HAMMERS AND NAILS

Having Trouble…

 My wife likes to say, “To a hammer, everything is a nail”.  In other words, your perspective can determine, limit or cloud your perception and understanding.  So it is with the Bible.

A certain preacher of a small church I used to know, would explain his lack of understanding of the Bible by saying, “There are many interpretations of the Bible”.  You see, because he didn’t understand the Bible, he incorrectly assumed it was the same for everyone (ignorance is his “hammer”).

His excuse or explanation for his ignorance was “there are many interpretations” and who can know?  So, his understanding or lack therof is as good as anyone’s understanding.  In other words, just do what seems right to you.  (This is his “nail”, which he would bang at it with is “hammer of ignorance”).

While it is true that no one (except God) understands all the mystery’s of God, we can know and understand some things about God and His Word.  But, it still requires the correct perspective to get the right understanding.

The Christian Church today, for example, is very little like the Christian Church of the Apostles, primarily because our perspectives have changed.  Some will say that we are more enlightened now or that technologies have changed or that the times are different now.  THESE ARE HAMMERS!

The Bible says, God and His Word never change.

Let me cite an example of HOW and WHY our perspectives and understanding of Church and the Bible has changed.

Church buildings did not appear until about the year 300 AD.  For more than two centuries, Christians worshiped in small groups.  (See “Pagan Christianity” by Frank Viola and George Barna)

People began using church buildings around 300 AD because Emperor Constantine built one for convenience, organization, and control.  He built it because he became a Christian, so the story goes.  But, as an Emperor, he also built it as a public display and a monument and constructed it to maintain order, show grandeur and to intimidate the audience by these things

“In time, the church as an organized religion began the construction of sacred buildings with special physical (pulpit, pews, balconies) and cultural trappings (special priests, choirs, incense).

“Aside from the unchristian origins of these developments, there was the onset of the high cost of such religious overhead. It is estimated the value of church real estate as over $230 billion (that was before the financial crisis of 2008). Mortgages and maintenance requires a substantial portion of the $50 to $60 billion churches garner from tithes and offerings.

What makes the traditional Sunday morning worship sequence interesting is the origins of the familiar service outline.  Aside from the pagan origins, they note the missed opportunity for spiritual transformation that could occur in a more active and participative format.

The next pillar to fall is the holy sermon, which has its roots in Greek oratory. They note the limited examples of speeches in the Old Testament and New Testament before suggesting how the contemporary sermon hinders growth.  They also point to research on the ineffectiveness of sermons.

Where did the pastor come from?”.  Not surprisingly, the notion of a professional clergy caste does not come from scripture. The authors advocate the priesthood of all believers and demonstrate the problems inherent in a pastor-driven church. Not only do pastors and their families suffer from the stress created by the contemporary position but talented believers also suffer from inhibited spiritual growth.

But, the greatest damage inflicted by this HAMMER approach, is what it has done to the average Christian’s understanding of the Gospel and how to apply it to their own lives.  This new-found ignorance has created an expanding catastrophic failure within the Church.

 Here is an example:

 “WOMEN, SUBJECT YOURSELVES TO YOUR HUSBANDS – In Everything”

Now, be honest.  It’s just you and me here.  Well, actually, it’s just you.  But, tell me, does the title of this article get under your skin just a little, especially  if you are a woman and/or a wife?

And, does this title make you a little nervous if you are a man and/or a husband?

If you are irritated or skittish, the devil is smiling – and because I said the ‘devil is smiling’, you might even be a little bit more annoyed or a little bit more nervous, right?

Your perspective is determining your understanding.  It is the HAMMER and NAIL idom!

This title and what it represents is a big issue in marriages and relationships today. and, it is grossly misunderstood.  As the result, many marriages are struggling or falling apart.  And, many households with both parents are under constant emotional strain and single parent households are under even greater stress.

(This article is meant to give the reader a Biblical view of the stresses on the nuclear family and how to counter those stresses. https://whitestone2020.com/wives-submit-its-not-what-you-think/

If you want a detailed secular study of the causes and cures. you will have to go elsewhere.  This will be an unfiltered Biblical view.  Either way, the causes are complex and varied – and destructive. https://whitestone2020.com/wives-submit-its-not-what-you-think/)

IT’S UP TO YOU

It’s up to you to read, study, pray and apply the Biblical principals presented in this article.  But, properly done, the results can be like magic – no, scrub that: the results  are far more than magic – they are miraculous.

This whole mess of subverting God’s design for the family started early in creation.   TO WIT:

THE RULE:

Genesis 2:16  “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”

 THE HAMMER:

1Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really<mh637, 3588=””> said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will [a]become like God, knowing good and evil.”

 THE REBELLION (THE NAIL):

Genesis 3:6  “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate

THE RESULTS:

Genesis 3:16  “To the woman God said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

17 “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; With hard labor you shall eat from it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; Yet you shall eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

23 “therefore the LORD God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”

You can spin this any way you want, but, the truth is (1) Eve listened to Satan and disobeyed God and suffered the curse of sin (2) Adam listened to Eve’s bad advice, and disobeyed God and suffered the curse of sin, (3) All of humankind suffers the curse of sin which is death, disease, poverty, wars and a plethora of evil because they defied God and followed this Satanic pattern for their lives.

THE REMEDY

GOD’S PATTERN FOR MARRIAGE (Relationships)

Genesis 2:15  “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. 16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”

18 “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “At last this is bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called ‘woman,’ Because she was taken out of man.” 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.”

Over the many centuries man has defined and redefined relationships and particularly the relationship of marriage and family.  But, it was the Israelite Jew who, in an attempt to defined marriage according to God’s laws, defined marriage as a covenant relationship.  The most recent description can be found in

THE RULE RESTATED

Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”

Ephesians 5:25  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 o that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; 29for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30because we are parts of His body. 31 FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, as for you individually, each husband is to love his own wife the same as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 6:1  “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 SO THAT IT MAY TURN OUT WELL FOR YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH. 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

There have been mountains of books written on these matters, most so confusing and convoluted, that they sit on shelves gathering the dust of neglect.  And, this article may be headed for the same dustbin, unless you read it and follow these same simple instructions AND RECEIVE THIS MIRACLE FROM GOD!

GOD’S HAMMER (God’s Perspective):

For us to get our perspective correct so our understanding and application is right, we must first accept and know that the Word of God is True.  It is His very Breath and His Mind for you on all matters concerning life.  It is the only True Wisdom known to creation.  It is supremely Prophetic, after all, It (He) “created the heavens and the earth and all thy contain”.  Once you abide in this Word and this Word abides in you It will manifest the truth to you and through you!

Second, accept and know that the Word of God is causative and creative.  Know and accept that the Word of God accomplishes the very matters it is sent to accomplish.

GOD’S NAIL

You must drive this “nail” home in your own mind, soul and spirit.  The results will be “the blood of the Lamb over your life and the word of your testimony” in your life.

I cannot adequately explain nor can I adequately emphasize the importance of getting this right.  Neither, can I adequately explain how to solve this puzzle. But, I do know that unless you try, you will not attain God’s provision.  And, I do know that “once I was blind, but now I see”.  My vision isn’t 20/20, but, but that is to be expected and it is okay, because “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and w hat the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7

Believe it!  Do it!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young