Q: How can we encourage a person to apply this truth (1 Peter 4:8)?
A: Think about all the sins you have committed up to this point in your life. If you are like me it is impossible to remember every sin you have committed in thought, in word and in deed. The Bible says that "everything that does not come from faith is sin (Romans 14:23)." Therefore, every time that you sin you are not expressing faith in God. Pretty humbling, right? But, "that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11)." One of the greatest gifts we have received from God is His forgiveness. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He took away all our sins, past, present and future, from the eyes of God. Therefore, when God looks at a believer He doesn't see a sinner. He doesn't see a sinner saved by grace. What He sees is a washed, sanctified and justified child of God who has been given the righteousness of Jesus Christ through faith in Him. We see, in the actions of Jesus Christ, on our behalf, a love that has covered a multitude of sins, as expressed in 1 Peter 4:8. Our response to His great love should be to simply say thank you. Without God's love for us, we would be without hope and salvation would not have been possible.
The deepest need of the human heart is to be loved unconditionally. We look for that in people, places and things who don't have that kind of love to give us. Our attempts to find that love, apart from a relationship with God, can only be found in the world as an expression of sin. It is with that thought in mind that we are able to put God's love for us in context. From the time of Adam until the time of Christ, our sin separated us from God. He desired to indwell us the way He did back in the Garden before the Fall. However, before He could do that, He had to deal with the sin that caused His life to leave us and severed that relationship. No man who has ever lived had a life worthy enough to give as a sacrifice for our sins. That is why scripture tell us that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)." Because we couldn't pay the price for our sins, God did it for us. That is the definition of unconditional love. When we realize all the sins that Jesus Christ died for, cancelling the debt we owed God, all we can say is "Thank you." "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10)." It is recognizing how much God loved us that leads us to how we answer the question of the best way in which to encourage a believer to apply the truth of 1 Peter 4:8.
We read in 1 Peter 4:8, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." Chapter 4, leading up to verse 8, reminds us of just what it was that Jesus Christ redeemed us from when He died on the cross. The suffering we experience from our sins is compared to the suffering Jesus Christ endured to pay for our sins (verse 1). It is this understanding that causes us to live our life for the will of God and not for evil human desires (verse 2). When we were without Christ we were like pagans, "living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry (verse 3)." It is the recognition of what we have been delivered from that makes us avoid participating in these types of sins any longer even if we are abused for doing so (verse 4). Have you experienced anything like this in your own life? I think it is a common experience for most Christians. It is remembering the suffering brought about by sin that causes us to live our lives in accordance with the will of God. When we are being led by the Lord we are reminded of the depths of sin we had fallen to apart from Him. And that helps us stand tall even when those around us try to bring us down for no longer deciding to participate with them in their sin. The bottom line is that our motivation to apply the truth of 1 Peter 4:8 comes from the love of God. "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died (2 Corinthians 5:14)."
When we realize just how much God has loved us, we are then motivated to share that which we have received from Him with those we encounter in life. When someone sins against us it presents us with the perfect opportunity to express the love of God towards them. God's love took away ours sins for eternity. Therefore, we are able to forgive others because of how much we have been forgiven. The patience God has shown towards us allows us to be patient with others. The kindness of God towards us allows us to be kind with others. God not keeping record of our wrongs shows us how not to keep record of those wrongs done to us. Do you see the pattern? "Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8)." God gave to us so that we could share it with others. By doing so, we are able to gather souls for the Kingdom of God, which is what our mission is here on earth. It is human nature to be unloving towards others when they sin against us. That is why when someone who doesn't know the Lord has an encounter with Him, through us, they are more apt to inquire as to where the love they received originated. They know that our reaction to them is unnatural. It is a reaction that is supernaturally motivated. So, I would encourage a person to apply the truth of 1 Peter 4:8 by reminding them of the love they have received from God, in Christ.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Legal Precedence
Merry Christmas!!!!! Yeah, I know, you're saying to yourself "Tomorrow is Halloween. Why are you wishing everybody Merry Christmas?" You know like I do that, according to the world, we are not entering the Christmas Season; Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. We are entering the "Holiday Season." With political correctness run wild, I figured I better get it out the way before I am not allowed to say it at all. It is almost maddening the way people go out of their way to avoid offending others during this time of year. But, all they do is offend those who celebrate Christmas for what it really is, honoring the birth of Jesus Christ. It is no secret that the driving force behind the movement to silence Christmas is the belief in something called the "separation of church and state." This doctrine, however, is no where to be found in the U.S. Constitution. I was doing some research about this topic and ran across the following:
"[W]here did we get all this "separation" business to start with? How did we get from point A to point B, only to look back and find ourselves so far away from original intent? The problem can be summed up in one phrase: legal precedence. Instead of basing rulings on the Constitution, the Supreme Court oftentimes bases its rulings on prior Supreme Court rulings. What inevitably happens is that we find ourselves incrementally further and further away from the original intent until the rulings bear little resemblance to what our nation's founders had in mind."
When I read this I realized that is has a familiar ring to it. While our social and political system has gotten increasingly further away from the original intent of the Founding Fathers, the Christian religion has done the same thing.
"For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus." Galatians 1:13-17
I have talked to more than one Christian who, proudly, refers to the "Church Fathers" for their guidance in the Christian life. In most cases, the individuals they are referring to are those who established their particular religious denominations. They will quote respected pillars of their religion like Popes, manmade saints and leaders like John Calvin, Martin Luther and John Wesley. Each of these individuals may have said something of merit at one time or another. However, if they have said anything of value it was revealed to them by the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that indwells every believer within the Body of Christ and who has promised to reveal God's truth to us. The problem with relying on "Church Fathers" is that as time goes on we have seen their words elevated to the same level as those of the Bible. And then the followers of the various religions end up using their own version of legal precedence in order to determine truth. The Apostle Paul seems to describe doing just the opposite. Prior to his conversion, I would imagine that he was viewed by some within his own religious community as a pillar of the faith. Like is the case with most today, I would not be surprised if there were those who looked to him as a someone who could determine absolute truth. However, Paul admitted that his zealous pursuit of the traditions of his fathers may have advanced his standing in Judaism, but had nothing to do with understanding the truth of the Gospel. He further confesses that it was God who revealed "His Son" to him not any consultation with man. There is a lesson we all can learn from the words of Paul.
"So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?" He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!" Mark 7:5-9
What Paul was revealing about himself is what Jesus made clear to the Pharisees. We hold onto our traditions at the expense of God's truth. This happens because we follow behind the leaders of our church without questioning anything they say. When you multiply this pattern by thousands and millions of followers who have repeated the error for centuries, it is easy to see how God's Word is replaced by man's opinion of it. We have, in effect, created our own "separation of church and state" within the Body of Christ. We have set aside the commands of God in order to observe our traditions. It is amazing that we can have hundreds of demonimations, all claiming to be teaching the truth and following Jesus, yet all of them teaching something different. Even more puzzling is that many followers within these separate denominations will act as though they are teaching the same things. You will hear things like "we should focus on the things we agree on, not those that divide us." Sounds like a politically correct comment, right? However, I suggest that we need to focus on those things that divide us because not everybody can be correct. There is only one truth. Either we are all wrong or only one is correct. God does have an opinion on just about every subject that touches our faith. It would behoove us to search out what His truth is even if it means discarding the traditions of men we hold so dear. Think back to your salvation and all the things that fell away since you became aware of the truth that God has been revealing to you in Christ. While it may be easy to discard the wordly things we held so dear when they are matched up against God's truth, it can be very difficult to discard those spirituals things we have grasped on to. But, it is just as important to discard the spiritual things, as it was the worldly things, if they do not match up with truth. The separation of church and state is an error that we have allowed to become truth at the expense of our religious liberties. We cannot let that which we know to be true about the Word of God be lost to our inability to separate that truth from our traditions and the words of men.
"[W]here did we get all this "separation" business to start with? How did we get from point A to point B, only to look back and find ourselves so far away from original intent? The problem can be summed up in one phrase: legal precedence. Instead of basing rulings on the Constitution, the Supreme Court oftentimes bases its rulings on prior Supreme Court rulings. What inevitably happens is that we find ourselves incrementally further and further away from the original intent until the rulings bear little resemblance to what our nation's founders had in mind."
When I read this I realized that is has a familiar ring to it. While our social and political system has gotten increasingly further away from the original intent of the Founding Fathers, the Christian religion has done the same thing.
"For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus." Galatians 1:13-17
I have talked to more than one Christian who, proudly, refers to the "Church Fathers" for their guidance in the Christian life. In most cases, the individuals they are referring to are those who established their particular religious denominations. They will quote respected pillars of their religion like Popes, manmade saints and leaders like John Calvin, Martin Luther and John Wesley. Each of these individuals may have said something of merit at one time or another. However, if they have said anything of value it was revealed to them by the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that indwells every believer within the Body of Christ and who has promised to reveal God's truth to us. The problem with relying on "Church Fathers" is that as time goes on we have seen their words elevated to the same level as those of the Bible. And then the followers of the various religions end up using their own version of legal precedence in order to determine truth. The Apostle Paul seems to describe doing just the opposite. Prior to his conversion, I would imagine that he was viewed by some within his own religious community as a pillar of the faith. Like is the case with most today, I would not be surprised if there were those who looked to him as a someone who could determine absolute truth. However, Paul admitted that his zealous pursuit of the traditions of his fathers may have advanced his standing in Judaism, but had nothing to do with understanding the truth of the Gospel. He further confesses that it was God who revealed "His Son" to him not any consultation with man. There is a lesson we all can learn from the words of Paul.
"So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?" He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!" Mark 7:5-9
What Paul was revealing about himself is what Jesus made clear to the Pharisees. We hold onto our traditions at the expense of God's truth. This happens because we follow behind the leaders of our church without questioning anything they say. When you multiply this pattern by thousands and millions of followers who have repeated the error for centuries, it is easy to see how God's Word is replaced by man's opinion of it. We have, in effect, created our own "separation of church and state" within the Body of Christ. We have set aside the commands of God in order to observe our traditions. It is amazing that we can have hundreds of demonimations, all claiming to be teaching the truth and following Jesus, yet all of them teaching something different. Even more puzzling is that many followers within these separate denominations will act as though they are teaching the same things. You will hear things like "we should focus on the things we agree on, not those that divide us." Sounds like a politically correct comment, right? However, I suggest that we need to focus on those things that divide us because not everybody can be correct. There is only one truth. Either we are all wrong or only one is correct. God does have an opinion on just about every subject that touches our faith. It would behoove us to search out what His truth is even if it means discarding the traditions of men we hold so dear. Think back to your salvation and all the things that fell away since you became aware of the truth that God has been revealing to you in Christ. While it may be easy to discard the wordly things we held so dear when they are matched up against God's truth, it can be very difficult to discard those spirituals things we have grasped on to. But, it is just as important to discard the spiritual things, as it was the worldly things, if they do not match up with truth. The separation of church and state is an error that we have allowed to become truth at the expense of our religious liberties. We cannot let that which we know to be true about the Word of God be lost to our inability to separate that truth from our traditions and the words of men.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Double Jeopardy
"A woman is set up to take the fall for her husband's murder. After serving prison time, she is released to discover that her husband's death was faked and her son is missing and had been put up for adoption. With the help of her parole officer, she goes on the search for her son and for her husband, but with the idea to kill the latter, knowing that to try her again for murder would constitute double jeopardy."
This is the synopsis for the 1999 film, Double Jeopardy, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd. According to Answers.com, "The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment states: “nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.”" In the movie, as the synopsis alludes to, Ashley Judd's character is assisted in her attempt to avenge her false imprisonment and find her son because she cannot be tried again for the same crime. Although, I understand why she would be motivated to kill her husband, I would not encourage anyone in her situation to do so. This scenario is a great opportunity to talk about the forgiveness of God.
"The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin." Hebrews 10:15-18
So many Christians, today, do not understand the forgiveness of God and His grace we stand in. Part of the byproduct of that misunderstanding leads them to believe that people, who take scripture at its word, in that God remembers our sins no more, will use that freedom as a license to sin even more. Like Ashley Judd's character, they feel that since our sins have been forgiven, there is nothing stopping us from endulging the flesh. Therefore, since they don't believe the scriptures, they invent sacrifices for sins that are not required by God nor are they even accepted by Him. I have to believe that there is fear motivating individuals who believe that there is more forgiveness required for our sins. When your premise is off, your findings will be off. If you don't believe all your sins have been forgiven then you must create a sacrificial system to keep yourself in line because without it you think God will have to punish you for them. The passage from Hebrews says that the Holy Spirit testifies to us. How is it that the Holy Spirit testifies? The answer to this will also reveal to us what it is that guides a Christian and encourages them to avoid a life of sin. Salvation is the restoration of the life of God to everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is the Holy Spirit, the actual life of God, breathed into mankind at creation, but lost at the Fall, that leads a believer from within. When we have the life of God leading us He is not going to lead us into a life of sin. And, when the opportunity to sin arises for us, it is the Holy Spirit that presents us with options. Those options are:
This is the synopsis for the 1999 film, Double Jeopardy, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd. According to Answers.com, "The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment states: “nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.”" In the movie, as the synopsis alludes to, Ashley Judd's character is assisted in her attempt to avenge her false imprisonment and find her son because she cannot be tried again for the same crime. Although, I understand why she would be motivated to kill her husband, I would not encourage anyone in her situation to do so. This scenario is a great opportunity to talk about the forgiveness of God.
"The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin." Hebrews 10:15-18
So many Christians, today, do not understand the forgiveness of God and His grace we stand in. Part of the byproduct of that misunderstanding leads them to believe that people, who take scripture at its word, in that God remembers our sins no more, will use that freedom as a license to sin even more. Like Ashley Judd's character, they feel that since our sins have been forgiven, there is nothing stopping us from endulging the flesh. Therefore, since they don't believe the scriptures, they invent sacrifices for sins that are not required by God nor are they even accepted by Him. I have to believe that there is fear motivating individuals who believe that there is more forgiveness required for our sins. When your premise is off, your findings will be off. If you don't believe all your sins have been forgiven then you must create a sacrificial system to keep yourself in line because without it you think God will have to punish you for them. The passage from Hebrews says that the Holy Spirit testifies to us. How is it that the Holy Spirit testifies? The answer to this will also reveal to us what it is that guides a Christian and encourages them to avoid a life of sin. Salvation is the restoration of the life of God to everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is the Holy Spirit, the actual life of God, breathed into mankind at creation, but lost at the Fall, that leads a believer from within. When we have the life of God leading us He is not going to lead us into a life of sin. And, when the opportunity to sin arises for us, it is the Holy Spirit that presents us with options. Those options are:
- What is it that this sin can provide me that I don't already have in Christ?
- Is engaging in this sin consistent with who I am as a child of God?
- If I do sin, what then must be done since their is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood?
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:11-14
The Holy Spirit testifies to us by teaching us to say "no" when sin is presented in our lives. It does this by reminding us of who we once were before we accepted Christ, when we were slaves to sin. At that time we had no options, but to rely on our own understanding. It is in this condition that we sow to the flesh and are led by it into all sorts of wicked behavior. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit teaches us that there is nothing we can gain from making choices that showed us our need for Christ in the first place. We are children of God. When God sees us He sees the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. He sees His forgiven, sanctified, holy and blameless children. The Holy Spirit reminds us of this eternal truth which leads to us making choices in line with our identity in Christ. When we sin, and we will, the Holy Spirit also reminds us of another truth. And that is that all our sins were taken away from the eyes of God at the cross. Therefore, when we sin, we don't perform a meaningless and bloodless sacrifice meant to get what we have already been given through the death of Christ. Rather, we are reminded that our sins are forgiven and do not separate us from God. This leads to a heart of thankfulness. Furthermore, because our sins are no longer an issue between us and God, we can approach God to find mercy in our time of need. It is there that God instructs us on exactly where it was we weren't trusting Him. It is this truth that allows us to grow in our relationship with God and understand the meaning of there being no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" Hebrews 10:26-29
For those Christians that believe there is further forgiveness required for our sins, they will use this passage as if it is irrefutable proof of their belief. They believe that the individuals who "deliberately keep on sinning" are those "Ashley Judd's" among us who take the forgiveness of God as a license to sin. However, this passage is actually speaking to them. It is they who are guilty of deliberately sinning. How so? The deliberate sin is not believing Christ's sacrifice was final and that there is no sacrifice for sins left. Every time they ask for, or encourage a believer to seek additional, forgiveness they are calling Jesus Christ a liar. Harsh words? Perhaps. But, it was Jesus Christ who cried out, "it is finished," just before dying on the cross. I don't want to be the one who keeps putting Him back on the cross and, effectively, telling Him, "it is not finished." When we don't believe that the sin issue is over we are trampling the son of God are deserving of punishment; an insult to the Spirit of grace. But, in God's love, He doesn't hold our ignorance of, and denial of, the truth against us. We didn't ask God to send Jesus to forgive our sins. But, we somehow believe we are to ask Him to forgive sins He already died for and that God no longer holds against us. The issue is simple. We were found guilty of sin. The penalty was death. Jesus took it all. There is none left for us to take. What we do is thank Jesus for taking our place on the cross and live in thankfulness by responding to the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We are free from sin to serve in love and grow in grace. We are not in jeopardy of being held responsible for sins that God has already forgiven!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
I Don't Want To Talk About It
Today at work I happened to see a coworker coming towards me who looked like she had been crying. She had the typical red eyes and flushed look on her face. Knowing we had a decent relationship I asked, "What is wrong?" "Nothing," she replied. Granted, being at work, and the fact that talking about things can lead to uncontrollable emotion, made me understand why she did not respond to my question. I never did discover what was troubling her and I, probably, won't find out. It is none of my business, but I wanted her to know that I cared about whatever it was that was troubling her. It reminded me, however, of how so many people talk about having others in our lives that we feel close enough to them to reveal our innermost feelings. When, and if, this time arrives it usually takes place in a private setting. It must be private or else nothing of substance will take place. I am always a little amused at how when others notice that we are struggling with something and offer to help us, we usually rebuke them with the aforementioned, "nothing is wrong" or " I don't want to talk about it." In other words, I am not comfortable enough to confide in you. I am reminded of a radio program that was encouraging Christians to engage in "corporate confession of sin." I found the following statement about this subject on a Christian website.
One of the most meaningful times of the worship service to me and my wife has been the practice of the corporate confession of sin at the beginning of a worship service. Many churches have put aside the corporate confession in favor of only music but the church has historically made the corporate confession central to worship. For most it makes the time of worship more authentic and joyful for it strikes a blow against self-righteousness and humbles us before God as we say what we know to be true of ourselves. It reminds us that we are not better than others and that it is only grace (an alien righteousness) which makes us what we are. God remembers, in the covenant in Christ's blood, not to treat us as our sins deserve. In it we pray for personal sin, for the sins of our local church, our local community, our nation and world.
When I read this, my first thought was one of disbelief. The individual quoted talks of corporate confession of sin as being meaningful, central to worship, authentic, joyful, humbling and reminding God not to treat us as our sins deserve. I realized that I had experienced this practice at past fellowships I belonged to. The descriptions mentioned here are not what I would call my experience.
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:1-6
There are not too many Christians, I presume, who are unfamiliar with this passage of scripture. It clearly speaks that giving and praying should be done in secret, out of the eyes of the public. Why? Because when we do these things in front of others, we are usually doing so for selfish reasons. As the passage says, we do it to be honored by men. I remember a sibling of mine telling me how when the collection plate came around he was inclined to place a $20 bill in the plate because others were watching. But, in his heart he knew he had plans for that money. The point is that when we are being watched, it is our human nature to do things that cause us to be rewarded by men. After all, one of the main needs of the heart is acceptance. And we all do things in order to gain the acceptance of those around us. And it is no different inside the walls of a church. I don't see anything holy and righteous about telling our deepest secrets in a public forum. In fact, I would not be surprised if certain people were encouraged to admit something that is not too flattering and could possibly do more harm than good. Furthermore, corporate confession could lead to more sin as the sordid details of ones confession become fuel for gossip and inuendo. I know of a Christian couple who left a previous fellowship we attended together because one spouse was called in front of the Body and forced to admit their marriage troubles. My friend, the husband, was upset because the trouble they were having was magnified to appear worse than it was in actuality. There is nothing edifying by having our sins made public. Is this humbling and joyful? Absolutely not. In fact, it is more embarrassing and painful than anything else. The reason scripture encourages us to do things in secret is because that is where we are free to be ourselves without the humiliation, condemnation and unwanted attention that comes with doing it in public.
"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
The most disturbing thing mentioned about corporate confession of sin is that it reminds God not to treat us as our sins deserve. Excuse me, but did God forget what He did, in Christ, at the cross? If anybody needs to be reminded of anything it is Christians who have forgotten that their sins are no longer remembered by God. There is no reason to remind God, and our fellow Christians, of our sins when they have been taken away for all eternity by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ! We are encouraged to be reconciled to God because He is reconciled to us. The sin issue that separated us from God is no longer an issue. We are free to approach the throne of Grace because our sins no longer prevent us from fellowship with Him. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging our sin, but we must also agree with God as to what He has done with that sin. As Jesus proclaimed with His last breath, "it is finished." Man may count our sins against us, but not God. Honestly, reminding ourselves and other of our sins does nothing to help us grow in Christ. Perhaps, it may make us feel good, but should we put our feelings ahead of truth? Does it make you feel good to deny Christ's finished work on the cross? This is why the scriptures tell us to do things in secret and to be reconciled to God. IfWhen we sin that is the time that we go to God looking to be comforted and restored by His truth. We go to Him to see where it was we were not trusting Him with our lives. And, He reminds us that we are already forgiven and then instructs us in His ways. This is how we grow in confidence and in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Telling each other how bad we are is only acknowledging the obvious to God. He is not surprised at it. If He was, He probably would never had died for our sins, in Christ. What we need to pray for when we come together is that the truth surrounding forgiveness is proclaimed. It is great to pray for yourself, your church, your community, the nation and the world. But, pray in accordance with truth so that you and those you encounter may know the fullness of the Gospel and the finished work of Christ. We go to God in secret when we need restoration. Then we are confident to go out in public and share the forgiveness of sins and resurrected life, in Christ, with the rest of the world. That is something we should all be willing to talk about!
One of the most meaningful times of the worship service to me and my wife has been the practice of the corporate confession of sin at the beginning of a worship service. Many churches have put aside the corporate confession in favor of only music but the church has historically made the corporate confession central to worship. For most it makes the time of worship more authentic and joyful for it strikes a blow against self-righteousness and humbles us before God as we say what we know to be true of ourselves. It reminds us that we are not better than others and that it is only grace (an alien righteousness) which makes us what we are. God remembers, in the covenant in Christ's blood, not to treat us as our sins deserve. In it we pray for personal sin, for the sins of our local church, our local community, our nation and world.
When I read this, my first thought was one of disbelief. The individual quoted talks of corporate confession of sin as being meaningful, central to worship, authentic, joyful, humbling and reminding God not to treat us as our sins deserve. I realized that I had experienced this practice at past fellowships I belonged to. The descriptions mentioned here are not what I would call my experience.
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:1-6
There are not too many Christians, I presume, who are unfamiliar with this passage of scripture. It clearly speaks that giving and praying should be done in secret, out of the eyes of the public. Why? Because when we do these things in front of others, we are usually doing so for selfish reasons. As the passage says, we do it to be honored by men. I remember a sibling of mine telling me how when the collection plate came around he was inclined to place a $20 bill in the plate because others were watching. But, in his heart he knew he had plans for that money. The point is that when we are being watched, it is our human nature to do things that cause us to be rewarded by men. After all, one of the main needs of the heart is acceptance. And we all do things in order to gain the acceptance of those around us. And it is no different inside the walls of a church. I don't see anything holy and righteous about telling our deepest secrets in a public forum. In fact, I would not be surprised if certain people were encouraged to admit something that is not too flattering and could possibly do more harm than good. Furthermore, corporate confession could lead to more sin as the sordid details of ones confession become fuel for gossip and inuendo. I know of a Christian couple who left a previous fellowship we attended together because one spouse was called in front of the Body and forced to admit their marriage troubles. My friend, the husband, was upset because the trouble they were having was magnified to appear worse than it was in actuality. There is nothing edifying by having our sins made public. Is this humbling and joyful? Absolutely not. In fact, it is more embarrassing and painful than anything else. The reason scripture encourages us to do things in secret is because that is where we are free to be ourselves without the humiliation, condemnation and unwanted attention that comes with doing it in public.
"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
The most disturbing thing mentioned about corporate confession of sin is that it reminds God not to treat us as our sins deserve. Excuse me, but did God forget what He did, in Christ, at the cross? If anybody needs to be reminded of anything it is Christians who have forgotten that their sins are no longer remembered by God. There is no reason to remind God, and our fellow Christians, of our sins when they have been taken away for all eternity by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ! We are encouraged to be reconciled to God because He is reconciled to us. The sin issue that separated us from God is no longer an issue. We are free to approach the throne of Grace because our sins no longer prevent us from fellowship with Him. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging our sin, but we must also agree with God as to what He has done with that sin. As Jesus proclaimed with His last breath, "it is finished." Man may count our sins against us, but not God. Honestly, reminding ourselves and other of our sins does nothing to help us grow in Christ. Perhaps, it may make us feel good, but should we put our feelings ahead of truth? Does it make you feel good to deny Christ's finished work on the cross? This is why the scriptures tell us to do things in secret and to be reconciled to God. IfWhen we sin that is the time that we go to God looking to be comforted and restored by His truth. We go to Him to see where it was we were not trusting Him with our lives. And, He reminds us that we are already forgiven and then instructs us in His ways. This is how we grow in confidence and in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Telling each other how bad we are is only acknowledging the obvious to God. He is not surprised at it. If He was, He probably would never had died for our sins, in Christ. What we need to pray for when we come together is that the truth surrounding forgiveness is proclaimed. It is great to pray for yourself, your church, your community, the nation and the world. But, pray in accordance with truth so that you and those you encounter may know the fullness of the Gospel and the finished work of Christ. We go to God in secret when we need restoration. Then we are confident to go out in public and share the forgiveness of sins and resurrected life, in Christ, with the rest of the world. That is something we should all be willing to talk about!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Late to the Game
I have always enjoyed watching television programs that highlight the animal kingdom. Unfortunately, after becoming a Christian, these programs are not as enjoyable. The reason being is that I notice just how saturated these programs are with evolutionary beliefs. A program I was watching last night on the Discovery Channel was no exception. The program was titled, Nature's Deadliest: Australia. It featured the deadly animals that call the continent of Australia home and the havoc they wreak on the inhabitants. With animals like Saltwater crocodiles, Funnel Web and Red Back spiders, Box Jellyfish and Inland Taipan snakes, Australia seems more like Pandora's Box then the Land Down Under. But, I was frustrated when another one of Australia's deadliest animals, the Great White Shark, was compared to human beings. A scientist, apparently infatuated by the "design" of the sharks teeth, and their use in helping the shark quickly and efficiently devour their pray, made a comparison between the age of the species and that of human beings. According to the scientist, the teeth of the shark are so efficient because they have had over 400 million years to "evolve" to their present capabilities. He went on to say that human beings, who have only been on the planet for one million years, are, relatively, "late to the game" in our own evolutionary development.
"And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day... Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground..." God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day." Genesis 1: 20-23, 26, 31
Now, I don't expect a nonbeliever, on a secular network, to say anything that lines up with the Bible. But, I do have a problem when Christians see nothing wrong with describing God's creative work as a process of evolution. I was listening to Christian radio today when I heard a female caller ask the host how to deal with a fellow Christian who believed God used evolution to create the heavens, the earth and everything in it. A clear reading of the Scripture teaches that sharks, included with all the living creatures teeming in the water, were created on the fifth day of creation. Secondly, we see that man was created just a day later on the sixth day of creation. Correct me if I am wrong, but if I use the "time line" of the scientist on the Discovery Channel, this would be like me saying that the time between Thursday and Friday is 400 million years. Talk about a long work week. No wonder you have Happy Hours on Friday! I am aware that an evolutionist, Christian or otherwise, would get into arguments about the meaning, and use, of the word "day" in Genesis 1. And that is just the direction the caller thought she should go in when discussing this with her friend. Thankfully, the host pointed her in a better direction. Let us be clear that there is nothing wrong with this line of defense, because we know the scriptures will definitely hold up under the scrutiny. You can also mention how the Bible clearly says that God created the animals "according to their kinds." There are no animals evolving into other animals if they reproduce after their own kind, right? However, this misses the central point of the Bible and, its primary focus, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned ... or if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." Romans 5: 12, 17-19
What is it that is the hallmark of evolution? It is that death has been around since the beginning of time. Without death and struggle evolution doesn't have its process by which life evolves. After all, we are constantly bombarded with the argument that the strong survive to evolve and move on. In other words, it is the survival of the fittest. Therefore, things like Great White sharks are said to be "unchanged" in millions of years. Another evolutionary oxymoron, in my opinion. If you don't change, you haven't evolved, right? But, evolutionists will say that an animal at the top of the food chain, like a Great White shark, won't need to evolve. But, I digress. If you have death in the world before man, you have effectively destroyed the Gospel and the need for Jesus Christ. You see, if you don't have death as the result of the sin of Adam, you don't need a savior to redeem you from that sin. The Gospel is sin, death, forgiveness, life. Any other order will not work. And that is exactly what happens when we try and fit evolution into scripture. It is not simply a disagreement on how God created things, it is a total denial of man's need for salvation. Think about it, is that not exactly how Satan would have it? He would love nothing more than to keep people blinded from the truth of the Gospel. Christians who believe in evolution, inadvertently, have aligned themselves with a doctrine of the devil. I know they don't think they are destroying the Gospel with their views, but that is exactly what they are doing. Let me say that I am not implying that a Christian who believes in evolution is not saved, but their belief in evolution is inconsistent with the Gospel message. I would hope that they would ask themselves one question:
How can you claim to have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, when you believe in a creative process that destroys the need for Him?
Mankind may be late to the game in the eyes of an evolutionist, but believing in evolution may make you late to heaven.
"And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day... Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground..." God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day." Genesis 1: 20-23, 26, 31
Now, I don't expect a nonbeliever, on a secular network, to say anything that lines up with the Bible. But, I do have a problem when Christians see nothing wrong with describing God's creative work as a process of evolution. I was listening to Christian radio today when I heard a female caller ask the host how to deal with a fellow Christian who believed God used evolution to create the heavens, the earth and everything in it. A clear reading of the Scripture teaches that sharks, included with all the living creatures teeming in the water, were created on the fifth day of creation. Secondly, we see that man was created just a day later on the sixth day of creation. Correct me if I am wrong, but if I use the "time line" of the scientist on the Discovery Channel, this would be like me saying that the time between Thursday and Friday is 400 million years. Talk about a long work week. No wonder you have Happy Hours on Friday! I am aware that an evolutionist, Christian or otherwise, would get into arguments about the meaning, and use, of the word "day" in Genesis 1. And that is just the direction the caller thought she should go in when discussing this with her friend. Thankfully, the host pointed her in a better direction. Let us be clear that there is nothing wrong with this line of defense, because we know the scriptures will definitely hold up under the scrutiny. You can also mention how the Bible clearly says that God created the animals "according to their kinds." There are no animals evolving into other animals if they reproduce after their own kind, right? However, this misses the central point of the Bible and, its primary focus, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned ... or if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." Romans 5: 12, 17-19
What is it that is the hallmark of evolution? It is that death has been around since the beginning of time. Without death and struggle evolution doesn't have its process by which life evolves. After all, we are constantly bombarded with the argument that the strong survive to evolve and move on. In other words, it is the survival of the fittest. Therefore, things like Great White sharks are said to be "unchanged" in millions of years. Another evolutionary oxymoron, in my opinion. If you don't change, you haven't evolved, right? But, evolutionists will say that an animal at the top of the food chain, like a Great White shark, won't need to evolve. But, I digress. If you have death in the world before man, you have effectively destroyed the Gospel and the need for Jesus Christ. You see, if you don't have death as the result of the sin of Adam, you don't need a savior to redeem you from that sin. The Gospel is sin, death, forgiveness, life. Any other order will not work. And that is exactly what happens when we try and fit evolution into scripture. It is not simply a disagreement on how God created things, it is a total denial of man's need for salvation. Think about it, is that not exactly how Satan would have it? He would love nothing more than to keep people blinded from the truth of the Gospel. Christians who believe in evolution, inadvertently, have aligned themselves with a doctrine of the devil. I know they don't think they are destroying the Gospel with their views, but that is exactly what they are doing. Let me say that I am not implying that a Christian who believes in evolution is not saved, but their belief in evolution is inconsistent with the Gospel message. I would hope that they would ask themselves one question:
How can you claim to have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, when you believe in a creative process that destroys the need for Him?
Mankind may be late to the game in the eyes of an evolutionist, but believing in evolution may make you late to heaven.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
If Truth sets you Free, Error Keeps you in Bondage
How many times have you heard the Founding Fathers of the United States called racists because of the existence of slavery in this country? Although, slavery no longer exists, the fact of it in our history has given the descendants of those effected by slavery an excuse to express their own racist attitudes towards whites. This, effectively, destroys any chance of unity amongst the races. You would think the fact that many blacks in this country are Christians, that the love of Christ would be enough to bridge the gap and forgive the past. After all, there is no Jew, Gentile, slave or free for those in Christ, right? At least that is the way it should be. I must admit that I am one who used to hold a lot of prejudice attitudes, based on race, because of the treatment of blacks throughout history. However, after becoming a Christian, the Lord started to show me what it means to be led into all truth. Not only did I realize that because of the forgiveness God had expressed towards me, I should express it towards my fellow man. He also revealed to me that some of the historical facts I relied on to base my prejudices on were incorrect. One of those historical items that I did not truly understand was the Three-Fifths Compromise of 1788.
Much has been made of the three-fifths compromise during the haggling over the Constitution. This three-fifths clause has been portrayed as a means of dehumanizing blacks in eighteenth-century America. It was, in fact, an antislavery provision. By allowing slaveholders to count only three-fifths of their slaves in congressional calculations, it denied Southern states additional proslavery representation in Congress. Instead of our Founding Fathers being hypocritical taskmasters who only wanted freedom for themselves, they actually fast-tracked the issue of slavery that had been accepted and encouraged under British rule for the prior two hundred years. -Phil Valentine, The Conservative's Handbook, ppgs. 29-30
Truths like this simply blew my mind wide open. For so long I had believed that this provision in the constitution was the nail in the coffin for anybody claiming that the Founding Fathers, and for that matter, whites in general, were anything, but, racists. But, just like with many of the spiritual beliefs I had long held onto that were becoming obsolete, so were many of the historical, social and political beliefs I had trusted in. I am embarrassed to admit I was so naive, but I am not alone in being deceived. Unfortunately, many blacks are still in the dark as it pertains to the truth of matters of historical context. However, I am afraid that even a truth like this would do little to change their thoughts. Yes, I know I changed, and so could they, but there are many people who would rather hold on to their ignorance because they gain some of their identity from it rather than to risk losing it.
"He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken." Isaiah 53: 3-8
When you read this prophecy about Jesus Christ, it is not difficult to see the similarities between Jesus and a slave. Are not slaves despised and rejected? Do they not have many sorrows and are acquainted with grief? Many people would hide their faces from slaves because they did not consider them to be of any value. Nobody would argue that slaves were afflicted, bruised and oppressed. No wonder so many jump to the conclusion that the three-fifths clause was evidence that, in the eyes of the Founders, blacks were less than human. It is interesting that Jesus and slaves had something in common. Whereas as Jews and whites had something in common. The Jews rejected Jesus, who was one of their own. And the slaveholders rejected the slaves despite themselves being the reason the slaves were in this country! Many slaveholders used the Bible to validate their prejudice towards blacks. These slaveholders believed in something called the curse of Ham (Genesis 9: 19-27). Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis explains the this curse. "[T]here is no ‘curse on Ham’ anywhere in the Bible! Noah actually placed the curse on one of Ham’s sons, Canaan (whose descendants eventually settled in Sodom and Gomorrah and were not ‘black’), possibly because Noah saw in Canaan the same character trait (e.g. rebellion) that he saw in Ham. This curse has nothing to do with a person’s skin color." So, in all of this we have people misreading history to justify their own beliefs and prejudices. You have Jews, who knew the scriptures, reject Jesus Christ, because He was a suffering, not a reigning, Messiah. You have slaveholders, many claiming to be Christians, misreading Scripture in order to justify enslaving black people. Finally, you have blacks misunderstanding history in order to justify their prejudice against whites and the Founders of this country. All they have proved in all of this is that God is the One who is correct.
"What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Romans 3:9-18
They have proved God correct in that their actions are evidence that we are all under sin. when the Bible says Jews and Gentiles, that is another way of saying everybody.There is no way anybody who rejects Jesus, enslaves another human being or who has racial prejudice against another, is righteous, has understanding or is seeking God. And the only way in which to continue in these practices is through deceit. Ignoring scripture and ignoring history is practicing deceit. And if you are practicing deceit there is no fear of God in your life. Furthermore, anybody who has been involved in dealing with people who deny scripture, history or both, to advance their cause has dealt with the attitudes that don't serve anybody any good. The result is usually people cursing each other, being bitter and everybody ending up in ruin and misery. We all know the slaves suffered 400 years of it because of slaveholder attitudes. Blacks who don't know history keep themselves in bondage to unforgiveness, fear and anger because of it. And the Jews missed what they had waited thousands of years for due to it. The Holy Spirit promised to lead us into all truth, but we have to be willing to respond to His leading. Doing so is simple, but not easy. It is simple to find the truth when God is doing the revealing. But, it is not easy to give up those things we hold onto when they don't line up with the truth. If you have lived your entire life holding onto error, the fact that your life will change and may become uncomfortable is unsettling. The changes I have gone through responding to the truth God has revealed to me has resulted in strained relationships. But, it has been worth it to know the truth. If we really desire to know the truth and stand for it, then we must not forget who it is we are standing on when the error we held onto begins to fall away.
Much has been made of the three-fifths compromise during the haggling over the Constitution. This three-fifths clause has been portrayed as a means of dehumanizing blacks in eighteenth-century America. It was, in fact, an antislavery provision. By allowing slaveholders to count only three-fifths of their slaves in congressional calculations, it denied Southern states additional proslavery representation in Congress. Instead of our Founding Fathers being hypocritical taskmasters who only wanted freedom for themselves, they actually fast-tracked the issue of slavery that had been accepted and encouraged under British rule for the prior two hundred years. -Phil Valentine, The Conservative's Handbook, ppgs. 29-30
Truths like this simply blew my mind wide open. For so long I had believed that this provision in the constitution was the nail in the coffin for anybody claiming that the Founding Fathers, and for that matter, whites in general, were anything, but, racists. But, just like with many of the spiritual beliefs I had long held onto that were becoming obsolete, so were many of the historical, social and political beliefs I had trusted in. I am embarrassed to admit I was so naive, but I am not alone in being deceived. Unfortunately, many blacks are still in the dark as it pertains to the truth of matters of historical context. However, I am afraid that even a truth like this would do little to change their thoughts. Yes, I know I changed, and so could they, but there are many people who would rather hold on to their ignorance because they gain some of their identity from it rather than to risk losing it.
"He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken." Isaiah 53: 3-8
When you read this prophecy about Jesus Christ, it is not difficult to see the similarities between Jesus and a slave. Are not slaves despised and rejected? Do they not have many sorrows and are acquainted with grief? Many people would hide their faces from slaves because they did not consider them to be of any value. Nobody would argue that slaves were afflicted, bruised and oppressed. No wonder so many jump to the conclusion that the three-fifths clause was evidence that, in the eyes of the Founders, blacks were less than human. It is interesting that Jesus and slaves had something in common. Whereas as Jews and whites had something in common. The Jews rejected Jesus, who was one of their own. And the slaveholders rejected the slaves despite themselves being the reason the slaves were in this country! Many slaveholders used the Bible to validate their prejudice towards blacks. These slaveholders believed in something called the curse of Ham (Genesis 9: 19-27). Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis explains the this curse. "[T]here is no ‘curse on Ham’ anywhere in the Bible! Noah actually placed the curse on one of Ham’s sons, Canaan (whose descendants eventually settled in Sodom and Gomorrah and were not ‘black’), possibly because Noah saw in Canaan the same character trait (e.g. rebellion) that he saw in Ham. This curse has nothing to do with a person’s skin color." So, in all of this we have people misreading history to justify their own beliefs and prejudices. You have Jews, who knew the scriptures, reject Jesus Christ, because He was a suffering, not a reigning, Messiah. You have slaveholders, many claiming to be Christians, misreading Scripture in order to justify enslaving black people. Finally, you have blacks misunderstanding history in order to justify their prejudice against whites and the Founders of this country. All they have proved in all of this is that God is the One who is correct.
"What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Romans 3:9-18
They have proved God correct in that their actions are evidence that we are all under sin. when the Bible says Jews and Gentiles, that is another way of saying everybody.There is no way anybody who rejects Jesus, enslaves another human being or who has racial prejudice against another, is righteous, has understanding or is seeking God. And the only way in which to continue in these practices is through deceit. Ignoring scripture and ignoring history is practicing deceit. And if you are practicing deceit there is no fear of God in your life. Furthermore, anybody who has been involved in dealing with people who deny scripture, history or both, to advance their cause has dealt with the attitudes that don't serve anybody any good. The result is usually people cursing each other, being bitter and everybody ending up in ruin and misery. We all know the slaves suffered 400 years of it because of slaveholder attitudes. Blacks who don't know history keep themselves in bondage to unforgiveness, fear and anger because of it. And the Jews missed what they had waited thousands of years for due to it. The Holy Spirit promised to lead us into all truth, but we have to be willing to respond to His leading. Doing so is simple, but not easy. It is simple to find the truth when God is doing the revealing. But, it is not easy to give up those things we hold onto when they don't line up with the truth. If you have lived your entire life holding onto error, the fact that your life will change and may become uncomfortable is unsettling. The changes I have gone through responding to the truth God has revealed to me has resulted in strained relationships. But, it has been worth it to know the truth. If we really desire to know the truth and stand for it, then we must not forget who it is we are standing on when the error we held onto begins to fall away.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Generation A(dulterous)
Whether it be sports fans who support rival teams or politicians from different political parties, sooner or later there is the chance that a heated debated will arise. If you disagree visit your local sports bar or turn on your television, during election season, and it won't be long before the festivities begin. But, when people supposedly sharing the same point of view begin to debate it is distressing. Case in point is the recent ire I drew from fellow Christians regarding the way I addressed the experience a young Christian had regarding a song they were listening to a Bible passage relating to that song. Under the heading, "What are the chances," we will see an example of how I got jumped on for my response to this young believer.
Ok so I'm the person... who was saying that God doesn't answer my prayers and I always feel like I'm talking to myself . And somebody said that he gives us signs that he is listening by objects or verses. So I'm sitting here listening to " Lord gimme a sign" by DMX and the first lyrics in the song are "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." -Isaiah 54:17
So I get my bible and I just open it randomly cause this is like the 2nd time I've even opened it . And I open directly to Isaiah 54 . And there it was!! My favorite lyrics to my favorite song were on that page!! What are the chances of that happening like 1 in 10000 !!!!! This has got to be a sign from God!
I responded with...
Far be it from me to speak for God and what He may be doing in your life. But, I don't believe what you are experiencing is a sign from God. Randomly throwing open the Bible will lead to more confusion for you. If it encourages you great, but you need direction in how to, and what to, read when it comes to scripture study. Otherwise, you run the risk of reading your own interpretation into whatever it is you are experiencing. I would recommend you start reading in the Gospel of John, then in Romans and on forward from there. Without an understanding of the grace of God and the New Covenant you will struggle to grow and mature in your faith. I have some study aids I can direct you to if you like. I don't know if you have any resources to assist you in your growth. Perhaps, your fellowship has something they can offer to get you off on the right foot. Just like a newborn baby needs instruction and guidance, so does a newborn babe in Christ. You need a grounding in the fundamentals of the faith first. Build your foundation and then trust the Lord to go from there.
A third party cut in and said to me...
You are wrong to tell [young Christian] that that wasn't a sign God heard his prayers. When God answers, it doesn't have to be this great big in depth study. Sometimes he answers us in a subtle manner. All he wanted to know is God is listening. If that wasn't a sign please tell me what is. He wasn't looking for help to study his bible. [Young Christian] I do hope you will continue your bible study with a teen group at your church. Don't get discouraged, I will be praying for you.
My reply...
Relax... Please don't talk down to me as if you understand anything I said. I didn't say it wasn't a sign from God, I said I didn't believe it was a sign. There is a difference. God can use the experience, for sure, to show His newborn children He is there, but they need disciplined study, not a coincidence resulting from a throwing open of the scriptures. That is all I am saying.
A fourth party said to me...
I understand completely with what you are saying in your post, and I can also see where you did seem to be knocking [young Christian's] experience, sometimes on these post, its so easy for others, including myself to read more into what people are saying, or what they truly mean, but I honestly, don't think you meant any harm in what you posted here. I do agree, we need study, no doubt about that, its something I try to do everyday. And at the same time, when I pray, I expect God to answer me, it may not always be the way I want Him to answer, but I do "expect." And I think [young Christian's] experience, was one of many ways that our Father will answer us.....I think [young Christian] needed to know that he was being heard, and God showed him that. The devil has ways of trying to make us doubt, but God is all powerful and knowing, so when He speaks to us, there is no doubting, and I think that's what happened to [young Christian] last night, and he was just overjoyed and he wanted to share with all of us. So, I hope you don't feel like you are being attacked, I can agree with you also.
My final reply...
Thanks.. I was not knocking down anybody's experience. I think that is the gut reaction to me not doing what everybody else was doing by claiming it was God at work. But, we have to be careful not to ascribe our experiences to the work of God. All I am trying to say is that just because we believe something is from God doesn't it mean it is. We sometimes believe because something encouraged us or benefited us that it is automatically from God. I am not saying it isn't, but we don't always know this to be the case. We are to be thankful in all things, yes. And this coincidence is something to be thankful over. I just want to encourage people to take it for what it is, a pleasant experience that encouraged a young believer. I mean was it God that had [young Christian] listening to rap music as well? You see where I am going with this?
So, there you have it. I am of the opinion that God can certainly use our experiences to teach us or remind us of His presence. But, we run the risk of jumping into dangerous waters when we start attributing beneficial experiences to God. Now, I know when you are new in the faith you, like a baby, putting everything in y0ur mouth and totally driven by instinct and experience. So, a young Christian getting excited about opening the Bible directly to the passage talked about in a song they like is understandable. But, like I later when on to ask, why didn't anybody say that God led this young Christian to listen to rap music? Nobody responded. In a small way, this discussion is a good example of the emotion-driven Christian church we see today. There seems to be more a focus on experience than truth. This fervor in which they defended a supposed "sign from God" amazed me. Now, I never said that what happened wasn't a sign and God could have definitely been behind this experience. But, fact is, we don't know. So, we should just take it for what it is, an encouraging experience, and move on to more solid things. Besides, what does scripture say about these things?
"He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." Matthew 12:39
"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:18-20
The reason we don't need a sign from God is because it is an admission that we don't already see what it is God has already revealed to us. If we have already come to Christ, we have seen enough, right? We realize we are sinners. We realize this world is getting increasingly worse as it denies God. Scripture is clear that an adulterous generation seeks a miraculous sign. Is that not what flinging open the scriptures to a coincidental verse that matches song lyrics is doing? Jesus was talking to people who were standing face to face with God in the flesh and told them that the blessed ones are the ones who "have not seen." So, if you blessed because you haven't seen Jesus, but still accepted Him, how does that compare to what this young Christian experienced? The heavens and the earth are testimony to the fact of God. Everybody who has ever lived has seen or experienced the earth, and all its glory, to in one form or another. It, along with the moon, the stars and the heavens above leave man without excuse to His existence and majesty. Yet, people still deny Him by "suppressing the truth" of His existence. So, we don't need any further "signs" to prove His existence to us. He has already supplied enough. Our job is to respond to the evidence He has already revealed to us. It should not be to attack those who have done nothing more than to remind others of that fact.
Ok so I'm the person... who was saying that God doesn't answer my prayers and I always feel like I'm talking to myself . And somebody said that he gives us signs that he is listening by objects or verses. So I'm sitting here listening to " Lord gimme a sign" by DMX and the first lyrics in the song are "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." -Isaiah 54:17
So I get my bible and I just open it randomly cause this is like the 2nd time I've even opened it . And I open directly to Isaiah 54 . And there it was!! My favorite lyrics to my favorite song were on that page!! What are the chances of that happening like 1 in 10000 !!!!! This has got to be a sign from God!
I responded with...
Far be it from me to speak for God and what He may be doing in your life. But, I don't believe what you are experiencing is a sign from God. Randomly throwing open the Bible will lead to more confusion for you. If it encourages you great, but you need direction in how to, and what to, read when it comes to scripture study. Otherwise, you run the risk of reading your own interpretation into whatever it is you are experiencing. I would recommend you start reading in the Gospel of John, then in Romans and on forward from there. Without an understanding of the grace of God and the New Covenant you will struggle to grow and mature in your faith. I have some study aids I can direct you to if you like. I don't know if you have any resources to assist you in your growth. Perhaps, your fellowship has something they can offer to get you off on the right foot. Just like a newborn baby needs instruction and guidance, so does a newborn babe in Christ. You need a grounding in the fundamentals of the faith first. Build your foundation and then trust the Lord to go from there.
A third party cut in and said to me...
You are wrong to tell [young Christian] that that wasn't a sign God heard his prayers. When God answers, it doesn't have to be this great big in depth study. Sometimes he answers us in a subtle manner. All he wanted to know is God is listening. If that wasn't a sign please tell me what is. He wasn't looking for help to study his bible. [Young Christian] I do hope you will continue your bible study with a teen group at your church. Don't get discouraged, I will be praying for you.
My reply...
Relax... Please don't talk down to me as if you understand anything I said. I didn't say it wasn't a sign from God, I said I didn't believe it was a sign. There is a difference. God can use the experience, for sure, to show His newborn children He is there, but they need disciplined study, not a coincidence resulting from a throwing open of the scriptures. That is all I am saying.
A fourth party said to me...
I understand completely with what you are saying in your post, and I can also see where you did seem to be knocking [young Christian's] experience, sometimes on these post, its so easy for others, including myself to read more into what people are saying, or what they truly mean, but I honestly, don't think you meant any harm in what you posted here. I do agree, we need study, no doubt about that, its something I try to do everyday. And at the same time, when I pray, I expect God to answer me, it may not always be the way I want Him to answer, but I do "expect." And I think [young Christian's] experience, was one of many ways that our Father will answer us.....I think [young Christian] needed to know that he was being heard, and God showed him that. The devil has ways of trying to make us doubt, but God is all powerful and knowing, so when He speaks to us, there is no doubting, and I think that's what happened to [young Christian] last night, and he was just overjoyed and he wanted to share with all of us. So, I hope you don't feel like you are being attacked, I can agree with you also.
My final reply...
Thanks.. I was not knocking down anybody's experience. I think that is the gut reaction to me not doing what everybody else was doing by claiming it was God at work. But, we have to be careful not to ascribe our experiences to the work of God. All I am trying to say is that just because we believe something is from God doesn't it mean it is. We sometimes believe because something encouraged us or benefited us that it is automatically from God. I am not saying it isn't, but we don't always know this to be the case. We are to be thankful in all things, yes. And this coincidence is something to be thankful over. I just want to encourage people to take it for what it is, a pleasant experience that encouraged a young believer. I mean was it God that had [young Christian] listening to rap music as well? You see where I am going with this?
So, there you have it. I am of the opinion that God can certainly use our experiences to teach us or remind us of His presence. But, we run the risk of jumping into dangerous waters when we start attributing beneficial experiences to God. Now, I know when you are new in the faith you, like a baby, putting everything in y0ur mouth and totally driven by instinct and experience. So, a young Christian getting excited about opening the Bible directly to the passage talked about in a song they like is understandable. But, like I later when on to ask, why didn't anybody say that God led this young Christian to listen to rap music? Nobody responded. In a small way, this discussion is a good example of the emotion-driven Christian church we see today. There seems to be more a focus on experience than truth. This fervor in which they defended a supposed "sign from God" amazed me. Now, I never said that what happened wasn't a sign and God could have definitely been behind this experience. But, fact is, we don't know. So, we should just take it for what it is, an encouraging experience, and move on to more solid things. Besides, what does scripture say about these things?
"He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." Matthew 12:39
"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:18-20
The reason we don't need a sign from God is because it is an admission that we don't already see what it is God has already revealed to us. If we have already come to Christ, we have seen enough, right? We realize we are sinners. We realize this world is getting increasingly worse as it denies God. Scripture is clear that an adulterous generation seeks a miraculous sign. Is that not what flinging open the scriptures to a coincidental verse that matches song lyrics is doing? Jesus was talking to people who were standing face to face with God in the flesh and told them that the blessed ones are the ones who "have not seen." So, if you blessed because you haven't seen Jesus, but still accepted Him, how does that compare to what this young Christian experienced? The heavens and the earth are testimony to the fact of God. Everybody who has ever lived has seen or experienced the earth, and all its glory, to in one form or another. It, along with the moon, the stars and the heavens above leave man without excuse to His existence and majesty. Yet, people still deny Him by "suppressing the truth" of His existence. So, we don't need any further "signs" to prove His existence to us. He has already supplied enough. Our job is to respond to the evidence He has already revealed to us. It should not be to attack those who have done nothing more than to remind others of that fact.
Friday, October 24, 2008
*****BREAKING NEWS: Cancer Cured!!!*****
Would it not be some of the greatest news of all time to have your day interrupted with the news that cancer had been cured? Of course it would.
"Following heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. In 2008, more than 1.4 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed and about 566,000 cancer deaths will occur in the United States. The overall survival rate for all types of cancer is 66%. Today there are approximately 10.8 million cancer survivors in the United States." www.cancer.net
To eliminate the second leading cause of death in the United States would definitely be a miracle of God that would not only save lives, but spare millions of people the pain and anguish of watching a loved one suffer from the devastating effects of the disease. On November 10, 2006, my mother passed away after a, relatively, short battle with cancer. The stress and anxiety my family went through is not something I would want to deal with again. The ability for me to deal with such things as having to change my mother's IV, clean up after her, hearing her moans from the pain she was dealing with and watching her slowly die, was only possible because of my faith in Jesus Christ. So, to save someone from having to go through that would be a blessing of immeasurable magnitude. With that in mind, I received an email the other day on the subject of cancer.
A Small Request: All you are asked to do is keep this circulating.
Dear God, I pray for the cure of cancer. Amen All you are asked to do is keep this circulating. Even if it's to one more person. In memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by cancer or is still living with it.
This prayer request reminded me of the prayers I used to say to God when I was growing up. I used to pray for my mom to stop smoking and for my dad to regain full use of his body (he suffered a stroke 26 years ago). My mom eventually stopped smoking, but by the time she stopped I realized there were more important things in life than her quitting smoking. Regardless if a person stops smoking, gets full use of their body back or we find a cure for cancer, there is a deeper issue that needs "circulating."
"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." John 11: 21-27
I heard an analogy about cancer that I'd like to share. If someone dies from cancer and you brought them back to life, but didn't cure the cancer, they would just die again. However, if you cured the cancer first, and then brought them back to life, they would live. When Adam sinned, God removed His life from him, and Adam died spiritually. All mankind is thus born into the world in the image of Adam, spiritually dead to God without His life indwelling them. God, in His love, desired to indwell mankind again. But, before He could do that He had to deal with the sin (cancer) that caused Him to remove His life in the first place. Otherwise, the next time someone sinned, after receiving His life, they would just die again and lose His life. Therefore, God sent Jesus, the only Man who had a life to give, being born spiritually alive, that would satisfy God's requirement of shed blood as payment for our sins. Now, that our sins are no longer an issue between man and God, because of the death of Jesus Christ, God can offer His life, made available through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as a free gift to all who accept Christ by faith. Therefore, because of the cross, there is now no sin that will ever cause the life of God to leave again. That is why it is called an eternal life. A life that will carry you through this life and on into eternity even after you physically die. That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ; sin, death, forgiveness, life!
"At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen." 2 Timothy 4: 16-18
It was my knowledge of the Gospel and the assurance I had that God was faithful that strengthened me during my mother's illness. When she passed away, I knew that death was not the end, but the beginning of an eternal journey. Cancer takes the lives of millions of people each year, but nobody has avoided the cancer of sin and the spiritual death that has infected all mankind. A prayer for a cure to cancer, my request for my mom to stop smoking and for my dad to regain the use of his body, is, ultimately, a desire for healing. Whether we realize it or not, we all are in need of healing. The sin issue that separated man from God is not something that could be prayed away. I do believe God hears the prayers of those desiring for a cure to be found for cancer. But, God's will is that none should perish, but all come to repentence. The first, and only, prayer I said to God when I first heard the news of my mother's cancer was, "God, please use the cancer to bring those in need of salvation to you. And, make me available for You to use me in the midst of it all." I knew that a cure for cancer is not the key to eternal life. Stopping a bad habit, like smoking, does not give one person access to the Kingdom. And my dad was not being barred from heaven because he couldn't use his entire body. God desires that mankind recognize their condition of spiritual death and turn to Him and His only provision of life eternal through faith in Jesus Christ. For those, like myself, who have received His offer of life in His Son, we don't circulate a prayer for a cure for cancer. We circulate The Cure for what ails mankind the most. And that is the need salvation in Jesus Christ. I can best remember my mother by telling everyone about what God has blessed me with in His Son. God gave me strength to stand tall while my mother suffered so He could use her death to embolden me to proclaim the message of Christ. The only breaking news worth hearing is the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
"Following heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. In 2008, more than 1.4 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed and about 566,000 cancer deaths will occur in the United States. The overall survival rate for all types of cancer is 66%. Today there are approximately 10.8 million cancer survivors in the United States." www.cancer.net
To eliminate the second leading cause of death in the United States would definitely be a miracle of God that would not only save lives, but spare millions of people the pain and anguish of watching a loved one suffer from the devastating effects of the disease. On November 10, 2006, my mother passed away after a, relatively, short battle with cancer. The stress and anxiety my family went through is not something I would want to deal with again. The ability for me to deal with such things as having to change my mother's IV, clean up after her, hearing her moans from the pain she was dealing with and watching her slowly die, was only possible because of my faith in Jesus Christ. So, to save someone from having to go through that would be a blessing of immeasurable magnitude. With that in mind, I received an email the other day on the subject of cancer.
A Small Request: All you are asked to do is keep this circulating.
Dear God, I pray for the cure of cancer. Amen All you are asked to do is keep this circulating. Even if it's to one more person. In memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by cancer or is still living with it.
This prayer request reminded me of the prayers I used to say to God when I was growing up. I used to pray for my mom to stop smoking and for my dad to regain full use of his body (he suffered a stroke 26 years ago). My mom eventually stopped smoking, but by the time she stopped I realized there were more important things in life than her quitting smoking. Regardless if a person stops smoking, gets full use of their body back or we find a cure for cancer, there is a deeper issue that needs "circulating."
"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." John 11: 21-27
I heard an analogy about cancer that I'd like to share. If someone dies from cancer and you brought them back to life, but didn't cure the cancer, they would just die again. However, if you cured the cancer first, and then brought them back to life, they would live. When Adam sinned, God removed His life from him, and Adam died spiritually. All mankind is thus born into the world in the image of Adam, spiritually dead to God without His life indwelling them. God, in His love, desired to indwell mankind again. But, before He could do that He had to deal with the sin (cancer) that caused Him to remove His life in the first place. Otherwise, the next time someone sinned, after receiving His life, they would just die again and lose His life. Therefore, God sent Jesus, the only Man who had a life to give, being born spiritually alive, that would satisfy God's requirement of shed blood as payment for our sins. Now, that our sins are no longer an issue between man and God, because of the death of Jesus Christ, God can offer His life, made available through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as a free gift to all who accept Christ by faith. Therefore, because of the cross, there is now no sin that will ever cause the life of God to leave again. That is why it is called an eternal life. A life that will carry you through this life and on into eternity even after you physically die. That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ; sin, death, forgiveness, life!
"At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen." 2 Timothy 4: 16-18
It was my knowledge of the Gospel and the assurance I had that God was faithful that strengthened me during my mother's illness. When she passed away, I knew that death was not the end, but the beginning of an eternal journey. Cancer takes the lives of millions of people each year, but nobody has avoided the cancer of sin and the spiritual death that has infected all mankind. A prayer for a cure to cancer, my request for my mom to stop smoking and for my dad to regain the use of his body, is, ultimately, a desire for healing. Whether we realize it or not, we all are in need of healing. The sin issue that separated man from God is not something that could be prayed away. I do believe God hears the prayers of those desiring for a cure to be found for cancer. But, God's will is that none should perish, but all come to repentence. The first, and only, prayer I said to God when I first heard the news of my mother's cancer was, "God, please use the cancer to bring those in need of salvation to you. And, make me available for You to use me in the midst of it all." I knew that a cure for cancer is not the key to eternal life. Stopping a bad habit, like smoking, does not give one person access to the Kingdom. And my dad was not being barred from heaven because he couldn't use his entire body. God desires that mankind recognize their condition of spiritual death and turn to Him and His only provision of life eternal through faith in Jesus Christ. For those, like myself, who have received His offer of life in His Son, we don't circulate a prayer for a cure for cancer. We circulate The Cure for what ails mankind the most. And that is the need salvation in Jesus Christ. I can best remember my mother by telling everyone about what God has blessed me with in His Son. God gave me strength to stand tall while my mother suffered so He could use her death to embolden me to proclaim the message of Christ. The only breaking news worth hearing is the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Unnatural Selection
"Can gays switch?"
That was the headline that greeted me when I opened up The Denver Post this morning. Obviously, intrigued by the headline I read the article. The article centered around the "Love Won Out" conference being put on by Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family. I didn't expect to see an article where proponents of the homosexual lifestlye suddenly would admit their sin and repent. After all, I should not be surprised when the lost don't admit that what they do is sin and then proceed to defend it. To paraphrase Jesus, "they know not what they do." However, what bugs me the most is when supposed Christians will defend the homosexual lifestyle as though it is normal and not discouraged by Scripture. A companion article called, "We're... modern-day lepers," quotes a gentleman named Joe Quillen, a 59-year-old gay evangelical Christian. Quillen says, "Ever since I was a kid, my faith has always been something very real to me. I was never willing to sacrifice my faith for my sexuality. But I also can't deny this God-given desire. I never questioned whether being gay was a choice. It was not." It upsets me when somebody can simply say they are a Christian and that somehow validates their sin. As if those of us who know better about homosexality are somehow the ones with the problem.
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female, 'and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Matthew 19:4-6
If Mr. Quillen would have been alive when Jesus was walking the earth, I could see Jesus asking him the same question He asked the Pharisees, "Haven't you read?" The article states that Quillen was raised in a "large Southern Baptist congregation in Dallas." I don't know for certain, but I would hope that somewhere in those 50 plus years of Sunday messages that he heard scriptures like the one from Matthew. It clearly states God made them "male and female." He did not make male and male or female and female. Jesus says that the two, male and female, "will become one flesh." And punctuates it by saying that no man should separate what "God has joined." Quillen needs to explain what faith he claims to have that says his sin was not a choice and that allows him to blaspheme God by saying his sin was "God-given." Because that faith is not one that originates from the Bible. The article, to my pleasant surprise, even posted scriptures that it says "condemn homosexuality." Those passages are Genesis 19: 4-9, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:24-26, 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10, 1 Timothy 1:8-11 and Genesis 2:18, 23-24. These are just a few passages that condemn homosexuality as sin or affirm the union of male and female in marriage as the natural order God established. So, again, Joe Quillen needs to clarify what Bible he is reading from that affirms his sexual deviance as, not only normal, but God-ordained. According to the paper, pro-gay theologians, "argue that the Bible condemns unnatural and excessive acts committed by apparently heterosexual persons. Pro-gay theologians also argue that, in the Genesis story of Sodom, it is rape being condemned, not homosexuality. Pro-gay theologians also like to point out what Jesus said about gay sex - nothing."
"Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." Genesis 19:4-5
So, let me get this straight, I am to believe that rape, not homosexuality, is being condemned in Genesis 19? Well, if "all the men" from the city of Sodom surrounded the house in order to have sex with the "men who came to [Lot]," that sounds like homosexuality to me. Unless men having sex with men is not homosexuality anymore! I have to admit that Jesus didn't say anything about homosexuality. But, as I stated earlier, Jesus reaffirmed the proper order God established back in the Garden of Eden. And that is God created man and woman for each other. In fact, God took woman from man! Joe Dallas, an author and founder of Genesis Counseling, is quoted in the article as saying, "Are we really to believe that Jesus didn't care about wife beating or incest just because He said nothing about them?" Amen! But, what the pro-gay theologians forget is that Jesus is God, the second Person of the Trinity. Being God, Jesus most certainly would not disagree with anything affirmed in other parts of the Bible. And homosexuality is condemned in the strongest of terms. It is called unnatural, detestable, listed with slave traders and murders and deserving of death! Would anybody claiming that homosexuality is natural extend that belief to slave traders, murderers or incest and wife beaters, as Joe Dallas used in his illustration? I would think not. Imagine the outcry from everybody if someone were to promote the idea that being a slave trader, a murderer or a wife beater is natural and not a choice?
"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." Romans 1: 26-27
Anybody who has seen the naked bodies of a man and a woman does not need the Bible to point out what the natural use of them is in terms of sexual relations. In reference to Romans 1:26-27, author, speaker and radio host, Hank Hanegraaff ,writes in his work, The Bible Answer Book, "It would be difficult to miss the relationship between Paul's words and the current healthcare holocaust. More people die of AIDS than the United States of America has lost in all its wars combined. This is but the tip of an incidious iceberg. The homosexual lifestyle causes a host of complications including hemorrhoids, prostate damage, and infectious fissures. And even that merely scratches the surface. Nonviral infections transmitted through homosexual activity include gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphillis. Viral infections involve condylomata, herpes, and hepatitis A and B." Whoa! With such a littany of destructive health issues resulting from engaging in homosexual activity, it doesn't say much about God if we are to believe that this is what He wanted from a "God-given desire." Fact of the matter is that homosexuality is a choice, plain and simple. For a Christian to claim otherwise is a denial of biblical truth and reality. We are all born into this world dead in sin. So, the sin of homosexuality is just another in the endless options we have in order to indulge our flesh. Every sin we commit is a choice. It is proof that we are trying to gain from the world that which can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Elizabeth Bennett, a gay Christian, talked about how she feels the pain of partial acceptance and how their are those like her that "truly want to be loved." There is good news for people like Bennett, Quillen, the gay theologians and anybody in the homosexual community. And that is there is unconditional love, acceptance, meaning and purpose to their lives waiting for them in Christ Jesus. Not the acceptance of their sin, but the true acceptance we all desire in our spirits that can only come from knowing God. It is the pursuit of what only God can give that leads a person to choose a sinful and destructive lifestyle like homosexuality. It may sound unloving, but the lack of acceptance felt by these individuals from their congregations could lead them to the end of themselves. Thus, they may realize that what they seek to gain through the sin of homosexuality and from their fellow congregants pales in comparison to what God offers them in Christ. But, if they don't see themselves as a sinner, they won't realize their need for salvation in Jesus Christ.
From sinner to Saint. From lost to saved. From darkness to ligth. From dead to alive. The answer is clear.
Yes, gays can switch?
That was the headline that greeted me when I opened up The Denver Post this morning. Obviously, intrigued by the headline I read the article. The article centered around the "Love Won Out" conference being put on by Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family. I didn't expect to see an article where proponents of the homosexual lifestlye suddenly would admit their sin and repent. After all, I should not be surprised when the lost don't admit that what they do is sin and then proceed to defend it. To paraphrase Jesus, "they know not what they do." However, what bugs me the most is when supposed Christians will defend the homosexual lifestyle as though it is normal and not discouraged by Scripture. A companion article called, "We're... modern-day lepers," quotes a gentleman named Joe Quillen, a 59-year-old gay evangelical Christian. Quillen says, "Ever since I was a kid, my faith has always been something very real to me. I was never willing to sacrifice my faith for my sexuality. But I also can't deny this God-given desire. I never questioned whether being gay was a choice. It was not." It upsets me when somebody can simply say they are a Christian and that somehow validates their sin. As if those of us who know better about homosexality are somehow the ones with the problem.
"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female, 'and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." Matthew 19:4-6
If Mr. Quillen would have been alive when Jesus was walking the earth, I could see Jesus asking him the same question He asked the Pharisees, "Haven't you read?" The article states that Quillen was raised in a "large Southern Baptist congregation in Dallas." I don't know for certain, but I would hope that somewhere in those 50 plus years of Sunday messages that he heard scriptures like the one from Matthew. It clearly states God made them "male and female." He did not make male and male or female and female. Jesus says that the two, male and female, "will become one flesh." And punctuates it by saying that no man should separate what "God has joined." Quillen needs to explain what faith he claims to have that says his sin was not a choice and that allows him to blaspheme God by saying his sin was "God-given." Because that faith is not one that originates from the Bible. The article, to my pleasant surprise, even posted scriptures that it says "condemn homosexuality." Those passages are Genesis 19: 4-9, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:24-26, 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10, 1 Timothy 1:8-11 and Genesis 2:18, 23-24. These are just a few passages that condemn homosexuality as sin or affirm the union of male and female in marriage as the natural order God established. So, again, Joe Quillen needs to clarify what Bible he is reading from that affirms his sexual deviance as, not only normal, but God-ordained. According to the paper, pro-gay theologians, "argue that the Bible condemns unnatural and excessive acts committed by apparently heterosexual persons. Pro-gay theologians also argue that, in the Genesis story of Sodom, it is rape being condemned, not homosexuality. Pro-gay theologians also like to point out what Jesus said about gay sex - nothing."
"Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them." Genesis 19:4-5
So, let me get this straight, I am to believe that rape, not homosexuality, is being condemned in Genesis 19? Well, if "all the men" from the city of Sodom surrounded the house in order to have sex with the "men who came to [Lot]," that sounds like homosexuality to me. Unless men having sex with men is not homosexuality anymore! I have to admit that Jesus didn't say anything about homosexuality. But, as I stated earlier, Jesus reaffirmed the proper order God established back in the Garden of Eden. And that is God created man and woman for each other. In fact, God took woman from man! Joe Dallas, an author and founder of Genesis Counseling, is quoted in the article as saying, "Are we really to believe that Jesus didn't care about wife beating or incest just because He said nothing about them?" Amen! But, what the pro-gay theologians forget is that Jesus is God, the second Person of the Trinity. Being God, Jesus most certainly would not disagree with anything affirmed in other parts of the Bible. And homosexuality is condemned in the strongest of terms. It is called unnatural, detestable, listed with slave traders and murders and deserving of death! Would anybody claiming that homosexuality is natural extend that belief to slave traders, murderers or incest and wife beaters, as Joe Dallas used in his illustration? I would think not. Imagine the outcry from everybody if someone were to promote the idea that being a slave trader, a murderer or a wife beater is natural and not a choice?
"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." Romans 1: 26-27
Anybody who has seen the naked bodies of a man and a woman does not need the Bible to point out what the natural use of them is in terms of sexual relations. In reference to Romans 1:26-27, author, speaker and radio host, Hank Hanegraaff ,writes in his work, The Bible Answer Book, "It would be difficult to miss the relationship between Paul's words and the current healthcare holocaust. More people die of AIDS than the United States of America has lost in all its wars combined. This is but the tip of an incidious iceberg. The homosexual lifestyle causes a host of complications including hemorrhoids, prostate damage, and infectious fissures. And even that merely scratches the surface. Nonviral infections transmitted through homosexual activity include gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphillis. Viral infections involve condylomata, herpes, and hepatitis A and B." Whoa! With such a littany of destructive health issues resulting from engaging in homosexual activity, it doesn't say much about God if we are to believe that this is what He wanted from a "God-given desire." Fact of the matter is that homosexuality is a choice, plain and simple. For a Christian to claim otherwise is a denial of biblical truth and reality. We are all born into this world dead in sin. So, the sin of homosexuality is just another in the endless options we have in order to indulge our flesh. Every sin we commit is a choice. It is proof that we are trying to gain from the world that which can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Elizabeth Bennett, a gay Christian, talked about how she feels the pain of partial acceptance and how their are those like her that "truly want to be loved." There is good news for people like Bennett, Quillen, the gay theologians and anybody in the homosexual community. And that is there is unconditional love, acceptance, meaning and purpose to their lives waiting for them in Christ Jesus. Not the acceptance of their sin, but the true acceptance we all desire in our spirits that can only come from knowing God. It is the pursuit of what only God can give that leads a person to choose a sinful and destructive lifestyle like homosexuality. It may sound unloving, but the lack of acceptance felt by these individuals from their congregations could lead them to the end of themselves. Thus, they may realize that what they seek to gain through the sin of homosexuality and from their fellow congregants pales in comparison to what God offers them in Christ. But, if they don't see themselves as a sinner, they won't realize their need for salvation in Jesus Christ.
From sinner to Saint. From lost to saved. From darkness to ligth. From dead to alive. The answer is clear.
Yes, gays can switch?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The False Gospel and CNN
I was listening to the Rush Limbaugh show, this afternoon, when he played a clip of Governor Sarah Palin being interviewed by Drew Griffin, a reporter for CNN. The clip went as follows:GRIFFIN: The National Review had a story saying that, you know, "I can't tell if Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt, or all of the above."
PALIN: Who wrote that one? G
RIFFIN: That -- that was in the National Review.
PALIN: Who wrote it?
GRIFFIN: I don't have the author but they were --
PALIN: Who wrote it? I'd like to talk to that person.
GRIFFIN: But they were --
Needless to say, I found it interesting that Griffin would not site his source when asked to do so by Governor Palin. Limbaugh went on to point out that the quote, attributed to National Review, was not even written by that publication. The misquote, Griffin used, came from something written by National Review columnist Byron York, but was posted on another website. What York said was, "Watching press coverage of the Republican candidate for VP, it's sometimes hard to decide whether Sarah Palin is incompetent, stupid, unqualified, corrupt, backward..." The point being made is that Griffin deliberately lied about what York was saying. In fact, what York was doing was indicting the media, and people like Drew Griffin, for their biased coverage against conservative Republicans in favor of Barack Obama. His interview of Palin is a perfect example of what York was writing about. Limbaugh said that CNN, and Griffin, need to apologize for their actions. But, he added that even if they did it's "going to matter less." In other words, nobody will care, much less check the facts. This reminds me of how many Christians act towards the Word of God and those that preach it.
"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it! For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles. Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things." 2 Corinthians 11: 3-6
"Kool-Aid" drinker is a popular term ascribed to individuals who blindly accept what they are told. Even worse, they will defend it as though it is undeniable truth. Like many, I watch in amazement at Christian television as pastors will preach in front of thousands of people who hang on every word that comes from their mouths. What is even more amazing is that much of what passes for teaching on these programs is clearly unbiblical. The following serve as examples of what I mean:
"Jesus didn’t come as God, He came as a man, and He did not come perfect." Creflo Dollar, Changing Your World, TBN, December 8, 2002
"If the power of life and death is in the tongue and you can have whatever you say and if you’ve been praying and praying and praying and you finally got God’s attention and now He’s looking at you and saying ‘What do you want?’…What do you want? Name it, baby, name it ….Declare it! Speak it! Confess it! Get your list out!" TD Jakes, The Potter's House, TBN, December 3, 2001
"...when you give you get a receipt in heaven that when you have a need you can then go with your receipt and say ‘You see, God, I have got my receipt from my sowing and now I have a need and I’m cashing in my receipt." Joyce Meyer, Praise The Lord, TBN, November 3, 2003
“For three days Jesus fought with the enemy. It was the battle of the ages, light versus darkness, good versus evil. But thank God Satan was no match for Jesus.” Joel Osteen, Discover the Champion in You, TBN, April 26, 2004
These four Christian teachers are, arguably, the most popular teachers in the Christian world. All have written best selling books and captured the admiration of thousands of supporters worldwide. However, the error revealed by these quotes should be easily discernable to a mature Christian. Dollar denies the deity of Christ. Jakes not only implies we need to badger God with our prayers in order for Him to respond to us, but that He is a sort of genie promising to grant us whatever we wish. This is similar to Meyers' boast that God owes us for all our consistent giving throughout our lives. And, finally, you have Osteen claiming Jesus and Satan had a fight in Hell, like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, in between the time Jesus died and rose from the grave. All of this would be laughable if it weren't leading so many Christians astray. All of these quotes are proof of a false gospel being taught. But, as Paul laments, Christians put up with it easy enough. They put up with it, in my opinion, because they don't know the truth themselves.
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some." 2 Timothy 2: 15-18
The problem with this popular, but unbiblical, teaching accepted by so many, is that those that allow themselves to be influenced by it do not know how to handle the word of truth. And judging by the amount of people supporting these teachings there are quite a few of these people out there. I am one who believes that the pastors know that what they teach is not the truth, but, are willing to continue preaching it because of selfish gain. There is no concern if what they are teaching is destroying the faith of their followers. And the fact that their teaching is spreading and gaining in popularity only encourages them to keep teaching it. However, they and their followers only "become more and more ungodly." The more you subject yourself to error, the more the error becomes the truth. And your ability to discern the real truth becomes impossible. Therefore, you will begin to see people who will distort the facts and see nothing wrong with doing so if it promotes their desired outcome. And when they are called on their deception and error they could care less. If they believe what they are doing is correct not even the truth will change their minds. They will have wandered so far from the truth that turning them around is a waste of time. Therefore, some might not care about the deceiving tactics used by a journalist as long as it leads to the desired outcome. In the same way the followers of these pastors, who preach a false gospel, do not care what the truth is as long as what they believe is leading to their desired outcome. While the journalists lie may lead to a political victory, the lie coming from the pulpit will lead to a eternal defeat.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Refusing to come to Him
Q: If I do not believe in a Messiah and believe that God is there to guide us not save us, does that mean I don't believe in the Bible?
A: The short answer is "Yes." If you only believe God is there to "guide us not save us" then your conclusion was not derived from reading the Bible. Therefore, you don't believe the Bible. In fact, your statement is in direct contradiction to the words of Jesus Christ, Himself. Jesus said, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10)." The world is full of people that believe that God "guides us," but that we can decide what it is that guides us through life apart from Him. This is the main purpose behind most major religions in the world. They teach that all man needs is a set of rules, laws or principles to live by and, if we just adhere to them, we either get to heaven, become gods ourselves or some variation of the two. However, this is the lie of the devil. In the book of Genesis we read where the serpent deceived Eve. The serpent said to Eve, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5)." Knowing good and evil? Isn't this the foundation of why people say we only need God to "guide us?" If we just know good and evil we can live a righteous life and, perhaps, change the world. But, you see, this is the lie of satan. We all want, in essence, to be like God and know good and evil. Therefore, we feel all we need is to figure out how do that. And there is an endless supply of resources geared towards helping us meet that goal. Between religion, self help gurus and our own understanding, we never run out of options to try. And if one fails us, we just go to the next. The problem to that is who is right and who is wrong? If you have no agreed upon standard of truth to fall back on, eventually, all you are left with is chaos.
One need to look no further than the United States of America to illustrate this problem. This country was founded on what is commonly referred to as a "Judeo-Christian" ethic. What that means is that the Founding Fathers of this country used the Bible as their "guide" in which to build this country. And, I will not argue that by doing so they created, in my opinion, the greatest country this world has ever seen. However, in the midst of doing so, we still had some major problems in this country. Namely, such things as racism and slavery. Thankfully, through reliance on the Bible, we have been able to overcome slavery and much of the effects it has had on this country. But, one has to ask, "why, with using the Bible, God's Word, as a guide, do so many problems still persist in this country and the world?" Regardless of where you look there are still plenty of examples of man's inhumanity towards man. The simple answer is that sin exists in the world. And one thing that a guide cannot do is eliminate this problem. As I stated earlier, Jesus said that He came to save that which is lost. Man's problem is that he has been separated from God because of sin. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5: 12)." When Eve and, more importantly, Adam were deceived into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they died spiritually and allowed sin to enter the world. Basically, they didn't believe God and rebelled against Him. Therefore, God, who had breathed His life into Adam and Eve, removed His life from them. And everybody who has been born into this world since that time is born in the image of Adam, spiritually dead to God, but alive to the world. Another byproduct of Adam and Eve's rebellion against God is that sin and death are in the world. Whether it be the previously mentioned sins of racism and slavery, other sins like lying, stealing and cheating, or natural phenomenon like destructive tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, they are all a result of sin. There is no guide to stop all that.
The solution God has offered to the problem of sin is life in His Son Jesus Christ. After God removed His life from Adam and Eve, following their sin, He desired to indwell His creation once again. In order for mankind to be aware of their sin and their need for His life, God gave us a "guide" to show us that need; the Mosaic Law. Part of the Law is the Ten Commandments. Many people use these commandments as a guide for living. However, God gave us the Law because "through the law we become conscious of sin (Romans 3:20)." I have heard it stated that the Law was God's contribution to man's best effort to be like Him. When we try and live up to God's standards, the Law, or our own laws, religion, we fail miserably. And that is exactly why God gave it to us. "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24)." We fail miserably because of sin. No matter how hard we try to be like God we cannot. It is by recognizing our inability to live up to God's standard that we then turn to Jesus Christ and His ability. Before God could indwell His creation again, He had to deal with the sin that caused Him to remove His life to begin with. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18)." Jesus Christ, being God in the flesh, is the only man who had a life to give that would satisfy God as payment for our sins. Because the death of Christ took away the sins of the world from the eyes of God for all eternity, God was now able to offer His life as free gift, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to all who accept Him by faith. "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life (Romans 5:10)!" Reconciled to God, our debt paid in full, by the death of Jesus Christ. Saved, rescued from eternal separation from God in Hell, through the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.
There you have it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ; sin, death, forgiveness, life! While Jesus was alive, He had an encounter with some Jews who thought they were making themselves righteous before God by using the Bible, more specifically the Old Testament, as a guide to living. Jesus thought differently. "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life (John 5: 39-40)." We don't need the Bible to guide us. We need God to guide us from within. He does that through His indwelling Holy Spirit, His life, which can only be received through accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior. Once we have received Christ we are guided from within, by the Holy Spirit of God, not from the outside through the law or any other guides. If the Bible guides us in anything it is by leading us to Christ. The Bible is a love letter, to all mankind, testifying about His Son Jesus Christ and the offer of salvation we all can have in Him. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3: 16-18)." If you read the Bible, don't read it simply as a guide for your life, but read it as a guide to a Life. Because you don't need rules for living, but you need to be saved from eternal death by accepting eternal life in Christ Jesus.
A: The short answer is "Yes." If you only believe God is there to "guide us not save us" then your conclusion was not derived from reading the Bible. Therefore, you don't believe the Bible. In fact, your statement is in direct contradiction to the words of Jesus Christ, Himself. Jesus said, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost (Luke 19:10)." The world is full of people that believe that God "guides us," but that we can decide what it is that guides us through life apart from Him. This is the main purpose behind most major religions in the world. They teach that all man needs is a set of rules, laws or principles to live by and, if we just adhere to them, we either get to heaven, become gods ourselves or some variation of the two. However, this is the lie of the devil. In the book of Genesis we read where the serpent deceived Eve. The serpent said to Eve, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5)." Knowing good and evil? Isn't this the foundation of why people say we only need God to "guide us?" If we just know good and evil we can live a righteous life and, perhaps, change the world. But, you see, this is the lie of satan. We all want, in essence, to be like God and know good and evil. Therefore, we feel all we need is to figure out how do that. And there is an endless supply of resources geared towards helping us meet that goal. Between religion, self help gurus and our own understanding, we never run out of options to try. And if one fails us, we just go to the next. The problem to that is who is right and who is wrong? If you have no agreed upon standard of truth to fall back on, eventually, all you are left with is chaos.
One need to look no further than the United States of America to illustrate this problem. This country was founded on what is commonly referred to as a "Judeo-Christian" ethic. What that means is that the Founding Fathers of this country used the Bible as their "guide" in which to build this country. And, I will not argue that by doing so they created, in my opinion, the greatest country this world has ever seen. However, in the midst of doing so, we still had some major problems in this country. Namely, such things as racism and slavery. Thankfully, through reliance on the Bible, we have been able to overcome slavery and much of the effects it has had on this country. But, one has to ask, "why, with using the Bible, God's Word, as a guide, do so many problems still persist in this country and the world?" Regardless of where you look there are still plenty of examples of man's inhumanity towards man. The simple answer is that sin exists in the world. And one thing that a guide cannot do is eliminate this problem. As I stated earlier, Jesus said that He came to save that which is lost. Man's problem is that he has been separated from God because of sin. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5: 12)." When Eve and, more importantly, Adam were deceived into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they died spiritually and allowed sin to enter the world. Basically, they didn't believe God and rebelled against Him. Therefore, God, who had breathed His life into Adam and Eve, removed His life from them. And everybody who has been born into this world since that time is born in the image of Adam, spiritually dead to God, but alive to the world. Another byproduct of Adam and Eve's rebellion against God is that sin and death are in the world. Whether it be the previously mentioned sins of racism and slavery, other sins like lying, stealing and cheating, or natural phenomenon like destructive tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, they are all a result of sin. There is no guide to stop all that.
The solution God has offered to the problem of sin is life in His Son Jesus Christ. After God removed His life from Adam and Eve, following their sin, He desired to indwell His creation once again. In order for mankind to be aware of their sin and their need for His life, God gave us a "guide" to show us that need; the Mosaic Law. Part of the Law is the Ten Commandments. Many people use these commandments as a guide for living. However, God gave us the Law because "through the law we become conscious of sin (Romans 3:20)." I have heard it stated that the Law was God's contribution to man's best effort to be like Him. When we try and live up to God's standards, the Law, or our own laws, religion, we fail miserably. And that is exactly why God gave it to us. "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24)." We fail miserably because of sin. No matter how hard we try to be like God we cannot. It is by recognizing our inability to live up to God's standard that we then turn to Jesus Christ and His ability. Before God could indwell His creation again, He had to deal with the sin that caused Him to remove His life to begin with. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18)." Jesus Christ, being God in the flesh, is the only man who had a life to give that would satisfy God as payment for our sins. Because the death of Christ took away the sins of the world from the eyes of God for all eternity, God was now able to offer His life as free gift, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to all who accept Him by faith. "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life (Romans 5:10)!" Reconciled to God, our debt paid in full, by the death of Jesus Christ. Saved, rescued from eternal separation from God in Hell, through the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.
There you have it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ; sin, death, forgiveness, life! While Jesus was alive, He had an encounter with some Jews who thought they were making themselves righteous before God by using the Bible, more specifically the Old Testament, as a guide to living. Jesus thought differently. "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life (John 5: 39-40)." We don't need the Bible to guide us. We need God to guide us from within. He does that through His indwelling Holy Spirit, His life, which can only be received through accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior. Once we have received Christ we are guided from within, by the Holy Spirit of God, not from the outside through the law or any other guides. If the Bible guides us in anything it is by leading us to Christ. The Bible is a love letter, to all mankind, testifying about His Son Jesus Christ and the offer of salvation we all can have in Him. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son (John 3: 16-18)." If you read the Bible, don't read it simply as a guide for your life, but read it as a guide to a Life. Because you don't need rules for living, but you need to be saved from eternal death by accepting eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Tough Questions on Grace
Q: Is there anything to forgive if you've been hurt by someone who is not aware that her/his action has hurt you? Let's say, they said something that really hurt you, or lead you to believe that what they said has meaning that made you have some expectations that they couldn't live up to, is there anything to forgive in this case?
A: Think about the sins you have committed that you are not aware you have done. What has God done with those sins?
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them." 2 Corinthians 5: 18-19
We in turn share what we have received from God with those we encounter in our lives. Since you admit this individual is not aware of the sin, the chances that they will seek your forgiveness are slim. Therefore, in order to free yourself from the bondage you are in, you must release them from the debt they owe you. That is exactly what God did with us. We owed a debt we could not pay. Therefore, in Christ, He forgave our sins without waiting for us to ask Him to do so. By removing the sin that separated us, God is now free to have a relationship with all who have accepted Christ by faith. You can free yourself up to have a relationship with this person, or to move on without needing restitution in order to do so.
Q: Do you believe the 10 commandments are done away with since you don't believe in the OT?
A: I believe in the Ten Commandments and the Old Testament. The difference is that I know the role of them both. The Law is for the lost to lead them to Christ. It is not a guide for a Christian on how to live their life. Once you have accepted Christ, the Law has done it's work in your life. It is to show you your sinfulness and spiritual death so that you will turn to Christ by faith. After salvation, a believer is led by the Holy Spirit from within, not outwardly by the Law or any other religious rules and regulations. A Christian is not under the law nor does it glorify the finished work of Christ and the New Covenant to participate in Jewish festivals.
Q: My late husband was killed in Vietnam.I know one of the commandments is "Thou shalt not kill" and I have to assume that having been in the war zone for 8 months before his death, he must've killed at least one, maybe more? Does this mean he will not go to Heaven? Does saving a life cancel out the others?
A: "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me..." John 16:9
The only sin that will send a person to Hell is the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ as an individuals Lord and Savior. Your husband is a hero. If he died in Christ he is safe in the arms of the Lord. Do not let your heart be troubled by what may have happened in the midst of a war. Our sins do not separate us from God because of the finished work of Christ on the Cross. I hope this comforts you.
Q: Well, I'm a lesbian. I've been dealing with this problem for as long as I can remember. For as long as I can remember, I've liked other girls. I really think I was born with this. This has been the cause of me slipping up in my faith ever since I've come to God. I really don't want to come out, but I don't see the sense in lying about it to everyone if its a sin regardless.
A: The place to start with overcoming your struggle is to stop calling yourself a lesbian and start calling yourself what God calls you; a child of God. "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—" John 1:12 If you are indeed a born again Christian then you are not a lesbian, but a child of God who struggles with homosexuality. The reason you struggle with lesbianism is because if you identify yourself as one, not engaging in the act is contrary to your identity. When God looks at you He sees His child, not a lesbian. When you start looking at yourself the way God sees you then you will realize that engaging in lesbian activity is not consistent with who you are. I used to struggle with alcohol and getting drunk all the time. Once I realized how God saw me and who I am in His eyes my behavior changed. That was over eight years ago. It doesn't mean that I can't fall into that behavior again, but it is easier not to indulge in the behavior knowing that it is not consistent with who I am. I wasn't born a drunk and you weren't born a lesbian. But, we were all born dead to God, in our sins, and alive to the world. We look to the world to fill that void that can only be filled through a relationship with Jesus Christ. And when we try to fill that void in the world it is only through sin that we can accomplish it. Remember, when God looks at you He doesn't see a lesbian. He sees a forgiven, holy, blameless, sanctified, redeemed, seated in the Heavenlies, cleansed, righteous, justified, perfect, accepted and indwelt by the Holy Spirit child of God. You don't need to "come out" of the closet and reveal the sin you are struggling with. Rather you need to go into your "prayer closet" and study about how God sees you. The world has many labels for us, but only God gives us the right to be called children of God.
Q: What will happen if I break a vow to God?
A: God's not going to do anything to you when you break a vow (Romans 8:1). He knows the heart of man (Genesis 6:5) and isn't surprised when we fall on our face. The power of sin is in the law (1 Corinthians 15:56), even laws (vows) we make up and say we will honor. You must realize that the Christian life isn't something you live through keeping vows, but by trusting in the indwelling Holy Spirit (Titus 2:11-12). Jesus is the only one who ever lived the Christian life and now wants to live it in and through you. If and when you do make a vow and don't keep it you must realize that you can't live up to God's requirement of perfection (Matthew 5:48). You must also realize what God did with your sin (Hebrews 10:17). Your sin is so terrible that merely asking forgiveness doesn't cut it. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) not an apology. That is when you thank Jesus that He died in your place and then you approach God in confidence(Hebrews 4:16) to try and find out why you weren't trusting Him when you sinned. God isn't dealing with us on the basis of sin and death (2 Corinthians 5:19), but on a new life in Christ. Remember God is faithful, not us (1 Corinthians 1:9). You don't need to try and prove yourself to God through futile attempts to keep vows and live a certain way (Romans 3:20). It is God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that teaches us to say no to sin and ungodliness and has already made us perfect in His site (Hebrews 10:14) through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
A: Think about the sins you have committed that you are not aware you have done. What has God done with those sins?
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them." 2 Corinthians 5: 18-19
We in turn share what we have received from God with those we encounter in our lives. Since you admit this individual is not aware of the sin, the chances that they will seek your forgiveness are slim. Therefore, in order to free yourself from the bondage you are in, you must release them from the debt they owe you. That is exactly what God did with us. We owed a debt we could not pay. Therefore, in Christ, He forgave our sins without waiting for us to ask Him to do so. By removing the sin that separated us, God is now free to have a relationship with all who have accepted Christ by faith. You can free yourself up to have a relationship with this person, or to move on without needing restitution in order to do so.
Q: Do you believe the 10 commandments are done away with since you don't believe in the OT?
A: I believe in the Ten Commandments and the Old Testament. The difference is that I know the role of them both. The Law is for the lost to lead them to Christ. It is not a guide for a Christian on how to live their life. Once you have accepted Christ, the Law has done it's work in your life. It is to show you your sinfulness and spiritual death so that you will turn to Christ by faith. After salvation, a believer is led by the Holy Spirit from within, not outwardly by the Law or any other religious rules and regulations. A Christian is not under the law nor does it glorify the finished work of Christ and the New Covenant to participate in Jewish festivals.
Q: My late husband was killed in Vietnam.I know one of the commandments is "Thou shalt not kill" and I have to assume that having been in the war zone for 8 months before his death, he must've killed at least one, maybe more? Does this mean he will not go to Heaven? Does saving a life cancel out the others?
A: "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me..." John 16:9
The only sin that will send a person to Hell is the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ as an individuals Lord and Savior. Your husband is a hero. If he died in Christ he is safe in the arms of the Lord. Do not let your heart be troubled by what may have happened in the midst of a war. Our sins do not separate us from God because of the finished work of Christ on the Cross. I hope this comforts you.
Q: Well, I'm a lesbian. I've been dealing with this problem for as long as I can remember. For as long as I can remember, I've liked other girls. I really think I was born with this. This has been the cause of me slipping up in my faith ever since I've come to God. I really don't want to come out, but I don't see the sense in lying about it to everyone if its a sin regardless.
A: The place to start with overcoming your struggle is to stop calling yourself a lesbian and start calling yourself what God calls you; a child of God. "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—" John 1:12 If you are indeed a born again Christian then you are not a lesbian, but a child of God who struggles with homosexuality. The reason you struggle with lesbianism is because if you identify yourself as one, not engaging in the act is contrary to your identity. When God looks at you He sees His child, not a lesbian. When you start looking at yourself the way God sees you then you will realize that engaging in lesbian activity is not consistent with who you are. I used to struggle with alcohol and getting drunk all the time. Once I realized how God saw me and who I am in His eyes my behavior changed. That was over eight years ago. It doesn't mean that I can't fall into that behavior again, but it is easier not to indulge in the behavior knowing that it is not consistent with who I am. I wasn't born a drunk and you weren't born a lesbian. But, we were all born dead to God, in our sins, and alive to the world. We look to the world to fill that void that can only be filled through a relationship with Jesus Christ. And when we try to fill that void in the world it is only through sin that we can accomplish it. Remember, when God looks at you He doesn't see a lesbian. He sees a forgiven, holy, blameless, sanctified, redeemed, seated in the Heavenlies, cleansed, righteous, justified, perfect, accepted and indwelt by the Holy Spirit child of God. You don't need to "come out" of the closet and reveal the sin you are struggling with. Rather you need to go into your "prayer closet" and study about how God sees you. The world has many labels for us, but only God gives us the right to be called children of God.
Q: What will happen if I break a vow to God?
A: God's not going to do anything to you when you break a vow (Romans 8:1). He knows the heart of man (Genesis 6:5) and isn't surprised when we fall on our face. The power of sin is in the law (1 Corinthians 15:56), even laws (vows) we make up and say we will honor. You must realize that the Christian life isn't something you live through keeping vows, but by trusting in the indwelling Holy Spirit (Titus 2:11-12). Jesus is the only one who ever lived the Christian life and now wants to live it in and through you. If and when you do make a vow and don't keep it you must realize that you can't live up to God's requirement of perfection (Matthew 5:48). You must also realize what God did with your sin (Hebrews 10:17). Your sin is so terrible that merely asking forgiveness doesn't cut it. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) not an apology. That is when you thank Jesus that He died in your place and then you approach God in confidence(Hebrews 4:16) to try and find out why you weren't trusting Him when you sinned. God isn't dealing with us on the basis of sin and death (2 Corinthians 5:19), but on a new life in Christ. Remember God is faithful, not us (1 Corinthians 1:9). You don't need to try and prove yourself to God through futile attempts to keep vows and live a certain way (Romans 3:20). It is God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that teaches us to say no to sin and ungodliness and has already made us perfect in His site (Hebrews 10:14) through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
167
My pastor was relating a conversation he had with an individual who listens to his radio broadcast. The topic they were discussing was the supporting of his radio ministry and what he would do with a large sum of money. My pastor told us of how he contemplated what he would do with the funds and that his first thought was to put it towards finding a larger building for us to move our fellowship in to. He said he went to the Lord in prayer over this matter and went back and forth with God about his desire to have a larger building. He said the question God kept putting on his mind was "How often would you use a larger facility?" He responded with one hour a week. God was leading him somewhere. My pastor realized that a larger building would, at the minimum, only be used for an hour a week, when there are 168 hours in a week. In other words, there would be 167 hours a week where the building would not be in use. That doesn't seem to be a good use of the funds given the lack of use the building would have. God was telling my pastor that he should put more funds toward the radio ministry. Now, it is because of the radio ministry that our fellowship is increasing in size. Therefore, finding sufficient facilities to house the increase in attendance is what is behind him stating he would use the funds for a larger facility. His radio ministry, and the website behind it, has reached all around the world, including Kenya, Pakistan and Indonesia. Most, likely nobody in these countries will ever set foot inside our fellowship.
"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." Matthew 18: 12-14
What I believe my pastor was trying to say is that he had lost sight of the purpose of ministry for a moment. There seems to be, within the modern Body of Christ, a culture that leans towards building massive churches that house thousands of worshipers. In my opinion, this has lead to a bit of apathy when it comes to teaching and the responsibility of each believer. I don't believe my pastor is guilty of falling into this trap by any stretch of the imagination. But, his experience gives evidence of how it can happen. It is human nature to feel the burden, and responsibility, of having to take care of anybody and everybody that comes to your fellowship. This leads to those in attendance becoming dependent on the teacher for the spiritual growth and their Christian experience as well as the pastor feeling that he has to provide all of this for those in attendance. Both are incorrect. As you see from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives an illustration of a man leaving his flock in order to go and find the one sheep that wandered off. This is an example of how the Church is supposed to operate. We are not directed to keep stuffing churches to their capacity and then find a larger facility in which to house everybody. We all have the responsibility to go out into the world and find those lost sheep and tell them about the Lord. This can only happen away from the fellowship we gather at once a week. How much evangelism and discipleship can take place if you only do it one day a week? Think of what would happen if we only ate, bathed, brushed our teeth or went to work once a week. Our health and our lives would fall apart.
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building." 1 Corinthians 3: 5-9
If we minimize our Christian life down to the one hour we spend a week at Church we risk falling into a trap. We can easily become man followers. Our faith can be in the pastor, or the denomination, rather than in Jesus Christ. The worldview we develop becomes the same as that of our pastor. We risk diminishing our evangelism to inviting people to church. The Gospel becomes vague platitudes like "Jesus is the answer" or "You need Jesus" without the ability to explain what is we mean when we say these things. Similarly, the pastor risks becoming dependent on his flock and the size of it. The message he preaches could become one geared towards keeping the seats filled and the collection plate overflowing rather than one of growing the saints to maturity. Because a mature Christian becomes a teacher and may not become dependent on the pastor that disciples them. Many a pastor, who has become a Christian celebrity, for lack of a better word, only preach a shell of the Gospel. In my opinion, this is so they can keep their "sheep" dependent on them so they can continue to prosper from their dependency. Both the pastor and his flock suffer in this relationship. But, you see, the Church, the Body of Christ, is to go out into the world and be a witness to the world. All of us work in tandem to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some, like a pastor, may plant a seed, through a teaching given, in person, on the internet or on the radio. Believers, like myself, may water that seed. And then God makes it grow into salvation. And the process continues over and over every day, all week and every hour of that week. God indwells us, and we, in turn, make ourselves available to Him to use us as He sees fit. I hope we are available more than just one hour a week.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
We, the Body of Christ, have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling us. Because of this we are are God's building, witnesses empowered to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. There are only so many church buildings to house Christians. But, every Christian is God's building and where ever we are in the world, He is there with us. In many countries, church buildings are outlawed and Christians are relegated to fellowship and witnessing on a limited basis, if at all. Therefore, this idea of finding larger buildings in order to house the Body, once a week, is not an idea that translates well globally. There were little to no church buildings, at least the way we envision them today, back during the infancy of the Christian church. Early Christians met whenever they could and using any place they could as a meeting place. The Apostle Paul, and many of the Apostles, went on missionary "journeys" in order to spread the Gospel. As Christians, we are all ministers of the New Covenant bringing the saving message of Jesus Christ to all those we come in contact with as we go through life. Chances are most of our opportunities to witness are not going to come on Sunday morning! They come in the midst of our daily lives at any hour of the day. There is nothing wrong with going to church, gathering with like-minded believers as you, hopefully, hear an encouraging message by your pastor. However, we take what we learn, and put it into practice the entire week. When you fill up your car, you don't stay at the gas station. You use that gas to drive your car throughout the week. The Holy Spirit is the gas that drives a Christian each day of our lives. While we may "fill up" for one hour a week, we live the Christian life outside of church during the other 167 hours of the week. Amen!
"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." Matthew 18: 12-14
What I believe my pastor was trying to say is that he had lost sight of the purpose of ministry for a moment. There seems to be, within the modern Body of Christ, a culture that leans towards building massive churches that house thousands of worshipers. In my opinion, this has lead to a bit of apathy when it comes to teaching and the responsibility of each believer. I don't believe my pastor is guilty of falling into this trap by any stretch of the imagination. But, his experience gives evidence of how it can happen. It is human nature to feel the burden, and responsibility, of having to take care of anybody and everybody that comes to your fellowship. This leads to those in attendance becoming dependent on the teacher for the spiritual growth and their Christian experience as well as the pastor feeling that he has to provide all of this for those in attendance. Both are incorrect. As you see from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives an illustration of a man leaving his flock in order to go and find the one sheep that wandered off. This is an example of how the Church is supposed to operate. We are not directed to keep stuffing churches to their capacity and then find a larger facility in which to house everybody. We all have the responsibility to go out into the world and find those lost sheep and tell them about the Lord. This can only happen away from the fellowship we gather at once a week. How much evangelism and discipleship can take place if you only do it one day a week? Think of what would happen if we only ate, bathed, brushed our teeth or went to work once a week. Our health and our lives would fall apart.
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building." 1 Corinthians 3: 5-9
If we minimize our Christian life down to the one hour we spend a week at Church we risk falling into a trap. We can easily become man followers. Our faith can be in the pastor, or the denomination, rather than in Jesus Christ. The worldview we develop becomes the same as that of our pastor. We risk diminishing our evangelism to inviting people to church. The Gospel becomes vague platitudes like "Jesus is the answer" or "You need Jesus" without the ability to explain what is we mean when we say these things. Similarly, the pastor risks becoming dependent on his flock and the size of it. The message he preaches could become one geared towards keeping the seats filled and the collection plate overflowing rather than one of growing the saints to maturity. Because a mature Christian becomes a teacher and may not become dependent on the pastor that disciples them. Many a pastor, who has become a Christian celebrity, for lack of a better word, only preach a shell of the Gospel. In my opinion, this is so they can keep their "sheep" dependent on them so they can continue to prosper from their dependency. Both the pastor and his flock suffer in this relationship. But, you see, the Church, the Body of Christ, is to go out into the world and be a witness to the world. All of us work in tandem to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some, like a pastor, may plant a seed, through a teaching given, in person, on the internet or on the radio. Believers, like myself, may water that seed. And then God makes it grow into salvation. And the process continues over and over every day, all week and every hour of that week. God indwells us, and we, in turn, make ourselves available to Him to use us as He sees fit. I hope we are available more than just one hour a week.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
We, the Body of Christ, have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling us. Because of this we are are God's building, witnesses empowered to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. There are only so many church buildings to house Christians. But, every Christian is God's building and where ever we are in the world, He is there with us. In many countries, church buildings are outlawed and Christians are relegated to fellowship and witnessing on a limited basis, if at all. Therefore, this idea of finding larger buildings in order to house the Body, once a week, is not an idea that translates well globally. There were little to no church buildings, at least the way we envision them today, back during the infancy of the Christian church. Early Christians met whenever they could and using any place they could as a meeting place. The Apostle Paul, and many of the Apostles, went on missionary "journeys" in order to spread the Gospel. As Christians, we are all ministers of the New Covenant bringing the saving message of Jesus Christ to all those we come in contact with as we go through life. Chances are most of our opportunities to witness are not going to come on Sunday morning! They come in the midst of our daily lives at any hour of the day. There is nothing wrong with going to church, gathering with like-minded believers as you, hopefully, hear an encouraging message by your pastor. However, we take what we learn, and put it into practice the entire week. When you fill up your car, you don't stay at the gas station. You use that gas to drive your car throughout the week. The Holy Spirit is the gas that drives a Christian each day of our lives. While we may "fill up" for one hour a week, we live the Christian life outside of church during the other 167 hours of the week. Amen!
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