Faith on Trial: Abel — When Faith Speaks Without Words

 

The Witness Takes the Stand

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain…”
— Hebrews 11:4

Before there was a nation, before there was law, before there was a written command—there was a man named Abel.

And God said: that was faith.

---

The Scene of the Account

The story unfolds in Genesis 4.

Two brothers.
Two offerings.
One accepted. One rejected.

Abel brings of the firstlings of his flock. Cain brings of the fruit of the ground.

On the surface, both are giving something. Both are approaching God.

But heaven does not respond the same way.

---

The Case FOR Faith

What made Abel’s offering “more excellent”?

The text in Genesis doesn’t spell out a long explanation—but Hebrews does.

“By faith…”

Abel didn’t just bring something—he brought it believing God.

Somewhere, in a way not fully recorded, Abel understood:

• God is to be approached on His terms, not ours

• What is offered must cost something

• Worship is not about effort—it is about alignment with God’s will

Faith, here, is not abstract.
It shows up in what Abel does.

---

The Case AGAINST (The Prosecutor Speaks)

Let’s not rush past the tension.

If you were standing there that day, you might ask:

• Why does God accept one and reject the other?

• Didn’t Cain also bring an offering?

• Is this arbitrary? Favoritism?

• Why should one act of worship matter this much?

And more pressing:

• Was Abel naive?

• Was it worth it—if it led to his death?

Because this is the first time faith appears in Hebrews 11…
…and it ends in murder.

That’s not a comfortable introduction.

---

God’s Verdict

God’s testimony settles what human reasoning cannot:

“…by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts…”
— Hebrews 11:4

Abel is called righteous.

Not because of the size of his offering.
Not because of effort.
But because of faith.

And then comes the striking conclusion:

“…and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”

Abel’s life was short.
His voice was silenced by violence.

But God says: he is still speaking.

---

What Is Abel Still Saying?

Abel testifies that:

• Faith is not measured by longevity, but by alignment with God

• Faith may not preserve your life—but it secures your standing with God

• What God accepts matters more than what man approves

Cain lived. Abel died.

Yet Abel is remembered as faithful. Cain is remembered as a warning.

---

Present-Day Reflection

It’s easy to read this account and stay distant from it—but the question hasn’t changed:

How do we approach God?

• On our terms, like Cain?

• Or by faith, like Abel?

Faith is not just believing God exists.
It is coming to Him the way He has revealed.

That’s why Abel still speaks.

Not loudly.
Not forcefully.

But clearly enough for anyone willing to hear.

In time past Abel brought his sacrifice to God, but now, God offers an understanding of His divine plan, revealing how God extends His grace to all, irrespective of nationality or heritage. It emphasizes the present global offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ His Death on the Cross, burial and Resurrection..." That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:7

Science Finally Proved What Romans 12:2 Has Always Said (This Will Blow Your Mind)

A Father’s Cry, A Prophet’s Burden, A Savior’s Cross

There’s a moment in the life of David that’s hard to read without feeling it.

His son—Absalom—is gone.

And David cries:

“O my son Absalom… would God I had died for thee.”

It’s not theology.
It’s not doctrine.
It’s a father undone.

And yet, in that cry, there’s something deeper—
a longing that has no way to fulfill itself.

David loves…
but he cannot save.

---

The Same Heart in the Prophets

As you move through the prophets, that same weight shows up again—but now it’s not just one son.

It’s a nation.

Through men like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, you start to see it:

• warnings given

• rejection returned

• judgment coming

But underneath it all…
there’s grief.

Not cold anger.
Not distant judgment.

Something closer to:

“Why will ye die?”

The prophets aren’t just delivering messages.
They’re carrying the weight of a people who won’t listen.

It begins to feel familiar.

Like David… but larger.

---

From Wish to Promise

Then something shifts.

In the middle of warnings and judgments, a different note appears.

Isaiah speaks of one who will:

• bear griefs

• carry sorrows

• be wounded for others

Now the thought that lived in David’s heart—
“I wish I could take his place”—

is no longer just a feeling.

It becomes a promise.

---

Where It All Meets

Then you arrive at the cross.

And what David could not do…
what the prophets could only speak of…

Jesus Christ does.

Not for a son who loved him—
but for those who rejected him.

Not after judgment—
but to bear it.

Not as a cry of sorrow—
but as a willing offering.

---

And Then—Something David Never Saw

David’s story with Absalom ends in grief.

The prophets often end in warning.

But the cross does not end there.

There is a resurrection.

Death is not the final word.

The place where love seemed to lose—
becomes the place where it overcomes.

---

A Thread Worth Following

David shows us the heart of a father.
The prophets show us the heart of God toward a people.
The cross shows us that heart acted out in full.

Not forced connections.
Not strained parallels.

Just a line that runs quietly through Scripture:

From a cry…
to a burden…
to a finished work.

---

Something to Consider

David said:

“Would I had died for thee.”

The prophets pointed forward.

Christ said:

“It is finished.”

Looking for peace?

 

Character Witness: Enoch — Walking Into the Unseen

Some lives in Scripture are loud.

Others are almost silent… yet they speak across the whole Bible.

Enoch is one of those.

---

A Man Who Walked With God

We’re introduced to Enoch in Genesis in the middle of a genealogy—a list most people read quickly.

But then the pattern breaks:

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

That’s it.

No battles.
No sermons recorded.
No long story.

Just this: he walked with God.

And then—he was gone.

---

Not Just Living… Walking

A lot of people in Genesis “lived.”

Enoch walked.

That word matters. Walking implies:

• direction

• relationship

• agreement

It’s not a moment—it’s a life.

In a world that was quickly descending into corruption before the flood, Enoch lived differently. Quietly, steadily, consistently aligned with God.

---

The Commentary in Hebrews

The New Testament gives us insight we wouldn’t otherwise have. In Hebrews 11, Enoch is pulled forward as a witness:

“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death…”

Now we understand:

• His walk was by faith

• His removal was not random—it was pleasing to God

The passage goes further:

“For before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

Enoch didn’t just believe God existed—he lived in a way that agreed with Him.

---

A Pre-Flood Voice

There’s also a small but important note in Jude:

Enoch prophesied…

That tells us something surprising:

Enoch wasn’t just walking—he was warning.

Before the flood ever came, there was already a voice saying:

• judgment is real

• God sees

• accountability is coming

So while Genesis gives us a quiet picture, the New Testament lets us hear his voice.

---

Taken, Not Lost

“God took him.”

That phrase sets Enoch apart from everyone else in that chapter.

Over and over Genesis says:
“and he died… and he died… and he died…”

But not Enoch.

He becomes a living testimony that:

• death is not the final authority

• fellowship with God is stronger than the grave

He didn’t escape reality—he stepped into a greater one.

---

A Witness of What Faith Looks Like

Enoch’s life answers a simple but deep question:

What does faith look like when no one is watching?

Not dramatic moments.
Not public displays.

Just a steady walk with God in the middle of a broken world.

---

A Quiet Foreshadow

Without forcing it, you can see why Enoch stands out in the larger story:

• He walks with God in a corrupt age

• He speaks of coming judgment

• He is taken before that judgment falls

It’s not the full picture—but it’s a pattern worth noticing.

---

Why Enoch Matters

Enoch doesn’t give us much to analyze—but he gives us something better to consider:

• Faith is not noise—it’s direction

• Pleasing God is not complicated—but it is costly

• A life aligned with God may not make headlines—but it will be seen by Him

---

Final Thought

Enoch never wrote a book.
Never led a nation.
Never built anything we can point to.

But he walked with God.

And that was enough to leave a testimony that still speaks.

Character Witness: The Open Ending

There’s something unusual about how the Old Testament ends.

Not in our English Bible—but in the way the Scriptures were arranged in the Hebrew tradition. The final words come from 2 Chronicles, and they don’t sound like an ending at all:

“Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.”

Those words are spoken by Cyrus the Great, the king who allowed Israel to return from captivity.

But instead of wrapping everything up neatly, the text leaves us standing at the edge of something unfinished.

---

An Ending That Feels Like a Beginning

Israel had gone into exile because of disobedience. Now, by God’s mercy, a door had opened.

“Go up.”

Go back to the land.
Go rebuild the temple.
Go restore what was lost.

But if you keep reading the story through Ezra and Nehemiah, something becomes clear:

They returned… but not fully.
They rebuilt… but not completely.
They resumed worship… but something was still missing.

The deeper restoration—the kind the prophets spoke about—had not yet come.

So the Old Testament, in this order, doesn’t close the story.

It leaves it open.

---

A Long Silence… Then a Voice

Centuries pass.

No new prophets. No new writings. Just expectation.

Then the New Testament opens with the words of Gospel of Matthew:

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David…”

Matthew doesn’t begin with an explanation—he begins with a declaration.

The King has come.

---

From “Go Up” to “He Has Come”

If you hold these two moments together, a pattern starts to emerge:

• Chronicles ends with a call to return

• Matthew begins with the arrival of the King

Chronicles points people back to a physical land and a physical temple.

Matthew points to a person.

What the return from exile could not fully accomplish, Jesus comes to fulfill.

The restoration Israel longed for wasn’t just about geography—it was about redemption.

---

The Witness of an Unfinished Story

In that sense, Chronicles becomes a kind of “character witness.”

Not by telling us everything—but by leaving something unresolved.

It testifies that:

• God keeps His promises (they returned)

• But the promise was always pointing beyond itself

The command “go up” was real and necessary.

But it wasn’t the end of the story.

---

Why This Matters

It’s easy to read the Bible as a collection of completed moments—finished stories neatly tied together.

But this ending reminds us:

God’s work often moves forward in stages. As it states in Ephesians 3:10.."the manifold wisdom of God..."

What looks complete in one generation may only be preparation for the next.

And sometimes, the most powerful testimony isn’t in what is finished…

…but in what is still waiting to be fulfilled.

---

A Final Thought

The Old Testament closes with an invitation:

“Let him go up.”

The New Testament opens with an answer:

Jesus Christ has come.

The story didn’t restart—it continued.

And the One who arrived is the fulfillment of everything that was left unfinished.

Character Witnesses Of Faith. Abel: Faith That Speaks Louder Than Sacrifice

 Hebrews 11:4 – “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain…”

---

Have you ever felt unnoticed or overlooked, even when you were doing the right thing? Abel did. In a world where appearances and outward gestures often get attention, Abel reminds us that God sees the heart—and faith matters more than recognition.

---

Who Was Abel?

Abel was the second son of Adam and Eve, a shepherd living in the shadow of his older brother Cain, a farmer. Though his life was simple and his role seemingly minor, Abel’s story teaches us that faith elevates ordinary acts into extraordinary worship.

---

Abel’s Act of Faith

Hebrews 11 highlights what made Abel’s offering special: he brought the firstborn of his flock with the right heart, seeking to honor God rather than impress men. His faith was active, obedient, and sincere—even when no one else could see it.

• Faith in action: Offering the best, not the leftover

• Faith in principle: Trusting God’s standard, not human approval

• Faith with risk: Standing rightly while his brother chose wrongly

This faith was so genuine that God accepted Abel’s offering, but Cain’s was rejected. Tragically, Abel’s commitment led to his death at the hands of jealousy—but Hebrews 11 reminds us: “Though he died, he still speaks.”

---

Lesson from Abel

Abel shows us that faith isn’t measured by size, wealth, or recognition—it’s measured by the heart. True faith honors God, not people. It may not be applauded, and sometimes it may even bring opposition—but God remembers.

---

Applying Abel’s Faith Today

1. Prioritize heart over show: In work, family, or service, seek God’s approval first.

2. Offer your best: Faithful actions, even small, count for God.

3. Stand firm quietly: Don’t compromise when others take shortcuts.

Your “Abel moments” may seem unnoticed, but your faith has eternal impact. Just as Hebrews 11 says, Abel “still speaks”—his faith echoes beyond the grave.

---

Reflection Box: Abel’s Character Witness

• Faith Action: Offered a pleasing sacrifice to God.

• Faith Lesson: God values sincere faith above outward appearances.

In the Shadow of Empires: Psalm 44 and the Voices of Suffering

 Earlier we looked at how the fall of Egypt at Carchemish and the rise of Babylon shaped the prophetic world of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. But there is another voice, softer yet piercing, that captures the human side of living through these events: Psalm 44.

This psalm reads like a diary of a nation in crisis — a people who remember the victories of the past but now face daily humiliation and suffering. Its words echo the tension we see in Jeremiah as the Babylonian threat looms over Jerusalem and Judah.

---

Psalm 44 and the Historical Context

Psalm 44 is not a chronological history, but when we line it up with the events Jeremiah witnessed, a pattern emerges:

Psalm 44 Theme	Corresponding Historical Event
Remembering past victories (vv.1–8)	Judah recalls the promises of God and the triumphs of earlier kings, yet contrasts them with current defeat.
National defeat and humiliation (vv.9–16)	Babylonian armies sweep through Judah, deporting nobles and craftsmen (597 BC), threatening Jerusalem and temple worship.
Scattering among nations (v.11)	Early deportations, captives taken to Babylon; Jeremiah sees the exiles leaving their homeland.
Daily suffering, oppression (vv.12–16)	Hunger, fear, and public shame under the shadow of foreign power.
Protest of innocence (vv.17–22)	Judah’s faithful remnant cries out: they have not abandoned God, yet judgment still comes — echoing Jeremiah’s lament for a people suffering despite covenant faithfulness.
Plea for God’s intervention (vv.23–26)	A cry for rescue and redemption, a hope that mirrors Jeremiah’s visions of restoration (Jeremiah 29:4–14; Jerimiah 32).

---

What This Teaches Us

Psalm 44 is powerful because it captures the experience of God’s people under duress:

• Faithful suffering: They are not rebelling, yet feel crushed.

• Covenant awareness: They remember God’s promises and their identity as His people.

• Hope in crisis: Even in humiliation, the psalmist calls for God to act.

When read alongside Jeremiah, we see the human side of prophecy — the fear, the protest, the faithful persistence in hope.

In the Shadow of Empires: Studying Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel

 If you want to understand the prophetic books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, it helps to step back and look at the world they were living in.

These men were not writing in quiet times. They were prophesying in the middle of collapsing governments and rising world powers.

In 605 BC, at the decisive Battle of Carchemish, Egypt fell and Babylon rose. What looked like political news was, in reality, the turning of a page in God’s redemptive timeline.

That single transfer of power shaped:

• The warnings of Jeremiah

• The visions of Ezekiel

• The captivity and court scenes of Daniel

Jeremiah prophesied as Jerusalem trembled.
Ezekiel saw visions from exile.
Daniel stood inside the very empire God had raised up.

None of this was random.

Daniel would later say that God “removes kings and sets up kings.” That wasn’t theology in a classroom — it was history unfolding before his eyes.

---

Why Background Matters

When we study these books without their historical setting, they can feel disconnected — a collection of warnings, visions, and symbols.

But when we understand that they were written during the rise and fall of empires, something becomes clearer:

God governs the transfer of world power.

Empires appear permanent.
They are not.
They rise.
They fall.
And the Word of God continues.

---

A Brief Thought Toward Revelation

Without trying to settle every prophetic detail, it is worth noting something.

When Revelation 17 speaks of successive kings and an eighth that rises (Rev. 17:11), this could be seen not as an isolated mystery, but as the continuation of a biblical pattern already present in the prophets.

Jeremiah saw one empire fall and another rise.
Ezekiel prophesied under foreign rule.
Daniel was shown a sequence of kingdoms that would come and go.

Revelation does not introduce the idea that God governs empires — it brings that theme to completion.

That observation is not meant to force a system, but to encourage study. Scripture often builds forward. Later revelation assumes earlier foundations.

---

An Invitation

If you want to study prophecy well, start here:

• Read Jeremiah with Babylon in view.

• Read Ezekiel knowing he is speaking from exile.

• Read Daniel remembering he lived inside the empire he described.

Then, when you come to Revelation, you are not stepping into unfamiliar territory. You are seeing a pattern reach its climax.

The kingdoms of men rise and fall.

The kingdom of God does not.

And that is a thread worth tracing from beginning to end.

Dead Men Who's Influences Are Still With Us Today Episode 10

 

1️⃣ Kierkegaard as the Father of Existential Emphasis

Breese presents Kierkegaard as a major influence behind modern existentialism — the shift toward:

• Subjective experience

• Personal inwardness

• Individual decision

• The “leap” of faith

Kierkegaard reacted strongly against:

• Dead orthodoxy

• Cultural Christianity

• State-church complacency

Breese recognizes that critique had force.

---

2️⃣ Where Breese Raises Concern

The issue, in Breese’s view, is what happened after Kierkegaard.

When faith becomes heavily centered on:

Individual inward experience

It can drift toward:

• Relativism

• Anti-rationalism

• “Truth for me” thinking

• Emotionalism detached from objective revelation

Breese suggests that while Kierkegaard intended to defend authentic Christianity, later thinkers used existential categories to detach truth from fixed authority.

In other words:

Kierkegaard aimed at awakening faith.
Later movements sometimes weakened doctrinal certainty.

---

3️⃣ Tone Toward Kierkegaard

Breese’s tone here is more respectful and complex.

He tends to portray Kierkegaard as:

• Intellectually serious

• Spiritually earnest

• Reacting to real spiritual decay

But he views the existential turn as opening the door to modern subjectivism.

---

4️⃣ The Broader Pattern Breese Sees

Across the three:

• Wellhausen → Scripture becomes historical development

• Keynes → Economics becomes managed engineering

• Kierkegaard (as received later) → Truth becomes internalized experience

Different disciplines.

Similar underlying move:
From objective external authority
To Me centered interpretation or management.

Breese’s concern is not conspiracy — it’s philosophical drift.

---

5️⃣ And Here’s the Careful Balance

It’s worth noting:

• Kierkegaard himself defended core Christian doctrines.

• He was not a liberal theologian in the modern sense.

• Many conservative Christians still value his insights.

Breese critiques the trajectory more than the man’s heart.

---

Now here’s something I think you’ll appreciate.

The earlier comment about an “invisible hand” guiding intellectual development — Breese’s argument is actually subtler:

He would say ideas share common soil.
When culture shifts its starting point (authority, revelation, transcendence), thinkers in different fields reflect that shift independently.

Not coordinated.
But connected by presupposition.

That’s less mystical — and more philosophical.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting this  blog.

Get the book HERE 7 Men Who Role The World From The Grave

Dead Men Who's Influences Are Still With Us Today Episode 9

 In Seven Men Who Rule the World from the Grave, Breese treats John Maynard Keynes not primarily as an economist, but as a shaper of modern assumptions about money, government, and man's responsibility.

Here’s the pattern of how he presents him:

---

1️⃣ Keynes as a Shift in Economic Philosophy

Breese argues that Keynes represents a turning point from:

• Economic restraint → managed stimulus

• Balanced budgets → deficit spending

• Market correction → government intervention

• Moral economics → technocratic economics

In Breese’s view, Keynes normalized the idea that governments could:

• Spend beyond their means

• Use debt strategically

• Manage economies through centralized policy

Breese sees that as more than economics — he sees it as a philosophical shift about authority and accountability.

---

2️⃣ Tone Toward Keynes

Like with Wellhausen, Breese does not portray Keynes as evil or foolish.
He portrays him as:

• Brilliant

• Influential

• Culturally catalytic

But also as someone whose ideas carried unintended moral consequences.

Breese tends to emphasize:

• Keynes’ confidence in elite management

• His dismissal of long-term consequences (“In the long run we are all dead”)

• His belief that economic structures could be engineered

Breese interprets that famous line as symptomatic of a mindset that prioritizes immediate relief over enduring moral order.

---

3️⃣ The Larger Concern

Breese connects Keynes to a broader 20th-century move:

From:

Self-discipline and providence

To:

System-management and state dependency

He suggests that once economic order becomes detached from moral law, it becomes subject to political manipulation.

In Breese’s framework, Keynes becomes emblematic of:

• The technocratic confidence of modernity

• Faith in systems over character

• Management over stewardship

---

4️⃣ Important Context

To keep balance:

• Keynes was responding to the Great Depression — a real crisis.

• Many mainstream economists still credit him with stabilizing economies.

• Debate continues between Keynesian and free-market schools.

Breese writes from a clear Christian worldview lens, so his evaluation is moral-theological, not purely economic.

---

5️⃣ It's almost as if an  “invisible hand” 

 not in a conspiratorial sense, but in an uncanny philosophical continuity.

Breese’s point across these men Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Julius Wellhausen, John Dewey, Sigmund Freud, John Maynard Keynes, and Soren Kierkegaard. is not that they collaborated.

It’s that:

• They shared modern assumptions.

• Those assumptions weakened transcendence.

• Those ideas filtered into institutions.

Wellhausen reshaped how people read Scripture.
Keynes reshaped how people view money and authority.

Different fields. Similar philosophical confidence in people's management thinking.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting this  blog.

Get the book HERE 7 Men Who Role The World From The Grave

Dead Men Who's Influences Are Still With Us Today Episode 8

In David Breese's book "7 Men Who Rule The World From The Grave" portrays Wellhausen as a key architect of modern higher criticism, especially through the Documentary Hypothesis (JEDP theory).

According to Breese:

• Moses did not write the Pentateuch.

• The Torah developed gradually from competing religious traditions.

• Israel’s religion evolved from primitive to advanced forms.

Breese frames this as a major shift from:

Revelation → to religious evolution
Divine authorship → to man's compilation

In his view, that shift had enormous downstream consequences.

---

2️⃣ Tone Toward Wellhausen

The book is not biographical or sympathetic in tone — he’s analytical and critical.

He sees Wellhausen as:

• Intellectually influential

• Historically consequential

• Theologically damaging

But not as malicious. More as a scholar whose presuppositions shaped his conclusions.

Breese’s argument is that once the Bible is treated primarily as a man made religious document rather than revelation, the foundation shifts.

---

3️⃣ The Larger Point Breese Makes

Wellhausen isn’t treated in isolation.

Breese connects him to a broader intellectual movement that:

• Replaced supernatural explanation with natural development

• Reframed Scripture as literature rather than revelation

• Influenced seminaries and theological institutions

In other words, Wellhausen becomes symbolic of a larger trend:

The move from “Thus saith the Lord”
to “Thus evolved the tradition.”

---

4️⃣ Where It Intersects With My Interest

Given my concern about:

• Bible-doubting footnotes

• Source-critical frameworks

• The invisible intellectual thread

Breese would argue that Wellhausen represents a key node in that network — not because he worked with the others directly, but because ideas travel beyond their originators.

That’s part of what feels “uncanny” to you:
Different men Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Julius Wellhausen, John Dewey, Sigmund Freud, John Maynard Keynes, and Soren Kierkegaard, different countries — but similar philosophical soil.

---

5️⃣ Important Balance

It’s worth noting:
Modern scholarship has revised, nuanced, and in some cases moved beyond classic Wellhausen-style JEDP. Even secular scholars debate it.

So Breese presents a clear theological critique, but it’s also helpful to remember that academic discussion has continued to evolve.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting this  blog.

Get the book HERE 7 Men Who Role The World From The Grave

Dead Men Who's Influences Are Still With Us Today Episode 5

 

Karl Marx: Putting the Engine to Work

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." — 1 Timothy 6:10

---

Introduction: From Philosophy to Practice

In the previous post, we looked at how Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel redefined truth as a process driven by conflict. His ideas were abstract, philosophical, and easy for many to dismiss as impractical.

Karl Marx proved otherwise.

Marx took Hegel’s method and applied it to everyday life. If Hegel built the engine, Marx put it on the ground and taught the masses how to use it. What had been philosophy became economic ideology, and what had been theory became revolution.

---

Marx in Plain Terms

Marx taught that all of human history is driven by class struggle. Society, he argued, is divided between those who own the means of production and those who do not. Every institution—family, religion, government—exists primarily to protect the interests of the ruling class.

In Marx’s worldview:

• Man is defined by labor

• Morality is shaped by economics

• Religion is a tool of control

Truth, like in Hegel’s system, is not fixed. It advances through conflict—this time between classes.

---

The Biblical Collision

Scripture does not deny injustice or oppression. But it locates the root problem not in economics, but in the human heart.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." — Jeremiah 17:9
"From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?" — James 4:1

Marx externalized the problem. The Bible internalizes it.

Where Marx says systems corrupt man, Scripture says sinful man corrupts systems.

---

Why Marx Had to Reject God

Marx did not merely criticize religion; he had to remove it.

If God exists:

• Moral law is fixed

• Human value is inherent

• Justice transcends class

Marxism cannot tolerate those truths. To make conflict the engine of history, there can be no higher authority to appeal to—only power.

This is why Marx famously dismissed religion as an illusion. Not because it was ineffective, but because it stood in the way.

---

How Marx Rules from the Grave Today

Marx’s influence is no longer confined to overt communism. His ideas operate quietly beneath the surface.

Culture

• People reduced to oppressor and oppressed categories

• Moral guilt assigned by group identity

Politics

• Redistribution framed as moral righteousness

• Power struggles presented as justice movements

Education

• History taught primarily as economic exploitation

• Critical theories built on class-based analysis

Many who reject Marx’s name still use his lens.

---

A Human Pause

At this point, someone usually says, “But Marx cared about the poor.”

So does the Bible.

The difference is how and why.

Scripture calls for generosity, compassion, and justice—but never at the cost of truth, responsibility, or worship of God.

---

Scripture’s Answer to Marx

"If any would not work, neither should he eat." — 2 Thessalonians 3:10
"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give." — Ephesians 4:28

The biblical model produces charity without envy, justice without coercion, and compassion without resentment.

---

Conclusion

Karl Marx has been dead for over a century, yet his ideas continue to shape how people understand justice, power, and inequality. He rules not by revolution alone, but by categories—by teaching people how to interpret the world.

When economic conflict becomes the primary lens for understanding life, the gospel is inevitably reduced—or replaced.

---

Coming Next

Marx explained the struggle. Charles Darwin explained it away.

In the next post, we will look at how evolution redefined life itself—and why that shift was essential for the worldview Marx helped unleash.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting this  blog.

Get the book HERE 7 Men Who Role The World From The Grave

This Is For Teachers Teaching The Lombardi Way

 

“Ladies Abd Gentlemen, This is a Bible” — Start with the Fundamentals

There’s a famous moment in American football lore that teaches us something about learning anything well — even Scripture.

In the summer of 1961, legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi walked into Green Bay Packers training camp with a group of professional athletes — men who had played at the highest level, some of whom were just a play away from a championship. Instead of launching immediately into advanced plays, schemes, or conditioning, he did something surprisingly simple. He held up a football and said:

“Gentlemen, this is a football.”

That’s it.
The coach of one of the most successful teams in NFL history started not with strategy or talent, but with fundamentals.

Lombardi wasn’t patronizing his players — he was reminding them that mastery starts with basics. The Packers went on to win five NFL championships under his leadership, including the first two Super Bowls, and he became a symbol of discipline, clarity, and excellence in leadership and learning.

---

Why Start with the Basics?

Most of us bring assumptions into a Bible class. We’ve heard verses quoted, doctrines summarized, songs that sound familiar. But before diving into layered theology — grace, law, covenant, dispensations — we need to be grounded:

This is a Bible.
This is God’s word.

Before we can rightly divide (as Paul commanded in 2 Timothy 2:15), we need shared vocabulary and shared walls of the building we’re about to enter. And it’s okay to start there — even necessary. Without the basics, everything above them is shaky.

---

A Simple Starting Framework

If I were to teach a class on Scripture from scratch, here’s how I’d begin:

1. Introduce the Book:
   This is the Bible — God’s Word. Different translations, same core message.

2. Handle With Care:
   2 Timothy 2:15 — teach them what it means to handle the word accurately and carefully. Greek is orthotemeo meansto cut straight or patrician.

3. Permission to Explore:
   Ephesians 3:1–2 — even Paul acknowledges there is unfolding revelation and stewardship, administartion dispensation if you will of God’s mystery given to Paul.

4. Walk Through the Scope:
   Turn to Genesis 1 — creation, God speaks.
   Then flip to Malachi 4 — the last book of the Old Testament.
   Show them how the Bible was collected — not bound by apostles, but recognized over time.

5. Explain the Volume, Not the Wow:
   It's divided into the Old and New Testament — that’s a later title, not something the writers themselves gave. Knowing that saves a lot of confusion.

---

Why This Matters

Going into theology before knowing the text is like teaching complex football plays before kids know what a football is. You might get some players moving the right way by accident, but you won’t build a team that understands the game.

What Lombardi did with pro athletes — start with the basics — is something Christian teaching could do more often:

• Start with Scripture itself.

• Teach people how to read.

• Build confidence in the process of discovery.

• Let the Holy Spirit guide real understanding.

Just like a coach showing a football before showing a playbook, we can show Scripture before we show systems.

And that simple posture — “This is a Bible” — can revolutionize how people think about everything that comes after.

---

A Few of Lombardi’s Principles That Apply to Bible Study

(Not about winning games — about learning well)

• “Winning is not a sometime thing — it’s an all the time thing.”
  → Consistent reading matters.

• “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
  → We won’t understand everything at once, but faithful effort grows insight.

• “If you aren’t fired up with enthusiasm, you’ll be fired with enthusiasm.”
  → Passion for truth grows motivation to dig deeper.

---

Closing Thought

Some people look at the Bible and see complexity. Some see tradition. Some see rules.

But what if we all started the way a great coach did —
with the fundamentals, explained plainly, patiently, accurately?

Then maybe Scripture wouldn’t be something to memorize —
it would be something to live.

Conditional Prophecy, Faith, and the Example of Jesus

 In Scripture, we see that God often speaks warnings or promises—prophecies that interact with people's choices. Sometimes, these prophecies are conditional, depending on repentance, obedience, or faith. Other times, they are deterministic, fulfilling God’s ultimate plan no matter what.

Take the story of Jonah and Nineveh: God warned the city of impending judgment. The people had a choice—to repent or to persist in sin. They repented, and God relented. The prophecy was conditional, and their faith and response changed the outcome.

This pattern becomes even more profound in the life of Jesus.

---

Jesus’ Example

Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way we are, yet He did not sin. That means His choice was real—He could have yielded to temptation, but He did not. On the cross, John 17 shows Jesus exercising trust in His Father, knowing the suffering He would endure, and trusting in the resurrection to vindicate Him.

Faith, therefore, is not just a passive gift. Romans 10:17 reminds us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Jesus is the pattern of active faith: hearing the Word, trusting God, and responding in faith.

---

Conditional Prophecy in Action

Here’s the flow:

1. Prophecy / Warning – God gives a warning or promise

2. Hearing / Awareness – people or Jesus perceive the warning

3. Choice / Temptation – A real decision must be made

4. Exercise of Faith – Trusting God’s Word and promises

5. Obedience / Response – Acting according to faith

6. Outcome – Conditional prophecy is fulfilled or withheld; mercy or judgment realized

In Jesus, faith is perfect and active, showing us the example of faith for responding to God’s Word as in John 17, Galatians 2:15 and Philippians 3:9..."the faith of Christ." In people and groups' examples—such as: Nineveh, Hezekiah, or rebellious kings—the outcome depends on how faith is exercised.

---

Takeaway

Therefore it seems that prophecy, faith, and obedience are intertwined. God’s warnings are real, but He gives people the responsibility to respond. Jesus shows the perfect response, modeling faith in action. Our role is to hear and trust - faith is the conduit, not a passive gift Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God Not of works, lest any man should boast. What is grace it is the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ(1 Corinthians 15:1-4. What are we save from the 2nd death (Revelation 21:8.)

Be Still My Soul

 

Before 1611: God Didn’t Drop a Bible from the Sky (Part 1)

 For many believers, the story of the English Bible seems to begin in 1611 with the King James Version. It’s familiar, trusted, and for good reason deeply loved. But history tells us something important right up front:

God did not drop an English Bible from the sky.

What we hold today came through a long and costly process—through faithful men, dangerous choices, and a conviction that ordinary people should be able to read the words of God for themselves.

This isn’t a story about tearing down the KJV.
It’s a story about how God preserved His word long before it had royal approval.

---

When Scripture Was Locked Away

For centuries, the Bible in Western Europe existed primarily in Latin. That wasn’t a problem for scholars and clergy—but it was a wall for everyone else. Farmers, craftsmen, mothers, children—the very people Scripture was written to instruct—were largely dependent on secondhand explanations.

And that dependence mattered.

Once Scripture is mediated only through authority, it becomes easy for tradition to quietly replace the text. The issue was never that Latin was sinful. The issue was control.

So when men began asking whether the Bible could—and should—be read in the common tongue, it wasn’t seen as a harmless project. It was seen as a threat.

---

Translation as an Act of Faith

Translating Scripture wasn’t merely academic work. It was a confession:

• That God’s word is clear enough to be read

• That truth does not require a gatekeeper

• That faith grows best when rooted in the text itself

Those convictions came at a cost.

Long before printing presses filled England, handwritten English Scriptures were copied in secret. Later, when the press made distribution possible, it also made persecution faster and more public.

Some translators were imprisoned.
Some were burned.
Some labored in exile, knowing they might never return home.

Not because they hated the church—but because they loved the Word.

---

A Stream, Not a Moment

The King James Version did not appear in isolation. It stands at the end of a stream already flowing—fed by earlier English efforts, continental reformers, and believers who believed Scripture should speak plainly.

English translators were not alone. Across Europe, the same conviction was taking root: God’s word belongs to God’s people.

This matters because it reframes how we think about preservation. God did not preserve His word by freezing it in one moment of history. He preserved it through faithful transmission, careful translation, and an unbroken concern for accuracy and clarity.

The miracle is not that one translation exists.
The miracle is that the Word survived opposition at every step.

---

Why This Series Exists

This series is not an exhaustive history. It’s not a defense of one camp or an attack on another. It’s a brief look at the men and moments that shaped the English Bible before 1611—so that when we open our Bibles today, we do so with gratitude instead of assumption.

If God was faithful to preserve His word through persecution, exile, and human weakness, then the real question isn’t which translation we defend—but whether we’re willing to read, study, and believe the Scriptures those men risked everything to give us.

In the next post, we’ll meet one of them—a man whose English still echoes every time we open our Bibles, even if we don’t know his name.

God Is Not the Author of Confusion

 One verse keeps returning to my mind whenever discussions about election, appointment, or salvation order become tangled:

“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.”
(1 Corinthians 14:33)

Paul says this in a practical context, but the statement reveals something deeper about God Himself. God does not operate through disorder, contradiction, or hidden chaos. His work—whether in creation, revelation, or salvation—has coherence.

That matters when we read difficult passages.

---

Ordinance, Appointment, and Order

Psalm 119:91 says of creation:

“They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants.”

Creation stands because God set it in order. The universe is not random; it is governed. Seasons repeat, cause and effect hold, and life functions within a framework God established.

That same idea helps when reading Acts 13:48:

“As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”

Some older translations use language closer to ordained or set in order. Newer translations often choose appointed or designated. The word choice can sound heavy to modern ears, but the underlying idea is consistent with Scripture: God works according to order.

This does not mean God forces belief. It means belief occurs within the framework God has established—just as life exists within the framework of creation.

---

Salvation Has an Order

Ephesians 2:8 gives us a simple sequence:

• grace

• faith

• salvation

Grace precedes.
Faith responds.
Salvation follows.

That is not confusion. That is order.

If salvation were arbitrary, incoherent, or internally contradictory, Scripture would reflect that. Instead, Scripture repeatedly explains, reasons, persuades, warns, and invites.

Paul can say:

• “Faith comes by hearing”

• “We persuade men”

• “Be reconciled to God”

Those appeals only make sense if God’s way of saving is intelligible.

---

Translation and Tone

Sometimes newer translations sound like a parent saying, “We’ll see.”
Not wrong—but vague enough to plant uncertainty.

Older language often leaned toward ordinance and order because those words emphasized stability. Not unpredictability. Not confusion.

The 1611 translators were not inventing theology; they were using the vocabulary of their time to express an orderly God working through an orderly plan.

Later spelling updates didn’t change that foundation.

---

Creation as the Illustration

If someone struggles with words like ordained or appointed, creation is a helpful place to start.

God did not micromanage every leaf falling, yet He ordained the system.
God does not force faith, yet He ordained the way salvation works.

Different realm.
Same God.
Same consistency.

---

A Final Thought

If God is not the author of confusion, then whatever we believe about salvation must:

• be coherent

• be consistent with the gospel call

• align with the character of God revealed in Scripture

Let Scripture interpret Scripture.
Let order explain order.
And let God remain who He says He is.

Calvinism, Arminianism, and Dispensationalism — A Quick Guide (with my two cents)

 If you’ve ever tried to wrap your head around God’s sovereignty, human choice, and prophecy, you’ve probably stumbled across Calvinism, Arminianism, and Dispensationalism. They each have their strengths… and yes, a few quirks that make you sweat a little.

---

1. Calvinism and Hyper-Calvinism

In a nutshell: God is in ultimate control. Like, everything.

Core Beliefs:

• God chooses who will be saved — predestination is a big deal here.

• Jesus’ death saves the elect — not everyone automatically.

• Once saved, you’re saved. No take-backs.

• God orchestrates events, but humans still have “secondary responsibility” (whatever that means in practice).

Pros:

• Super comforting if you like knowing God’s plan cannot fail.

• Your salvation is secure — no worries about a “slip-up” derailing the plan.

• Explains why God’s plans always succeed, despite our screw-ups.

Cons / Things to sweat over:

• Can feel like you’re watching a cosmic puppet show — are humans really free?

• Hard to reconcile some Bible verses about choice and responsibility.

Hyper-Calvinism (for context):

• Pushes Calvinism to the extreme.

• Suggests God actively controls every action, leaving almost no room for choice.

• Feels a bit like being a pawn in a cosmic chess game — not my cup of tea.

• My questions: how do you know that you are one of the elect? What if you're not and you just think you are sense it's not your choice? That could be sweating time.

• Did God made me do bad and blame me for it?

---

2. Arminianism

In a nutshell: Your choices actually matter. Yep — sweat a little here. 😅

Core Beliefs:

• God offers grace to everyone — you get to say yes or no.

• Salvation can be lost if you turn your back or persist in sin (conditional security).

• God foreknows what you’ll choose, but He doesn’t predetermine it.

Pros:

• Makes human choice and responsibility real.

• Faith and obedience actually count.

• Feels very personal — God sees your yes or no.

Cons / Things to sweat over:

• Can create anxiety: “Wait, what if I mess this up?”

• Might underplay God’s ultimate control of history.

---

3. Dispensationalism

In a nutshell: God runs different “programs” for humanity at different times. Think of it like divine seasons or phases.

Core Beliefs:

• Scripture must be rightly divided — promises apply differently depending on the dispensation.

• Church Age is separate from Israel’s covenantal promises.

• Humans are responsible for their choices; God foreknows, but doesn’t force.

• Prophecy often focuses on Israel, not necessarily the Church.

Pros:

• Provides a framework for understanding God’s plan across history.

• Makes sense of who warnings and promises apply to.

• Keeps human responsibility real while honoring God’s omniscience.

Cons / Things to sweat over:

• Can get technical — you might feel like you need a theology degree.

• Easy to over-divide Scripture if you’re not careful.

System	God’s Sovereignty	Human Free Will	Security of Salvation	Focus
Calvinism	Very high	Limited	Eternal for the elect	God’s ultimate control
Arminianism	Moderate	High — you decide	Conditional — can be lost	Human responsibility
Dispensationalism	High — sees choices	High	Varied — age-dependent

Bottom Line

• Calvinism: God’s control is everything — sit back and relax (mostly).

• Arminianism: Your choice matters — so maybe sweat a little.

• Dispensationalism: God runs different programs; your choices still matter, but prophecy and Israel add layers of complexity.

All three attempt to wrestle with foreknowledge, human choice, and prophecy. No one system solves every tension, but understanding the differences helps you navigate Scripture thoughtfully — and maybe enjoy the mental workout. 💪

---

If you like, I can also make a super-short “quick-read” version with punchy bullet points and examples — perfect for social media or sidebar posts — keeping your personality in it.