Secular / Biblical / Apologist

Secular / Biblical / Apologist

Do we live by mans laws, God’s teachings or a blend of the two? Do we live by mans law alone or follow Christ Jesus alone? How do you live? This is an important question for today, yesterday and for all eternity. We must answer this question at some point in our life, even if it is at the very last breath of our life. This question plays a part in how we live and, for believers, after we depart this vessel for the Spirit.

If we choose to live strictly by mans laws then God’s teachings play no role in the life and that person simply answers to earthly questions, customs and actions. If we choose to live a godly life, well, what role do mans laws play? What about culture? What about the “whims of trend”? Should we allow small groups of people to impact our thoughts and actions or should we keep an eye on where we are headed, regardless if we are following mans laws or following Christ Jesus or a combination.

Once we reach a conclusion what do we do with this information and what role should it play in our life – does it matter at all? It should matter a great deal to each person. It should be one of the driving forces for our life. It doesn’t matter if a person follows Christ, mans laws or something altogether different a person that has integrity will live by a code of conduct that works best for their life. While it would be great if all the people of earth, all 7.4 billion, were following Jesus, while a nice thought, probably not realistic. Since I am not planning on writing a book I will address one of the more serious issues facing our society today. I will even break it down further and focus on one segment within this subsection of modern society.

If we look at one recent story that has raced through our world we can see there is a need to take a closer look at this issue.

Chick-Fil-A ended a long time relationship with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). While Chick-Fil-A is not a person, it was a person that made the decision and it certainly impacts people. This is a group of people giving in to ideas that the broader base of America does not support.

Several years ago, the restaurant chain stopped giving to some organizations that oppose same-sex marriage, like the Family Research Council, but continued to support groups like FCA and Salvation Army, which are not focused on political action. Going forward, it will end multiyear commitments to both charities after donating $1.65 million to FCA and $115,000 to the Salvation Army in 2018, according to tax forms. Source

Any organization can do what it feels is best for their business, their goals and outlook for the health and direction of the organization. It is not the organization it is, ultimately, the people making the decision. The people are who we should focus.

This article began with a simple question that requires a complex answer and a bit of soul-searching to reach a conclusion. We recently published “Owners Manual” as a way for us to look more deeply into our own life and see if there was guidance for how to live. We believe this is one of the ways to help address these simple but complicated questions. After more than 2,000 years it seems the guidance from Scripture should be taken to heart as it does hold true, otherwise, we feel confident the “book” would have been left on the shelf of history a long, long time ago. Why do people, to this day, turn to it for answers in their life?

Romans 1 CSB

26 For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.
27 The men in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.
28 And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.
29 They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 senseless, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.
32 Although they know God’s just sentence — that those who practice such things deserve to die — they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them.

false-Pride parades are now part of the landscape in the U.S. and in a growing number of nations around the world. How do we reconcile such debauchery in our world while having knowledge of Scripture?