Adventures with Him in Hawaii: the simple truth kept simple.

theology. it means the study of God. or in the Christian context, the theoretical framework in which we understand God's word as inspired in the bible. it makes all human sense that God of the Universe would want to communicate in a clear and easy to understand way to His people. after all, we are accountable at the end. It would be God's fault if we couldn't understand and not obey because He is unclear right?

the reality is to grapple with that thought and looking at the vast and numerous approaches in interpreting scripture offered today. i have heard many times ppl talking about God is love. then some say oh, Jesus' ministry has a lot of emphasis on social justice, taking care of widows and orphans. some say the focus is the Kingdom of God and His reign in every area of society. the traditional church viewpoint of Sin and Repentance is being slammed many times, in one way or another, for being overly simplistic and incomplete. i hear pastors making big claims that they know what the bible is mainly about, and usually they would quote saying how many verses from the bible talks about love, justice, kingdom of God, etc...

then i hear ppl comment about the ways we share the gospel. some say in a post-modern society we should learn the language of our friends and speak to what matters. i rem all of us learn from somewhere that maybe we should try avoid using the word hell. we were told we should not get ppl to believe in God just that they could escape hell.. they should learn to love God if not they won't enjoy heaven.. and stuff like that. well i did. i even taught others too.

the thing about our understanding of God is that we are so easily influenced by the teachings around us. whether it is a book we just read or a sermon we heard, we can't escape the fact we are influenced and being passionate about certain ideas at certain periods of time.

enough of intro. here's my pt. as i was studying mt 3:7-12, i figured out some teachings are church traditional teachings for a reason. if John the baptist is the announcer of Jesus the King, then his message should be something we pay attention to. his teaching was straight forward - "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" no matter how i look at it, i am convinced that repentance is the foundation. Sin is a big problem. "Bear fruits is keeping with repentance." there is also a mention of fire in these verses. John did not persuade or reason to win the Pharisees and Sadducees. He simply foretold the imminent judgment! It is bear fruit or get chopped down, be baptized with Holy Spirit or be immersed in fire, be collected as wheat into the barn or burned as chaff. heaven and hell. it is clear. only 2 groups of ppl.

ppl will say, oh we need to look at the context, and culture and see the audience. he was talking to the Pharisees. well... what makes us think this msg is not relevant to us today?

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while i was participating in the Great Aloha Run, i met these guys carrying signs towards the end of the run... i could imagine the various responses they might get.. but i would say their ministry did not differ much from what John (and later Jesus) preached... it does cause one to wonder... what message are we preaching?