So-called Christian sychology can be likened to 'Tobiah', who hindered Nehemiah's project for the Lord frm within...

1. ULDAH MINISTRY
LETTER TO THE
BROTHERS AND
SISTERS IN CHRIST
【ERRONEOUS IDEOLOGIES IN
THE CHURCH SOULD BE EJECTED】
Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in
charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He
was closely associated with Tobiah, 5 and he had
provided him with a large room formerly used to store
the grain offerings and incense and temple articles,
and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil
prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers,
as well as the contributions for the priests. 6 But while
all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in
the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I
had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his
permission 7 and came back to Jerusalem. Here I
learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in
providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of
God. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s
household goods out of the room. 9 I gave orders to
purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the
equipment of the house of God, with the grain
offerings and the incense.
10 I also learned that the portions assigned to the
Levites had not been given to them, and that all the
Levites and musicians responsible for the service had
gone back to their own fields. 11 So I rebuked the
officials and asked them, ‘Why is the house of God
neglected?’ Then I called them together and stationed
them at their posts. 12 All Judah brought the tithes of
grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms. 13 I
put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a
Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms
and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah,
their assistant, because they were considered
trustworthy. They were made responsible for
distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.
平成３０年 ３月 月報
フルダ・ミニストリー
ー主に在る
とこしえの集いー
MARCH 2018
NO 269
Eternal Fellowship
News Bulletin
We believe in one GOD, in three
persons; FATHER, SON and
HOLY SPIRIT. We regard the
Bible (both Hebrew Bible and
New Testament) as the only
infallible authoritative
WORD OF GOD.
HULDAH MINISTRY aims to return
to the Word Of God, founded on
Hebrew background and to interpret
it from Hebraic perspective,
acknowledging that Jesus is a Jew
and the Jewish-ness of His teaching
as a continuation from the Hebrew
Bible. The Ministry also aims to put
His teaching into practice, to have a
closer relationship with the Lord,
Jesus Christ, and to regularly have
a Christian fellowship so that this-
worldly kingdom of God will
materialise in the midst of the
followers of Jesus here and now, as
well as earnestly seeking Christ's
Return to establish the otherworldly
Kingdom of God on earth.
All activities are free of charge and no obligation
whatever. Just enjoy our fellowship!
huldahministry.blogspot.jp
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information@huldahministry.com

2. 2
14 Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the
house of my God and its services. NEHEMIAH 13:4-14.
‘Tobiah’ the Ammonite in the passage above had been one of Nehemiah’s archenemies, who
had opposed the wall-building in the city of Jerusalem. However, during Nehemiah’s absence
from the city for a few years in order to return to the Persian king Artaxerxes’s court, Tobiah
moved into the temple. When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem he was shocked to find that
‘Eliashib’ the high priest in Judah had prepared a large room in the temple for Tobiah. The
chamber he occupied had been one of the temple storerooms, ordinarily set aside for the storage
of tithes and other offerings such as grain. Eliashib and Tobiah were closely related by familial
ties and Tobiah used this influence over Eliashib to his advantage to enter the temple and oppose
God’s work while pretending to assist it.
Eliashib had once joined in restoring the walls but now he had allowed an opponent to reside
inside the temple complex. Nehemiah took a drastic action, in which he ‘threw all Tobiah’s
household goods out of the room… gave orders to purify the rooms, and then… put back into
them the equipment of the house of God’, which expressed his anger and which reminds us of
Christ’s holy anger against money changers in the temple area. Nehemiah not only rebuked the
Jewish officials who had neglected their duties overlooking the work of the temple, but he also
took action to correct the problem and he was able to plead with the Lord; ‘Remember me for
this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and
its services’. Nehemiah was one of the few leaders whose motive throughout his ministry was
genuine and dedicated to simply please and to serve the Lord wholeheartedly. His passion for the
truth of God’s Word, whatever the cost or consequences is regrettably missing and sorely needed
among pastors and leaders today.
I have read an interesting article on “Psychology and the Evangelical Church”, in which the
author T.A. McMahon appropriately likens ‘Tobiah’ who hindered Nehemiah’s project for the
Lord from within to “so-called Christian psychology”, putting it: ‘The Book of Nehemiah gives us a
picture of what's happening in the church. Nehemiah (his name means "Jehovah is our comforter") is a type
of the Holy Spirit. God sends him to rebuild and strengthen Jerusalem. Under the guise of helping
Nehemiah, enemies of Israel attempt to subvert the restoration. Incredibly, the priest gives one such
adversary, Tobiah, a room within the Temple. So it is with so-called Christian psychology today. How
serious is this psychologizing of the church? Although devastating even now, Scripture tells us that it will far
exceed what we can imagine. The Apostle Paul is emphatic in his warning (2 Timothy 3:1-5) that "in the last
days" man's condition will be "perilous." That warning begins with a characteristic that is the cornerstone of
humanistic psychology and which Paul indicates (verses 2-5) is the source of a host of evils: self-love’. In it
the author lists three erroneous ideas and he explains each of them in detail, reminding us of the
fact that psychology and the Bible are basically opposed: 1.Psychotherapy is a scientific endeavor
2.Counselling is for professionals only 3.Christian psychology reconciles science and faith.
The following is an editorial review of the book ‘Psychology and the Church’ by
amazon.com.: ‘For nearly two thousand years prior to the rise of modern psychiatry and psychotherapy,
the church ministered to believers who were experiencing mental, emotional, and behavioral problems by
using the teachings of the Scriptures and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Contemporary Christianity’s
embrace of psychology raises an important question: Was there an insufficiency on the part of God’s Word
and His Holy Spirit during those two millennia, making it necessary for the church to turn to modern
psychotherapy in order to more effectively address a Christian’s problems of living? In the history of
contemporary Christendom, no secular enterprise has had such a profound influence on Christianity as has
psychological counselling. The critical question raised by these developments is: Have they been helpful or
harmful to the body of Christ? Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon, co-authors of The Seduction of Christianity,
unearth the roots and expose the results of Christianity’s embrace of the beliefs of Freud, Jung, Rogers,
Maslow, and others. Using content compiled from past feature articles in The Berean Call newsletter, the
authors also contribute new material and tackle answers to tough questions in a special Q&A section.’