Changes
I've been thinking a lot about changes lately, perhaps because of all the historical novels I've been reading. Some changes are easily accepted by the vast majority of us—like indoor plumbing and refrigeration. Some are more difficult to assimilate into our daily lives. It doesn't seem like that many years ago that I advised someone struggling with finances to give up the cell phone because it wasn't a necessity. Funny how it no longer appears to be the luxury it once was.
Speaking of cell phones... Technology has brought rapid change to our lives. Just sitting here at a computer, typing away on a blog, is something I would never have dreamed of thirty years ago. Even the idea of a personal computer was unheard of when Bob and I were married almost 45 years ago. And smart phones?
Other changes have come slowly, gradually. Like clothing. My grandmothers wore house dresses, although my Grandma Wallace did buy one pair of jeans for gardening. I remember how surprising it was when she donned them to play ball with my young children.
I remember when Easter meant bonnets, white gloves, new dresses and new shoes. We always dressed up somewhat to visit at the hospital, to go to doctor's appointments and even to go to a restaurant. No slacks were allowed for girls when I was school, except during exam week and in gym classes, where we wore gym suits. And we always put on our Sunday best for church. Job interviews always meant suits for men and women. In all honesty, I don't know when all that changed, it was so gradual.
Is change a sin? Of course not. God created us to be like Him, which includes gifts of creativity and inventiveness.
Can it become sin? Of course. Technology in itself is not sin; allowing it to replace God in importance in our lives is. Casual dress is not sin unless the choice of style is immodest: "Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control" (2 Timothy 2:9). I fear many young people today don't understand modesty because of what we see in the media and all around us—low-cut necklines, bare midriffs, skinny jeans...
The biggest danger of change is in theology. We must remain true to the Bible and only the Bible. Although there are many excellent teachers, we must always make sure their teachings stand up to the standard of Scripture. Only God's Word is infallible; man's teachings can fail and they can change.
Have you ever noticed that false teaching maintains an element of truth? For example, Angelology is the worship of angels instead of the Creator; but angels do exist and they do have certain powers. Even Satan used bits of truth when he deceived Eve. I can just imagine his tone of voice as he sarcastically asked, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?'" And he was correct when he said, "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:1-5).
One prevalent lie of today is: "God is love; therefore He couldn't send anyone to hell." They forget that God is also a holy and just God; they forget that His holiness means He is a God to be feared, not glossed over.
Another lie is that we all worship the same God, even if by another name. No! Study the character of those other gods. Do all religions lead to the same heaven? Does an exemplary life lead to heaven? "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12, ESV). That name is Jesus, who said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, ESV).
Peter warned us that "there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction" (2 Peter 2:1, ESV).
Why are we so easily deceived? Sometimes it's because we wish to rationalize sin, to indulge in those temporary pleasures that actually bring remorse and misery in the long run. Our temptations may come from greed or sensuality or just the constant wearing down of our principles. Peter said those heretics "promise ... freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption" (2 Peter 2:19, ESV).
Change is all around us. Let us be watchful and prayerful, armed with the truths of Scripture. May we never water down the truth or seek to rationalize behavior that is contrary to righteous living.
Speaking of cell phones... Technology has brought rapid change to our lives. Just sitting here at a computer, typing away on a blog, is something I would never have dreamed of thirty years ago. Even the idea of a personal computer was unheard of when Bob and I were married almost 45 years ago. And smart phones?
Other changes have come slowly, gradually. Like clothing. My grandmothers wore house dresses, although my Grandma Wallace did buy one pair of jeans for gardening. I remember how surprising it was when she donned them to play ball with my young children.
I remember when Easter meant bonnets, white gloves, new dresses and new shoes. We always dressed up somewhat to visit at the hospital, to go to doctor's appointments and even to go to a restaurant. No slacks were allowed for girls when I was school, except during exam week and in gym classes, where we wore gym suits. And we always put on our Sunday best for church. Job interviews always meant suits for men and women. In all honesty, I don't know when all that changed, it was so gradual.
Is change a sin? Of course not. God created us to be like Him, which includes gifts of creativity and inventiveness.
Can it become sin? Of course. Technology in itself is not sin; allowing it to replace God in importance in our lives is. Casual dress is not sin unless the choice of style is immodest: "Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control" (2 Timothy 2:9). I fear many young people today don't understand modesty because of what we see in the media and all around us—low-cut necklines, bare midriffs, skinny jeans...
The biggest danger of change is in theology. We must remain true to the Bible and only the Bible. Although there are many excellent teachers, we must always make sure their teachings stand up to the standard of Scripture. Only God's Word is infallible; man's teachings can fail and they can change.
Have you ever noticed that false teaching maintains an element of truth? For example, Angelology is the worship of angels instead of the Creator; but angels do exist and they do have certain powers. Even Satan used bits of truth when he deceived Eve. I can just imagine his tone of voice as he sarcastically asked, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?'" And he was correct when he said, "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:1-5).
One prevalent lie of today is: "God is love; therefore He couldn't send anyone to hell." They forget that God is also a holy and just God; they forget that His holiness means He is a God to be feared, not glossed over.
Another lie is that we all worship the same God, even if by another name. No! Study the character of those other gods. Do all religions lead to the same heaven? Does an exemplary life lead to heaven? "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12, ESV). That name is Jesus, who said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, ESV).
Peter warned us that "there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction" (2 Peter 2:1, ESV).
Why are we so easily deceived? Sometimes it's because we wish to rationalize sin, to indulge in those temporary pleasures that actually bring remorse and misery in the long run. Our temptations may come from greed or sensuality or just the constant wearing down of our principles. Peter said those heretics "promise ... freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption" (2 Peter 2:19, ESV).
Change is all around us. Let us be watchful and prayerful, armed with the truths of Scripture. May we never water down the truth or seek to rationalize behavior that is contrary to righteous living.
For the time is coming
when people will not endure sound teaching,
but having itching ears
they will accumulate for themselves
teachers to suit their own passions,
and will turn away from listening to the truth
and wander off into myths.
2 Timothy 4:4, 5 ESV
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