Fro example, if I came to you for marriage counseling, and you said I needed to know that Jesus is my high priest of the order of Melchizedek, I would probably conclude that you have no comprehension of my real-world problem. So, I set down the book of Hebrews, and pick up the latest self-help book – from a Christian author, of course – looking for 8 practical tips to spice up my marriage, probably cribbed from Redbook but perhaps sprinkled with random scriptures about marriage to give it the seal of christian approval.

I’m not trying to diss the practical tips; I am saying we should not assume that the gospel has already completed/perfected its transforming work in our lives, and we only have to sweat out a few remaining details.

While I agree with him that the OT has its own lessons, stories, and applications that have value outside of the NT reality, how do I balance that truth with the equally true need to view things from a Gospel/New Covenant perspective and reality? E.g. if I’m preaching on the Binding of Isaac in Genesis, how do I do so without either betraying the context of the passage or without betraying the Gospel? There seems to be a dichotomy here that I’m having troubles coming to peace with.

Plus that doesn’t sell as many books as making up some new Christian-labeled self help program.

It is hard for us with our limited mind power to understand the mind of God, but He is not limited by time or numbers and is capable of loving each individual like we can’t. I love you, Tim, not because I know you, but because Christ first loved me and died for my personal sins just like He died for your personal sins. For me, the best way to feel close to God is to pray. Prayer helps me feel like God is present in my life and close to me. Do not give up on God – the love of God and His Christ surrounds you, both directly and through His people. Peace be with you.

I tell ya, I hear the “bad news” gospel in every Santa Claus song playing on the radio, as we near Christmas. Santa’s comin’. He’s got lot’s of presents for good girls and boys. Work extra hard, and he will give you something nice! He’s a jolly old fellow, but he’ll give you a lump of coal if you’re bad! Better be good for…oh for goodness sake!!! Just replace “Santa Claus” with “Jesus”, and you have 75% of the preaching taking place any given Sunday.

True. And the first step to fixing that problem is to put the man in the pulpit in the pew and require the members to “do church.” As long as a paid clergyman or priest or pastor is in charge of the Sunday show or Sunday message, the church meeting will be one mouth and many ears, not a many-membered body with all the members contributing to the edification of each other and the
building up of the body of Christ by the proper working together of each member according to the gifts and enablements that Christ has given them. The members don’t do what they’re supposed to do because they think the pastor or priest is to do it for them, and the pastor or priest is happy to go along with this body-crippling-and-atrophying delusion because… well, because it pays his salary and gives him authority and self- or ego-fulfillment because he’s thus “serving the Lord.”

Balderdash.

Let the members realize that church doesn’t happen and won’t happen unless each of them brings a psalm, a hymn, a revelation, a prayer, a tongue, a prophecy, a sermon, etc., to the meeting. THEN you might begin to see the Body of Christ doing what it’s supposed to be doing and the members behaving the Gospel.