日期： 07/11/2010

經文：提前 4 ： 1-5

題目：壞鬼神學

主旨：因神造的一切都是美好，所以我們要有感恩的心來領受。

引言：

   每當我們聽到神學或教義這個名詞的時候，我們可能會回應說 " 對我來說太難了，我只需要知道一些簡單的應用 " 。我記得幾年前在教會有兩個講員在兩個不同的場合裡不約而同的講了以下的一番話： 問題不是在乎於你喜不喜歡神學，每個人都有一個神學，真正的問題是這是好的還是壞的神學。換一句話說這是好的還是一個壞鬼神學。不僅單我們都有一個神學，而且我們的神學與教義也將決定我們如何在教會裡服事和如何生活。

在我們四周圍有很多壞鬼神學。我們聽到有傳道人說 " 我宣 告 你得醫治，因為耶穌為你的病在十字架上死了。 如 你有信心你的病就會得到醫治。 " 或者說 " 耶穌要你有一個成功的生活。當你開粉紅色的凱迪拉克，或毛皮大衣的時候，這就是耶穌祝福你的記號。 " 或是說 " 基督教神不可能是排斥的，如果是的話，他就是不是一個愛的神。這個神必須包括包羅萬有的，因此所有宗教都會把人帶到他那裡。不管你一個宗教都不重要，要緊的是你有一個宗教 " 。或者上個週末也聽說 " 如果你不停的哭泣 3 天的話那你就能夠得救了 " 。這些壞的教義、壞鬼神學從哪裡來的呢？

再一次，壞的神學教義並不是 21 世紀的問題。剛才我們讀的經文是提到保羅寫信給提摩太，告訴他在他的教會裡有特別不好的教義，也指示 提摩太要如何 對抗。我們先看一下以弗所的教會發生了什麼事情。

I •  我們要認識禁慾主義。

在以弗所教會堂 裡壞的神學錯誤的教義是被稱為禁慾主義。禁慾主義的教師提倡如果我們要接近神的話要避免某些食物，也不能有婚姻的事。 Vs.3 , “ 他們禁止嫁娶，禁戒食物。食物本是　神所造的，是給信主和認識真理的人存感謝的心領受的。 ” 他們基本上是在攻擊食物和婚姻裡的性關係。

在第一節這裡說 " 聖靈明明地說，日後必有人離棄信仰，跟從虛謊的邪靈和鬼魔的教訓 " 保羅指出他抵抗禁慾主義是與 聖靈的教導是一致的。耶穌本人也說過相似的話語。在這段經文裡說日後乃是指在耶穌的第一次來臨和第二次來臨之間的那段日期。這是講到在兩個來臨的中間會有許多虛假的教導在教會內或教會外產生。那這些虛假的教導錯誤的教義是從哪裡來呢？

1 •  從 魔鬼而來

聖經非常果斷的聲明說這些錯誤的教導是從魔鬼那裡來的。他們攻擊食物和婚姻的說法是來自於撒旦。這是很重的字句。我們很少人會用這樣的字句來形容我們周圍的錯誤的教義。因為我們很怕得罪別人。但是當有一個教導有個教義提倡如果你要靠近神的話，你一定不能吃某些食物，也不能結婚的話，這種教導只能從魔鬼來。任何與聖經真理有抵觸、歪曲的教導都是從惡魔那裡而來。

2 •  從 人而來

在第二節說“這教訓是出於說謊的人的虛偽，他們的良心好像被燒紅的鐵烙了一般”。這裡講到這種虛假的教導不錯是從魔鬼那裡而來。但是也有一個人為的來源。撒旦往往用人來傳遞他的信息。請注意這裡這個人是如何被描寫的“出於說謊的人的虛偽”他們是撒謊的也是虛偽的。同樣保羅也是使用很強很重的字句在描寫這一群人。他們被稱為虛偽的說謊者。說謊的這個人是故意說不真不正確的事情。虛偽乃是故意假裝。這些虛假的老師知道禁慾主義不是真理，但是卻把他當作真理在教導。不單如此，他們自己也不相信他們自己的教導，這是最可怕的虛偽。 19 世紀的英國學者和神學家 Benjamin Jowett 會這樣的唸使徒信經：他會大聲說的我信，然後細聲的說 : 曾經如此，然後大聲的說父上帝。這是虛偽中最虛偽的表現。

這裡也繼續描寫虛假教師的特點：他們的良心好像被燒紅的鐵烙了一樣。這個意思乃是他們撒謊，他們虛偽，他們的良心已經都麻木了以致不能有任何的感覺。他們沒有錯誤和羞恥的感受。你能否想像每個星期天來到教會這樣的背誦使徒信經：我，然後細聲的說曾經，然後又大聲的說相信聖靈。這樣頭幾次你會感到有點不自在，但是過了一段時間後，你就不經意的說出來，你的良心已經麻木了。

這些虛假的教師教導說如果你要親近神的話，人的努力是非常重要的。人要避免吃某些的食物，要避開婚姻、要避開婚姻裡的性關係。食物和婚姻裡的性都是要被拒絕的。在歌羅西書中保羅稱這些為不能摸也不能吃的事情，這就是禁慾主義的核心教導。

保羅強烈譴責這些教導。原因何在 ? 在第 4 及 5 節 " 因為凡　神所造的，都是好的，只要存感謝的心領受，沒有一樣是可以棄絕的；都因著　神的道和人的祈求成為聖潔了。”為什麼保羅這樣強烈的指摘這樣的禁慾主義呢？他有兩個雙重推理。首先，我們如何能拒絕神所創造的呢？一切的事，包括食物是神所創造並且作為一個禮物給了人，人也要以一個感恩的心來接受。婚姻也是神所設立的而賜給人的。在婚姻裡的性關係是神給人的一個禮物。第二個推理。人怎能拒絕神看為是好的呢？當神在創造的時候，他看見他所創造的按著他最完美的標準，他說這是好的。神用他自己的話語宣告說食物是好的，所以人要帶著感恩的心來接受。

那這對我們今天有什麼意義呢？在兩千多年前的一件事情，一個教導和我們今天的關係如何？我想請你注意三個方面：首先是我們與神的關係，第二我們對食物的態度，和第三我們對婚姻裡性的態度。

II •  我們要認識恩典是神與信徒關係的基礎。

我想我們當中很多人會說我們沒有禁慾主義，我們與神的關係都是因憑著神的恩典藉著耶穌基督的信心。我們也沒有教導說如果要靠近神的話要避開某些食物或婚姻。我們也沒有那些不能摸不能吃的規條在我們當中。我們沒有人能靠著自己的功德能夠親近神。如果我在這個問題上做一項調查，我想我們當中 98% 的人都會同意。但是真的嗎？

當我們處在一些非常艱難的困境、試煉當中，比如說汽車被撞壞而沒有錢修理，或是患了很嚴重的疾病如癌症，或剛失去了一份工作，我們的最基本反應是如何呢？有些人可能會說 : 不知道神要讓我從這當中學到什麼樣的功課，使我能夠更像耶穌？我想我們更多人會說， “ 我一定在哪裡犯了罪得罪了神 , 所以神不高興，神在懲罰我了。 ” 這就是約伯朋友的思想。這些話語後面真正的意思是，我與神的關係是建立在我自己的成就我的努力，我要做好人 , 我要做好事，當我在任何一方面失敗的時候，神就不喜歡我了，因此這些事情就發生在我身上。當我們有這樣感受的時候，我們往往也同時在宣告我們與神的關係是建立在不可摸、 不可碰、不可吃的原則上。這是錯誤的，這是壞的神學，這是壞的教義。這樣的信念只會使我們經常生活在恐懼當中。因為有誰能憑著自己的功德能夠討神的喜悅呢？

我們所相信的福音乃是當我們被神所拯救，能與神和好都是藉著神的恩典。這與我們的功德是沒有任何關係的。不單我們是憑著神的恩典得救，我們每一天的生活也是靠著神的恩典。我們讀神的話語、 我們禱告、作好人作好事，與要跟神親近是毫無關係的。反而，我們已經與神親近了，他已經住在我們裡面了，我們禱告、讀神的話語、作好人做好事是因為我們要順服他，要更加的像他。是這樣的真理將自由而不是恐懼帶進我們生命裡。

III •  信徒要以感恩的心來接受食物。

既然神所創造的一切都是好的，那我們對食物的態度該如何呢？今日，食物可以成為一個相當敏感的題目。我們很多人都要吃健康的食物。我們會避開太油、太甜或太咸的食物。這些都是好的都是重要的，這也是我們平常要教導孩子們的事情。

但是，會不會有時候我們會走到另一個極端呢？例如有人會說，我不吃任何種類的肉，也不會吃任何跟奶有關的產品。因此信徒對食物的態度是應該如何呢？保羅在這裡指責第 1 世紀的禁慾主義的原則仍然適合應用在這裡。我們不要拒絕神所創造的一切。第二，我們不要拒絕任何神說是好的食物。我們一切都要憑著一顆感恩的心來領受。適當的飲食是可以享受的 . 如你去西岸 , 一定要去 IN n OUT , 去中西部，一定要去 White Castle , 去聖路易的話，一定要在嚴冬去 Ted Drew 吃硬硬的冰淇淋。 吃適當的食物是可以享受的。

但是生活在一個破碎的世界裡，我們也體會到吃某些食物會對我們的健康是沒有幫助的。我們要避免對身體無益的食物 , 飲料 . 每個人、每個家庭都要做一些決定選擇要吃哪些食物，哪些要避免要少吃。我們要留心不要將自己的標準套在別人的身上。有些弟兄姊妹知道我有糖尿病時，我非常的欣賞他們會和我分享他們在飲食上的經驗，有些可以吃，有些不吃，但是他們從來沒有說我也一定要如此做。我們很重要的需要記住食物不能使我們更靠近神。我們是他的兒女已經與他很親近了。他已經住在我們裡面，我們也住在他的裡面。話又說回來，當我們經常吃某些不健康的食物話，也可能導致我們更早去見神。 J

IV •  信徒要以感恩的心來接受婚姻裡的性關係。

現在我們來看到婚姻的事，特別是在婚姻裡的性關係。我們早先已經看到這些假的教師提倡性是不好是壞的，所以要避免，如果一個人想要接近神，必須避開婚姻避開性的關係。

雖然保羅非常清楚的教導第一世紀的基督徒要拒絕這樣的教義，但是這樣的教義卻在一些的狀況下存留下來，我會給你幾個例子。有一些早期教父像 Tertullian 和 Ambrose 相信就算是 人類的滅種也比在婚姻裡的性關係來的好。 Ambrose 這樣子的說 " 那些結了婚的人要為著他們目前的處境經常需要臉紅 " 。 奥古斯丁辯論說在婚姻裡 的性關係是中性的，但是隨著性關係而來的情慾總是一個罪惡。他經常輔導這些結了婚的夫妻要避免性的關係。早期教 會裡的教父大概都是一致的同意守童貞是比婚姻好。在羅馬天主教一直到中世紀的一個主要潮流思想乃是性關係本身是罪惡，雖然在婚姻裡仍然不是一件好的事情。因此羅馬教會不斷加上一些日子，在這些日子裡婚姻裡的性關係是不允許的，這日子一直的在加，一直到差不多有半年之久都不能夠有性關係。這是一直到 16 世紀的主要思想，也在那時宗教的改革開始了。

是清教徒幫助教會從真正合乎聖經的角度來觀看婚姻裡的性關係。我們的社會 , 在東方也好西方也好 , 不停的說是清教徒導致人對性有一個非常壓抑的看法，是清教徒在那裡提倡性關係是罪惡是要避免的。這是一個絕對錯誤的觀點。真相是清教徒貶低了獨身的價值。當然聖經裡說神呼召有些人的恩賜是要獨身的。是清教徒高舉了婚姻，再一次肯定在婚姻裡的性關係是需要的而且是純潔的，也在清教徒的作品和教導當中兼顧了在婚姻裡羅曼蒂克的愛，和高舉一個做妻子的地位。清教徒的文學作品裡充滿了婚姻裡愛的表示。

同樣的，在這背後的原則乃是婚姻是神在創造人的時候所設定的。他稱這一個是好的。在婚姻裡的性關係也是好的，是我們要帶著感恩的心來領受。我在做婚前輔導的時候會對所有被我輔導的人說性是從神那裡來好的禮物。在婚姻裡面，兩個人的性關係有絕對的自由。我們要享受從神來的禮物。當別人說你結了婚幾年之後性關係也就是那麼一回事了，就是一件你要做的事，當人說這些話的時候，你千萬不要相信。你能想像別人說吃飯都吃了幾年了，吃就是這一回事。不，我們仍然是有機會，要找機會去享受食物，去品嘗新餐館。在婚姻中的性關係也是如此，是我們要存著一個感恩的心來領受，是在夫妻的關係裡享受的。如果我們看一下所羅門的雅歌書，在那裡描寫一對新人，在新婚之夜的羅曼蒂克的愛。婚姻裡 的性 關係是 神 給 人 的 一個美麗的 禮物。

結論：

作為神的兒女，我們要經常的感謝神已經住在我們當中，我們也住在他裡面。沒有任何事情能夠改變這一個事實。沒有任何好的行為、功德、或任何缺少好行為、人的努力可以改變這個真理。我們與神親近是因為我們在耶穌基督裡的信心。我們實行一些屬靈的紀律，比如說靈修、禱告、讀神的話語，有時禁食與長期的禱告，不是因為他們會使我們更加靠近上帝，而是因為我們要認識他，要更加像他。

在這種密切和安全的關係裡，我們要存著一個感謝的心領受他所賜給我們一切的禮物，包括了食物以及婚姻裡的性關係。這一個感恩是遠超過食物和婚姻裡的性，而要引致生命裡的每一部份。

當我今年五月在國內的時候，林自森跟我分享以下的故事。他的團契來了一個青少年，最近做了這樣的一個見證 " 我哥哥告訴我，每個人最好都要有一個宗教。於是我開始尋求不同的宗教信仰。首先遇到的是回教，但是回教不能吃豬肉，豬肉卻是我很喜歡的，所以我沒有辦法進到回教裡。然後我又看到佛教，發現佛教什麼肉也不能吃，當然對我也是沒有吸引力。然後我來到基督教，發現什麼都可以吃，於是我開始來團契聚會。你看 , 我來是尋找一個宗教，不可吃什麼可以吃什麼，在這裡什麼都可以吃，但是我所尋找到的卻是一個生命。”

我個人還記得在 1970 年代的時候透過 Francis Schaeffer 的作品認識神創造一切並且稱他所造為好。因此作為信徒，我們要存著感恩的心來享受神的創造，我們能享受好的食物，在婚姻裡的性關係，美麗的大自然，有創造性的戲劇、音樂、和美術，這些都是神給我們的禮物。

最後我想用英國文學家 G.K.Chesterton 的話做結束：你在吃飯前謝飯，非常好，但是我是在看話劇之前、歌劇之前，我會感恩。當我打開一本書之前我會感恩，當我開始作畫、游泳、擊劍、拳擊、在走路、玩耍、跳舞，我都會感恩。當我開始要寫的時候我也會感恩。

我們的生命是神給的一個禮物，是他造的，也都是他認為是好的，因此我們要感恩的接受 , 要享受。這是好的神學，是好的教義。

Date:   07/08/2010

Text:   1 Timothy 4:1-5

Title: Dog and Cat Theology

Theme: Since everything God created is good, we are to receive them with gratitude.

Introduction:

  Whenever we hear the word theology or doctrine, we may respond, “It's too difficult for me, I only want something practical.” I remember several years ago two guest speakers on two different occasions made a similar statement: the issue is not whether you like theology or not, for everyone has a theology, but the issue is, is it a good or bad (dog and cat) theology. Not only we have a theology, but our theology will also determine how we minister and live.

  There are plenty of bad theologies around us today. We hear preachers proclaim, “Be healed. Jesus died for your disease on the cross. When you have faith, your sickness will be healed” Or, “Jesus wants you to be successful in life. When you drive that pink Cadillac, or wear that fur coat, it is a sign of Jesus blessing you.” “The Christian God cannot be exclusive, if so, he will not be a loving God. This God must be all inclusive; therefore all religions will eventually lead to him. It doesn't matter what religion, as long as you have one.” or the one we heard last week, “If you would cry non-stop for 3 days, then you are saved.” Where do they come from?

  Again, bad theology/doctrine is not a 21 st century problem. The text we read is about Paul writing to Timothy, telling him about a specific bad doctrine and how to counter it. We want to first explore what was going on in that Ephesus church.

I •  We are to understand the nature of Asceticism.

The bad theology, the false doctrine in the Ephesus church was known as Asceticism. The teachers of Asceticism advocated that in order to be close to God, one had to avoid certain food and are not allowed to marry. Basically they attacked sex in marriage and food. Vs.1, “ Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,” Paul states that his denouncement of Asceticism is in line with the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself had made similar statements. Later times, in the Bible means the time period between Jesus first coming and his second coming. This says that between the two advents, there will be many false doctrines appearing inside and outside the church. Where do they come from?

1 •  Demonic origin.

The scripture is rather dogmatic in making the statement that false doctrines are teachings of demons, they are from the devil. This attack on food and marriage has its origin in the Devil. These are strong words. Few of us would want to use this to describe the false doctrines around us. We are afraid of offending others. However, when a doctrine that advocates in order to be close to God, one would have to refrain from certain food and forbid marriage, can only come from the Devil. Any doctrine that distorts the truth in the Bible is from the devil.

2 •  Human origin.

Vs.2, “ through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,..” This false doctrine originates from the evil spirit, the devil. Yet, there is also a human element in it. Devil uses human as means to deliver his message. Please note how the human source is described, insincerity of liars, or hypocritical liars. Again, Paul used very strong words in describing the the advocates of Asceticism. They are called hypocritical liars. Liars deliberately tell something that is not true. Hypocrites deliberately pretend. These false teachers know asceticism is not true, yet they pretend and taught it as truth. They did not believe in their own teachings. They are really the worst of worse.

Benjamin Jowett, a British scholar and theologian in the 19 th century, would say the apostle's creed this way. He would loudly say I believe, then whisper to himself, I used to, then in God the father. This is hypocrisy in its highest form.

There is also a further description of the false teachers: consciences are seared. This means that as they lie and being hypocritical, their consciences had become so callous that they could not feel anything. There was no sense of wrongdoing and shame. Can you imagine if one of us would every Sunday recite the Apostle's creed this way: I, used to, Believe in the Holy Spirit… The first few times, we may feel uncomfortable, but after a little while, it would mean little to us. The conscience has been seared.

The false teachers taught if we are to get close to God, human efforts are very important. One would have to refrain from certain food, and stay away from sex. Both food and sex are to be rejected. In the book of Colossians, Paul wrote that these are things that one cannot touch or eat. This is the essence of Asceticism.

Paul strongly rebuked such teaching. Why? Vs. 4,5, “ For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” He had a twofold argument. First, how can anyone reject anything that God created? Everything, including the food is created by God and given to man as gifts and is to be received with thanksgiving. Marriage is instituted by God and given to men. Sex in the context of marriage is a gift from God. Second, how can anyone reject what God considered as good? At the creation, God saw what he created, and according to his most perfect standards, he said it is good. God in his own words claimed that the food is good and is to be received in thanksgiving.

  So, what does this mean to us today? Is there a present day application of a situation that happened over 2K years ago? I want to call our attention to three areas this morning: first, our relationship with God, secondly our attitude towards food and thirdly, our attitude towards sex.

II •  Believers are to understand grace is the basis of our relationship with God.

I think most of us could say that we don't have that asceticism taught among us. Our relationship with God is all by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We don't teach that one has to stay away from certain food or marriage in order to be close to God. We don't have those don't touch, don't eat rules among us. We can't by human merit gain access to God. If I have to do a survey on this, I expect 98% of us would agree to this. But really?

When we find ourselves in a severe trial, say, car totaled and have no money to replace it, or diagnosed with a severe sickness, such as cancer, or just lost a job, what are some of our reactions? Some of us may say, “I wonder what God wants me to learn from this so I can become more like Jesus.” More of us may say, “I must have sinned somewhere, sometime, and God is punishing me.” This the thinking of Job's friends. This really means, my relationship with God is based on my efforts, to be good, to do good. And when I fail in any of these areas, God is not happy with me, and this is why this is happening to me. When we feel like this, we are saying that our relationship with God is based on the don't touch, don't eat principle. This is wrong, this is bad theology, this is bad doctrine. Beliefs like this will keep us living in constant fear, for who can please God with our own efforts?

The gospel truth is that we are saved, reconciled with God by grace. It has nothing to do with any of our merits. Not only we are saved by grace, but we also live our day to day life by grace. The reason for our reading God's word, praying to him, being good and doing good, has nothing to do with getting close to God. Instead, we are already close to God, He is already living within us when we put our faith in Him. We pray, we read his word, we be good and do good, because we want to be obedient to him, to be more like him. This truth brings freedom, and not fear in life.

III •  Believers are to receive food with thanksgiving .

Since everything God created is good, so, what is our attitude towards food? Today, food can be a very sensitive subject. Most of us want to eat healthily. We stay away from things that are too greasy, too sweet or too salty. This is good and important. This is what we need to practice and teach our children.

However, isn't it also true that at times we may go the other extreme? Such as I will not eat any kind of meat; no dairy products, whatsoever. So, what is a believer's proper attitude towards food? The principle Paul used to rebuke the false teachers of the 1 st century still applies here. We are not to reject anything God created. And secondly, we are not to reject anything God claimed to be good. We are to receive with thanksgiving. Living in a broken world, we also realized that eating food prepared in certain way can be harmful to our health. Each person, each family will have to make certain decision what kind of food to eat and what to stay away. We are to avoid imposing our standards on to others. When individuals found out that I have diabetes, I always appreciate how they sharing with me their experience of eating this not eating that, and not telling me that this is the only way I should eat. It is important for us to remember, food cannot bring us closer to God. We are his children, very close to him already. Of course, when we keep eating certain unhealthy food, it can indeed bring us to God much earlier than it is planned. J

IV •  Believers are to receive sex in marriage with thanksgiving .

Now, we come to the matter of marriage. Or more specifically, sex in the context of marriage. As we have noticed earlier, the false teachers advocated that sex is bad and should be avoided. If one wants to be close to God, stay away from marriage, from sex.

Even though Paul clearly instructed the believers of the 1 st century to reject such teaching, yet somehow it prevailed in a different form. I will give you some examples. Some early church fathers, Tertullian and Ambrose believed that that the extinction of the human race was to be preferred to the sexual relationship within the marriage. Ambrose wrote that “Married people ought to blush at the state in which they are living.” Augustine argued that the sexual relationship was innocent, neutral in marriage, but the passion that accompanies it is always sinful. He frequently counseled married couples to abstain from sex. The church fathers were almost unanimous is praising virginity as superior to marriage. The dominant attitude of the Roman Catholic church throughout the Middle Ages was that sexual love itself was evil and did not cease to be so if its object were one's spouse. The Roman church kept adding days in which marital sex was prohibited until more than half the days in the year were excluded. This was the dominant view towards sex in the western world up till the 16 th century, when Reformation came along.

It was the Puritans that brought the church to see marital sex from a true biblical perspective. Our society keeps telling us that the puritans had a very repressive view on sex; that it is evil, it should be avoided. Nothing is further from the truth than this. it was the puritans that devalued celibacy, glorified marriage, affirmed married sex as both necessary and pure, established the ideal of wedded romantic love and exalted the role of the wife. Puritan literature is filled with stunning expressions of marital love.

Again, the principle behind this is that marriage is instituted by God at the beginning of human history. He called it good. Sex in the context of marriage is good and is to be received with thanksgiving. I have shared this with all the couple in the premarital counseling: sex is a gift from God. In marriage, there is the total freedom in your sexual relationship. We are to enjoy sex as a gift from God. Don't believe others when they say, “Oh, after a few years, sex is just another thing you do, no big deal.” Can you imagine saying this about food. Oh, eating is just one of the chores we go through in life. No, we find opportunities to enjoy new food. Food, eaten in moderate amount, can be enjoyed. The same is sex in marriage. It is to be received with thanksgiving and is to be enjoyed between husband and wife. If we take a look at Songs of Solomon, we'll begin to understand the high view God has on marital sex.

Conclusion:

 As children of God, we are to be constantly thankful that he has already abode in us, and we in Him. Nothing can change that reality. No amount of good work, merit, or lack of good work, human effort can change this. We are close to God because of our faith in Jesus Christ. You see, we practice certain spiritual disciplines, such as regular devotions, praying and reading the word, sometimes fasting and prolonged time of prayer, not because they will bring us closer to God, but because we want to know him better, to be more like him.

  It is in this close and secure relationships, we receive with thanksgiving all the gifts he has given us, including food and sex. This thanksgiving go beyond eating and sex to all of life.

  When I was in china this May, David Lin shared the following story with me. There was a teenager in his fellowship. Recently she gave this testimony, “my brother told me it is important to have a religion. So I started to look at different religions. Muslims do not eat pork, and I like pork, so its out for me. Then I looked at Buddhism and found out that it cannot eat any meat, so this too went out of the window. I came to Christianity and found out one can eat anything. I like this so I came to this fellowship group. You see, I came looking for a religion, instead I found life.”

  I also remember that it was in the 1970's, through the teaching of Francis Schaeffer, I learned of God creating the world and called it good. Therefore as believers, we are to enjoy God's creation with joy and thanksgiving. We can enjoy good food, sex in marriage, the beautiful nature, the creative productions of movies, art and music. They are God's gift to us. I want to close with the words of G.K. Chesterton, a well known British writer:

  You say grace before meals, All right. But I say grace before the play and the opera, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing; and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.

  Our life is a gift from God, everything God has created is good and a gift to us. they are to be enjoyed. Now, this is good theology, good doctrine.