Quote: R.C. Sproul

“I dream of a new reformation, a reformation that is not simply a renewal of life but a new vision of life: a vision that yields new forms and structures in society and culture. As long as Christians restrict their Christianity to a religion, a faith that is compartmentalized and isolated from life, they can have revival but never, ever reformation. We need to hear and do the Word of God in all of our lives.”

~R.C. Sproul

Stay Tuned!

Yes, next week we all are starting The Holiness of God. It should be very exciting. I will try and keep you up to date on what we are reading and learning. And if you didn't see my last post, we are finishing Omnibus I in two weeks. So keep an eye on this blog. So long. Over & out.

-David A. Kruse

Is the idea that one sin is as bad as another biblical?

To answer this question we must go to scripture and reason it out. James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it." In this passage James is telling us that if we break the law, even in just a small thing, we are accountable for as if we had broken all of the law.

Although this is true, it is not necessarily saying that all sins should be looked at on the same level. Some sins are worse then others. But, even in one small sin it is an offense to God and His law. To break the law is to disobey the law-giver. Every man is born with a sinful nature, we have inherited it from Adam. Sin, no matter how big or small, can lead us away from God. Only one tiny sin is able to condemn us to hell.

However, God has send His son Jesus to die for us. Through His death our sins are forgiven. No matter how small or large our sins are, Jesus took them upon Himself and payed the punishment. We need to now repent of our sins, believe in God and walk a Christian life.



-Destiny

Roman Philosophy and Dogs and Cats

While the popular religion of Rome served a large, complicated pantheon of gods and goddess, we can more fully look at their culture by looking at two main Roman philosophies- Stoicism and Epicureanism.

• Stoicism- Stoics believed that reality is material. There is a cosmic force or that they call the Logos, which is their version of god or fate. The Stoics main goal in life is to live in harmony with this force, by practicing justice, wisdom and courage. They thought that the most important thing was to know your duty and do it well. Stoics emphasize the importance of submitting to fate, whatever it may be.
• Epicureanism- Epicureans, on the other hand, deny that gods exist at all, or if they do, they have nothing whatsoever to do with the world. Because no gods of fate direct the world or ones lives, the actions of our free wills determine history. Epicureans believe strongly in their own free-will and that ones own actions determine fate.

An easy way of remembering these two philosophical ideas, is to look at dogs and cats. Dogs are Stoics, and cats are Epicureans. A dog is ever faithful to his masters and his commands. He knows his duty and you can depend on him to follow it, even unto death. Now picture a cat, he is friendly, but he basically looks out for number one. He has his won free will, and thinks he does not need a master to boss him around. Stoics are defined by their faithfulness to virtue and their duty. Whereas, Epicureans are completely self dependent, and rely only on their free will.

By knowing the philosophy of the Romans, we can better understand the context of the Bible. It equips to know what the apostles were up against, and to know the world that Jesus came to live in, and to die for.
Acts 17:16-21- "Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new."

By learning about the culture that the apostles lived in and preached too, we can better understand the Bible, and better apply it to our lives!

Julius Caesar and the end of Omnibus 1

We are almost finished now with the Omnibus I Curriculum. I'm excited to move on but regretful to leave it after so many months. Anyway, we are just starting Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. It is more enjoyable, than not, to read because, well, it's, SHAKESPEARE!

As of now, we are reading Shakespeare (as mentioned above) and The Screwtape Letters written by C.S. Lewis. After that we'll read The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul and the book of Revelation in the Bible. Then we're done. Yep, it is indeed a victory and I cannot wait for Omnibus II. This year's course has taught me so much and I look forward to more study.

In Christ,
-David A. Kruse

Faith and Works

We have been going through this awesome curriculum for a while now and just recently have finished the books of Galatians and Romans. We are now just beginning the book of James. Anyway, what is really neat is that Paul and James both are so much alike in their writings. Paul believes that we are saved (justified) by faith through Christ.

But it seems that James contradicts Paul when he says that we are justified by works. You must realize that James is not speaking of the same justification as Paul was. That is the key to understanding these two men. Neither are wrong, it is just that both are coming from different points of view.

Paul is true when saying that in faith alone (sola fide) are we justified. James agrees to that but puts in another aspect of our salvation. He says that without works, faith is dead. He knows that although you believe in Christ through faith, it is only dead faith without the works to justify it. So James is telling the truth in saying that we are justified through our works because without works we have no true faith in us at all.

In closing, we have believed and now are living out the Salvation given to us. If we are of the true faith then we must display that faith through our works. We cannot say, "Lord, save me" and then sit around just waiting for Christ to return. No, we are justified by our works.

Grace and Law- are they Separate?

Many people today make the mistake of thinking that law and grace are something separate, that they don’t work together but rather against each other. From this presupposition springs such a question- Is an attempt to follow God’s moral law denying His grace? But I hope to show that such a belief is wrong and unbiblical.

The principle of salvation by grace through faith cannot be a contradiction of the law. Some dispensationalist have held that Christians live under a dispensation of grace not law, and therefore believer that keeping the moral law is not necessary for them.

But Romans 3:31 says, otherwise - “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.” This clearly shows that keeping the law is a continually obligation for the Christian.

When we become regenerated and washed clean, we start a path of sanctification. Prov.6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp and the law a light.” The law shows us, after we have been justified by Christ and then sanctified by the Holy Spirit, how to live, so that we may continue to live a life of good works. But we can only do that with the Holy Spirit working through us.

Also it is by the law that we are sanctified. John 17:17 “Sanctify them by your truth; Your Word is truth.” Christians need the law in order to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness, because it is by the law that we know what sin is.

But back to the question. The law of God is not opposed to His love or grace, but rather shows what it is in action. Obeying God’s moral laws is not denying His grace, His laws are an action of His enduring grace.

-Kaila A.

Hospitality

Odysseus arrives at the island of the Cyclopes (a giant with one eye). While there his men are trapped in its cave with no hope of escape. To add to their misery and despair the Cyclopes decides to have them for dinner. So for three days Odysseus has to watch his men be eaten, two at a time. They eventually escape but not without great loss.

Throughout this book Odysseus prevails upon the hospitality of many people and beast, whether it was good hospitality or not. All the while men are at his home, unwelcome, eating, drinking and partying, all at his expense, and he doesn’t even know about it, only his wife and son have to watch their home be torn apart. This brings me to the subject of hospitality. Where is hospitality in our culture? Why is it so important? What does your family do to show hospitality? Or are they to busy to welcome the stranger to their door?

“It is useful to limit the meaning of “hospitality” to benevolence done to those outside one’s normal circle of friends, as is implied in the literal meaning of the Greek word meaning “love of strangers.” Tyndale Bible dictionary

Hospitality has been lost in our culture. It has been broken down in many ways. We have lost the art of feasting, the concept of it. Why? We are to busy. We fill our days with ways to benefit ourselves, ignoring the man with the cardboard sign. We run here and there putting off the invitation to have our neighbors for dinner. We fill our day timers, yet have less time. Hospitality is lost because we make no time except for ourselves.

What happens in our culture when true hospitality is given? Because “self” reigns in our culture, hospitality is viewed with skepticism. Say you’re invited over to a friend’s house, but you think they only want you over so that they could get something out of you.

Instead of thinking of what the person might wish to give you are focused on what they might want from you. We must change this view and go back to what the Bible requires of us concerning hospitality.

“So he (Abraham) lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant. Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” Gen. 18:2-5

This is a prime example of true hospitality. Abraham accepted these strangers, with no thought to who they were, he just knew that they were in need of refreshments.

“Be hospitable to one another without grumbling (1 Peter 4:9)”.

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach.” 1 Tim.3:2

Clearly God wants us to be hospitable. We need to take the time to have people over to treat them kindly, and to do it all with a glad heart. But why is it so important? What is the reason behind hospitality? There are two reasons that we should be hospitable.

“You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Ex. 22:21. Israel was a slave a stranger in the land of Egypt, and they were unwelcome by the Egyptians as time moved on. Yet God delivered them, He delivered His people, out of His good grace. So hospitality is an important aspect of showing gratitude, because of the grace shown to us by God.

Another reason for showing gratitude is found in Heb. 13:2- “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” This is seen in Abraham’s case that we read earlier. Three angels had come to tell him that he would have a son, the chosen seed of Israel. Not knowing this Abraham still welcomed them to his tent, fed them and washed their feet. We must take care, though, to not make this our main reason for showing hospitality, this is an added bonus to our reward, not our main motivation. Our main motivation should be to glorify God through our actions, to show gratitude for what was shown to us in days of old.

Christians should we radically different from the Cyclopes whom Odysseus encountered. The Cyclopes ate those in his household; we should feed those who enter our home. People today are starved for true hospitality, but do not take the time to show it, we Christians need to bring it back.

-Kaila Anderson

C.S. Lewis's Narnia Books (And the Chart I Made)

This is a chart I made for the Narnian years and our years that happened in C.S. Lewis's Narnian Books. It is pretty cool stuff and I'm sure you have all read the books!

You see, we have to read through these books in our Curriculum.