A Hardshell wrote the following to me because I said "one who has no burden for the lost, has no gospel to believe". Little did he know, he was doing exactly what the verses he quoted said not to do else there would be judgement. He calls the lost "sociopaths".
The Hardshell said;
"Jeremiah 23 warns against religious people claiming that people need a "burden" from the "Lord" and says that it should be spoken of in such a fashion no more. "34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered? and, What hath the Lord spoken? 36 And the burden of the Lord shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken? 38 But since ye say, The burden of the Lord; therefore thus saith the Lord; Because ye say this word, The burden of the Lord, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord;" Children of God need no "burden" for the sociopath."
I replied thus;
Wow.
You obviously have no idea how to understand old English, so I suggest
you get a modern English bible. Of course you may also be lying, which
hardshells have done for decades. The "burden of the Lord" has nothing
to do with being burdened for lost souls and preaching the Gospel to
sinners. Did not the apostles have a burden to preach to the gentiles?
Did not Paul have a burden for the salvation of Israel? Did not the
early Baptists have a burden to spread the good news and pray for
revival? "Burden" in Jeremiah referred to bad news, judgement, etc. Let
me give it to you so you can understand. Here are the verses in modern
English
"33 When
one of the people or one of their “prophets” or priests asks you,
“Well, Jeremiah, what is the sad news from the Lord today?” you shall
reply, “What sad news? You are the sad news, for the Lord has cast you
away!” 34 And as for the false prophets and priests and people who joke
about “today’s sad news from God,” I will punish them and their families
for saying this. 35 You can ask each other, “What is God’s message?
What is he saying?” 36 But stop using this term, “God’s sad news.” For
what is sad is you and your lying. You are twisting my words and
inventing “messages from God” that I didn’t speak. 37 You may
respectfully ask Jeremiah, “What is the Lord’s message? What has he said
to you?” 38-39 But if you ask him about “today’s sad news from God,”
when I have warned you not to mock like that, then I, the Lord God, will
unburden myself of the burden you are to me. I will cast you out of
my presence, you and this city I gave to you and your fathers. 40 And I
will bring reproach upon you and your name shall be infamous through the
ages."
ALSO
Prophets often spoke of their message as a ‘burden’ from God. It was a
responsibility they had to discharge by announcing it to the people.
Sometimes people went to prophets, particularly those whom Jeremiah
calls false prophets, to ask them for a message, or "burden", that would
give them direction or guidance. God tells Jeremiah that if they ask
him for a burden, he is to tell them that they ARE the burden. They are a
burden so heavy that God will not carry them any longer. He will therefore
get rid of them by throwing them into captivity (33).
The
false prophets misused the word ‘burden’, so that no matter what
announcement they made, they claimed it to be a burden from God. For
this reason God commands the true prophets, such as Jeremiah, not to use
the word any more (34-37). When false prophets persist in using the
word, they show their defiance of God and their intention to deceive his
people. God’s punishment will be to treat them as a burden and throw
them away. As those whom God has cast off, they will be taken captives
to a distant land (38-40). So
we can see from this, that the hardshell PB's have "God’s punishment
to treat them as a burden and throw them away. As those whom God has
cast off, they will be taken captives to a distant land " and this is
EXACTLY what has happened to the hardshell false prophets. God has
closed their churches, divided them and driven them into oblivion. You are oblivious to the fact that Jeremiah is speaking about YOU!
For whatever reason there's been only radio silence since. Was it something I said? (smile)
Dear brother:
ReplyDeleteThis is the kind of "interpretation" of scripture one often confronts among the Hardshells. It is ironic that this brother cannot see that the condemnation of the text is against Hardshell sarcasm and castigation, where they call the service of God a "burden," a heavy task, and the good news from God as bad news. They are the same people who God, through the prophet Malachi, described when he said:
"But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts..." (1: 12-13)
These lazy professors thought God's service was odious, difficult, and a burden or weariness. So too did the false professors in Jeremiah's day. John however said "his commandments are not grievous" (I John 5: 3)
The burden to witness to the lost is not what is condemned in the text. That is what we call eisegesis. He reads that into the text. A good seminary education would have taught him better hermeneutics.
Christ said his "burden" was easy and light. So, we do carry a burden, wear a yoke of service, and that to do as he commanded in the great commission.
Absolutely agree. They have no idea of the JOY that comes with the "burden" in seeing a lost soul come to the fountain of life. They have no idea of the reward that comes from carrying the "burden". They are asleep, snug and warm in their beds as the ship sinks. They may have rest now, but they will awaken from their slumber at the judgement. I imagine that you Bro. Stephen, must cry for them as Christ weeped over Jerusalem. Your burden does not go unnoticed by Him.
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