Good Daddy Bad Daddy ?

We have heard of the 'Rich Daddy Poor Daddy' philosophy. I will not say if this is a good philosophy or bad philosophy because it is none of our business to judge every philosophy in this world. However, if it is a philosophy, it is still a philosophy in the eyes of God. It is not a Bible truth. It could be good in the eyes of men; it may not be good in the eyes of God. Of course, I will not reject all human philosophies as bad. Of course, we can still learn from certain human philosophy or tradition, but we would never blend that philosophy or tradition in the teaching of God's truth or Bible truth.

Now, why do I bring up the 'Daddy' philosophy ? It is because I have heard of a very similar 'Daddy' philosophy in the teaching of God's laws and commandments. I will elaborate more about it..

However, meanwhile, this video has triggered my thought about the 'Daddy' philosophy:

"Has grace been understood as license to sin? Slide 9: A strange dream. 

I saw how the 'Daddy' philosophy could have been wrongly applied in the churches too.

1. Good daddies do not guarantee we are definitely 'good' sons no matter how we behave 

Of course, there is nothing wrong to feel proud of having good daddies or rich daddies. However, it is one thing for us to know that we have good daddies; it is another to use our knowledge of having good daddies to boast around or to behave like the Pharisees or hypocrites:

• Mat 3:7-9 KJV  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  (8)  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:  (9)  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
• Mat 18:27-35 KJV  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.  (28)  But the same servant went out, and...  (32)  Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:  (33)  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?  (34)  And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.  (35)  So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. 

2. Don't just think of having good heavenly Daddy; think of what good Daddy would think of us

In both of the cases above, the Pharisees and the servant had thought of their forgiving Lord and use the knowledge of God and favours to live self-righteous lives and bully those who were poorer and less religious than them. They might not kill, steal, or rob others; but they devised complicated religious scheme to 'rob' the naive and the poor. They boasted that Abraham was their father, but it was a picture of 'Good Daddy Bad Sons' to John the Baptist. That's why John the Baptist rebuked the Pharisees in (Mat 3:9), "Don't think that you have good Daddy ! It does not always mean that 'Good Daddy' will produce 'Good Sons'. Don't think or use your own philosophy, but find out what the scripture says.." After rebuking the Pharisees as vipers who did not do true repentance, John the Baptist continued to explain why he was sent to prepare the way for the Lord as prophesied by Malachi:

• Mat 3:11-12 KJV  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:  (12)  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
•  Mal 3:15 KJV Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts... (3) And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. .. (13) Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?  (14) Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?  (15)  And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

As usual, radical grace preachers would like to argue, "No, this is not for us; this is for .." I will tell them, I don't care if this is for us, for the Jews, for the Pharisees, or for the false prophets. I only want to know if this is what the Lord would want us to know and to behave. Likewise we should know the thinking of our Lord or our heavenly Father, not the thinking of the false daddies or the false prophets.

3. What we do for others does affect how our heavenly Daddy think of us (Mat 18:35)

• Some of the Pharisees might have this thinking: "As long as we have good opinion of God, have the right faith in God, or have offered blood sacrifice as commanded, we are righteous before God no matter what we do or how we behave later."  Luk 18:11-12 KJV  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  (12)  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
• Probably, the Pharisees had also thought, "If we take care of God's temple and put God first, everything else is secondary including our moral values and doing good. God will look at us as righteous, as the sons of Abraham.." Mat 3:7-9 KJV .. (9)  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
• Some believers today may also think, "Christianity or the covenant of God with Abraham is all about God's love for us. Therefore, we are only concerned about how much Daddy God loves us and blesses us, not how much we love God and others." 

Of course, those thinkings above would never lead them to true repentance and godliness. Jesus had shown us clearly that those were the thinkings of the Pharisees and the priests who were more religious than others.:

•  Luk 10:25-28 KJV  And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? .. (29) But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?  (30)  And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  (31)  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  (32)  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.  (33)  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,  (34)  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  (35)  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.  (36)  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?  (37)  And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

What can we learn from the teaching of the Lord above? 

If we want to keep the law of God or the church duties so much so that we behave like the priest, the Levite, or the Pharisees, we will no longer be keeping the law of God. Keeping the law of God would not exclude our duties to do good to others or to our neighbours. 

• Similarly, if we try to keep sound doctrine or our arguments so much so that we exclude the love of God for others in our doctrine, our sound doctrine will no longer be sound doctrine. 
• Similarly, if we preach grace and effortless favour so much so that we have no more effort to do good, we will no longer be preaching grace; we will be preaching like the Pharisees who would not believe in doing good.  

Hence, if we behave like the Pharisees, we would never be accepted by God even if we keep the right law, have the right faith, and believe in the right God.   

4. What we do with our lives does affect how our heavenly Daddy think of us too

Likewise, if we always think of the blood covenant (under the law or under grace) as our immunity to God's judgement and conviction and sin wilfully (or sin with no condemnation), we may have counted the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing, knowingly or unknowingly, with or without the intention to sin: 

• Heb 10:26-29 KJV  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,  (27)  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.  (28)  He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:  (29)  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (see video - "Can you lose your salvation?" slide 2. Can we abuse the blood covenant?)

Hence, if we sin like the Pharisees, we would never be accepted by God even if we keep the right law, have the right faith, and believe in the right God.  

I will explain more ....

::