Profile of a Holy Man
Be Like Christ

A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not only live the life of faith in him, and draw from Him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labor to have the mind that was in Him, and be conformed to His image [Rom 8:29]. It will be his aim to bear with and forgive others…to be unselfish…to walk in love…to be lowly-minded and humble…He will lay to heart the saying of John: “He that saith he abidith in [Christ] ought to himself so walk, even as He walked [1 Jn 2:6]…

JC Ryle, Holiness, (Welwyn: Evangelical Press, 1979).

I hear many praise songs today about “wanting to be like Jesus”. I hear folks say, “I desire to be like Christ.” The good Bishop poses as his third point on being a holy man that one such as that strives to be “like our Lord Jesus Christ”. He approaches this being Christ like from the theological and practical standpoint. Both, what is means and what it looks like.

Theologically, Ryle says being like Christ has 3 dimensions. First, live the life of faith in Him. That is, living by faith and not by sight. Knowing when all things seem wrong, they are right. Knowing when a loved one dies, bridges collapse, miners are trapped, or you lose your job, all is under control. That the way the world makes it seem is not the way it really is. We live by faith in Him when the sun is shining and the band is playing AND when we experience the unending night of bitterness. Are you OK so far?

Second, and closely related, from Him we draw our daily peace and strength. We get not our peace and strength from our stock portfolios, our positions, our health, our families, ourselves. These can all pass away or fail us leaving us in turmoil and weak. These are all temporal and not where we must lay up treasure. Our peace and strength comes from He Who is eternal, Who can keep us for eternity, Who is the peace that passes all understanding, Who is strength beyond compare. The eternal peace and strength of the Triune God of the Universe is incorruptible, unfailing, unending and secure. So why not live a life of faith in Him when from Him alone we draw peace and strength?

Third, and these are inclusive, in other words they are all together, a package deal,
we strive to have His mind and be conformed to His image. Obviously, that occurs not from being immersed in the things of the world but in the things of God. This may strike you as odd, but God does not read the NY Times, this, or any other blog, listen to NPR or watch Fox News. His knowledge is perfect and complete, man can add nothing to Him. He has revealed Himself to us in the Scripture, as my friend Dr. Kroll says, “..the only book God has written”. So, if we are to be conformed to His will and image, don’t you think it would be best to look to where He Himself has laid that out? Scholars would say it is going to the “original sources.” By studying, knowing and doing His Word we can be conformed to His image. It does not matter how many degrees you have, what you read, listen to or watch, none of it will help you be “like Christ” conformed to His image. For that image is Christ as He is revealed in Scripture.

Now that you have the theological components, how about the practical ones, the ones that show you are conformed to His image? Bear and forgive others. That means put up with sinners such as you are and forgive them their foolish sin, especially when they trespass against you. Be unselfish. My mother always said it was JOY…Jesus, others, you…as the standard of unselfishness. Not a bad way to remember to be self-less. Walk in love…that is live your life loving God and others as the first step in your relations with others. Paul writes to Timothy that his “example” is to be speech, conduct, love, faith and purity…the outward bound to the inward with love [1 Tim 4: 12]. Without love you are a hypocrite and/or self-serving.

Be lowly minded and humble. This is a difficult task for 21st century Americans who have all the comforts of technology and a high self-image. We must count all we think we are and all we have as property and privilege as “dung” as the Apostle did. [Phil ]. After all, our Lord emptied Himself of His glory to become a man to save us from ourselves. Finally, Ryle uses the Apostle John as an example of practicing Christ likeness. If you say you abide in Christ, you must act like Him, ergo, with forbearance, forgiveness, unselfishness, love and humility. Those are qualities that our Lord exhibited. So, it stands to reason, to be like Him you must also reflect those attributes.

So, you want to be a godly man? That’s easy: live by faith in Christ; daily seek Christ’s strength and peace; have the mind of Christ; and be conformed to Him by being like Him…longsuffering, forgiving, turning against self interest, loving in all things and being humble in mind, spirit and person. Easy?! No, impossible. As in all things, only by God’s grace can we be Christ-like as befits a holy man.

Baby Boomer Heroes
Mike and Carmen

Much has been written about “The Greatest Generation”[TGG]. Tom Brokaw has made a fortune so doing. They saved the world with their heroic efforts on all fronts in WW II. Statistics tell us that a thousand of them are dying every day. The children of TGG are not held in the same high regard. In fact, much of the ills of today’s culture are laid at the feet of the Baby Boomers [BB]. And the war of the BB’s became a tension point for the entire generation. Viet Nam was a galvanizing event, socially and politically.

But, like TGG, the BB’s also had their war heroes. Two of them from my hometown passed into eternity recently: Mike Hochrein and Carmen Parziale. Mike graduated from DuBois High School a year ahead of me. He wrestled and played football. He was a “standup guy”. He graduated from West Virginia University with a forestry degree. He was an avid outdoorsman and hunter. It was his outdoor skills that came in handy in Viet Nam.

Mike was a member of the all volunteer 75th Infantry’s Company F (Rangers). He was one of the 60 odd Rangers who worked in highly trained six man teams, each with a Vietnamese scout or combat tracker. They did reconnaissance missions, looking for signs of the Viet Cong [VC], and ambush missions, interdicting the VC after detection was made. Their work in the dense jungles of Viet Nam required great skill, patience, care and strength. The six men carried as much weaponry and ammunition as a line unit. And, they had to be skilled in first-aid. Wounded men could not be medivaced out. The six man teams were dependant on each other totally.

Staff Sergeant Mike Hochrein was a team leader for the Rangers in Viet Nam. The Tropic Lightening News of 08 February 1971 reported that Hochrein’s team accounted for five enemy kills in the prior two months [Tropic Lightening News, Vol. 6 No. 3]. Rangers had responsibly only smart, resilient, tough men could perform. Captain Jay Hickey the Rangers CO described the men in his unit and their duty as follows:

The credit actually belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust, sweat and blood; who knows great enthusiasm: great devotion, the triumph of high achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails, fails while daring greatly; that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat. For those who have had to fight for it, life truly has a flavor the protected shall never know.

This was the kind of man Mike Hochrein was. The Viet Nam war became a “quagmire” because the will to win of politicians and the public melted away in the heat of protest. But, the will of men like Mike Hochrein never wavered. They did their jobs by following orders and performed valiantly and courageously in difficult circumstances. They were heroes even though unrecognized as such.

Carmen Parziale graduated the same year as Mike Hochrein, except Carmen attended DuBois Central Catholic. I knew Carman, everyone did, because of his engaging personality and wonderful sense of humor. He earned a B.S. and M.S. from Penn State in Rehabilitative Counseling. He was a caring and compassionate man, one who wanted to help others. And, that he exhibited in his service in Viet Nam.
He was not drafted, but joined the US Army! This at a time when so many were scrambling to stay out of military service. He was a medic, trying to save lives in the jungle battlefields of Viet Nam. As his dear friend of a lifetime, Richard Levine, remarked in his eulogy for Carmen:

He tended to wounded comrades, delivered babies of Vietnamese peasants, was shot at by the Viet Cong and bagged bodies.

Like the Rangers, it was not duty for the weak and fainthearted. Carmen was a courageous soldier facing danger often without a weapon.

Carmen bore the name of a forbear war hero from TGG. Carmen Parziale from Bennett’s Valley was killed in action near the Aleutian Islands in WW II when the Japenese sunk the submarine he served on, the USS Grunion. Sergeant Carmen Parziale of DuBois was also a war hero who served his county with distinction being awarded the Bronze Star, the National Defense Award and the Medic Award.

These two brave sergeants have now passed from this earth. And, while they did not serve in a war that was popular or one that could be embraced by some sort of “just war” theory, they were brave soldiers. Those of us who are Baby Boomers can recall the revulsion and disdain shown returning veterans of the Viet Nam war. They were seen in many quarters as part of the problem. But, they were not…they were but brave young men who did their duty in the jungles of Viet Nam in the face of grave and often unknown danger. A salute to the late Sgt. Mike Hochrein and Sgt. Carmen Parziale, for their courage, service and sacrifice…true Heroes of the Baby Boomer generation.

Profile of a Holy Man
Shunning and Keeping

A holy man will endeavor to shun every known sin, and to keep every known commandment. He will have a decided bent of mind towards God, a hearty desire to do His will, a greater fear of displeasing Him that of displeasing the world, and…will feel what Paul felt when he said “I delight in the law of God after the inward man” [Rom 7:22]…

JC Ryle, Holiness (Welwyn: Evangelical Press, 1979).

Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” [John 14:15] This idea to shun sin and keep commandments is not a test of your fleshly abilities. It is not a test of your devotion or the basis of currying favor with God. No, it is a result of loving the God Who gave Himself for you. The God Who first loved you, even when you were a sinner turned against Him. [Rom 5:8; Eph. 2: 4, 5] God’s love manifested in you creates an imperative of avoiding sin and keeping His commandment.

Does that mean we must be perfect? Hardly. If we say we have not sinned we are liars and make Him to be a liar [1 John 1:10]. But, it does mean that our disposition is toward doing His will. Do we do that all the time? No, but it is our desire to do so. Living in this world, clothed with flesh and dealing with Satan and his temptations, there will be times when we do not shun sin and keep the commandments. We fail to do as we should but do as we know we should not. [Rom 7: 7-25]

Bishop Ryle outlines an excellent test for whether this love lives in us to do His will. Are we more concerned with pleasing the world than pleasing God? If so, it is time for a heart check. We are not to be lovers of the world. And, if what the world thinks is more important to us than what God thinks, then we have a problem. We have not His love [1 John 2:15]. In the world there is no fear of God, period. That is evident by looking at the daily news. The Christian should fear displeasing God. Why? Because He means everything to us for Who He is and what He has done.

Ryle points out the dilemma we all face with his choice of Rom 7:22. This verse is part of the narrative where Paul outlines the struggle in chapter 7. Although we delight on the inside with the law of God we see on the outside our reactions which evidences captivity to the law of sin. There is an ongoing war in each of us. We battle against the tendency to sin. Paul tells us elsewhere that sin has no dominion over one not under the law but grace [Rom 6:14]. Yet, we must continue to seek to shun sin and keep His commandments, for that demonstrated His love living in us. Holy men avoid sin, fear God, desire to please Him, keep His commandments. They “shun and keep”.

Black and Gold Report
Not ready for the Big Dance

Stillers have played two pre-season games since the Hall of Fame Game. They have distinguished themselves in neither, on a loss to Green Bay the other a victory over Washington. The first team offense has done nothing. Against the Skins they had a drive at the end of the 1st half that ended in a FG. Their only points of that half. Then they sat. The 1st team defense allowed the Skins to convert 7 of 10 third downs! The vaunted defense could not get off the field against the heretofore powerless Redskins. The B&G made the Washington 11 look like SB contenders.
So, much is to be done before the Sept. 9 matchup with the hated Brownies. The O line has to be stabilized and the defense has to find a way to pressure the QB and defend the pass. Willie P. played in his first game last Sat. with 4 yds on 4 carries…not exactly all-Pro stats. There is much talk about the backfield issues…lots of good candidates, only a few spots. I am watching what they do with Thunder Dan Kreider. He is one of the last of a dying breed…fullback. The new O coordinator favors more tight ends and a single back set…not good for TDK. But, I cannot imagine having TDK in there on short yardage and goal line situations leading the back into the hole. It will be a sad day if and when #35 is no longer a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Celtic Proverbs
A Large Hen Often Lays a Small Hen

There is an alarming similarity between a religious revival meeting and a political rally and a mob ready to go on a rampage: the same chants, the same unreasoning fervor, the same messianic promises, the same nervous camaraderie. The unspoken messages may differ but the unspoken does not: hail to the chief, hooray for our cause and woe to any who get in our way. It has been argued that this is how Jesus spoke to His multitudes and that we are no different than they. But then it must be asked who among them truly listened to what He said, much less took His words to heart, and where were they when a similar multitude chose between Barabas and Christ?

R. Martin Helick, Travelers From an Ancient Land, Book XII, An Chros, (Swissvale, PA: Regent Graphics, 1993).

Profile of a Holy Man
One with God

Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God’s judgment, hating what He hates, loving what he loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word…

JC Ryle, Holiness, (Welwyn: Evangelical Press, 1979).

If we truly believe that pursing a holy life is not only the answer to a Biblical command [1 Peter 3:16] and also the basic tool in evangelizing post-modern man, what does a holy life look like. Bishop Ryle in his classic book Holiness, points to 12 criteria for discerning a holy man. His first is that a holy man is “one mind with God”.

He lays out three areas where that oneness is revealed. First, is the habit of agreeing with God’s judgment. Seems sensible since who are we to say His judgment is not good and perfect? But, that presumably means His judgment as to us also, not just the “wicked world” surrounding us. That is a little less enthusiastically embraces especially when we are constantly told that we should expect His blessing not His judgment.

Second, is hating what God hates. Again, isn’t that easy…God hates sin so must we. However, that means hating not just the sin that others commit but our own. God hates the sin in my life and your life just as much as the sin of the homosexual. In fact, since we are to be pursuing a holy life as a result of belonging to Him, our sin is compromising our status and witness as His ambassadors. It’s always easy to hate the other guy’s sin rather than our own comfortable sins…a speck and log analysis is needed by each of us.

Third, is loving what He loves. O.K., I can do that. Really? Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul and mind [Matt 22:37 ]. This is the great commandment. Why? Because God is a jealous God…He wants you to love Him above and before all else. That includes yourself, your family, your stuff, your position, your work, your world. Loving what God loves is difficult because of His character…He is holy and we are not. This is why loving what God loves moves us to an understanding of what it means to be a holy man.

And then Bishop Ryle gives us a standard to measure everything in this world. It is by the Book, God’s infallible, inerrant and inspired Word. That means the natural world and all its theories and fleshly wisdom is judged by that Word. The world has it the other way around…we judge God’s Word by the ideas of worldly men. This takes us back to the beginning of this proposition…being of one mind with God. He has revealed Himself to us through His Word. It is through His Word that we know how He judges and what He loves and hates. And, that will never be changed by anything the world has to offer. We know God’s mind through His Word and if we are to be holy men, first we must be men of that Word. If we view the world through non-Biblical lenses, we will never be of one mind with God, he good bishop’s first step to being a holy man.

Celtic Proverbs
Untrustworthy is that Which Would Better be Laid Out Straight

Why did Jesus speak in parables and how could He be sure that they would be correctly interpreted? When asked about this, He answered with a parable of the sower, of how some of the seed fell by the wayside and some upon stony ground, how some were chocked by thorns and how some fell on fertile ground and brought forth fruit a hundredfold. Words have no voice until they are heard, and if he listener lacks the grace to appreciate their meaning, they had best be not heard at all. Better a truth ignored that a truth misappropriated; more holy the ambiguity of human experience that the exactitude of dialectic.

R. Martin Helick, Travelers From an Ancient Land, Book XII, An Chros, (Regent Graphics: Swissvale, PA, 1993)

Black & Gold Report
Hall of Fame Game

Well, the Tomlin Stillers dominated the NO Saints at Canton. Big Ben played one series, went 2 for 3 in passing [the incompletion was catch able] and they scored on their first possession. Nothing comes from a first exhibition game that has long lasting benefit. But, one would rather win than lose. Mike Tomlin has run a tough camp and maybe the boys wanted to get off to a splendid start to get some rest or convince the coach to let up this week. In any event the hometown favorites made the Steeler Nation happy dispatching the Saints [who looked more like the “Aints” of yesteryear] 20-7. In a month they will be back in Ohio to meet the Brownies in week one of the regular season. That’s when it begins to count!

Celtic Proverbs
The Truth Stands When Everything Else Fails

It is when we have lost all confidence in ourselves and feel our world crashing about us that we turn to God. Or more exactly, we turn to whatever or whomever we conceive God to be, and if we have not been in the habit of thinking about Him, we can do little more than to cry out helplessly. It has been said that God looks kindly upon those who approach Him in this way. But alas, all too often the god who steps into the breach is not the God we are seeking but a demonic imposter and those who seem to be the most reverent and knowledgeful are those who will lead us further astray.

R. Martin Helick, Travelers From an Ancient Land, Book XII, An Chros, (Regent Graphics: Swissvale, PA, 1993)