This morning as I sat sipping my morning coffee I was brought to an article on the counterpunch website about St. Augustine’s influence and his teaching as the driving force behind the beliefs of the current Pope and the VP of the US. The article speaks of the overwhelming influence of Augustine’s beliefs on both people. As I read two questions formed in my mind:
- Where is the Lord Jesus, His ways, His influence in the religion and beliefs of these two men;
- How could two men bow to the same person’s beliefs and doctrine yet have such disparate beliefs and doctrine?
As I sought God’s wisdom, I found myself in 1 Corinthians seeking answers to these questions.
God is so gracious, He bestows unmerited favor upon those who seek Him above all and wisdom to those diligently seek. He gave us Scripture to help guide us to Himself and His ways. The book of 1 Corinthians speaks about divisions of doctrine and in whom we are to boast and follow. Paul begins by affirming the followers of Jesus Christ our Lord as those who were brought into fellowship with the Lord Jesus and then moves on to delve into the issues besetting the church at Corinth. This letter to the church at Corinth is addressed to and relevant to each person who seeks to accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ over their life.
We are all one fellowship under God. Mankind has formed many denominations and so we find the visible church divided into many factions. Some of these factions are markedly un-Christian in their attitude toward others. Members of this divided church justify these denominational differences by saying that each denomination represents a different regiment in the army of God. They liken these differences to the different regiments in the army such as the cavalry, the infantry, the artillery, the air corps, the engineers and so on which represent the different denominations within the church. Each person then chooses the denomination they prefer.
The fact of the matter is that Scripture tells us that divisions are the work of the flesh. It is not God who divides His people into different groups. It is the work of the flesh in believers that causes this separation. Despite man’s divisions there remains the fact:
“There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope at your calling – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Eph 4:4-5)
Paul is not rebuking denominationalism directly in 1 Corinthians but rather the developing divisions in the local church; for the Corinthian believers had not yet separated into various sects/denominations. Within the Corinthian church different cliques and factions were forming resulting in dissention and growing trouble. They were losing sight of true Christian fellowship.
Paul admonishes the believers in Corinth to refrain from murmuring, complaining and rivalry. God does not force all believers to look at everything from the same standpoint. That will never happen. No two people will ever see the same flower the same. If you stood beside me looking at the same flower you would see it differently than I would. Your angle would be different than mine. How you perceive its colors is different than mine. The shadows and light that you see bouncing off the flower hit the surface of your eye at a different angle creating a variation of what I see. You may have allergies to the flower and perceive it as discomfort rather than for beauty revealed.
It is foolish to quarrel about the flower, its color, its beauty and so on. In Philippians 3:15-16 we read:
“Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you.”
We do not see eye to eye even as we read the Scripture. So much depends on our education, on our cultural standards, on our environment and so many other factors. In addition, we often misunderstand Scripture because we are not more familiar with the languages and cultures in which the Bible was originally written.
You may look at things one way and I may look at them another way, but if we have the mind of Christ, we are not going to quarrel, but we will happily fellowship together having consideration for one another and praying for one another.
We read that we are to increase in knowledge and in all judgment. That does not mean judging one another, it means discernment. We are to increase in knowledge and in discernment.
Every believer has the Spirit of God dwelling in them to give them discernment. If we depend on the Spirit of God, He will give us discernment. To receive God’s discernment, we must diligently study our Bibles. You become what you eat… well, you become what you study.
Next Paul gets to the heart of the matter. There are factions developing. One faction follows one person and their teaching another faction follows a different person and their teaching.
Verse 3:11 reads:
“For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.”
We also find in Verse 4:6:
“Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying: ‘Nothing beyond what is written.’ The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another.”
Bottom line, we follow God not man. St. Augustine was a man. A man whose teachings have wisdom but are not wisdom itself. God bids us come to Him. The Lord Jesus told us that whatever we ask the Father in His name we will receive. We pray to God, not to Augustine, not to Mary, not to Santa Clause. We ask God.
Proceeding through 1 Corinthians we eventually find our lives inundated by 1 Corinthians thirteen. Love. God is Love. Without love we are nothing. Without love we gain nothing.
Love is patient, kind, does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, does not keep a record of wrongs, finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
Where in the rhetoric that is being spewed and the violence being perpetrated in the world today do we find the character of Jesus Christ of Nazareth? Where do we find the love spoken of in 1 Corinthians 13 and found throughout Scripture in the world today or in God’s so called Christian church?
In answer to the questions posed:
1. Where is the Lord Jesus, His ways, His influence in the religion and beliefs of these two men?
Both appear to give pre-eminence to the teachings of Augustine and revere him as a guiding light if not the guiding light of their faith. I say appear because we are only looking at a single moment of their public life. They both may hold as true certain aspects of Augustinian theology while disagreeing with other aspects.
The issue is who has pre-eminence or who is above all others in their lives?
- The Papacy is a political position within the Catholic church.
- The VP of the US is a political position within the US government.
Both the Pope and the VP are using the Bible and Religion to promote their political agendas.
What are they saying? What are they doing? How do they treat others? As we do unto the least of people we are doing it to Jesus Christ, Son of God. We must truly look at and see – discern – what they are promoting.
Our only hope is to be discerning. Follow God not man. Know God. Grow day by day, moment by moment closer to God. Study His word, the Bible. Pray earnestly for wisdom, guidance and for the character of Jesus Christ of Nazareth to be formed within you.
2. How could two men bow to the same person’s beliefs and doctrine yet have such disparate beliefs and doctrine?
As noted above both parties are using the Bible and Religion to promote their political agendas. Those agendas are coloring how they read and understand Scripture. Both are coming at Scripture with preconceived ideas about what is being said and then molding that Scripture to fit their doctrine and agenda.
We must be discerning.
God is a God of order not of chaos.
God is Love. Everything He does emanates from Love. Read 1 Corinthians 13 to find out what God says about love. From Genesis to Revelation, we learn about God’s love towards us. Since creation God has pursued mankind seeking to enter a deep and integrated relationship with us. The choice is ours. God has now made the offer through His Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Let us come to Him with our whole being.