Pentecost is not a denomination



Day of Pentecost - Some truth. Pentecost is not a denomination. Pentecost means 50. Today some denominations call themselves as Pentecosts. I am writing this to highlight the significance of Pentecost here
Pentecost was the day when the Ten commandments were given to Moses. In the Old Testament, it was the birthday of Torah being presented to Israelites. In the New Testament, on this very same day, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and this marks the birthday of the Church.
There are 7 major annual Jewish Festivals. Out of these 7 festivals, four festivals fulfilled through the life of Jesus and they are recorded in the first five books of the New Testament. Let us see how these festivals relate to a Christian and how they were fulfilled in the life of Jesus
1. Passover - The day God passed over the Israelites and smote the Egyptians and enabled the Israelites to leave Egypt. Jesus did the very same thing on the cross for us
2. Unleavened bread - Jesus is our passover unleavened bread who died for us
3. First Fruits - The day when Jesus rose up from the dead.
4. Pentecost - 50 days from passover. The day when Holy spirit poured himself on his disciples.
The last 3 festivals are connected to the return of our Lord and I am not getting into an Eschatological drive here
5. Trumpets
6. Atonement and
7. Tabernacles
So Yes! Pentecost means 50 and it is the birthday of the Church. 

The boring genealogies in the Bible

Image from conforming to Jesus

Have you read the Bible chronologically? When you come across genealogies do you get bored? Well, I have been there. I used to be bored when I read passages like Genesis 5

Genesis 5: 12,13

12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters.
When I come across passages like this, I would often think why should I even read these details? I would also feel sleepy and more often I would just skip these verses and move to the next chapter. Have you been in my position?

A few years ago when I decided to read the New Testament, I started with Matthew 1 and to my surprise that chapter also had a genealogy list. This made me thinking "Why Lord! Why?, Why do you do this to me? Does this genealogy help anyone in anyway?" But still I read through that chapter without giving any attention to details and moved on.


Later, during detailed study of scriptures, I realised the importance of genealogies. The very first verse of the Matthew's gospel is one of the best examples of gospel message.

Matthew 1:1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham
If you ask, "how can this be a gospel message?", read that verse again. Matthew, the disciple of Jesus drives home a strong message in this verse. He states three things in this verse
  1. Jesus is Messiah
  2. Jesus, the Messiah is the son of David
  3. Jesus, the Messiah is the son of Abraham
The Jews strongly believed that the Messiah will be from the genealogy of Abraham and David. Two verses that stand out among the Jews are the promises that God gave to Abraham and David. God's promise to Abraham and David got fulfilled through Isaac and Solomon. But the key words "All nations and forever" was a symbol of hope for the Jews that the Messiah will rule for ever and ever
Jesus, the son of Abraham
“In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 22:18)
Jesus, the son of David
When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever ( 2 Samuel 7:12,13)
The Jews missed to see the Messiah when he walked among them. But ordinary men recognised the fact that Jesus was indeed the son of David and Matthew records all these instances in his gospel
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" Matthew 9:27
And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed" Matthew 15:22
And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David! Matthew 20:30
The crowds going ahead of him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!" Matthew 21:9 
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant Matthew 21:5
Matthew's gospel is all about making sure that the Jews realise that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. And to make this fact known to them, he starts the book with the genealogy. What a perfect start. LT. Jeyachandran uncle often says that the first chapter in the book of Matthew has brought many Jews to the saving grace of Christ.

The genealogies might be boring. But when you dig deep and spend time reading them, you will realise that each and every single verse in the Bible is there for a purpose and may God open our eyes to see this purpose fulfilled in our lives.


Shielded by His grace

Prason

Trial of Pastor Jones


The Tithe Trial of Pastor Jones is fictional but clears all doubts that Christians have on Tithe. It is a long read. But trust us! This just gets interesting



Judge: Mr. Jones you have been charged with multiple counts of extortion. Your crime spree covers 20 years and thousands of victims. You have defrauded people out of their money with fear and manipulation, telling them they had to tithe 10% of their income to your church and that God would bless them if they did. You also told them that if they didn't tithe God would curse them. How do you plead?
Mr. Jones: I plead not guilty your Honor, I have done nothing wrong. I have only preached what the Bible says. In the Bible Abraham tithed to Melchizedek and God blessed him for his faithful giving. The Bible even says he was rich in silver and gold.
Judge: Is it not true, Mr. Jones, that in Genesis chapter 13 verse 2 the Bible says Abraham was rich with livestock, silver and gold?
Mr. Jones: Yes, you are exactly right, that's what I just told you.
Judge: Ok, we read about Abraham being a rich man in chapter 13 but it is not until Genesis chapter 14 that we read about Abraham's tithe to Melchizedek. So Abraham was already a rich man before he tithed to Melchizedek, wasn't he?
Mr. Jones: Yes, I suppose you are right.
Judge: So his riches were not the result of his tithe to Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: No.
Judge: Mr. Jones, you also say God blessed him for his faithful giving. How many times is it recorded that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: Well, just once.
Judge: So the Bible never said that he gave week after week?
Mr. Jones: No it does not.
Judge: Where did Abraham get the things that he gave to Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: Well the Bible says it was from the plunders of war?
Judge: So you are telling me that he gave from the plunders of war?
Mr. Jones: Yes that's what the Bible says.
Judge: So he basically took things that were not really his in the first place and gave them as the tithe?
Mr. Jones: That is what the scripture seems to indicate.
Judge: Is it recorded that he ever took anything from his own possessions and tithed them to Melchizedek or anyone else?
Mr. Jones: I guess not
Judge: You guess not, you are a Pastor and you are only guessing, is it or is it not written that he ever gave any of his own possessions as a tithe to anyone?
Mr. Jones: No it is not written anywhere that I have seen.
Judge: Is it recorded as to what exactly Abraham did give Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: I believe it says plunder?
Judge: So plunder could be any number of things?
Mr. Jones: Yes, I suppose
Judge: It could have been food, cattle, sheep, the people's possessions or any number of things. It does not say it was all money correct?
Mr. Jones: Yes you are correct, it does not say just money
Judge: As a matter of fact money is never mentioned in that account at all is that correct Mr. Jones?
Mr. Jones: Yes your Honor, money is never mentioned just goods and food and people.
Judge: So there is no way you can say with any certainty that Abraham in fact gave Melchizedek any money at all?
Mr. Jones: That is right.
Judge: I only have one last question for you Mr. Jones, did God command Abraham to give this plunder tithe to Melchizedek?
Mr. Jones: No, it appears that he did this voluntarily.
Judge: So are you trying to tell me that because of this voluntary, one time gift by Abraham, that may not have even consisted of money, all Christians everywhere are obligated to bring 10% of their weekly paycheck to a local church?
Considering all the evidence I would say you are beyond any shadow of a doubt guilty of deliberately trying to make the scriptures says things they have not said for financial gain.
Mr. Jones: Ok your Honor, I can see how foolish I was to try and use the story of Melchizedeck to try and get the people to tithe money. But there are many other verses that will support my belief on tithing. Jacob said he would give God 10% of everything. I think we should follow his example.
Judge: Let's see what Jacob said. Please read the verse you are talking about for me Mr. Jones.
Mr. Jones: In Genesis chapter 28 starting at verse 20 it says. Jacob vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Yahweh will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."
Judge: You said we should follow Jacobs's example, is that right Mr. Jones?
Mr. Jones: Yes that is right, he vowed to give a tenth and we should too.
Judge: Let me point out one thing for you Mr. Jones, Jacob said he would Give God a tenth, ONLY if He blessed him first. So as you said previously, we should follow Jacob's example and tell God that we will only give him a tenth if he blesses us first. Is that right?
Mr. Jones: That is not what I meant.
Judge: What did you mean then?
Mr. Jones: That we should give God a tenth also.
Judge: There you go again, trying to make the scripture say what you want it to say for your benefit. I would also like you to tell me the scriptures that say that Jacob kept his vow with God. I would also like to know where he gave the tenth to because there was no temple or Levites to give it to at that time.
Mr. Jones: I can not think of any scriptures that say where or if he ever tithed after his vow.
Judge: It seems fairly obvious to me that Jacob made a voluntary and conditional vow to God. This in no way can be used as a reason to demand others to bring their income to you or any other place.
Mr. Jones: I do have a few more scriptures that I believe will show that we are supposed to tithe.
Judge: You have not said anything yet to convince me one little bit that people are obligated to tithe money to the local churches and that you were justified in what you were doing. You have taken scripture and misapplied it to your beliefs and for your gain. But in order to be fair to you I will allow you to present more evidence.
Mr. Jones: In the book of Malachi chapter 3 starting at verse 8 it says, will a man rob God? yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now with this, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. So you see your Honor, we are commanded to bring the tithes into the storehouse or God will curse us.
Judge: Answer me this Mr. Jones, were you aware that God never required anyone to tithe money?
Mr. Jones: No I didn't know that.
Judge: The tithe spoken of here was always edible products never money.
Mr. Jones: well your Honor that is because they didn't have money at the time so God had them tithe food instead.
Judge: Not true, money is first mentioned in Genesis and Malachi was written hundreds of years later. God had them bring food in so that the levites, the fatherless and widows may eat and be satisfied. The tithe was used mainly to take care of people. Also notice it says in the verse you quoted, that there may be food in my house. The food was the tithe. How do you completely overlook the word food in those verses?
Mr. Jones: I don't know
Judge: I also want you to know that these verses speak to people under the Old Testament law. As you may or may not know Jesus fulfilled the law, it is no longer binding. Tithing was part of that law that has been abolished.
Once again you have tried to completely take a scripture out of context and apply it to others for your benefit. Can you give me a single scripture where God changed the tithe from food to money?
Mr. Jones: I do not know of any.
Judge: So if God never changed it from food to money who did?
Mr. Jones: Man must have.
Judge: So far all you have done Mr. Jones is take Old Testament scriptures out of context and try to apply it to believers under the New Covenant. Is this all the proof you have?
Mr. Jones: I do have a New Testament scripture that will show that Jesus told us to tithe.
Judge: Ok let me hear it.
Mr. Jones: Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. See Jesus said we should be tithing.
Judge: Let me ask you a question, who was Jesus talking to?
Mr. Jones: The scripture says the scribes and Pharisees.
Judge: Are you a scribe or Pharisee?
Mr. Jones: Of course not.
Judge: Jesus also said in that passage, you have left undone the weightier matters of the law. Are we under the law Mr. Jones?
Mr. Jones: No.
Judge: Why not?
Mr. Jones: Because Jesus fulfilled it.
Judge: When did Jesus fulfill the law?
Mr. Jones: When He was crucified.
Judge: So the law was still in effect until Jesus death?
Mr. Jones: That is correct.
Judge: I think you know where I am going with this don't you?
Mr. Jones: Yes your Honor. Since Jesus had not yet been crucified and the law was still binding the Pharisees were required to tithe because it was part of the law. Once the law ended, tithing ended also.
Judge: I want you to take a look at that verse again. Also tell me, what were they tithing?
Mr. Jones: The scripture says it was mint, dill and cumin.
Judge: Is money mentioned?
Mr. Jones: No it was not.
Judge: Once again it was edible products that they were tithing, not money. Do you have anything else you would like to say?
Mr. Jones: If people only tithed edible products like the scripture says, then how would the church survive? We have our mortgage payment, utility bills, my salary and a host of other things that we have to pay each week. We depend on the money from the people.
Judge: The need does not justify the means. In other words, just because you have all these debts does not give you the right to twist and manipulate scripture and cause people to give under fear of being cursed by God to meet your needs. In closing, let me recap a few things for you Mr. Jones. The tithe was never money; the tithe was an Old Testament law, which is no longer binding. When it was binding the tithe was used to take care of people, not buildings. We are under a new covenant now. Paul instructs the Corinthian believers how they are to give. He says in second Corinthians chapter 9 verse 7, Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. So each believer is supposed to give as he or she has determined in his or her heart. If you are trying to make people give under the threat of being cursed or any other reason you are wrong. Someone can not give cheerfully if they are being forced to give. If your church can not survive on freewill offerings maybe God is not part of your church at all.

Mr. Jones: I never realized all these things, I have always been taught that we had to tithe money to the local church and that is what I have always taught. I can see now that I was completely wrong. I did not study the scripture for myself, I only took mans word for it. Yes I am guilty. I will not teach this error anymore.

Judge: Mr. Jones, I can see that you have done this in ignorance and are repentant, this court will not hold you accountable. It is your responsibility to know the truth. I would advise you and everyone else in this courtroom to really start studying the Bible and seeking God on the subject of tithing and your eyes will be open. Do not just take mans word any longer. Start seeking God as to how and where He would have you give. Court adjourned.

Can we celebrate Christian festivals like Easter and Christmas?


In the Pre-Internet era and before the mass spreading of conspiracy theories, Christians used to attend churches on Sundays, celebrate birthdays, observe lent (40), Mourn on Good Friday and rejoice on Easter and sing carols on Christmas. 

But after Internet and Facebook became a part of our lives, we got our hands on various articles written by various authors about these religious days that are observed by the church. These special days are observed differently by the Eastern Orthodox church, The Roman Catholic church, The Protestant church and the various other denominations in Christianity. There are many denominations that do not observe any of these special days and the reason they give is that these special days have pagan origins.

If you are an active Facebook user, you might have come across FB posts of why we should not celebrate Christmas. People will argue for and against this statement. This usually happens during the month of December. After January, discussions on Christmas will die off and discussions on Valentines day will originate. Then it will be discussions on Lent and Easter where people will link Easter to a goddess called Ishtar. 

Invariably these seasonal arguments around these special days were not even part of Christian discussion before the Internet era. But I find that with the advent of Internet and with lot of conspiracy articles that are spread around the Internet, people fall into different categories and hold onto certain Bible verses and argue tooth and nail considering their opinions as a Biblical conviction that is led by the Holy Spirit.

As a person who has been on both sides of this spectrum where I have been washed to and fro in the sea tide of such debates, I have reached a point on identifying what actually matters for my Christian faith and what does not matter.

What should a Christian do?

The cardinal rule that every Christian should follow in such a scenario is that we should be slow to listen, read extensively about a subject (Both conspiracy and Historical facts), then understand the intention behind each practice and take a stand after weighing all these in line with the  contextual scriptural passages.

Let me state my statement of faith at this point of time so that you will understand my intention for this post. I believe in Salvation by Faith alone, I believe in the Trinity of God. I am reformed and I don't belong to the Roman Catholic Church. I am a Biblical Pentecost and I don't fall under the third wave Pentecostal movements. I believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven and I believe that the elect will rejoice with him for ever in his kingdom and the reprobates will be sent to eternal damnation.

I have stated my faith extensively just for the readers to understand that my belief is an offshoot of my conviction from the above belief that I just stated. There are hundreds of articles that lie in the Internet that connect Christmas to Sun god's birthday. There are hundreds of articles that connect Eater to Ishtar. Now when we read all these articles, the first thing we should do is understand the intention of the author.

Most of the articles are written with an enmity against the Roman Catholic church. I am not a Roman Catholic because I clearly stated that I am a reformed Christian. But I will never throw the baby out with the bath water. I have carefully gone through the Christian Church history as a part of my theological study and I know the value of the Apostle's creed, Nicean council and also the Athanasian creed. So with this understanding, I automatically kick off any allegiance to Arianism as a cultist teaching. If any article has come from the haystack of an Arian follower (Non Trinitarianism is one of the aspects of Arian), I would immediately shun that article because the intent of the article loses its value. Similarly if an article is written just to prove the Roman Catholic church wrong, I would still take it only with a pinch of salt, because lot of Christian practices that we all follow is still an offshoot of the RCC. But I would never accept the Salvation by works teaching by the RC church and many other teachings of the RCC.

Now coming back to the topic on festivals, many of these festivals that are celebrated in Christianity have different cultural, demographic and Political origins. One of the greatest things that I learnt in my study is that Easter is not associated with Ishtar. A very good article on this subject is written here [ Ishtar is not Easter ]

Facebook is filled with debates on why we should celebrate Easter and why we should not observe the lent. But the underlying truth is that it is not compulsory to celebrate Easter and one does not lose salvation by being disciplined in food and prayerful observance. But to make it a cardinal rule saying that we would have salvation by doing this goes against the work of Christ on the cross. At the same time to fight against a person who observes lent with conspiracy theories does not hamper his faith at all. A person who is disciplined for 40 days may be having a healthy and Spiritual lifestyle compared to a glutton who fights tooth and nail against Easter.

The Apostles never sidelined from the great commission. Paul did follow some Jewish practices of tonsuring his head even after he was sealed with the Holy Spirit. He followed those rituals for Christ and he was clear in his mind. Romans 14:5 gives a tight slap across the face for all of us when we still fight for discussions regarding days and observances. Our faith does not take a back step by practicing these rituals and we don't fall out of his salvation plan by adhering to some of these practices.

I will certainly celebrate the resurrection of the Lord and I will definitely sing Carols for Christmas. I worship Christ and not some sun god. I proclaim that he is risen and I don't proclaim the resurrection of some ishtar goddess. When we juggle and struggle to comprehend the truth in the gospel and when we misunderstand these celebrations to religious pluralism, we become majoring in minor subjects. I have participated in debates for and against these two topic for the last 10 years and I have reached a point of ignoring and moving away from people who still hold on to certain topic like this without having a solid historic footprint in Church History. 

Opinions should never be confused for convictions. I rest my case.

What is wrong with youth camps these days?

As an young adult who has involved himself in youth camps for more than two decades, I am compelled to write this. This post is written entirely based on my observation from various youth camps and also after interacting with lot of youngsters over the last ten years.

When I was in my teens, I have participated in many youth camps. Let me take you all back to the 80s and 90s. I have attended SU camps, YFC camps, FMPB camps, Navodya camps and the various camps conducted by the church group and school groups. I have witnessed the following things

1) The camp revolved around prayer. The volunteers, musicians, speakers immersed themselves in prayer
2) The theme would be selected based on a Bible verse and all the events and activities of the camp will revolve around the theme
3) The speakers and the musicians had a testimonial life
4) The speakers had logical answers from the Bible
5) The speakers had a good grounding in the Bible and they knew their doctrinal adherence
6) Follow up sessions were frequent post camp to see how we were growing in the Lord.

These 6 points summarize how youth camps used to happen in the past. Some times these camps were boring too as they did not draw the attention of the youngsters. But now a days this trend has changed a lot. The above 6 points are still preserved but with its own twists and turns. To run a youth camp, all you need today is

1) A music team that invariably can belt out songs in a great manner ( The whole purpose of the music team is to liven up the youngsters) even if they do not have testimonial lifestyle
2) A catchy theme (Mainly an abbreviation, even if it is controversial) I was discussing the theme with a youth gang when they came up with different abbreviations. One suggestion that popped up was SEX 3:16. I had no clue how that popped up. The guy gave his explanation. SEX stands for Soul Enlightened Xtians and 3:16 stands for John 3:16. I could only see at him in disbelief. There have been camp names with titles SHUT UP, 360 UP, OMG, SACHIN and so on
3) A choreographer who can do actions for the songs even if the choreographer does not believe in Jesus
4) A skit team that practices skit (Invariably with the same quit smoking/drinking/ girlfriend theme)
5) Random speakers who have no clue on what their doctrinal stand is (I am not labeling all camps with the same brush. But I have seen this trend booming up big time)
6) Even if there is no prayer, the practise sessions will go on and the media team will take care of promotions on facebook.

Follow up sessions for camps like these are zilch. The camps become an yearly activity with no follow up. It becomes a yearly event management function in most cases.

Solution:

1) Help the youth to be grounded in the word of God
2) Teach them about church history
3) Encourage them to be the salt and light to the world
4) Have corporate prayer fellowships

Unless these four things happen, the youth camps will get worser and worser.

- Prason