Today is the 7 year aniversary of the day my wife and I were married! Amazing!

May the Lord continue to bless us as we put Him first in our relationship!

*edit* Dated properly

This morning I happened to read this article by Lou Dobbs. Now I know that Mr. Dobbs and myself certainly differ on many things, and since that is to be expected, his opinion on the separation of church and state does not bother me very much. I think he is wrong, but it really isn’t something I am going to argue with him about.

However, he said something that I certainly do take issue with. You see, I take issue when anyone takes the Word of God out of context and uses it as they see fit. For example, in his article, Mr. Dobbs is arguing that churches (and other religious institutions) should have far less of an influence on the political landscape. He then quotes Romans 13 with the desired effect to show that Christians should not make any efforts to make a change to a political decision because (according to him) that would be rebelling against God’s established authority. Let’s take a look at that passage for a minute.

Romans 13:1-2 NASB Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. (2) Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

By the way, if you read the context of the passage, in the next few verses Paul goes on to talk about obedience to the laws of a nation and paying taxes. Also, in the previous chapter (12) Paul is laying out some guidelines for how we are to live transformed lives in light of the grace that God has shown us in giving salvation to those who believe (and even the ability to believe, but that is a far different topic).

So then we come to this couple of verses, Romans 13:1-2, and let’s do some simple Bible study.
Vs 1 very succinctly states, God is the establisher of all authority (Yes, even Adolf Hitler) and we are to be in subjection to that authority. A brief side note about taking the Bible in context, as scripture does NOT contradict itself, it the dictates of an authority commands that we disobey the very laws that the Bible has given to us, we are commanded to disobey them. But let’s get back on track. So we know that ALL authority is from God and we are to be obedient to it.
Vs 2 defines the consequences of resisting the authority that God has established. Remember that this resisting is referring to laws which do NOT break God’s law. The question in this passage is with the word resist. The definition of the Greek word for resist from Thayer’s Bible Dictionary:

G436
ἀνθίστημι
anthistēmi
Thayer Definition:
1) to set one’s self against, to withstand, resist, oppose
2) to set against
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G473 and G2476

So to resist authority is to set one’s self against authority or to oppose authority. Ok, so now that we understand this passage, we have to ask ourselves, how this passage applies to our lives today.

We are fortunate to live in a republic (no, the US isn’t a true democracy). A republic where our duty as citizens is to vote and inform our elected representatives about how we think they should act on an issue. If they choose not to act on our input, we have the right to not vote for them at the next election. I think it is pretty obvious that this is not resisting the authority that God has established. Participating yes, resisting no. And as a quick note to those of you who are thinking about extremes, yes there are certainly ways that we can abuse our system of government that could certainly fall under the area of resisting authority.

To sum up, I believe that Mr. Dobbs has taken Romans 13 grossly out of context. My prayer is that those who have read his article will be good enough Biblical students to see this as well.

Today I read an article on ESPN.com that made me sad (link here). The author basically states that you must include the issue of race in any discussion of Barry Bonds’ accomplishments. Although I believe that his argument is wrong, that you can and should discuss the issue of Barry Bonds’ accomplishments without discussion race, I think that he is correct that race is certainly an issue in some people’s minds. This truly makes me sad, because race should not be a part of this issue. In the issue of Barry Bonds and his breaking the MLB home run record, I think the issue should truly be about what he is accomplishing, and if he has done it fairly.

Now I say “if he has done it fairly” because that has been raised as a valid question. I hate cheating, and I hate the example that it portrays for our children. However, I don’t think that I am in a position to determine if he is guilty as charged. Sure there is alot of ‘evidence’ that has come out to ‘prove’ that he is guilty of doping, but it is nothing of which he has been convicted (or even tested positive). So, until the proof is really proved, he should not be hated because of his ‘alleged’ steroid usage. Of course, should he be proved to have cheated, he belongs in the same club as the infamous Chicago “Black Socks” (look in up if you don’t know, and it is not a racial reference) and completely banned from the game and have his records completely stripped. Oh, and by the way, I think this should be the case for any other athlete who has been proved guilty of cheating, be it Lance Armstrong, Ken Griffey Jr, Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or David Beckham.

However, let’s put the talk of cheating aside for a moment. What really makes me sad is how this is becoming an issue of race. Do I care if Barry Bonds is black, white, or purple? No! He is a man, a human being, and probably one who needs to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes, there are people in this world, and probably many people, who view the world through the color of the skin of the people around them. However, I think the Bible is very clear that this is sin, and like all sin, it is to be abhorred. All sin makes me sad, especially my own, and I look forward to the day when it is destroyed. I look forward to this day:

Revelation 7:9-10 NASB After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; (10) and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Until that day comes, until the return of our Savior, sin will be an issue, which means that racism will be an issue. Should race be an issue about Barry Bonds’ attempt at the all-time career home run record? No! Is it is the minds of some? Yes, and it makes me sad.

To Barry Bonds, I wish you the best of luck in breaking the all-time career home run record. If you have accomplished it by cheating, I expect to see your name expunged from the record books, but if you did it fairly, it is an awesome credit to your God-given skill and determination.

One last thing, if I had 2 minutes with Mr. Barry Bonds and could ask him one question that he had guaranteed to ask truthfully, I wouldn’t ask him about taking steroids or not, I would ask him if he had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and if not, why not?

Ok, well my blog is finally available again after about a month of being disabled to the outside world. You may resume your regularly scheduled activities (such as they were).

BTW, Wordpress doesn’t have a great security record so far…