposed by the Roman Catholic Church has become increasingly disturbing as of late so I decided to undertake a study on who she really is. My true concern is for those Catholics who pray to or through Mary and see her as a spiritual guide in their relationship to Jesus.

As I studied the Catholic beliefs of Mary I tried to have an open mind on behalf of my many devout Catholic friends who openly accept that Mary has and can visit via “apparitions” and that she should have a major part in the daily prayers of a follower of Christ. So like I said I opened my mind but what I found in my research was continually disturbing, the things that “Mary” said and instructed were continually anti or extra Biblical. Also the many ways in which she is recorded appearing and shining, it is all very strange. But don’t take my word for it after all, what is man’s opinion compared to God’s Word right?

Who do Catholic’s say Mary is?

“With her yes, Mary opened the door of our world to God Himself; she became the living ark of the covenant in whom God took flesh, became one of us and pitched His tent among us”
(“Saved by Hope,” by Pope Benedict XVI #49).

“O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
(Miraculous Medal Prayer)

She is titled “…the mighty Mother of God “new Eve ”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church (971)&(975))

“The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection. ”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church (974))

“The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin”
Pope Pius IX, December 8, 1854

Approaching Jesus Directly

In conversations with Catholic friends of mine I often discuss the relevance of Mary in their daily devotions and relationship with God. The usual response that I have received from many different Catholics is “If we want to know Jesus what better person is there to go to but His own mother? Mary simply leads us to Jesus.”

The interesting thing is that this idea of “ping-ponging” (as I call it) off of someone to get to Christ is present in Judaism and some overly religious Christians. In Judaism you could only be forgiven of sins if it was by the Priest’s sacrifice also prophets were the designated individuals that delivered the “Thus says the Lord” messages to the people of God. Many Catholics place Mary in the place that the priest held to the Jews, they need her in order to get to God/Christ, this however is what was done away with when Jesus’s death ripped the veil in the temple. In some Christians minds their relationship with Christ consists of church attendance to hear a nice sermon from the pastor and personal revelations from God seem to be reserved for only those elect or of high positions in the church. This mindset is also present in the Catholic history where the Roman Catholic Church thought it inappropriate and dangerous for the common people to read the Word of God. To prevent this they chained the Bible to the church podium and did not allow the Bible to be translated in to a common language. Only the Priests and select people could read, understand, and interpret the Word. In my mind that is why the dark ages were considered dark. We can approach God directly because of the New Covenant, and we can read the Word personally and receive correction on interpretation/general revelation from the Holy Spirit.

Thankfully under the New Covenant we can:

• Know Christ personally
• Ask and receive complete forgiveness of sins from Jesus
• Approach God because of Jesus’s atonement
• Hear God’s voice through the Holy Spirit in you

A Christian does not need a middle man, a messenger, or a representative to know God. Instead, Jesus’s work paved the path for us to approach God. It’s on Christ’s behalf that we can come to God and be in his presence unlike under the Old Covenant. The impassable valley of sin was annulled by the bridge of the cross thus we can enter in to eternal life and be one with Him now in this life.

However a problem arises when one believes they can only receive forgiveness by asking a human to ask for them, or when their only reading / revelation of scripture is from another man. This is counterproductive of the work of Christ on the cross because He died so that we can come to God. People who form doctrines that undo a personal relationship with God are in a sense mending up the veil that Jesus tore in the temple at His death.

Activities of the Holy Spirit

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Is it a mysterious force of God, is it personal, and if so what role does He play? The Holy Spirit is often thought of as a mysterious fog around God’s throne, or an impersonal force that exudes from God somehow in to the universe. Or that it shows up an random times to do certain things we can’t.
The centuries of confusion about the Spirit of God comes from peoples lack of knowledge of the Word of God. I hope you are as surprised as I was after reading this complete list to find that the Spirit of God is much more active in our lives than I had thought (and I’m a charismatic so that’s saying a lot!)
I wrote this list to refute those religious mindsets mentioned before and show that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and He is just as active and personal as the other 2 thirds of God’s being. Let’s look at all He does for us.

Hovered over the Earth before day 1 of creation (Gen 1:2)

Was breathed in to Adam to make Him a living soul (Gen 1:27, Job 33:4)

Came upon Mary to conceive Jesus (Luk 1:35)

Moved as a loud wind in the upper room during Pentecost (Acts 2:2)

Brings hope (Rom 15:13)

Sanctifies (Rom 15:16)

Justifies (1The 3:16)

Teaches (1 Cor 2:13)

Instructs (Acts 1:2, 13:2,4, 16:6)

Leads the sons of God (Rom 8:14)

Yearns jealously (Jam 4:5)

Convicts the world of sin (John 16:8)

Seals us to the promise (Eph 1:13, 1Cor 1:22)

Gives joy (1 Ths 1:6, Acts 13:52)

Makes us truly alive (1Pet 3:18)

Washes and regenerates us (Tts 3:5)

Has power (Rom 15:13, Micah 3:8)

Gives power (Acts 1:8)

Gives wisdom (Exo 31:3, Dan 5:14)

Gives understanding (Exo 31:3)

Gives knowledge (Exo 31:3)

Gives skill in arts and craftsmanship (Exo 31:3, 35:31)

Empowers us to expel demons (Mat 12:28)

Comforts (Acts 9:31)

Reveals the mystery of Christ (Eph 3:2-5)

Led Jesus to the wilderness (Mat 4:1, Mar 1:12, Luke 4:1)

Enables one to truly say Jesus is Lord (1Cor 12:3)

Confesses that Jesus is Lord (1Jhn  4:1)

Searches the deep things of God (1Cor 2:10)

Helps us understand things from God (1Cor 2:10)

Knows the things of God (1Cor 2:11)

Forms and writes us (2Cor 3:3)

Descended like a dove (Mat 3:16)

Is a witness to salvation (Acts 5:32)

Gives the love of God (Rom 5:5)

Is our helper (John 14:26, 15:26)

Is received or given (Acts 2:38, 5:32, 8:15,17, 10:47, 19:2, Rom 5:5, 1Ths 4:8)

Is given to those who ask (Luke 11:13, Acts 8:15)

Is given by laying on hands (Acts 8:17,18, 19:6)

Is connected to the gospel (1Ths 1:5)

Is given by God (1Ths 4:8)

Is from God (1Cr 2:12)

Speaks by people (Mat 10:20, Mark 12:36, 13:11, Acts 1:16, 21:11, 28:25, Heb 3:7, 2Pe 1:21)

Gives boldness to speak Gods Word (Acts  4:31)

Gives utterance for other tongues (Acts 2:4, Acts 19:6)

Allows one to prophecy (Luke 1:67, Acts 19:6, 1Sam 10:10, 19:20)

Allows us to see visions (Acts 7:55, Rev 4:2, 17:3, 21:10, Eze 8:3, 11:24)

Enables us to do signs and wonders (Rom 15:19)

Is the source or giver of Spiritual gifts (Heb 2:4)

Has communion with us (2 Cor 13:14)

Can be grieved (Eph 4:30, Isa 63:10)

Can be lied to (Acts 5:3)

Can be resisted (Acts 7:51)

Dwells in us (2Ths 1:14, 2Tts 1:14, Ps 51:11, 1Jhn 3:24)

Elects overseers (Acts 20:28)

Bears witness (Rom 8:16, 9:1, 1 John 5:6-8)

His blasphemies will not be forgiven (Mat 12:31, Luk 12:10)