BIBLE STUDY

Are you ‘immortal’?

Just What Is
MAN?
See page at page 8

Vol. 2 No.1 January 2009

Why Be
Religious? Meanings of
W hen we look around us at
the pain, suffering and
chaos created
religion, it’s natural to ask the
question, “Why be religious at all?”
by

To tell you the truth, religion makes

LIFE
me sick. I’m sick of religious wars,
martyrdom, murder, mayhem,
homicide bombings, enslavement,
torture, and suffering – all created in
the name of God.
And when it comes to the
Churches of God Pod, I’m sick of the
internal squabbling, the marking,
disfellowshipping, law suits, thought
police monitoring, and people having
to sneak around not being overheard
or seen with other people. It’s all
or human beings, created in the image of God, life has many meanings or

nonsense. It’s nonsense that anyone
should have divorced because their
mate preferred to attend a different
spin off Church of God than they did.
Yet it has happened.
It’s nonsense that ministers
should be out to build personal
ecclesiastical empires by coveting the
tithe and creating cults of personality
around themselves. Yet it keeps on
occurring.
None of these things is a
manifestation of love. Yet love
should be the primary motivating
force for anyone connected with the
true God. After all, the apostle John
wrote, “Whoever does not love does
not know God, because God is love”
(Turn to page 2)
F
purposes – all of them in some sense profound. Yet, for some, human life
is pointless – a mere chemical existence driven by the blind, intelligence-
free “forces” of evolution. This approach leads only to the emptiness of
mere humanism – man beginning and ending with himself.
For a humanist, meaning is decided on an individual basis and it is whatever
one says it is. If a hundred humanists get together and reach a consensus on
meaning, it’s still arbitrary. Scientific humanism decides all on the basis of science
which is limited to the empirical.
The Christian operates on the basis of several assumptions (all of which of
course are challenged by anti-Christians). First, he or she believes that God exists
(Hebrews 11:6) and that He actively responds to those who make a real effort to
seek Him (same verse). God’s responses, whenever they happen, are proof enough
of His existence for those who experience them. (Turn to page 3…)
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Why Be Religious.,.? From Page 1
(I John 4:8). The apostle Paul wrote,
“Make love your aim…” (I Corinthians
14:1, Moffatt). The Berkeley version
translates it, “Make love your great
quest…” Jesus taught that the second
great commandment was to “Love your
neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
He said that that is what the Bible is all
about – loving God and loving neighbor
(verse 40).
Why then isn’t so much of
religion about love but rather hate? Is
the manifestation of love the “great
quest” and goal of the Church? Or is the
energy of the Church going into other
things – i.e. works of the flesh
(Galatians 5:19-21). What do we see
most visibly manifested in the Churches
of God – expressions of carnality or the
fruit of the Spirit? How much love is
there (Galatians 5:22)? After all, love is
the first fruit of the Spirit. How much
joy? How much peace? How much
kindness and goodness? Think long and
hard about it. Something is clearly
wrong.
Why can’t brothers and sisters
in Christ sit down as brethren and,
prayerfully, led by the Holy Spirit, solve
the problem of who, if anyone, gets to
publish Herbert Armstrong’s books?
Paul wrote, “If any of you has a dispute
with another, dare he take it before the
ungodly for judgment instead of before
the saints” (I Corinthians 6:1).
The idea of lawsuits going back
and forth between Churches of God is
obscene. Why spend the illegitimately
collected tithe money of the brethren on
such ugliness? Isn’t there a more godly
way to resolve such disputes?
Of course I realize that all these
things arise out of the modern
distortions of what the Church is
supposed to be in the first place. To
address the issue of lawsuits between
brethren, one must first examine all of
the presuppositions upon which they are
launched. Who is the true Church these
days? Who really represents God and
who represents the devil? Who teaches
sound doctrine and who does not? Who
are the white hats and who are the black
ones? At some point the discussion
descends into incoherent gibberish.
As I’ve been saying a lot lately,
the enemies of the Christian faith
couldn’t care less about our internal
squabbles and doctrinal distinctions.
They see us either as “Crusaders” or
disrupting influences in the kind of
societies their elites are trying to build.
Whether communists of fanatical
Moslems, they will persecute us, torture
us, enslave us, jail us, and kill us,
simply because we bear the name of
Christ. For the political Left in this
country, Christians are the only group it
is politically correct to persecute and
practice “hate speech” against. They
view us all as untouchables.
Light or Darkness?
Jesus taught us that his followers are
supposed to be the light of the world –
but how much light are we shedding
these days? What does our example say
about the worth of the Christian
lifestyle? Can we, with a straight face,
tell the world that our way of life is
better than it’s if we are filled with
conflict and turmoil over everything
that comes along? Are we as
individuals, or denominations, making
things better wherever we have
influence – or worse? Do we have
happier marriages, more obedient
children, better-kept homes, and good
reputations on our jobs? Are we part of
the solution, or part of the problem? Do
non-Christians see in us the answers to
life’s issues? Do they see the power of
God manifested? Do they see the love
of God shed abroad in our hearts? What
do they see?
I have to confess that in the
past I have embraced many wrong ideas
about what it means to be a Christian in
the modern world. One by one, I’ve had
to jettison those. I’ve had to realize that
the Christian faith is personal more than
it is corporate. It isn’t really about
hammering people about right doctrine.
It isn’t about building one’s life around
the activities of a leader or of a
denomination. It isn’t about tithing,
feast going or even Sabbath-keeping.
It’s about learning how to love
God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).
It’s about learning how to fill up one’s
life with good works – works that
distribute the love of God in the real
world (Romans 5:5, I Peter 2:12, I
Timothy 6:18, Ephesians 2:10). It’s
about being filled with the Holy Spirit
(Ephesians 5:18) and producing its
fruits in abundance Galatians 5:22-23,
John 15). It’s about preaching the
Gospel and making disciples for and of
Yeshua ha Mashiach (Matthew 28:19-
20).
If the Church – and the
Churches of God Pod – is to become a
real light to the world, it’s going to have
to repent of doing the works of darkness
begin actively pursuing the works, fruit
and manifestations of the Spirit. The
time, apparently, is short. The night is
coming on during which time it will be
increasingly more difficult to do the
works of God. The darkness is coming
on strong and the light of the Church is
flickering. The Church is being attacked
by it’s own “axis of evil” – Militant
Islam, communism and the political
Left. At the practical level, the Left is
doing more damage to freedom of
religious speech in this and other
Western countries than any other
source. As the political Left gears up for
the next Presidential campaign, the
religious Right is being targeted for a
campaign of relentless demonization.
Every conservative Christian from the
President on down will be characterized
as a fanatic – akin to the Islamic
fanatics that seek to destroy our culture.
This is not the time for the Church to
confirm the worst charges of its
enemies. It is a time for repentance, and
a major paradigm shift. It is time to
begin seeking to build on common
ground, rather than dividing over
differences. It is a time to seek the Holy
Spirit in greater measure. It is a time to
restudy the Scriptures and learn just
what it is that God really expects of us
as individual Christians. It is a time to
build faith for the difficult days ahead.
The Church has few friends in the
world, and it can’t even live in harmony
within itself. That has to change. We’re
shooting ourselves in the collective foot.
We need a broader, deeper
view of what it means to be a Christian
in the modern world. We may soon be
called upon to “put up or shut up” when
it comes to our faith. Will we be up to
that ultimate challenge?/ Brian Knowles
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Meanings of Life…From page 1
The Christian also openly acknowledges that he or she
proceeds on the basis of faith, without which one cannot
please God (Hebrews 11:6a). Faith is not blind: it is a
leap in the direction of the evidence. Our sense of
meaning comes from a synthesis of factors including
common sense, sound science and Scripture. As we “do
theology” (faith seeking understanding), meaning
emerges. For Christians, meaning is not humanistically
derived – it comes from above, from God.
Common Sense
Does it make any sense that an omniscient, omnipotent
Creator created the universe out of whimsy – for no
good reason? Psalm 8 offers us some thoughts that lead
to a sense of purpose in creation: “When I consider your
heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the
stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you
are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower the heavenly beings [Elohim]
and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him
ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything
under his feet…” (Psalm 8:3-6 NIV).
The universe, as we observe it, is God’s “work” –
the product of his mind and his hands. Man, created in
the divine image, stands at the pinnacle of creation.
Despite man’s biological commonality with the animals,
only man bears the stamp of the divine image. Man is
placed a little below the divine, but far above all other
material life. Man was created to rule or have dominion
over the whole of creation.
Need for Redemption
From the outset in Eden, mankind – in the form of Adam
and Eve – violated the divine trust through disobedience.
The first couple set the precedent for the whole of
humanity. The universality of sin necessitated a divine
redemptive plan. God is willing to forgive upon
repentance. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins in our
stead. That’s good news! Those of us who have
experienced repentance and redemption have been
granted the privilege of spreading that news. It’s called
preaching the Gospel – a collective purpose of the
church (Matthew 28:19-20).
The Gospel is about what God has done in the
face of Mankind’s sinfulness – it is “the Gospel of God” (I
Thessalonians 2:2, 8, 9). It involves His redemptive plan
in which those who return to God are invited to
participate. Both Israel and the Church have been called
upon by God to be lights to the world (Isaiah 42:6;
Matthew 5:14 etc.). Whether we are Jews or Christians –
or both – we are called to live exemplary lives. This is
one meaning of our lives.
Imitating God
The way to exemplary living is to imitate God (Matthew
5:48). If you’re a parent, you may recall turning around to
see your small son imitating your walk, or you may have
observed him standing on a chair in the bathroom
“shaving,” little face all lathered up. This is what our
Abba – Father or “Daddy” wants us to do. Jesus did it
perfectly (John 14:9). We can learn to imitate God by
thinking about what Jesus said about him, and by
following Jesus’ own pattern.
The apostle John addresses this issue:
“Whoever claims to live in him must walk [behave] as
Jesus did,” (I John 2:6). Paul wrote, “Be imitators of God,
as dearly beloved children, and live a life of love, just as
Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant
offering and sacrifice to God,” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Spiritual Boot Camp
For most Christians, this life is no cake walk – it’s Boot
Camp for eternity. A quick reading of II Corinthians 11
vividly depicts what Paul went through for the sake of the
Gospel. Hebrews 11:32-38 adds to the larger picture.
Paul likened his life to that of an Olympic-style athlete
whipping his body into shape for competition (I
Corinthians 9:24-27).
The true Christian life is full of tests and obstacle
courses. We are tempted by sin, tested by trials,
challenged by illness and sometimes threatened by
torture, imprisonment and martyrdom. We strive, through
the power of God and Jesus’ own example, to overcome
all obstacles. This too is part of our purpose.
World, Flesh & Devil
One of the purposes of this life for Christians is to follow
Christ’s example in overcoming the world, our own flesh,
and the devil – that is to engage in spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6:10-18 vividly describes the nature of that
warfare. In this war, our enemy uses live ammo!
The name Ha Satan (Hebrew) means “the
Adversary.” He opposes everything that is of God: the
Creation itself; mankind; Israel; Christ and the Church.
When you see these things under attack, you can
justifiably suspect the hand of the enemy. Only the
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power and authority of God keep him from utterly
destroying the human race. Murder is in his heart (John
8:44). He is the ultimate anti-Semite and anti-Christ.
Destruction and misery are in his ways and in the ways
of those who follow him.
Scripture is replete with examples of the
behaviors of Satan, his demonic armies, and his human
agents. It behooves all of us to study the tactics of our
most deadly enemy, recognize them in the real world,
and learn how to defeat them in Christ. Satan may
actually find ways to kill us through war, genocide,
sickness or other means; but if we die in Christ, that is
not a defeat. Jesus taught, “Do not be afraid of those
who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be
afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in
hell [Gehenna],” (Matthew 10:28).
Study 1 Corinthians 15 for the big picture – just
as Jesus defeated death through resurrection, so shall
his people. Satan can kill but he cannot make alive.
Jesus came that we might have life for “God is the God
of the living” (cf. Matthew 22:32b), not of the dead. Just
remember this one working principle: the things of Satan
tend toward destruction (Revelation 9:11), sickness
(Luke 13:11), deception (John 8:44; II Thessalonians
2:9-12) and death (John 8:44). Everything about God
tends toward life, healing and redemption. God forgives
all our sins and heals all our diseases (Psalm 103:1-5). It
is God’s wish that no one perish, but that all should
return to God in repentance and find redemption (II Peter
3:9b). Our God is not the author of “cultures of death”
but rather of life.
Internal Struggles
Another purpose is to bring under subjection the drives
of our own flesh. The drives themselves are not evil –
they are built in by the Creator (Genesis 1:31). God
ordained heterosexual marriage as the means of
reproduction. No sex drive, no mankind after the first
generation. Yet God commanded the first couple to have
sex and reproduce. He did not ordain indiscriminate sex
with everything that moved!
All human drives were given by God – along with
“rules of usage.” When we violate those rules, we “miss
the mark” and sin. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6;
23). We must rule over the drives of our flesh through
the power of the Spirit of God. Even the mighty apostle
Paul daily wrestled with pulls of his flesh and mind
(Romans 7:14-24). When he failed and fell, he rose up
again and relied on the grace of God to get him through
(verses 24:25).
Overcoming the downward pull of our own nature
and developing the mind and nature of God is a major
purpose of life. Despite the battles with his own flesh,
Paul felt that he was successfully developing the mind of
Christ (I Corinthians 2:16 etc.). He was learning to think
like God and act like Christ.
To do good in the world
The human offspring of the devil do all the harm in the
world they can get away with. God’s children do all the
good they can get away with. Consider Paul’s
admonition to the congregations in Galatia: “Do not be
deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows,
that he will also reap [Christian version of “Karma”]. For
he who sows to his flesh will of his flesh reap corruption,
but he who sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap
everlasting life.
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for
in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all,
especially to those who are of the household of faith,”
(Galatians 6:7-10, NKJV).
Doing good involves meeting people at their real
points of need. Note for example: “He who despises his
neighbor sins; but he who has mercy on the poor, happy
is he,” and: “He who oppresses the poor reproaches his
Maker, but he who honors him has mercy on the needy,”
(Proverbs 14: 21 & 31).
Righteous Tabitha (Dorcas) was returned to life
after dying to continue making tunics for the needy (Acts
9:36-39).
Jesus himself set the example when he “went
about doing good and healing all who were oppressed of
the devil…” (Acts 10:38). Jesus loved people. He
provided them with food and drink, with healing and
deliverance, with sound teaching and good counsel, and
with compassion and affection. He was able to do all this
because “God was with him” (ibid.). In love, Jesus gave
for us the greatest sacrifice: his own life. We are called
to imitate Jesus’ good works and perhaps even exceed
some of them (John 14:12).
The good works that we do must be done with
humility and a servant’s heart (Matthew 23:11-12 &
Matthew 10:15). And we must seek in them God’s glory,
not our own. Christian writer Warren Wiersbe expressed
it beautifully when he wrote, “Ministry takes place when
divine resources meet human needs through loving
channels to the glory of God,” On Being a Servant, p. 3.
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 As Christians, we do not look for any reward or
recognition for our good works in this life (Matthew 6:1-
4). We do them to follow the pattern of our Lord, and
because they need to be done – not to earn salvation or
any human payoff. Jesus admonished, “Be careful not to
do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men to be seen of
them…” Ostentatious giving is not the way to go
(Matthew 6:1-4).
Justice & Equity
Our world is chock full of injustice and corruption at high
levels. We have seen truckloads of it in recent times with
the scandals involving Wall Street, the government and
voter fraud. Sadly, we have also seen in various
manifestations of the Church with its sexual and financial
scandals.
The true child of God must rise above this
ignoble behavior. We are called to a higher standard.
This is exemplified in some verses in Psalm 82:
“How long will you defend the unjust and show
partiality to the wicked? Defend the cause of the weak
and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and
oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them
from the hand of the wicked,” (Psalm 82:2-4).
This is a mandate for every godly person on
planet Earth. If you want an example of a Christian who
put her money where her mouth was, study the life of
Corrie Ten Boom. In Proverbs we read: “Rescue those
being led away to death; hold back those staggering
toward slaughter…” (Proverbs 24:11). At great risk to
herself, Ten Boom lived these verses when she rescued
precious lives from Hitler’s ovens during WWII.
One of the meanings of a godly life, whether it be
Jewish, righteous Gentile (Noachide) or Christian, is to
produce justice and equity where there is none. It is to
provide hope in the face of hopelessness. It is to set
captives free (Luke 4:18). It is to cancel out the effects of
the devil’s causes. John wrote, “The reason that the Son
of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil,”
(I John 3:8b). It is our duty to continue our Lord’s work.
As we read earlier, our true enemies “are not
flesh and blood, but wicked spirits in high places…” – the
spirits that are behind so much of the evil that is in this
world. [Note: for background on this, study the following:
Genesis 3:1-16; Job 2:1-10; Daniel 10:12-21; Luke 8:26-
37; Luke 13:11 & Luke 4:18. Read also God at War by
Gregory A. Boyd and The Twilight Labyrinth by George
Otis Jr.]
Quest for Divine Reality
For some, God is an elusive, unfathomable mystery, at
best a mere intellectual abstraction utterly beyond the
ken of mere mortals. From the fourth century to the
twenty-first out theologians continue to debate the nature
of the invisible God. Is He a trinity, a binity or a
singularity? One thing we do know: God is a Spirit (John
4:24) and no mortal truly understands the nature of spirit.
It is beyond the realm of human analysis.
While man seeks to comprehend that which is
beyond his comprehension, God seeks man. More
importantly, He seeks relationship with man. In Moses’
day, God commanded, “And let them make me a
sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25; 8).
God sought to live with, and in, his people. From Adam’s
day till our own, God has been pursuing relationship with
man. It is man who through ignorance and sin that has
alienated him from his loving, attentive creator. God told
Israel, through his prophet Isaiah, “…your iniquities have
separated you from your God, and your sins have
hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear…”
(Isaiah 59:2). This is a working principle of spiritual life:
sin and uncleanness separate us from God, repentance
and cleanness draws us near.
An important passage on this meaning of life is
found in Acts 17:26-27, “And he has made from one
[blood] every nation of men…so that they should seek
the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for him and
find him, though he is not far from each one of us; for in
him we live and move and have our being…”
We might think of the movie image of two lovers
searching for each other on a crowded New York street.
Suddenly they spot each other. They run toward each
other, make contact, and swing around in joyful embrace
for they have found each other!
God and man were meant for each other, but
Satan and sin have come between them. For the
relationship to be restored, they must be removed for
they are a contaminating influence. Seeking relationship
with the living God is the greatest meaning of human life.
David, king of Israel, had a passion for God. For
him, God was no mere intellectual abstraction but a
living reality, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord
Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of
the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living
God,” (Psalm 84: 1-2).
Consider also Psalm 42:1-2, “As the deer pants
for streams of water, so my soul pants for you O Lord.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go
and meet with God?”
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 Being a godly person is not primarily about
participating in denominational religion – it is about our
vertical relationship with God and how that is reflected in
our horizontal relationships with fellow man (Matthew
22:34-40).
Summing Up
Human life has many purposes and meanings, all of
them reflecting the will of God in creating us. We are
here to reflect the divine image and to exercise faithful
stewardship over the whole of creation. We are raw
recruits in God’s “Boot Camp for Eternity.” We are called
to wrestle with issues of good and evil, and to overcome
the latter.
Like our leader, Yeshua, we are light and salt in
a darkening, spiritually flavorless world. We must master
the world, the flesh and the devil on an ongoing basis.
Collectively, we are here to disseminate the good
news about what God has done. We are also expected
to do all the good we can get away with, all the while
BIBLE STUDY:
Are you an "immortal soul"?...
Just What is Man???
Sometime back in eternity the Creator God conceived a
plan by which He would share the magnificence of His
unending existence. Because He was "outside time", He
was able to look down the ages and see the course He
must pursue to achieve this end.
The result was mankind.
Just who is this creature called "man"? Is he (and she) a
mere cosmic accident? Will we live forever? What is our
nature? Is all this suffering necessary? Why, on earth,
are we here? Did God make a mistake?
The mystery of who and why we exist has puzzled man
since we first appeared. Philosophers and ordinary
mortals have wondered. We observe that man is the
pinnacle of the natural world. Our researches prove
there's a quantum difference between us and our
nearest animal "relative". But why?
keeping it pretty much a secret. Another part of our
purpose is to produce justice where there is none. That
means helping the poor, the orphans, the widows and
the downtrodden. It means setting people free from
bondages, of which there are many. It means loving the
unloved.
A true Christian seeks to be an instrument of
God in the world, and to leave it a better place than he
found it. A child of God seeks to move ever closer to his
Father in humility, obedience, worship, praise and
relationship.
What is the Greatest?
1. Greatest handicap: fear 2. Greatest day: today 3.
Greatest mistake: giving up 4. Greatest stumbling block:
ego 5. Easiest thing to do: find fault 6. Greatest comfort:
work well done 7. Greatest need: common sense 8.
Greatest gift: forgiveness
There are myriad notions about man and his nature. To
some people, we just happened - a chance evolutionary
development not different in kind from the millions of
species that inhabit our planet. Other people - billions -
imagine they are a reincarnation from a previous life.
The established Christian religion teaches that within us
lies an "immortal soul" which will survive death in some
form (or place) or other.
This lesson seeks to present man's awesome purpose
as revealed in the Scriptures. We will see how we came
to be. We will blow aside the web of deceit that has
clouded man's understanding since we first walked the
earth.
Origin of Species?
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin was first
published in 1859. It reflected then-current esoteric
ideas, but is generally considered as the beginning of
the concept of the evolution of mankind.
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The position taken by Jesus Christ and the New
Testament in general is that mankind had its origin as a
direct creation by God. They quote liberally from the first
chapters of Genesis for their "world view" of origins. All
their hearers had this same concept.
The purpose of the Bible, and particularly the account of
creation in Genesis, is to explain who and why, not what
and when. The Theory of Evolution addresses what and
when, not who and why. Was there a time when there
were no "men". Everyone agrees yes! Are there men
now? Yes! So there must have been a "first" man! Our
purpose here is not primarily to discuss the numerous
variants of the Theory of Evolution and then to poke
holes in each one. The evolutionists already do that
themselves. Our purpose is to discuss the "who", usually
God (Gen. 1:1), and the "why", usually with the long term
purpose of "bringing many sons to glory" (Heb. 2:10).
The Theory of Evolution is only a theory. As with all
scientific theories, we use them where they are useful,
ignore them where they are not. Usually we ignore
Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Usually we use Newton's
Theories (his scientific "Laws") of motion, even though it
is straightforward to demonstrate that they are incorrect.
When it comes to digging up dinosaurs, the Theory of
Evolution may be useful. When it comes to thinking
about the meaning of life, that same Theory (as usually
presented) is next to useless.
How do Jesus and the Biblical writers perceive God's
role in the appearance of the first man?
- Jesus refers to mankind as having "a beginning" ...
Matthew 19:4
- and states that man and woman were "made" in the
beginning ... Mark 10:6
- the apostle Paul refers to "the first man", and names
him Adam, as does the Old Testament ... 1 Corinthians
15:45, Genesis 2:19 etc. Adam derives from a word
signifying rosy (cheek). It is often used for man,
mankind, and is related to earth. Eve (Heb. chavah)
signifies life-giving.
- According to the Bible, the structure of creation
presupposes a Designer. The testimony of creation
encodes a message about the divine Creator ... Psalm
19:1-4
William Paley - the 18th C. philosopher is regarded by
today's scientists as a scientific heretic. He maintained
that the natural world could be explained only by
presuming a Grand Designer. "The whole respiratory
system is utterly dependent on each of its parts: a defect
in just one and breathing becomes difficult or impossible.
It is all or nothing, which is why I find it difficult to believe
that the lungs could ever have evolved by trial and error
through the chance mutation of the many genes that
control their development. Surely someone designed
them to be the way they are?" He adds, "Increasingly I
am persuaded by Paley's arguments" [Dr Le Fanu:
Sunday Telegraph, 1996]
The notion of divine creation as opposed to the
evolutionary development of the human race is more
than mere biology or dogma. It encompasses our
approach to life itself.
- natural selection or the survival of the fittest is a
concept that runs contrary to the divine law of love. This
philosophy undergirds Hitler's justification for his "master
race" policies. [Evolution is a system in which] "the
message is always 'exploit your environment including
your friends and relatives so as to maximize our genes'
success" [George C. Williams, evolutionary biologist]
- the humanist philosophy of evolution leaves no room
for a divine Being, nor for life after death - the hope of
the Christian and indeed of nearly all of mankind ... I
Corinthians 15:12-19
- leave God out of human existence and there is no
purpose in life beyond what we accomplish here and
now. Leave God out, and we can do as we please - until
the inevitable Judgment ... Ecclesiastes 8:15, Luke
12:14-21
The scientific arguments for evolution need to be
constantly revised as old hypotheses are regularly
proved erroneous. Evolution has no sure answer to the
complexities of the living organism.
- God condemns those who are willingly ignorant of the
clear evidence in nature that He is Creator ... Romans
1:18-25. Rejection of self-evident truth (e.g., that design
requires a Designer) undermines logical thought
processes. If unchecked, this perversion will destroy
mankind.
- mankind is the pinnacle of God's direct creative acts.
All of creation is in support of and to benefit mankind ...
Genesis 1 & 2
- we are created not only with the general form of the
divine Being, but also to come into His spiritual image ...
Genesis 1:26, II Peter 1:4
The Living Soul
The idea that man harbors within him an element which
will never die is deeply entrenched in all the world's
"great religions". It is usually called "the immortal soul".
Views may vary about the origin of the soul and its
destiny - but the concept is burned into the subconscious
of every human being.
7
- literally billions - including perhaps the majority of New
Age believers and increasingly large number of
Christians - subscribe to the idea that their soul was
passed on from a prior existence, the concept of re-
incarnation. It is the general belief of the Eastern
religions.
- others (e.g., in Mormon teaching) believe they receive
a "fresh" pre-existing soul from God when they first draw
breath. Some mainstream theologians also held this
view (e.g., Origen). "Souls are immortal. as God Himself
is immortal and eternal" [Origen died c. 254 A.D.]
- Christians generally accept the immortal soul's
presence with no fixed view as to when it becomes part
of them. However, it has been a topic of dispute through
the centuries. Creationism for example, states God
creates a new soul for each at birth (Jerome, Calvin).
Traducianism teaches that the soul and body are
created by propagation (Tertullian, Leo, Luther). "I may
use the opinion of Plato when he declares 'every soul is
immortal'" [Tertullian]
The Lateran Council (1513) condemned to be punished
as heretics those who "...assert that the intellectual soul
is mortal". It was a life and death matter to believe this!
In our search for the truth, we clearly need to examine
the Scriptures to see if this concept of an immortal soul -
or indeed of an immortal human spirit - is there
confirmed. It is clear that within a couple of centuries of
Jesus Christ, the idea that the soul its immortal had
become firmly embedded in Christianity. Was it so from
the beginning?
When studying what may at first appear complex in the
Scriptures, it is helpful to first sketch out a doctrine using
apparently clear and unambiguous texts.
Man was created from the natural elements, from "the
dust of the ground" - earth. Into this complex physical
form God breathed "the breath of life". As a result man
became alive. As the KJV puts it, he "became a living
soul".
- man is formed from the material elements found in the
physical creation, just like the whole of the non-human
creation...Genesis 1:20, 24, 30; 7:21-22.
"It's important to carefully study the tests quoted in your
own Bible, and in context!"
- Together with the "breath of life" he became "a living
soul"...Genesis 2:7: "Then the Lord God formed man of
dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life: and man became a living soul."
The "breath of life" is simply air a mix of vital gases -
blown by God into Adam's lungs through his nose.
Without it we are dead flesh!
In the Old Testament soul is a translation of the Hebrew
nephesh. It is thus translated 428 times and translated a
further 180 or so times by other words. Nephesh is
variously translated: creature (e.g., Gen 1:21,24; 2:9),
dead body (e.g., Numbers 5:2; 21:11) beast (Leviticus
24:18), life (119 times), fish (Isaiah 19:10)
"Biologists now recognize that the formation of life is
altogether harder than they originally thought.... One of
the most radical suggestions...[is] that life began us a
form of clay" [1997 clipping]
- birds, fish, animals are often "living souls" [nephesh] in
the Scriptures. Do they also live beyond death?
Ecclesiastes 3:19-21.
- all return to dust ... Ecclesiastes 3:20, Genesis 3:19
- one of the clearest Bible texts emphatically declares
that immortality belongs only to God. Our doctrine of
man must be set against this backdrop ... I Timothy 6:15-
16: "...the King of kings and Lord of lords who alone has
immortality." Immortality here means 'deathlessness'.
Immortality is not our normal state, but is something that
must be 'put on' [I Corinthians 15:53, 54]
- the term "immortal soul" does not appear at all in the
Scriptures of the Old or New Testament.
- other direct statements declare "the soul [nephesh] that
sins shall die" ... Ezekiel 18:4, 20.
"The belief that the soul continues its existence after the
dissolution of the body...[is] nowhere expressly taught in
the Holy Scriptures" [Jewish Encyclopedia Art:
Immortality of the Soul]
"Later Christian thinkers tended to downgrade anything
physical and see the body as the prison of the soul.
However this is not a biblical idea. The Hebrews thought
of the human being as a unity, not as a body and soul."
(Peter Vardy and Mary Mills (Roman Catholics?), "The
Puzzle of the Gospels", 1997, Armonk, NY: M.E.
Sharpe, Inc. p. 201)
- Jesus held the same view ... John 3:16. Here he
contrasts eternal life and perishing - the terms are
opposites. Without Jesus Christ, (which is the normal
human condition), we will perish. When we have true
belief in him, we are given a life that will never end ... 1
John 5:11, 12
- when we sin, the pay-off is death. It is not "eternal life
in hell-fire". In contrast, through Jesus Christ we receive
the gift of eternal life ... Romans 6:23. Note that Jesus
said the soul [Gk. psuche=Heb nephesh] can be
destroyed in 'hell' [Matthew 10:28]
- since all of us have sinned, we all reap the death
penalty - unless we have repented and had our sin
covered by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
8
- note that the soul of Jesus was sacrificed, killed - and
his life blood poured out ...Isaiah 53:10-12, John 19:34,
Heb 9:22
- we learn from God's recorded Word that the 'life' [soul,
nephesh] is in the blood ... Leviticus 17:11, 14; Deut.
12:23
- the apostle Peter gave the remedy for sin. On the first
Christian Pentecost he told his hearers: "Repent and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit" ... Acts 2:38
- it is through this gift of the Holy Spirit that God shares
with us His immortality. God is [Holy] Spirit, and His
purpose is to make us His dwelling-place ... John 4:24,
Ephesians 2:22
- recall that this gift is available only to those who obey
God ... Acts 5:32
Why A Resurrection?
A Christian funeral usually includes the words "in sure
and certain hope of the resurrection" Why? What need is
there for a resurrection if true believers are "with Christ"
immediately they die? This, of course, is the established
view of mainstream Christianity. At death we either go to
'heaven' or to 'hell' (or, to the intermediate 'purgatory' of
Roman Catholic theology).
"In putting departed souls in heaven, hell or purgatory,
you destroy the arguments wherewith Christ and Paul
prove the resurrection... If the soul be in heaven what
cause is there for the resurrection?" [William Tyndale]
'Soul Sleep': Technically known as psychopannychy(!),
the term 'soul sleep' does not correctly express the Bible
teaching. The soul dies, but death itself is frequently
described as a 'sleep'. [Daniel 12:2, John 11:11-14
Matthew 27:52 etc]
It is a deadly mistake to assume that God will share
His immortality with those who refuse to obey Him.
However, in no way does this imply that salvation is
anything but God's unearned and unmerited gift to
us.
The Biblical view that man does not naturally have
immortality (an immortal soul) dovetails with the clear
teaching of Scripture that the entrance to the Kingdom of
God is by means of a resurrection. There's no place in
the Scriptures for disembodied spirits - apart from 'devils'
- in any location. The notion of such departed human
spirits is foreign to the Bible.
- death ends everything until God raises us from the
dead we have no memories, no knowledge of what
those still living are experiencing, no opportunity to
praise God...Psalm 6:5, 146:4, 104:23-30, Eccles 9:5,
Isaiah 63:16, Job 14:21
- but all mankind will be raised from the dead, each in a
particular order, to face God ... Hebrews 9:27, I
Corinthians 15:22-26, John 5:21-29
- for those who have repented of sin and been baptized,
this resurrection coincides with the return of Christ as
King of kings ... Colossians 3:4, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52,
Revelation 20:4-5. How God deals with those who lived
without having heard the true Gospel will he the subject
of another lesson.
- the idea of resurrection is also implicit in the Old
Testament ... Hebrews 11:17-19, Job 14:14-15, Psalm
16:9-10
- Daniel links the future "reward" for God's people with a
resurrection in a distant future - following a future time of
tribulation ... Daniel 12:1-3: "Many of them that sleep in
the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life
and some to shame and everlasting contempt."
- the LXX Greek version of the Old Testament (3rd cent
BC) uses the word aeonion for the Hebrew 'everlasting'
Jesus and the NT writers built on this. Eternal life: (Gk
aeonion = pertaining to the age). "What appears in the
English versions of the Bible as 'eternal life' or 'life
everlasting really means 'the life of the age to come'... It
is synonymous with the Kingdom of God... The chief
implication of 'aeonian life' is...life pertaining to the age
to come". [Alan Richardson Intro to the Theology of the
New Testament] A future lesson will discuss the
Kingdom of God and resurrection in more detail.
Occult Origins of the "Immortal Soul"
Virtually all mankind believes in some form of existence
immediately following death. The idea trails many ugly
concepts: returning to life as an inferior being,
concern about infants and harmless, but unconverted,
adults burning in eternal fire,
Christians in heaven seeing the horrendous suffering of
loved ones on earth or in the 'hell' as portrayed in
Dante's Inferno,
prayer to disembodied spirits of those who have 'passed
on', contact with the dead through mediums etc.
The notion of "praying to the saints" is an idea drawn
from occult sources. The Bible rejects the idea
throughout. The idea was common among the
Babylonians. They believed their 5000 or so 'gods' were
once heroes on earth.
"There is no suggestion in the OT of the transmigration
of the soul as an immaterial, immortal entity" [Marshall
Pickering Encyclopedia of the Bible v.2 2, art soul]
9
Given all this Scripture evidence that man is mortal and - mankind has swallowed this lie whole, and Satan, the
has to be given immortality (with conditions attached!) - occult power that seeks to thwart God's grand design for
how did the idea of an immortal soul become so widely mankind, has successfully deceived virtually the whole
accepted? human race in this as in so much else ... Revelation
12:9, I John 5:19, II Corinthians 4:4. "...the whole world
- tradition suggests that our first parents lived perfectly is in the power of the evil one"
for some seven years in Eden. [I John 5:19 RSV].
Then, according to the Plato's Thoughts On Immortality
Scriptures, their faith was What About the 'Spirit in
compromised by "the serpent" Death is defined by Plato (428-348 B.C.) as "the Man'?
... Genesis ch. 3 separation of the soul from the body"; but is not
the end of the soul. He believes in the Perceptive Bible students may
- this 'serpent' [Heb nachash, transmigration of souls from one living thing to wonder about the various
Gk ophis] is identified in the NT another, and in reincarnation, the rebirth of the references in Scripture to a
as "the Devil and Satan" ... soul in new bodies. In his book, the Phaedrus, he "human spirit". We have
Revelation 12:9, 20:2. The offers proof of the soul's immortality, by proving demonstrated by numerous
'king of Tyre' symbolizes Satan, the existence of gods from self-generating motion. clear passages that man's
once known as Lucifer (=light He claims that "All soul is immortal; for what is 'soul' is his physical life, and
bearer). Ezekiel tells us he was always in motion is immortal." How do we know doesn't survive death except by
once a created 'anointed that the soul is "always in motion?" Plato asserts a resurrection. So what about
cherub' present at God's that it is the nature of the soul to initiate its own this "spirit in man"?
throne. There will be a lesson changes, to be self-moving, rather than merely to
later in the Course on the be moved, and something that is self-moving "can Whatever it may be, the human
angelic world...see also Isaiah neither be destroyed nor come into being." spirit is not immortal. Let's see
14. what the Bible teaches about
based on The Philosopher's Lighthouse, the word used for 'spirit'
- he, the 'father of lies', library.thinkquest.org/18775/plato/mortp.htm (Hebrew/Aramaic ruach),
introduced the false idea that translated by a dozen or so
man is of himself immortal ... "But then, O my friends, he said, if the soul is English words in the KJV, and
Genesis 3:4, John 8:44 really immortal, what care should be taken of her, used some 380 times. The
not only in respect of the portion of time which is Greek equivalent (pneuma)
- God had warned our first called life, but of eternity! And the danger of appears in the NT a similar
parents that if they ate of a neglecting her from this point of view does indeed number of times.
particular tree (the 'tree of the appear to be awful. If death had only been the end
knowledge of good and evil') of all, the wicked would have had a good bargain - the words include both the
they would that day die. Did in dying, for they would have been happily quit not physical and the immaterial.
they? ... Genesis 2:15-17, 5:3- only of their body, but of their own evil together Their essential feature is that
5 with their souls. But now, as the soul plainly 'Spirit' is invisible - the Spirit of
appears to be immortal, there is no release or God, angels, wind, breath, the
salvation from evil except the attainment of the human spirit, the human mind,
- clearly, God was not speaking
highest virtue and wisdom. For the soul when on attitude etc.
of physical death. By their
her progress to the world below takes nothing with
disobedience, their
her but nurture and education; which are indeed
transgression of this divine - the human spirit is the aspect
said greatly to benefit or greatly to injure the
torah (= direction, teaching, of man with which God
departed, at the very beginning of its pilgrimage in
law), they sinned and would communicates and by which
the other world."
thus be denied aeonian we understand the world
Socrates in Plato's Phaedo, 107 in Jowett's
life...Romans 6:23,1 John 3:4, around us ... Romans 8:16, I
translation.
Hebrews 9:27 Corinthians 2:9-12
"The soul of man is immortal and
- only through repentance, - it is the 'spark of life' which
imperishable."
through ceasing to disobey divides life from death ...
Plato, The Republic,, Book X, 608-D
God as revealed in the Holy James 2:26, Ecclesiastes 12:7,
Scriptures, and through the Acts 7:59, Luke 23:46
acceptance of the shed blood of the Saviour Jesus
Christ to cover our sin, may any of us have that life of - the human spirit is an integral part of the whole man ...
the age to come. I Thessalonians 5:23

- Satan, man's adversary, sowed the subtle lie that man - animals, too, have a spirit, The original words are the
would live for ever, even when he disobeyed the Creator same (Heb. ruach) ... Ecclesiastes 3:18-22, Numbers
... Genesis 3:4 16:22, 27:16
10
- we may speculate that the human and animal spirit is a
product of the marvelously intricate nervous systems
with which each living creature is endowed. We share a
pattern, but with man as the pinnacle - alone capable of
rational thought, aesthetic appreciation, consciousness
of a world beyond the material, and the need to worship.
Man was created "in the image of God" with the capacity
to manage earth and all its resources ... Genesis 1:26-
30, 2:15.
- the spirit is capable of being depressed, revived, etc. It
is in process of being fashioned through our life
experiences ... Isaiah 57:15, Zechariah 12:1, Isaiah 64:8,
Judges 15:19, I Kings 21:5
- angels are also 'spirit'. Yet they are created beings. and
exist only as long as God permits Cherubs. too. are
created angelic beings Recall that we read Satan was
once 'an anointed cherub'...Colossians 1:16-17, Ezekiel
28:12-17, Hebrews 1:7,14
- no matter what our station in life every human being
who has lived, whether converted or unconverted, will be
called to account for our lives before God ... Matthew
12:36, Heb 9:27
- the functioning of our nervous system produces the
totality of the human persona - the whole person. Our
dominant traits, gifts, are special configurations of our
neurons determined by our genetic inheritance - musical
ability, physical traits, etc.
- God communicates with us, through the human spirit.
His special gifts (Gk. pneumatikoi derived from
pneuma=spirit) to His sons and daughters may well act
through the human spirit ...Romans 8:16, 1:11, I
Corinthians 12:1.
A typical worm or slug brain has twenty nerve cells
(neurons), a bee several thousand, a frog four million.
Mammals show a great leap - a cat has 100 million.
Human brains, however, ever, have ten billion intricately
interconnecting neurons - what has been described as
"the most complicated machine in the known universe''
One neurologist estimates the number of
interconnections at 'one followed by a million kilometers
of zeroes'!
The complex "artificial intelligence" of computers is
based on the neurological structure and function of the
brain.
The purpose of our existence is not the gratification and
cosseting of the self. God has put us here with purpose -
to develop into His spiritual image. This demands a
lifetime of experience Every thought, every word we
utter, every action contributes to the ultimate "form" of
our human spirit - our character.
Just when each of us will be given the opportunity to
perfect our character, through Christ, is God's choice.
But as a future lesson will reveal, ever human who has
lived will, in the end, have been given that opportunity.
Only by the yielding of our life to God, through Jesus
Christ who is the way to the Father, can that character
be complete. Through Him, we may receive the very
Spirit of God - our essential missing ingredient. Through
His Spirit, God can reside in us - but only in those who
are willing to fully submit their life to Him ... Acts 5:32,
Romans 12:1-2.
Hope of the Resurrection
It's against the background of the proven utter mortality
of man that we must set those texts in Scripture which
might otherwise, on superficial examination, imply man's
survival, immediately after death, to heaven, hell,
purgatory. The Bible writers don't spell out their full
understanding every time they address a particular topic.
The underlying principles are assumed. This is
especially so in the matter discussed in this lesson. Not
one Bible writer subscribed to the notion of an immortal
soul.
- the apostle Paul is often cited as having the belief of
immediate transport to heaven upon death. But as a
'Hebrew of the Hebrews' he knew man was mortal, that
life beyond life depended on a resurrection...I
Corinthians 15:50-56, Col 3:1-4, I Thessalonians 4:13-
18, 11 Corinthians 4:14
- Paul, filled with his love for God, longed for the time he
would go to be with Him and with Jesus Christ. This was
his cherished hope. But he knew his wish would only be
fulfilled at the return of Christ ... Philippians 1:23-24, 11
Timothy 4:6-8
- now read the passage in II Corinthians 5:1-10 with this
background concept in mind. Paul expected to appear
before Christ's 'judgment seat' for the purpose of reward
and correction (v.10) When would that happen? ...
Revelation 11:15-18, 22:12
The Bible is clear - man is mortal. We will, upon
repentance, be given immortality through a resurrection,
and at the return of Jesus Christ "at the last trumpet".
The Bible knows nothing of the perverted Greek
philosophical notion of an immortal soul!
In the Scriptures God has given us with perfect clarity all
we need to know about Him and His plan for our present
life and for our eternal future. But we can't simply take
down our KJV or any version - and hope to resolve every
theological nuance without some expert guidance.
Many factors can affect the meaning. Geography can be
important for understanding. The focus of the writer. The
context. The underlying, but not always stated,theology.
11
Preconceived but unbiblical notions of the student. The
challenges of accurate translation from a strange
language. And the prevailing culture - so different from
our own. For example, even the Biblical perception of
'time' can affect our ability to understand a particular
passage.
Failure to account for such factors leads to much
misunderstanding of the Biblical text. James McBride

Filipino Feature Article:

ISANG BAGONG BUHAY
“May daan na tila matuwid sa isang tao,
ngunit ang dulo niyaon ay mga daan ng kamatayan” (Kawikaan
14:12)

Sumasapit ang panahon sa buhay ng maraming tao na

kung saan ay nakikita nilang ang kanilang ginagawa ay
hindi maganda ang idinudulot. Ang kanilang pagsusumikap
na maging maligaya, magkaroon ng mga kaibigan, at
umangat sa buhay ay hindi nagbibigay ng mga resultang
kanilang ninanais. Umaasa sila na may mas maganda pa,
subalit di nila tiyak kung ano.
Naaalala ko ng sumapit din ako sa ganitong kalagayan.
Binasa ko ang ilang bahagi ng Biblia, kasama na ang
Umiwas ako sa droga, sa pag-inom ng inuming
Kawikaang nauna nang naisaad. Naging interesado akong
nakalalasing, sa pagnanakaw, sa pagsisinungaling, sa
makita ang kahalagahan ng talatang ito dahil inulit pa siya
imoralidad at iba pa na karaniwang nasa aking kapaligiran,.
sa Kawikaan 16:25. Lalo akong naging interesado nang
Ngunit hindi ko gaanong kailangan ang Panginoong Diyos
malaman na gayon din ang sinabi ni Jesu-Cristo.
sapagkat may ibang tao na mas malala pa sa akin. Ito ang
“Kaya nga ang lahat ng mga bagay na ibig ninyong sa sabi ni Jesu-Cristo tungkol sa mga higit na makasalanan:
inyo ay gawin ng mga tao, gawin naman ninyo ang
“O yaong labingwalo, na nalagpakan ng moog sa Siloe,
gayon sa kanila: sapagkat ito ang sa Kautusanan at ng
at nangamatay, ay inaakala baga ninyo na sila’y lalong
mga propeta. Kayo’y magsipasok sa makipot na
salarin kaysa lahat ng taong nangananahan sa
pintuan: sapagkat maluwang ang pintuan, at malapad
Jerusalem? Sinasabi ko sa inyo, Hindi: datapuwa’t
ang daan patungo sa pagkapahamak, at marami ang
malibang kayo’y mangagsisi, ay mangamamatay
doo’y nagsisipasok. Sapagkat makipot ang pintuan, at
kayong lahat sa gayon din paraan” (Lukas 13:4-5).
makitid ang daang patungo sa buhay at kakaunti ang
nangakakasumpong noon” (Mateo 7:12-14). Ang aking karanasan ay maaaring kahalintulad o
kakaiba ng sa inyo. Subalit titigilan ko na ang pagbanggit sa
Napagtanto ko na hindi ko laging ginagawa sa iba ang
aking sarili para maisentro naman ninyo sa inyong sarili ang
gusto kong gawin din nila sa akin. Naisip kong may
pagsusuri at kung ano ang sinasabi ng Bibliya tungkol sa
magaganda akong dahilan upang tratuhin ko ang iba nang
inyo.
masama – naisip kong ang iba sa kanila ay hangal; naisip
kong nararapat lang iyon sa kanila. Ano Ang Dapat Mong Malaman?
Subalit hindi sinabi ni Jesu-Cristo na “gawin mo sa iba “Kung sinasabi nating tayo’y walang kasalanan ay ating
ang nais mong gawin nila sa iyo maliban na lang kung may dinadaya ang ating sarili, at ang katotohanan ay wala
dahilan kang hindi gawin ito.” Naging mabuti Siya sa iba sa atin” (1 Juan 1:8).
kahit sila pa ang naging dahilan ng kaniyang kamatayan.
“Sapagkat ang lahat ay nangagkasala nga, at hindi
Napag-isip-isip ko na ako’y lumalakad sa malapad na nangakaabot sa kaluwalhatian ng Diyos. Palibhasa’y
daang patungo sa kapahamakan. Ako ba ang inaring-ganap na walang bayad ng kaniyang biyaya sa
pinakamasama sa mga makasalanan? Hindi. Isa akong pamamagitan ng pagtubos na nasa kay Kristo Jesus”
mabuting estudyante ng paaralan. (Roma 4:23-24).

12
 “Sapagkat ang kabayaran ng kasalanan ay kamatayan; pumirma sa isang kard, maglalakad-lakad sa pasilyo,
datapuwa’t ang kaloob na walang bayad ng Diyos ay buhay magdasal sa isang altar o anumang kahalintulad nito.
na walang hanggan kay Kristo Jesus na Panginoong natin”
Ang Biblia ay nagsasaad ng maliwanag na mga
(Roma 6:23).
halimbawa. Narito ang dalawa:
“Sapagkat gayon na lamang ang pagsinta ng Diyos sa
“At sila’y inilabas at sinabi, Mga ginoo, Ano ang
sanlibutan, na ibinigay niya ang kaniyang bugtong na Anak,
kinakailangan kong gawin upang maligtas? At kanilang
upang ang sinumang kaniya’y sumampalataya ay huwag
sinabi, manampalataya ka sa Panginoong Jesus at
mapahamak, kundi magkaroon ng buhay na walang
maliligtas ka, ikaw at ang iyong sambahayan. At sa
hanggan. Sapagkat hindi sinugo ng Diyos ang Anak sa
kaniya’y sinalita nila ang salita ng Panginoon, pati sa lahat
sanlibutan upang hatulan ang sanlibutan; kundi upang ang
ng nangasa kaniyang bahay.
sanlibutan ay maligtas sa pamamagitan niya” (Juan 3:16-
17). At sila’y kaniyang kinuha nang oras ding yaon ng gabi, at
hinugasan ang kanilang mga latay; at pagdaka’y
Ang bawat isa sa atin ay nagkasala. Ang Panginoong
binautismuhan siya at ang buong sambahayan niya. At
Diyos ay gumawa ng daan, sa pamamagitan ni Jesus ang
sila’y kaniyang ipinanhik sa kaniyang bahay at hinainan sila
Kristo, upang pagbayaran ang kasalanang iyan. (Ang
ng pagkain, at nagalak na totoo, pati ng buong
‘Kristo’ ay hindi apelyido ni Jesus. Ang ibig sabihin nito ay
samabahayan niya, na nagsisampalataya sa Diyos”
“pinili”. Hinangad Niyang iligtas ang lahat sa kanilang
kasalanan. (Gawa 16:30-34).
“Kaya’t kung ang sinuman ay na kay Kristo, siya’y “Nang marinig nga nila ito, ay nangasaktan ang
bagong nilalang; ang mga dating bagay ay nagsilipas na; kanilang puso at sinabi kay Pedro at sa ibang mga apostol,
narito, sila’y pawing naging mga bago” (2 Corinto 5:17). Mga kapatid , anong gagawin namin? At sinabi sa kanila ni
Pedro, Mangagsisi kayo, at mangagbautismo ang bawat
“…sa anumang paraan ay hindi kita papagkukulangin,
isa sa inyo sa pangalan ni JesuKristo sa ikapagpapatawad
sa anumang paraan ni hindi kita pababayaan” (Hebreo
ng inyong mga kasalanan: at tatanggapin ninyo ang kaloob
13:5).
ng Espiritu Santo.
“Sapagkat sa biyaya kayo’y nangaligtas sa
Sapagkat sa inyo ang pangako, at sa inyong mga anak,
pamamagitan ng pananampalataya; at ito’y hindi sa inyong
at sa lahat ng nangasa malayo, maging ilan man ang
sarili, ito’y kaloob ng Diyos; Hindi sa pamamagitan ng mga
tawagin ng Panginoon nating Diyos sa Kaniya”
gawa, upang ang sinuman ay huwag magmapuri. Sapagkat
tayo’y kaniyang gawa, na nilalang Kay Kristo Jesus para sa (Gawa 2:37-39).
mabubuting gawa, na mga inihanda ng Diyos nang una
Ang Espiritu Santo
upang siya nating lakaran” (Efeso 2:8-10).
Ano ang kaloob ng Espiritu Santo? Ano ang ginagawa
“Sumagot si Jesus at sinabi sa kaniya, kung ang nito? Maraming mga talata sa Banal na Kasulatan ang
sinuman ay umiibig sa akin, ay kaniyang tutuparin ang aking
dapat nating pag-aralan tungkol sa paksang ito. Maaaring
salita: at siya’y iibigin ng akin Ama, at Kami’y pasasa ka
mag-umpisa sa mga sumusunod:
niya at siya’y gagawin naming aming tahanan” (Juan
14:23). “Puspusin nga kayo ng Diyos ng pag-asa ng buong
kagalakan at kapayapaan sa pananampalataya upang
Ang pagsunod kay Jesu-Cristo ay hindi pagsunod sa
kayo’y managana sa pag-asa sa pamamagitan ng
bagong patakaran kundi isang ganap na pagbabago ng
kapangyarihan ng Espiritu Santo. At ako naman sa aking
buhay. Ito ay paghahanap ng pamumuhay ng gaya Niya at
sarili ay naniniwalang lubos tungkol sa inyo mga kapatid ko,
paggawa ng mga bagay-bagay na Kaniyang ginawa.
na kayo naman ay mangapuspos ng kabutihan, pinuspos ng
Si Jesu-Cristo ay nagbibigay ng ganap na kapatawaran lahat ng kaalaman na anupa’t makapagpapaalala naman
sa lahat ng mga nakaraang kasalanan – maging gaano man kayo sa isa’t isa” (Roma 15:13-14).
kasama ito – ang ating pananahan sa Kaniya upang tayo’y
“Na pawang sinasaksihan naman ng Diyos na kasama
lumakad na gaya ng inilakad niya. (1 Juan 2:6).
nila, sa pamamagitan ng mga tanda, at mga kababalaghan,
Ano Ang Dapat Mong Gawin? at ng saganang kapangyarihan at ng mga kaloob ng
Espiritu Santo, ayon sa kaniyang sariling kalooban”
May nararapat bang gawin ang isang tao kapag
(Hebreo 2:14).
gumawa siya ng desisyong mag-umpisang sundin ang
Panginoong Diyos at ang kaniyang gawi o Kaparaanan? “Gayon ma’y kung siya, ang Espiritu ng katotohanan na
dumating, ay papatnubayan niya kayo sa buong
Maraming mga Kristiyano ang humihikayat sa mga
katotohanan: sapagkat hindi siya magsasalita ng mula sa
bagong nanampalataya na sumapi sa isang iglesia,

13
kaniyang sarili; kundi ang ano mang bagay na magsidating”
(Juan 16:13).
“Na sa kaniya’y kayo rin naman, pagkarinig ng aral ng
katotohanan, ng ebangelio ng inyong kaligtasan – na sa
kaniya rin naman, mula nang kayo’y magsisampalataya ay
kayo’y tinatakan ng Espiritu Santo na ipinangako, na
siyang patotoo sa ating mana, hanggang sa ikatutubos ng
sariling pag-aari ng Diyos, sa ikapupuri ng kaniyang
kaluwalhatian” (Efeso 1:13-14).
Ang Espiritu Santo ay ibinibigay sa mga taong
naglalaan ng kanilang buhay sa Panginoong Diyos (Gawa
5:32). Kung minsan, ito’y ibinibigay na kaakibat ang
panlabas na mga tanda (Gawa 2:1-4; 19:6), sa ibang
panahon nama’y nagbibigay ito ng malalim na paninindigan
at kaligayahan (1 Tesalonica 1:5-7).
Tulad nito ang “earnest money” na ating tinatanggap
kapag tayo’y may ipinagbiling bahay – ito’y tanda na
talagang seryoso ang bumibili. Hindi ito ang kabuuang
halaga, ni ang paunang bayad – ito ay isa lamang tanda sa
totoong bagay na magaganap.
Ang katotohanan ay binili tayo ni Jesu-Cristo sa
pamamagitan ng kaniyang hirap at pasakit.
“O hindi baga ninyo nalalaman na ang inyong katawan
ay templo ng Espiritu Santo na nasa inyo na tinanggap
ninyo sa Diyos? At hindi kayo sa inyong sarili; Sapagkat
kayo’y binili sa halaga: luwalhatiin nga ninyo ng inyong
katawan ang Diyos” (1 Corinto 6:19-20).
Ano Ang Hinaharap Ng Manampalataya?
Hinuhubog at tinuturuan tayo ng Panginoong Diyos
ngayon upang tayo’y maging “katulad Niya.” Matututunan
natin ito habang tayo’y nasa anyong pisikal upang
maiwasan o malimitahan ang ating mga pagkakamali at
nang hindi natin mabulabog pa ang mga “bagay–bagay” lalo
na yaong patungkol sa Buhay na Walang Hanggan. Subalit
ang patutunguhan ng isang sumusunod sa Diyos ay
napakaganda na maging ang mga apostol ay nahirapan nila
ito isalarawan.
“Sapagkat ang ating pagkamamamayan ay nasa langit;
mula roon ay hihintay naman natin ang Tagapagligtas, ang
Panginoong JesuKristo: Na siyang magbabago ng
katawan ng ating pagkamababa, upang maging katulad
ng katawan ng Kaniyang kaluwalhatian ayon sa paggawa
na maipagpapasuko Niya sa lahat ng mga bagay sa Kanya”
(Filemon 3:20-21).
“Mga minamahal, ngayon ay mga anak tayo ng Diyos,
at hindi pa nahahayag kung magiging ano tayo. Nalalaman
natin na kung siya’y mahayag, tayo’y magiging katulad
niya: sapagkat siya’y ating makikitang gaya ng
kaniyang sarili” (1 Juan 3:2).
“At narinig ko ang isang malakas na tinig na mula sa
luklukan, na nagsasabi, Narito ang tabernakulo ng Diyos
ay nasa mga tao, at siya’y mananahan sa kanila, at sila’y
magiging mga bayan niya, at ang Diyos din ay nasa kanila,
at magiging Diyos nila:
At papahirin niya ang bawat luha sa kanilang mga
mata: at hindi na magkakaroon ng kamatayan; hindi na
magkakaroon pa ng dalamhati, o ng pananambitan man,
o ng hirap pa man: ang mga bagay nang una ay naparaan
na. At yaong nakaluklok sa luklukan ay nagsabi.
Narito, ginagawa kong bago ang lahat ng mga
bagay. At sinabi niya: Isulat mo sapagkat ang mga salitang
ito ay tapat at tunay” (Apocalipsis 21:3-5).
Ano Ang Susunod Na Hakbang Tungo Sa Isang Bagong
Buhay?
Ang pag-aalay ng iyong buhay sa Panginoong Diyos ay ang
unang hakbang patungo sa isang mahaba, kamangha-
mangha, makahulugan, ngunit kung minsan ay mahirap na
daan. Kailangan mong mag-umpisang magbasa ng
Banal na Kasulatan at mamuhay sa bawat salitang
mamutawi sa bibig ng Panginoong Diyos (Mateo 4:4).
Si Jesu-Cristo ang gagabay sa iyo, ang Espiritu Santo ay
pasasa-iyo at makihalubilo ka sa ibang mananampalataya
(Hebreo 10:25). Maaari mong pakiusapan ang iba sa kanila
na ikaw ay bautismuhan, bilang tanda ng pag-aalay mo ng
iyong buhay sa Panginoong Diyos.
Pansinin na hindi namin sinasabing ikaw ay “sumali sa
isang iglesia”. Ang Apostol Pablo ay tinuruan ang mga
nananampalataya na huwag makiisa sa isang pinunong
pang-relihiyon (1 Corinto 1:11-17; 3:1-11), kundi ituring nila
ang kanilang mga sarili bilang bahagi ng Katawan ni Jesu-
Cristo – ang kaisa-isang Iglesia o “Simbahan”.
Sa kasalukuyan, marami pa ring mga denominasyong
pangrelihiyon ang nakikiisa sa isang pinunong pangrelihiyon
o sa pangkat ng mga nagtuturo (ang iba’y buhay pa, ang
iba’y patay na).
Hanapin ninyo ang mga kongregasyong local na binubuo ng
mga Malaya at walang kinasasapiang denominasyong
mananampalataya. Bumisita sa mahigit na isa.
Kung kami’y inyong tatanungin, tutulungan namin kayong
maghanap ng isang pangkat o padadalhan namin kayo ng
mga babasahin upang matulungan kayong madagdagan
ang inyong kaalamanan at kamalayan. Wala tayong dapat
na anibang isang organisasyong pangrelihiyon.
Nawa’y pagpalain kayo ng Poong Maykapal sa inyong
pagsunod sa Kaniya!

14
Commentary:

On Being Perfect
Be ye therefore perfect,
even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect
(Matthew 5:48 KJV).

The call for perfection that Jesus included in the Sermon on the Mount seems to ask
the impossible of us. How on earth can any man ever achieve perfection? One explanation I’ve heard is that perfection
is the goal, and we will only reach it only in the resurrection. We strive for perfection in this life, but there is no way we
can achieve it in the flesh. But if that is what Jesus meant, there were many ways he could have said precisely that.

There is an odd thing about this passage. Jesus did not speak of perfection here. What he said was, "Be ye therefore
teleios, even as your Father which is in heaven is teleios." Jesus, of course, spoke these words in Aramaic. Choosing
the best Greek word to convey the idea, Matthew used the word telios to tell us what Jesus said. With all the wonderful
Bible study programs now available, anyone can consult a Greek lexicon and do his own word search. The definition of
telios in the lexicon is "complete." You can do a word study through the New Testament to see how the word is used,
and you will find that "complete" works in every instance. Jesus said, "be you therefore complete." And there is a world

On Being Perfect…

of difference between "complete,"
and "perfect." The word "perfect" is
defined as "being entirely without
fault or defect." I am sure that is an
accurate description of God. I am
equally sure that it is an utterly
inaccurate description of any man
or woman alive.
"Complete" is a different idea
entirely. I am a private pilot with
instrument, glider and multi-engine
ratings. When I completed my
instruction for the last rating, my
instructor signed me off, shook my
hand, and said, "Congratulations.
Now you are a complete pilot." I
didn’t know exactly what he meant,
because no one knew better than I
did how far I was from perfect. I
think he meant that I now had a full
set of the ratings available for a
private pilot. Of course, the fact is
that there is no such thing as a
perfect pilot. There are simply too
many variables that can arise in that
complicated pursuit for anyone ever
to claim perfection. In a way, it is a
nice analogy with life.
One of the biggest problems we
face when tackling a subject like
this is getting our semantics right.
What do we mean by the words we
use? For most of us, the definition
of "perfect" I offered above is
perfectly accurate. Now I have to
explain where perfection falls short
of what Jesus was saying.
Imagine a pianist in recital,
performing a difficult Chopin etude.
It is possible for him to do a flawless
performance, getting all the notes
right, using the pedal as indicated
on the page, following the
instructions for loudness, and
softness. I have heard people,
listening to such a performance in
recital comment on its perfection
saying that he "didn’t miss a single
note." They were defining the
performance in terms of what did
not happen. There were no errors.
Can we agree that it is possible to
do a perfect, flawless performance,
and yet have a performance that is
mediocre and uninspired? You can
have a flawless piano solo by one
pianist, and a performance of the
same piece by a genius, and even
the untrained ear can hear the
difference. Perfection and
excellence are two entirely different
things. Once again, we fall back on
the meaning of words. Excellent
means "eminently good, first-class."
Perfection means "being entirely
without fault or defect."
It dawned on me out of the blue one
day that the idea of perfection is a
negative idea. It is negative in that it
defines a thing in negative terms. It
does not have fault. It does not
have a defect or blemish. All
perfection describes is what is not
there. It says little about what is
there.
Once the idea had taken root, I had
to find out more, so I headed off to
the Internet where you can find out
anything about everything (or is it
everything about anything?) The
word I chose to search with was
"perfectionism." I found two starkly
opposing views on the subject. One
held that perfectionism is a good
thing if its managed properly. That
view acknowledges that the

15
perfectionist can be neurotic, but by
and large, it’s a good thing if
handled properly.
The other holds that perfectionism
is entirely a neurotic condition and
is harmful. Which view is right? The
difference between these views is
superficial, and arises out of pure
semantics, but it is instructive,
nonetheless. I found a helpful paper
on the Web by Carol Peters which
outlines the various ways of
approaching the subject. It seems
that scholars in the field describe
two types of perfectionist—the
normal and the neurotic. Normal
perfectionists are people who derive
real pleasure from painstaking work.
Neurotic perfectionists are those
who are unable to find any
satisfaction because, in their own
eyes, nothing they do is ever good
1
enough.
So Carol Peters is persuaded that
perfectionism can be good or bad, it
all depends. But she also notes that
"A number of researchers . . . have
linked perfectionism with
depression, anorexia nervosa,
bulimia, migraine, personality and
psychosomatic disorders, Type A
coronary-prone behaviour and
suicide." Is it a good thing? Or is it
harmful?
Peters cites another author who
lists five characteristics of
perfectionist teachers and students:
"Procrastination, fear of failure, the
all-or-nothing mindset, paralysed
2 preach like that, I just feel like I am
perfectionism, and workaholism."
These are said to contribute to
underachievement on their part.
Procrastination affects all of us from
time to time. The fear of being less
than perfect, of not living up to one’s
own expectations can produce
overwhelming feelings that lead us
to put things off. I don’t think many
of us consciously go through this
line of thought, but the fear of
making a mistake, of having a fault,
can prevent us from starting a
project in the first place. This
probably lies near the root of what
we call "writer’s block." Successful
writers have come to understand
that the blank page has to be
assaulted with words, so they just
start writing. They can always come
back and rewrite. It is a curious
thing that most drafts of papers,
books, or novels, can be improved
merely by cutting off the first few
paragraphs. Once the block is
passed, the work gets better.
Putting things off until the last
minute, when a deadline is bearing
down on us, is a manifestation of
procrastination. It makes life harder
on everyone connected with a
project. But some people cannot
bring themselves to start until they
absolutely must.
Apathy also keeps the writer from
starting, but that may be merely
another manifestation of
perfectionism. He knows his work
will never measure up, so he just
never starts. And thus, never has to
face the lack of perfection.
I recall a sermon I gave years ago
in England. It was one of those fire
and brimstone sermons that people
strangely seem to enjoy (mostly, I
think, because they are sure I am
talking about someone else). After
the sermon, and after the usual
round of congratulations, which I
always
take with a grain of salt, a
gentleman came to me and said
something that shook me to my
roots.
"My, Mr. Dart," he said, "when you
never going to make it." He meant it
as a compliment, but it woke me up
to one of the major errors of young
preachers. The last thing I wanted
was to make people feel like they
could "never make it."
I have thought about this encounter
a great deal, and I have come to
see it in an entirely new light. When
you hold up unrealistically high
standards for people, the end result
is likely to be apathy. When a man
comes to feel that he "can’t make
it," the natural response is "why
try?" I can never measure up to this
standard. I can never do this without
making a mistake. I can never reach
the faultless plateau, I am too
flawed, I just can’t reach this level. I
might as well give up.
Those perfectionists who can’t live
with apathy tend to become
workaholic. According to Peters,
they are "dependent on
performance since self-esteem is
tied to external rewards." Too often,
it is tied to how we think others look
at us. We can’t find satisfaction
inside ourselves. Workaholics don’t
delegate well, because no one can
achieve their high expectations—
not even themselves. They also
have a hard time saying "no" and
get over committed, losing any
sense of balance in their lives.
Sometimes people don’t like to let
go of things because they are afraid
of failure on the part of the person
to whom they have delegated the
job. Perfectionists have a hard time
letting someone else do the job and
then accepting the job when it is
finished. Sometimes the person
receiving the job simply can’t do the
job as well as the perfectionist
would like. Think of a perfectionist
mom and a five year old daughter
working together in the kitchen.
So we are left with a person who
either cannot delegate, or having
delegated cannot let go. We have a
person who can’t say no, because,
"If I don’t do it, who will?" or
"Nobody can do it the way I think it
ought to be done." This hardly
seems to be what Jesus was
advocating in the Sermon on the
Mount. But there is another side to
the story.
At the end of the search, we find
one theorist telling us that
perfectionism is a neurosis and
another telling us that it is not. Now
how can this be? The answer?
Semantics. Read this paragraph
carefully:
Students can be helped to
cope with perfectionism by
accepting it as a basic part
of their giftedness, by
emphasizing its positive
aspects, and by
acknowledging the anxiety
and frustration it provokes
16
 (Silverman, 1995, p. 4).
Difficult challenges
generate anxieties which
require inner strength and a
great deal of persistence to
overcome. Gifted learners
need support to persist
despite constant awareness
of failure. Excellence takes
more time and hard work
than mediocrity (emphasis
mine).
Did you catch it? The author
switched words on us in mid stride.
What are they talking about,
excellence or perfectionism? The
author uses these words
interchangeably, but they don’t
mean the same thing. Excellence
transcends perfection. Excellence
can be imperfect, even flawed.
Excellence may not be exactly what
is written in the score of a piece of
music. It is possible, after all, to
improve on Chopin, or even Bach.
A story is told of an organist in a
German cathedral who, one day,
encountered a stranger who was
examining his organ. Learning that
the visitor was also an organist, he
proposed that they play together.
The Cathedral had two organs, so
there began a kind of contest,
dueling organs, if you will. Each
would propose a theme which
would be answered by the other.
Step by step, they ascended into
ever more complex themes and
variations. Finally, the visitor
proposed a theme that the other
could not answer. The organist
walked over to the stranger and
said, "Either you are an angel from
heaven, or you are Johann
Sebastian Bach." Bach was a
genius at the organ, they say, a
greater performer than he was a
composer. Genius transcends
perfectionism, it goes beyond the
music that is on the page. Yet
genius may be flawed. So we have
to be sure we know what is at issue
here. Is it excellence, or perfection?
And it is here that a major issue can
be addressed in Christian theology
and Christian conduct. Excellence
can be flawed. One can be
complete without being perfect. This
is true even when it comes to the
Law of God. Perfection is not what
the law is about. People are fond of
saying, "No one can keep the law
perfectly." The statement is correct,
but irrelevant. God did not expect
anyone to keep the law perfectly.
Nor did he give us a law we couldn’t
obey and then punish us for not
obeying it. The law is not given for
perfection. It is given as a "lamp to
my feet And a light to my path"
(Psalm 119:105).
Peters had this good advice:
"Maintain high standards for
yourself but don't impose them on
others - they will run the other way
fast!" Then she repeats the
admonition: "Maintain high
standards for yourself, but don't
impose them on others lest you
become a tyrant."
That last sentence underscores
what too many Christians have had
to endure. I can recall preaching
sermons when I was very young in
which I held up a standard so high,
that no one could hope to measure
up to it—certainly I could not. I was
asking the congregation to be, well,
perfect. I think not a few preachers
become tyrants because they are
perfectionists and they are
demanding things of the people that
they themselves cannot measure up
to. Not only that, their standards
and God’s standards may not be
the same. Imagine how terrible this
can become if the preacher creates
an organization that thinks it must
enforce his standards. This is the
stuff that cults are made of.
God’s standards, and you can
always count on this, are
administered with grace. Men’s
standards, unfortunately, are not.
And that is precisely where the
divide came between the disciples
of Jesus and those of the
Pharisees.
In my research, I happened on a
publication of the University of
Illinois counseling center. I presume
it was a kind of pamphlet for
incoming students and was
attempting to help them adjust to
university life. They offered this
warning about perfectionism.
Perfectionism refers to a set
of self-defeating thoughts
and behaviors aimed at
reaching excessively high
unrealistic goals.
Perfectionism is often
mistakenly seen in our
society as desirable or even
necessary for success.
However, recent studies
have shown that
perfectionistic attitudes
actually interfere with
success. The desire to be
perfect can both rob you of
a sense of personal
satisfaction and cause you
to fail to achieve as much
as people who have more
1
realistic strivings.
I can see a Christian reading that
and balking. After all, Jesus said we
should be perfect, and they are
telling us that perfectionistic
attitudes can actually interfere with
success. But that wasn’t what Jesus
was saying. He was calling on man
to be complete, to strive for
excellence. And the person who is
striving for excellence will almost
always surpass the one who is
striving for mere perfection.
Many years ago, I was teaching
public speaking in a small college in
England. All speeches were
evaluated and given a critique. It
was my custom to allow the
students to evaluate one another
which, at times, got downright
brutal. But the student evaluators
focused on eradicating faults,
errors, and mistakes. Unfortunately
the poor rascal who had given the
speech was often bombarded with a
barrage of trivial imperfections. It
took some work to get the students
to give attention to the really
important things. Did you
understand what the speaker was
saying? Were you persuaded by his
arguments? Did he move you to do
something about his issue?
It is a point often overlooked, but if
you spend your lifetime working on
your weaknesses, your faults, your
17
mistakes, the best you can ever
hope for is mediocrity. How do you
transcend that? You work on your
strong points. You work on making
your gifts and talents stronger. If
you are a teacher, you look at what
a student does well, and try to lift it
to the point of excellence. In that
way, you have a chance of taking a
young person far beyond what he
thought he could do. He has a
chance of excellence that the
pursuit of mere perfection would
deny him.
There is an unexpected benefit of
this approach. A person’s faults and
weaknesses get drawn up into the
striving for excellence, and they
often as not take care of
themselves. I am talking in the
context of teaching speech, but it
applies in every aspect of life. If,
when you are working with your
children, all you do is work on faults,
weaknesses and mistakes, your
kids are likely to grow up to be, at
best, mediocre performers. At the
worst, they may end up neurotic
perfectionists.
But if, when working with anyone,
children, employees, students, wife,
husband, your question should be,
"What is he good at?" What are the
strengths? How do we make them
better and stronger so that the
strengths, the things a person is
really good at, sweep up and carry
along the mistakes and faults.
The University of Illinois pamphlet
continued.
If you are a perfectionist, it
is likely that you learned
early in life that other
people valued you because
of how much you
accomplished or achieved.
As a result you may have
learned to value yourself
only on the basis of other
Gem:
The two great words of antiquity are ‘behold’ and ‘beware’. Behold the possibilities and beware the temptations. --
Anonymous
people's approval. Thus
your self-esteem may have
come to be based primarily
on external standards. This
can leave you vulnerable
and excessively sensitive to
the opinions and criticism of
others. In attempting to
protect yourself from such
criticism, you may decide
that being perfect is your
only defense.
As a counselor, I have encountered
people in that situation. They value
themselves entirely on the basis of
the approval of others, never
realizing that being perfect will only
get them more criticism. You will not
avoid criticism by being perfect. You
will only get more of it.
Perfectionists tend to
anticipate or fear
disapproval and rejection
from those around them.
Given such fear,
perfectionists may react
defensively to criticism and
in doing so frustrate and
alienate others.
Sooner or later in life you must learn
to avoid being defensive about
criticism. The more successful you
are, the more criticism you will
receive. I have under my desk a
wastebasket, and whenever I read a
letter that is harshly critical and
lacking in constructive ideas, I rarely
get beyond the first two paragraphs.
From long experience, I can
recognize hostility quickly. The letter
goes to the wastepaper basket. I
once had a friend who, when he got
one of those letters would
systematically tear it up. I don’t
even give the letter that much
attention. That is how we should
handle E-mails that do that. We
should quickly delete them and
ignore them. It is even how we
should handle destructive
conversations. If all a person can do
is find fault, they are telling you that
you aren’t perfect. But you already
know that, so listening is a waste of
time.
Without realizing it,
perfectionists may also
apply their unrealistically
high standards to others,
becoming critical and
demanding of them.
Furthermore, perfectionists
may avoid letting others see
their mistakes, not realizing
that self-disclosure allows
others to perceive them as
more human and thus more
likeable. Because of this
vicious cycle perfectionists
often have difficulty being
close to people and
therefore have less than
satisfactory interpersonal
relationships.
I have told you all this to explain
what Jesus meant when he told us
to be "perfect as our Father in
heaven is perfect." Perfectionism
can be defined as the excessive
striving to be without fault or defect.
This is not to say that we shouldn’t
try to overcome our faults or
defects. But there is an obsessive
striving that is unhealthy.
Perfectionism, then, is negative
because it defines what is not there
rather than what is. And when it
comes to the Law of God, that is not
good enough, as Jesus will go on to
explain in the Sermon on the Mount.
Ronald L. Dart
_______________________________
1. Carol C. Peters, "Perfectionism,"
Excellence in Education, Perth,
1996,http://www.nexus.edu.au/teachstu
d/gat/peters.htm
2. Adderholt-Elliot, M. "Perfectionism
and underachievement." Gifted Child
Today, 12 (1), 19-21.
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How well do
you reflect
God's
Kingdom?
Recently I was preparing a sermon with the goal of
helping people to see a glimpse of God's Kingdom in our
lives.
There are some professing believers (including some
inside the Church of God movement) who claim to have
more knowledge and insights than the rest of us. While I
acknowledge and appreciate any and all truth that God
has given to us, I agree with the apostle Paul in 1
Corinthians 13:12.
• We see through a glass darkly.
• We know only in part.
If we (who claim to be believers) have a fuzzy picture of
God, how unclear does an unbeliever see?
And, if an unbeliever has only a fuzzy picture of the
Kingdom, what are we doing to reflect the Kingdom of
God while we walk this earth?
Helpful book
I found material in a book titled Kingdom Principles by
Myles Munroe to be helpful in my preparation. I thought I
would share some of the information with you.
Dr. Munroe is founder, president and senior pastor of
Bahamas Faith Ministries International, based in
Nassau, Bahamas. He is an international motivational
speaker and business consultant and has earned
degrees from Oral Roberts University and the University
of Tulsa.
Beginning premise
On page 11 Dr. Munroe begins the introduction with the
following quote: "The greatest threat to civil society is
mankind." He shows examples of why he believes that
statement to be true.
Dr. Munroe quickly begins to explain his point that many
people use religion as a replacement for an
understanding and a commitment to the Kingdom.
On page 12 Dr. Munroe writes:
"All of this is compounded by our establishment of
sophisticated religions into which we retreat to escape
the social chaos we have created."
On page 16 Dr. Munroe writes:
"A careful and honest look at the biblical Script will
reveal that the fundamental message of this greatly
misunderstood Book [the Bible] is about a King and a
Kingdom."
On page 18 he writes:
"Jesus' first announcement was the arrival of the
Kingdom of Heaven. His solution to the malnourished
and bankrupt human spirit was not a religion but the
Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, if you are spiritually
poor, only the Kingdom will satisfy and fulfill your hunger.
The Kingdom is God's priority and must become our
priority if we are to overcome the confusion of religions
and the threat of self-destruction.
"The power of religion lies in its ability to serve as a
substitute for the Kingdom and thus hinder mankind from
pursuing the genuine answer to the dilemma."
Then he lists the following conclusions.
• Religion preoccupies man until he finds the
Kingdom.
• Religion is what man does until he finds the
Kingdom.
• Religion prepares man to leave earth; the
Kingdom empowers man to dominate earth.
• Religion focuses on heaven; the Kingdom
focuses on earth.
• Religion is reaching up to God: the Kingdom of
God coming down to man.
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 • Religion wants to escape earth; the Kingdom Yet He described how that seed would grow into a huge
impacts, influences and changes earth. tree to accommodate the birds.
• Religion seeks to take earth to heaven; the
Kingdom seeks to bring heaven to earth. The Kingdom of God begins with the least of all people:
me and you.
Nine helpful principles
Of and by ourselves we are not special. Yet God has
chosen to establish His Kingdom through us.
Dr. Munroe proceeds to give nine principles about the
Kingdom, hence the title of the book.
Is our religion getting in the way of our living the
principles of the Kingdom? Or do we as little ones reflect
Here are the nine Kingdom principles:
the glorious Kingdom of God? by Dave Havir/
www.thejournal.org
• The Kingdom concept of kings.
• The Kingdom concept of Lord. Poem: God’s Love
• The Kingdom concept of territory.
• The Kingdom concept of constitution. We can only see a little of the ocean,
• The Kingdom concept of law. A few miles distant from the rocky shore;
• The Kingdom concept of keys. But out there, beyond
• The Kingdom concept of citizenship. Beyond our eyes’ horizon,
• The Kingdom concept of culture. There’s more there’s more.
• The Kingdom concept of giving to the king. We can only see a little of God’s love
A few rich treasures from His mighty store;
Begins with us
But out there beyond,
Jesus Christ gave His disciples many parables about the Beyond our eyes’ horizon,
Kingdom during His life. They are edifying and inspiring. There’s more there’s more!
Notice one of His shorter Kingdom parables.
--Author Unknown
In Matthew 13:31-32 Jesus told about the Kingdom
being like a grain of mustard seed. He called it the least
of all seeds.

Who Are We?

The Mustard Seed Newsletter is published free by The Mustard Seed Evangelistic Association –an affiliated
association committed to the publishing of the Gospel that Jesus Christ preached and as recorded for us in the Holy
Scriptures. This goal is to be within the framework of the Commission set forth to His believers and followers to "go
and make disciples of all nations ... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20). It is
our hope that the Mustard Seed and its other publications will become a shared-resource and vehicle for our readers
to come to know and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the Kingdom of God. You are invited to join us in this
exciting and marvelous work!

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is
grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."
Matthew 13:31-32

For your question and/or comment, email us at mseedwork@yahoo.com/ peopletowin@gmail.com/ Raul deAsis Hipe/Editor

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