"When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, 'The Lord--he is God! The Lord--he is God!' 1 Kings 18:39
This is a vivid example of false conversion.
It was an emotional response to a great miraculous event. It was so spectacular and the response was so overwhelming that it had all of the appearances of a great revival.
But there was no revival.
Very soon everything went back to normal and Elijah ended up fleeing for his life.
The reason is that this was an emotional response to something external. But there was no transformation of the heart.
I remember some years ago at a church we were attending that there was a youth rally. Some members of the praise band (which my son played in at the time) were upset because of the invitation. They said it was completely bogus. They said kids were coming forward, joking and laughing and teasing each other, even during the prayer. It was clear that they were coming down simply because everyone else was. Of course, at the weekend worship services during the announcements, the pastor said they had 150 (I'm guessing) 'confirmed decisions for Christ' at the rally. But there was never any real follow up and this church wasn't known for discipleship. They just pronounced them saved and sent them on their way.
This has become all too familiar in the modern church age. We've seen these huge evangelical gatherings where an invitation to receive Christ is given, and people come forward by the hundreds or even thousands. They are asked to repeat a prayer and then told that "IF" they prayed that prayer they are saved. Often the invitation glosses over the real issue of sin and coming judgment if not ignoring it altogether, and focuses more on the benefits of having Jesus living in your heart.
The problem is that this is not Biblical. This is not to say that many people have not been truly saved by this type of evangelism. It simply means that God saved some in spite of the fact that they responded to an unbiblical invitation. The message the early church preached was one of warning about coming judgment and the need to repent. In Acts 2 Peter preached a sermon that simply said that Jesus was the Messiah and they killed him(v. 36). Verse 37:
"When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' "
Notice that the people didn't respond to an invitation. They responded to the message Peter preached that convicted them of their sin. It says that they were 'cut to the heart.' This was not simply an emotional response to something external. This was something that went straight to their hearts and convicted them. It was this conviction that prompted them to ask the disciples what they must do in order to be saved. Peter then told them what they had to do...REPENT!! It is very rare today in the church to hear such a message of warning of impending judgment. Yet that was the message the early church taught.
Many people lament that the church of Jesus Christ appears no different than the rest of the world. If the vast majority of Christendom is preaching the 'therapeutic, feel good massage' that omits the themes of repenting from sin that leads to judgment, then the vast majority of those who call themselves Christians are not truly saved. That means we really are no different than the rest of the world. We need to take the admonition in 2 Corinthians 13:5;
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith."
If you responded to any of the false gospel messages out there, you need to go back and examine yourself and make sure that you really are in the faith.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Let's Start at The Beginning
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1
"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1
I remember hearing a story about Vince Lombardi walking into the Green Bay Packer's locker room after a very disappointing and embarrasing loss. He said, "Men, we are going back to the basics." He held up an object and said, "This is a football."
While obviously the packers knew what a football is, it was apparent to Coach Lombardi that some important fundamentals had somehow gotten missed. Rather than simply try to determine where things had gone wrong, he decided to go back to the beginning, reestablesh the basic foundations and learn how to play the game all over again.
I believe we as the church in the 21st century have a similar problem. In spite of the fact that we have many who identify as born again Christians and are faithful church attendees, there seems to be an underlying feeling that something is wrong. In large part, we don't look much different than the rest of the world. We have missed some important fundamentals along the journey. Rather than try and figure out where we went off track maybe we should go back to the very basics.
The Bible
The Bible is not a book. It is a collection of 66 books contained in two volumes. The first volume is called The Old Testament and contains 39 books. There were more than 30 different authors who penned the books over more than 1,000 years. Many of the books were collected long after they were written. That means that the authors would have had no opportunity to collaborate on their material. Yet the thread of the Old Testament is very consistant which points to a single divine author...God himself. 2 Timothy 3:16 says:
"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
Keep in mind that when Paul wrote 2 Timothy there was no New Testament. So this is talking about the Old. God himself is the author
The New testament contains 27 books by 9 different authors. It was written within a 50 year period of time and most of the authors did know each other although it is not clear whether everyone knew everyone. This means it is possible that some authors relied on each other but not entirely. The apostle Paul did know Mark, Luke, Peter and James. But it is not known if he Knew Matthew, John or Jude or the anonymous writer of Hebrews.
The Bible is the inspired word of God. It not only contains the Gospel, IT IS THE GOSPEL. If you leave out parts of the message of scripture you have missed the fulness of the gospel.
The Gospel Begins...at The Beginning.
When Paul preached the gospel to the people in Athens (Acts 17:16-34) he started with creation. Typically when he preached to the Jews he began with Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The reason he didn't begin with creation is because the Old Testament, which his Jewish audience was already familiar with, begins with creation.
In order to properly understand the gospel it is absolutely essential that we understand that the savior who died for the sins of mankind is the same one who spoke all of creation into existance. Colosians 1:16 says that all things were created by him and FOR him. This means that we belong to him and we are completely obligated to him. As Lord of all, he has every right to demand perfect obedience from us.
When Jesus came the first time, the people were expecting a conquering king. Instead they got a suffering servant. In our modern church age, we have gotten so familiar with the images of the baby Jesus in the manger, Jesus holding the children, washing his disciples feet, not to mention all of the images and statues of him on the cross, that we have forgotten that he is the God of all creation. And when he returns he will be the conquering king.
The Fall
It has been conventional wisdom to tell new believers to begin reading their Bible starting with the gospel of John. I believe it may be better to start with the first three chapters of Genesis (preferably through chapter six) and then begin reading John's gospel. In order to truly understand the good news of the gospel, one must first understand the bad news. We need to understand where everything went wrong. Genesis one tells us that God created everything by simply speaking them into existance. Chapter two tells us that the first humans were given three commands: 1. Be fruitful and multiply, 2. Take care of the garden, and 3. They were told not to eat of the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. Chapter 3 tells us that man violated the command of God and ate the forbidden fruit.
Many people who believe they will get to heaven because they have been 'good people' would do well to remember that all it took for man to be banished from the presence of God was to eat a piece of fruit. That is how serious sin is. By the time anyone is old enough to read this they have commited enough sins to condemn the entire world several times over.
By the time we get to Genesis 6 the situation had become so bad that God decided that he was going to have to start over with just a handful of people. In verse 5 it says:
The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of his heart was only evil all the time."
Now you might be thinking, there are a lot of good people in the world. There a few reasons for this. After the flood we see the institution of laws to govern human behavior. Immediately after the flood in Genesis 9:6 God issued this edict: 'Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed." This would serve as a deterent to mankind destroying himself. Law was and is necessary to control human nature but that is all it can do. It cannot change man's inherent sinfulness. Law is like putting a lion in a cage. You can prevent a lion from killing other animals but it won't change the nature of a lion. And if the cage is removed the lion will immediately try to kill and eat another animal. It is the same way with man's sinful nature. We see that in our society as the restraints are being removed and things that were once considered deviant are now considered the norm.
Another reason there are so many good people is because we, in the western world are reeping the benefits of a long legacy of Christian values. By the time the last disciple of Jesus had gone on to his reward the gospel had taken a stronghold through much of Southern Europe. That means we have had nearly 2,000 years of the gospel influencing civilization. In The United States, the vast majority of our founding fathers were Christians and many of our oldest institutions, hospitals and universities were founded by Christians. When missionaries travel to places where there has been no Judeo/Christian influence often the people live like savages. Human depravity.
God sets the standard and God IS the standard
The biggest reason we perceive so much goodness in people is because we are defining what is 'good' by our own standards rather than God's standard. Isaiah 64:6 says that all of our righteousness is like filthy rags. When Isaiah saw the Lord in the temple he was immediately aware of his own sinfulness (Isaiah 6:5). Peter had a very similar experience when he met Jesus; "Go away from me Lord' I am a sinful man." (Luke 5:8) There is no reason to believe that either Isaiah or Peter were particularly sinful. Acts 10:14 gives evidence that Peter had adhered to the law very strictly. But when faced with the perfect holiness of God, they became aware of their inherent sinfulness. This is the reason the people wanted Jesus crucified. He exposed sinfullness.
In an effort to be relevant to the culture we have allowed the world's systems to shape our definition of good rather than stand on God's word. Often that means we have allowed the world's philosophies to shape our theology. We have become very accepting of behaviors that the Word of God declares as sinful.
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." (Isaiah 5:20)
We as followers of Christ must have this truth completely settled:
THE CULTURE IS NOT RELEVANT!!! THE CHURCH IS THE ONLY THING THAT IS RELEVANT!
The only thing in this present world that is going to outlast the world is the church and we would do well to remember that. If we align ourselves with the world and it's philosophies we will likely perish with the world. The message the early church preached was one of warning:
"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' " (Acts 2:40)
In the words of Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones, "The gospel has but one message for the unrepentant sinner, judgment awaits." On that day when we stand before God none of our opinions and ideas will matter. The only thing that will matter will be if we had surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ as our savior. That means surrendering our personal opinions about right and wrong. What we may think about sexual orientation, gender identity and sanctity of life won't matter.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12
To wrap this up, I want to address some objections:
A good God would never send people to hell.
If God is good, why is there so much evil.
I will finish by quoting what the apostle Paul said in Romans 9:20: "But who are you O man to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"
God isn't running a democracy. He doesn't ask for our opinions and he doesn't need to. He has every right to expect perfect obedience from us because we belong to him. The question is whether or not we will submit to his authority or not.
The good news
When we understand that God is completely sovereign in his power and authority, we also realize that he would be completely justified if he judged all of us guilty and condemned us for all eternity. That is what makes grace so amazing. He made a way possible for us to be saved. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Confessing Jesus is Lord is not simply stating a nice sentiment. In Rome of Paul's day you would be putting your life on the line to make such a statement because only Ceasar was Lord. This means complete submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life. Thanks be to God that he did make way possible for us to be saved.
May God richly bless all of you.
"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1
I remember hearing a story about Vince Lombardi walking into the Green Bay Packer's locker room after a very disappointing and embarrasing loss. He said, "Men, we are going back to the basics." He held up an object and said, "This is a football."
While obviously the packers knew what a football is, it was apparent to Coach Lombardi that some important fundamentals had somehow gotten missed. Rather than simply try to determine where things had gone wrong, he decided to go back to the beginning, reestablesh the basic foundations and learn how to play the game all over again.
I believe we as the church in the 21st century have a similar problem. In spite of the fact that we have many who identify as born again Christians and are faithful church attendees, there seems to be an underlying feeling that something is wrong. In large part, we don't look much different than the rest of the world. We have missed some important fundamentals along the journey. Rather than try and figure out where we went off track maybe we should go back to the very basics.
The Bible
The Bible is not a book. It is a collection of 66 books contained in two volumes. The first volume is called The Old Testament and contains 39 books. There were more than 30 different authors who penned the books over more than 1,000 years. Many of the books were collected long after they were written. That means that the authors would have had no opportunity to collaborate on their material. Yet the thread of the Old Testament is very consistant which points to a single divine author...God himself. 2 Timothy 3:16 says:
"All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."
Keep in mind that when Paul wrote 2 Timothy there was no New Testament. So this is talking about the Old. God himself is the author
The New testament contains 27 books by 9 different authors. It was written within a 50 year period of time and most of the authors did know each other although it is not clear whether everyone knew everyone. This means it is possible that some authors relied on each other but not entirely. The apostle Paul did know Mark, Luke, Peter and James. But it is not known if he Knew Matthew, John or Jude or the anonymous writer of Hebrews.
The Bible is the inspired word of God. It not only contains the Gospel, IT IS THE GOSPEL. If you leave out parts of the message of scripture you have missed the fulness of the gospel.
The Gospel Begins...at The Beginning.
When Paul preached the gospel to the people in Athens (Acts 17:16-34) he started with creation. Typically when he preached to the Jews he began with Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The reason he didn't begin with creation is because the Old Testament, which his Jewish audience was already familiar with, begins with creation.
In order to properly understand the gospel it is absolutely essential that we understand that the savior who died for the sins of mankind is the same one who spoke all of creation into existance. Colosians 1:16 says that all things were created by him and FOR him. This means that we belong to him and we are completely obligated to him. As Lord of all, he has every right to demand perfect obedience from us.
When Jesus came the first time, the people were expecting a conquering king. Instead they got a suffering servant. In our modern church age, we have gotten so familiar with the images of the baby Jesus in the manger, Jesus holding the children, washing his disciples feet, not to mention all of the images and statues of him on the cross, that we have forgotten that he is the God of all creation. And when he returns he will be the conquering king.
The Fall
It has been conventional wisdom to tell new believers to begin reading their Bible starting with the gospel of John. I believe it may be better to start with the first three chapters of Genesis (preferably through chapter six) and then begin reading John's gospel. In order to truly understand the good news of the gospel, one must first understand the bad news. We need to understand where everything went wrong. Genesis one tells us that God created everything by simply speaking them into existance. Chapter two tells us that the first humans were given three commands: 1. Be fruitful and multiply, 2. Take care of the garden, and 3. They were told not to eat of the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. Chapter 3 tells us that man violated the command of God and ate the forbidden fruit.
Many people who believe they will get to heaven because they have been 'good people' would do well to remember that all it took for man to be banished from the presence of God was to eat a piece of fruit. That is how serious sin is. By the time anyone is old enough to read this they have commited enough sins to condemn the entire world several times over.
By the time we get to Genesis 6 the situation had become so bad that God decided that he was going to have to start over with just a handful of people. In verse 5 it says:
The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of his heart was only evil all the time."
Now you might be thinking, there are a lot of good people in the world. There a few reasons for this. After the flood we see the institution of laws to govern human behavior. Immediately after the flood in Genesis 9:6 God issued this edict: 'Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed." This would serve as a deterent to mankind destroying himself. Law was and is necessary to control human nature but that is all it can do. It cannot change man's inherent sinfulness. Law is like putting a lion in a cage. You can prevent a lion from killing other animals but it won't change the nature of a lion. And if the cage is removed the lion will immediately try to kill and eat another animal. It is the same way with man's sinful nature. We see that in our society as the restraints are being removed and things that were once considered deviant are now considered the norm.
Another reason there are so many good people is because we, in the western world are reeping the benefits of a long legacy of Christian values. By the time the last disciple of Jesus had gone on to his reward the gospel had taken a stronghold through much of Southern Europe. That means we have had nearly 2,000 years of the gospel influencing civilization. In The United States, the vast majority of our founding fathers were Christians and many of our oldest institutions, hospitals and universities were founded by Christians. When missionaries travel to places where there has been no Judeo/Christian influence often the people live like savages. Human depravity.
God sets the standard and God IS the standard
The biggest reason we perceive so much goodness in people is because we are defining what is 'good' by our own standards rather than God's standard. Isaiah 64:6 says that all of our righteousness is like filthy rags. When Isaiah saw the Lord in the temple he was immediately aware of his own sinfulness (Isaiah 6:5). Peter had a very similar experience when he met Jesus; "Go away from me Lord' I am a sinful man." (Luke 5:8) There is no reason to believe that either Isaiah or Peter were particularly sinful. Acts 10:14 gives evidence that Peter had adhered to the law very strictly. But when faced with the perfect holiness of God, they became aware of their inherent sinfulness. This is the reason the people wanted Jesus crucified. He exposed sinfullness.
In an effort to be relevant to the culture we have allowed the world's systems to shape our definition of good rather than stand on God's word. Often that means we have allowed the world's philosophies to shape our theology. We have become very accepting of behaviors that the Word of God declares as sinful.
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." (Isaiah 5:20)
We as followers of Christ must have this truth completely settled:
THE CULTURE IS NOT RELEVANT!!! THE CHURCH IS THE ONLY THING THAT IS RELEVANT!
The only thing in this present world that is going to outlast the world is the church and we would do well to remember that. If we align ourselves with the world and it's philosophies we will likely perish with the world. The message the early church preached was one of warning:
"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' " (Acts 2:40)
In the words of Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones, "The gospel has but one message for the unrepentant sinner, judgment awaits." On that day when we stand before God none of our opinions and ideas will matter. The only thing that will matter will be if we had surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ as our savior. That means surrendering our personal opinions about right and wrong. What we may think about sexual orientation, gender identity and sanctity of life won't matter.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12
To wrap this up, I want to address some objections:
A good God would never send people to hell.
If God is good, why is there so much evil.
I will finish by quoting what the apostle Paul said in Romans 9:20: "But who are you O man to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"
God isn't running a democracy. He doesn't ask for our opinions and he doesn't need to. He has every right to expect perfect obedience from us because we belong to him. The question is whether or not we will submit to his authority or not.
The good news
When we understand that God is completely sovereign in his power and authority, we also realize that he would be completely justified if he judged all of us guilty and condemned us for all eternity. That is what makes grace so amazing. He made a way possible for us to be saved. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Confessing Jesus is Lord is not simply stating a nice sentiment. In Rome of Paul's day you would be putting your life on the line to make such a statement because only Ceasar was Lord. This means complete submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life. Thanks be to God that he did make way possible for us to be saved.
May God richly bless all of you.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
The Christian Mandate to Expose Heresy and Heretics
'"I urge you brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they decieve the minds of naive people." Romans 16:17
Often we hear about how the modern church lacks the power that the early church had as recorded in the New Testament. It is true, The Holy Spirit was moving powerfully among the brothers in the early church. There is something else I have noticed as I read through the New Testament. Much of what the apostles wrote was in defence of the truth of the gospel and refuting false teachings. Paul exhorted Timothy to teach what he had been taught and told him of the future time:
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 2 Timothy 4:3
Because of this it is absolutely vital that we preach the gospel and teach sound doctrine accurately. Often that means we need to expose heresies and those who are preaching them. Paul called out Demas and Alexander in 2 Timothy 4 and the apostle John called out Diotrephes in 3 John 9. We need to start calling out the heretics and start naming names.
Paul said that people would surround themselves by MANY teachers. Jesus also said there would be MANY false teachers (Matthew 24).
You may think I am going out on a limb somewhat but I really believe that we need to be prepared for the possibility that the significant majority of preachers today fall into the "FALSE TEACHER" category. That would mean it is literally a spiritual jungle out there. And it may be hard to find someone who is a true follower of Christ who preaches the gospel. Jesus described his church as a 'little flock.' (Luke 12:32). That doesn't mean there aren't huge churches who truly teach the gospel. But the Prosperity Gospel, Word/Faith movement, and the Emergent Church draw huge followings. Their message all has something in common;
THEY APPEAL TO THOSE WHO AREN'T ACTUALLY BEING SAVED!!
It is exactly as Paul described in 2 Timothy, they surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear...and it is NOT the gospel.
I would be remiss if I didn't give an honorable mention to the other extreme...dead orthodoxy. This found commonly in the old denominations steeped in rituals that while perhaps, doctrinally accurate, no longer have any meaning. Jesus described this in Revelation 2:4 as having forsaken their first love. This also appeals to those who aren't truly saved because it makes people feel like as long as they belong and attend, they're OK.
Finally and this is paramount, we need to be as the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and "search the scriptures" every day to see if what we are being taught is what the Bible really teaches.
May God bless you all.
Often we hear about how the modern church lacks the power that the early church had as recorded in the New Testament. It is true, The Holy Spirit was moving powerfully among the brothers in the early church. There is something else I have noticed as I read through the New Testament. Much of what the apostles wrote was in defence of the truth of the gospel and refuting false teachings. Paul exhorted Timothy to teach what he had been taught and told him of the future time:
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 2 Timothy 4:3
Because of this it is absolutely vital that we preach the gospel and teach sound doctrine accurately. Often that means we need to expose heresies and those who are preaching them. Paul called out Demas and Alexander in 2 Timothy 4 and the apostle John called out Diotrephes in 3 John 9. We need to start calling out the heretics and start naming names.
Paul said that people would surround themselves by MANY teachers. Jesus also said there would be MANY false teachers (Matthew 24).
You may think I am going out on a limb somewhat but I really believe that we need to be prepared for the possibility that the significant majority of preachers today fall into the "FALSE TEACHER" category. That would mean it is literally a spiritual jungle out there. And it may be hard to find someone who is a true follower of Christ who preaches the gospel. Jesus described his church as a 'little flock.' (Luke 12:32). That doesn't mean there aren't huge churches who truly teach the gospel. But the Prosperity Gospel, Word/Faith movement, and the Emergent Church draw huge followings. Their message all has something in common;
THEY APPEAL TO THOSE WHO AREN'T ACTUALLY BEING SAVED!!
It is exactly as Paul described in 2 Timothy, they surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear...and it is NOT the gospel.
I would be remiss if I didn't give an honorable mention to the other extreme...dead orthodoxy. This found commonly in the old denominations steeped in rituals that while perhaps, doctrinally accurate, no longer have any meaning. Jesus described this in Revelation 2:4 as having forsaken their first love. This also appeals to those who aren't truly saved because it makes people feel like as long as they belong and attend, they're OK.
Finally and this is paramount, we need to be as the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and "search the scriptures" every day to see if what we are being taught is what the Bible really teaches.
May God bless you all.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Preachers, Please Keep Your Opinions to Yourself
"So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God." Romans 14:22
"God alone is Lord of the conscience and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments
of men which are in any way contrary to or different from his word in matters of faith or
worship.10 And so, believing any such teachings or obeying any such commandments of men
for conscience’s sake actually betrays true freedom of conscience.11 Requiring implicit or
absolute, blind obedience also destroys freedom of conscience as well as the free use of
reason." Westminster Confession of Faith
I feel like I need to clarify something right up front.
I AM NOT ADVOCATING DOING ANYTHING THAT VIOLATES THE CONSCIENCE OR THAT A PERSON MAY HAVE STRONG CONVICTIONS AGAINST.
Causing someone to stumble
Some time ago I was having a conversation with a fellow brother about the first few verses in Romans 14. A point he brought up is that you could literally never do anything because there are any number of things that could be a stumbling block. What if one person gets offended because I eat meat but another person gets offended because I don't? As I thought about it I came to the conclusion that the issue isn't so much that people who are new in the faith have preconceived ideas because they haven't fully learned the tenets of the gospel. It's that many people have been led by overzealous preachers to believe certain things that the Bible does not teach.
The Danger of Preaching from Personal Conviction
In Deuteronomy 4:2 God said, "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it." The Apostle Paul expressed something similar in 1 Corinthians 4:6, "Do not go beyond what is written." And Revelation 22: 18-19 warns against adding to or taking from what has been written. By the time Jesus came the first time the religious leaders had added so many of their own rules and regulations to the Law of Moses that it bore very little resemblance to what it had been originally. In trying to be even more righteous than the law required they actually disobeyed the law and became more sinful.
The church age has been no different.
It seems that in our humanity we want to know exactly what we can and cannot do..."Just tell me what to do and I'll do it." Our fallen human nature will always default to a legalistic mindset because in our fallen state we don't really believe we need God. Too often even well meaning preachers will accomodate the human nature and declare rules from the pulpit which foster a kind of modern Phariseeism. And very often, too often in fact, it is preachers who have a desire to control people and in their humanness seek to put burdens on the conscience where God has not done so. Aside from the fact that this 'rule making' nagates the doctrine of grace, all too often these rules go beyond what the scripture teaches and are nothing more than opinions dressed up as scriptural mandates. Jesus said in Matthew 15:9:
"They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."
Here are a few teachings that many have believed that are not bibical.
Drinking alcohol is a sin.
There is nothing in scripture that supports the idea that consuming alcohol is sinful. It is often laughable the lengths that some will go to to attempt to prove that the scripture does prohibit alcohol. Many have tried to say that Jesus turned water into 'non-alcoholic' wine, etc. In making such assertions they overlook the fact that scripture is very clear that drinking too much of this 'non-alcoholic' wine will make you drunk. Drunkennes is sinful, but there is a world of difference between having a drink and being drunk. One should note that gluttony is also a sin. Yet we need to eat in order to live. But at some point the consumption of food in a healthy (and yes, enjoyable) way becomes excessive. The same rule applies to alcohol. The Bible speaks much about self control and moderation. For some people who are prone to addictions, it may be better to completely abstain from alcohol. But that should be a personal choice not to be enforced on other believers.
Smoking is a sin.
There is no commandment in the Bible that says 'thou shalt not smoke." Often those who assert that smoking is in fact a sin will invoke 1 Corinthians 6:19, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" If we are to be fair we need to apply this passage to every activity that we engage our body in; eating, exercise, recreation, etc. However, if we look at the context of this verse it becomes clear that it is speaking of sexual immorality. The previous verse explains that sexual sins are different than other sins in their effect. It is important to read verse 19 in it's proper context: vv. 18: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside the body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
Now personally, I have a hard time seeing any benefit to smoking. The jury is back, smoking is not healthy and I think we need to be good stewards of what God has given us. That includes this 'tent of flesh' he has given us for this lifetime. But it also seems that moderation is important here as well. There is a big difference bewtween a pack-a-day smoker and someone who enjoys a cigar on the weekend. Again while there may be compelling reasons not to smoke, the Scripture does not define it as sin and we have no business passing judgment on each other in such cases.
Dancing, movies, television, parties
The Bible does not contain any prohibitions against any of these things.
Be aware of the many things the Bible DOES define as sinful.
Often in our zeal to judge certain activities as sinful we have a tendency to neglect things that scripture does condemn. Things like gossip, slander. sexual immorality, (any sexual activiity outside of marriage--marriage being defined as the union between one man and one woman) and lying are clearly defined as sinful. 1 Coritnthians 6:9-10 lists a number of sins that will keep people from entering the Kingdom of God. The fact is, much of the New Testament writing contains exhortations on how we, as believers are to live.
We must never presume upon the goodness and mercy of God and think for one moment that he will simply overlook sin. He will judge sin. And the gospel message has only one message for the unrepentant sinner; "JUDGMENT AWAITS!! But at the same time we need to make a clear distinction between what the scripture defines as sin and what is not sin. It is also true that if a man is convicted that something is sinful then it is sinful to him because (Romans 14:23) "Everything that does not come from faith is sin. In the words of C. H. Spurgeon:
"Why a man may think it a sin to have his boots blacked. Well then, let him give it up and have them whitewashed instead."
The point is that we should not do things that violate our conscience in issues that the scripture is otherwise silent. But we, especially those of us who teach, must not place the burden of our own conscience on other believers.
Just because the Bible doesn't define something as sin doesn't mean it is automatically OK.
"everything is permissible for me--but not everything is beneficial. everything is permeissible--but I will not be mastered by anything." 1 Corinthians 6:12. While the Bible does not define any of the aforementioned things as sin. It is important to ask God to give discernment because in some circumstances and in some cases it may be sinful. For example, while the consumption of alcohol is not defined as 'sin' in some cases it might be better to abstain. The same with things like dancing and movies, etc. Some movies and some dancing are completely inappropriate while others are fine. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. Jesus said that the Counselor would teach us all things and remind us of everything He said (John 14:26)
Galations 5:13 and 1 Peter 2:16 both admonish us to live as free men but not to use our freedom as license to sin. I Corinthians 10:31 tells us that everything we do should be for the Glory of God.
Pastors are shepherds, not sherrifs.
The word pastor only shows up one time in the New Testament. It's in Ephesians 4:11, It comes from a Latin word that means shepherd and in other cases it is translated 'shepherd."
It is the job of the pastor to shephard the flock. That means providing guidance, care, exhortation, teaching, and sometimes rebuke. Every person who functions in the capacity of a shepherd should take heed to what James said in James 3:1;
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."
Paul gave this exhortation to Timothy:
"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." 2 Timothy 2:15
If you are a pastor or teacher or any type of leader in the body I would encourage you to really take these verses to heart. Teach what the Bible teaches. Guide your flocks in Biblical principles that apply to life. But take great care to make sure that you are not deviating from the text. And for those of you who sit under the teaching, be as the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and 'search the scriptures' to see if what you are being taught is true.
May you all be truly blessed by the riches of God's grace.
"God alone is Lord of the conscience and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments
of men which are in any way contrary to or different from his word in matters of faith or
worship.10 And so, believing any such teachings or obeying any such commandments of men
for conscience’s sake actually betrays true freedom of conscience.11 Requiring implicit or
absolute, blind obedience also destroys freedom of conscience as well as the free use of
reason." Westminster Confession of Faith
I feel like I need to clarify something right up front.
I AM NOT ADVOCATING DOING ANYTHING THAT VIOLATES THE CONSCIENCE OR THAT A PERSON MAY HAVE STRONG CONVICTIONS AGAINST.
Causing someone to stumble
Some time ago I was having a conversation with a fellow brother about the first few verses in Romans 14. A point he brought up is that you could literally never do anything because there are any number of things that could be a stumbling block. What if one person gets offended because I eat meat but another person gets offended because I don't? As I thought about it I came to the conclusion that the issue isn't so much that people who are new in the faith have preconceived ideas because they haven't fully learned the tenets of the gospel. It's that many people have been led by overzealous preachers to believe certain things that the Bible does not teach.
The Danger of Preaching from Personal Conviction
In Deuteronomy 4:2 God said, "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it." The Apostle Paul expressed something similar in 1 Corinthians 4:6, "Do not go beyond what is written." And Revelation 22: 18-19 warns against adding to or taking from what has been written. By the time Jesus came the first time the religious leaders had added so many of their own rules and regulations to the Law of Moses that it bore very little resemblance to what it had been originally. In trying to be even more righteous than the law required they actually disobeyed the law and became more sinful.
The church age has been no different.
It seems that in our humanity we want to know exactly what we can and cannot do..."Just tell me what to do and I'll do it." Our fallen human nature will always default to a legalistic mindset because in our fallen state we don't really believe we need God. Too often even well meaning preachers will accomodate the human nature and declare rules from the pulpit which foster a kind of modern Phariseeism. And very often, too often in fact, it is preachers who have a desire to control people and in their humanness seek to put burdens on the conscience where God has not done so. Aside from the fact that this 'rule making' nagates the doctrine of grace, all too often these rules go beyond what the scripture teaches and are nothing more than opinions dressed up as scriptural mandates. Jesus said in Matthew 15:9:
"They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."
Here are a few teachings that many have believed that are not bibical.
Drinking alcohol is a sin.
There is nothing in scripture that supports the idea that consuming alcohol is sinful. It is often laughable the lengths that some will go to to attempt to prove that the scripture does prohibit alcohol. Many have tried to say that Jesus turned water into 'non-alcoholic' wine, etc. In making such assertions they overlook the fact that scripture is very clear that drinking too much of this 'non-alcoholic' wine will make you drunk. Drunkennes is sinful, but there is a world of difference between having a drink and being drunk. One should note that gluttony is also a sin. Yet we need to eat in order to live. But at some point the consumption of food in a healthy (and yes, enjoyable) way becomes excessive. The same rule applies to alcohol. The Bible speaks much about self control and moderation. For some people who are prone to addictions, it may be better to completely abstain from alcohol. But that should be a personal choice not to be enforced on other believers.
Smoking is a sin.
There is no commandment in the Bible that says 'thou shalt not smoke." Often those who assert that smoking is in fact a sin will invoke 1 Corinthians 6:19, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" If we are to be fair we need to apply this passage to every activity that we engage our body in; eating, exercise, recreation, etc. However, if we look at the context of this verse it becomes clear that it is speaking of sexual immorality. The previous verse explains that sexual sins are different than other sins in their effect. It is important to read verse 19 in it's proper context: vv. 18: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside the body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
Now personally, I have a hard time seeing any benefit to smoking. The jury is back, smoking is not healthy and I think we need to be good stewards of what God has given us. That includes this 'tent of flesh' he has given us for this lifetime. But it also seems that moderation is important here as well. There is a big difference bewtween a pack-a-day smoker and someone who enjoys a cigar on the weekend. Again while there may be compelling reasons not to smoke, the Scripture does not define it as sin and we have no business passing judgment on each other in such cases.
Dancing, movies, television, parties
The Bible does not contain any prohibitions against any of these things.
Be aware of the many things the Bible DOES define as sinful.
Often in our zeal to judge certain activities as sinful we have a tendency to neglect things that scripture does condemn. Things like gossip, slander. sexual immorality, (any sexual activiity outside of marriage--marriage being defined as the union between one man and one woman) and lying are clearly defined as sinful. 1 Coritnthians 6:9-10 lists a number of sins that will keep people from entering the Kingdom of God. The fact is, much of the New Testament writing contains exhortations on how we, as believers are to live.
We must never presume upon the goodness and mercy of God and think for one moment that he will simply overlook sin. He will judge sin. And the gospel message has only one message for the unrepentant sinner; "JUDGMENT AWAITS!! But at the same time we need to make a clear distinction between what the scripture defines as sin and what is not sin. It is also true that if a man is convicted that something is sinful then it is sinful to him because (Romans 14:23) "Everything that does not come from faith is sin. In the words of C. H. Spurgeon:
"Why a man may think it a sin to have his boots blacked. Well then, let him give it up and have them whitewashed instead."
The point is that we should not do things that violate our conscience in issues that the scripture is otherwise silent. But we, especially those of us who teach, must not place the burden of our own conscience on other believers.
Just because the Bible doesn't define something as sin doesn't mean it is automatically OK.
"everything is permissible for me--but not everything is beneficial. everything is permeissible--but I will not be mastered by anything." 1 Corinthians 6:12. While the Bible does not define any of the aforementioned things as sin. It is important to ask God to give discernment because in some circumstances and in some cases it may be sinful. For example, while the consumption of alcohol is not defined as 'sin' in some cases it might be better to abstain. The same with things like dancing and movies, etc. Some movies and some dancing are completely inappropriate while others are fine. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. Jesus said that the Counselor would teach us all things and remind us of everything He said (John 14:26)
Galations 5:13 and 1 Peter 2:16 both admonish us to live as free men but not to use our freedom as license to sin. I Corinthians 10:31 tells us that everything we do should be for the Glory of God.
Pastors are shepherds, not sherrifs.
The word pastor only shows up one time in the New Testament. It's in Ephesians 4:11, It comes from a Latin word that means shepherd and in other cases it is translated 'shepherd."
It is the job of the pastor to shephard the flock. That means providing guidance, care, exhortation, teaching, and sometimes rebuke. Every person who functions in the capacity of a shepherd should take heed to what James said in James 3:1;
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly."
Paul gave this exhortation to Timothy:
"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." 2 Timothy 2:15
If you are a pastor or teacher or any type of leader in the body I would encourage you to really take these verses to heart. Teach what the Bible teaches. Guide your flocks in Biblical principles that apply to life. But take great care to make sure that you are not deviating from the text. And for those of you who sit under the teaching, be as the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and 'search the scriptures' to see if what you are being taught is true.
May you all be truly blessed by the riches of God's grace.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
If Man is Totally Depraved, Why Are There So Many Good People?
"Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed." Galations 3:23
When speaking of 'total depravity' it is often stated that total depravity does not mean that human beings are totally wicked. It means that every aspect of our being, our mind, will emotions and flesh is corrupted by sin. But if that is the case, is there something that has restrained human nature to keep it from becoming absolutely wicked?
The beginning
The first six chapters of the book of genesis covers about 1,700 years of human history, from creation to the Noatian flood. What we learn from those chapters is where everything came from, who the first humans were, how sin entered the world, people lived a very long time, and that people had become so wicked that God decided to destroy everything and start over.
"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." Genesis 6:5
"Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence." Genesis 6:11
Most of us are familiar with the account of the flood. God saved Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives as well as a small number of all animal life and started over. After the flood we see something introduced that we had never seen before:
The first reason there are so many good people
"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." Genesis 9:6
This is the first time we have any form of civil law that would govern how people would live. As I mentioned already, there are 1,700 years of history that we know very little about. As far as we know there were no civil laws governing human behavior. But immediately in the post-flood world God issued an edict of capitol punishment for murder. That would prevent the world from being full of violence because now there would be a deterent. A few Hundred years later with the birth of the nation of Israel, the law was given to Moses. With this institution of law human nature would have restraints placed on it that would control mankind and keep him from destroying himself.
I heard a pastor describe it this way:
"Law is like putting a hungry lion in a cage in the middle of a pasture full of sheep. The lion by nature wants to kill and eat the sheep. But the bars of the cage will prevent the lion from doing so. But the bars don't change the lion's nautre from being a lion. If you remove the cage the lion will go out and kill a sheep."
That is a good description of how law works to restrain human nature. The lead off verse in Galations 3 describes us as being held prisoners of the law until faith came. The gospel message is not only are we saved from the judgment our sins deserve but through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers, their nature is changed. Ezekiel 36;26 describes this change of nature as having our heart of stone removed and replaced with a heart of flesh. Verse 27 says that God places his spirit in us and moves us to keep his laws. It would be as if you could change the nature of the lion into the nature of a sheep. Now when you remove the cage the lion has no desire to kill and eat sheep, the lion wants to go live with the sheep.
The second reason there are so many good people
So the first reason so many people are 'good' is because law restrains human nature. Just before Jesus went back into heaven nearly two millenia ago, he comissioned the disciple to go into the world and preach the gospel and make disciples. By the end of the first century nearly all of Southern Europe had been reached with the gospel. By the early 4th century, with the conversion of Constantine, Christianity was the official religion of the Roman empire. While It cannot be disputed that Constanine's edict brought it's own set of problems, the Christian worldview has been free to have tremendous impact on western culture for the past 1,700 years. I don't agree with the notion that this country we live in, The United States of America, was founded as a 'Christian' nation. However, one cannot make light of the fact that most of the founders were in fact, Christians and they used principles found in the Bible as they laid the framework for how this nation was to be conceived. Many of the institutions of higher learning were founded by Christians for the purpose of advancing the gospel. Many of our older hospitals were founded by Christians as well.
So the fact remains that we in the western world have a nearly 2,000 year legacy of the gospel impacting our culture and we are still benefiting today from that impact.
What does the future hold?
In recent years we have seen growing antagonism for the Christian gospel. It began much earlier with people like Darwin who tried to explain the universe and all that is, without having to acknowledge the existence of God. That allowed man to truly be his own person. In the last 30 years (since I have been an adult) we have seen the legalization of abortion and the expansion of it and the redefinition of marriage among other things. We have seen the Bible taken out of the public school and continue to see it taken out of the public arena.
What has been the result?
The result has been that once we got rid of the notion of absolute morality we began 'defining deviancy down' (Nod to the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan). We now tolerate levels of immorality that would have been unthinkable even a generation ago. And it's getting worse almost by the day. If we continue on this trend we can fully expect that people will become just as God said after the flood in Genesis 8: 21: "...every inclination of the heart is evil from childhood."
We who are followers of Christ need to understand this about human nature. People do not have the ability to restrain themselves. Contrary to what some secular philosophers have said, man didn't invent morality. God did, and the good we see particularly in the Western world was carried by those who followed God and impacted culture with their worldview. But in this post-modern anti- God age, we are quickly destroying morality. As the foundations are being destroyed and the restraints are cast off, the wickedness will only increase until the point God will have to intervene in the end times or as he said in Matthew 24: 22, "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."
As West German Chancellor Konrad Adenhour said, "Apart from the return of Jesus Christ there is no hope for mankind."
But thank God that Jesus Christ is going to return and there is hope.
When speaking of 'total depravity' it is often stated that total depravity does not mean that human beings are totally wicked. It means that every aspect of our being, our mind, will emotions and flesh is corrupted by sin. But if that is the case, is there something that has restrained human nature to keep it from becoming absolutely wicked?
The beginning
The first six chapters of the book of genesis covers about 1,700 years of human history, from creation to the Noatian flood. What we learn from those chapters is where everything came from, who the first humans were, how sin entered the world, people lived a very long time, and that people had become so wicked that God decided to destroy everything and start over.
"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." Genesis 6:5
"Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence." Genesis 6:11
Most of us are familiar with the account of the flood. God saved Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives as well as a small number of all animal life and started over. After the flood we see something introduced that we had never seen before:
The first reason there are so many good people
"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." Genesis 9:6
This is the first time we have any form of civil law that would govern how people would live. As I mentioned already, there are 1,700 years of history that we know very little about. As far as we know there were no civil laws governing human behavior. But immediately in the post-flood world God issued an edict of capitol punishment for murder. That would prevent the world from being full of violence because now there would be a deterent. A few Hundred years later with the birth of the nation of Israel, the law was given to Moses. With this institution of law human nature would have restraints placed on it that would control mankind and keep him from destroying himself.
I heard a pastor describe it this way:
"Law is like putting a hungry lion in a cage in the middle of a pasture full of sheep. The lion by nature wants to kill and eat the sheep. But the bars of the cage will prevent the lion from doing so. But the bars don't change the lion's nautre from being a lion. If you remove the cage the lion will go out and kill a sheep."
That is a good description of how law works to restrain human nature. The lead off verse in Galations 3 describes us as being held prisoners of the law until faith came. The gospel message is not only are we saved from the judgment our sins deserve but through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers, their nature is changed. Ezekiel 36;26 describes this change of nature as having our heart of stone removed and replaced with a heart of flesh. Verse 27 says that God places his spirit in us and moves us to keep his laws. It would be as if you could change the nature of the lion into the nature of a sheep. Now when you remove the cage the lion has no desire to kill and eat sheep, the lion wants to go live with the sheep.
The second reason there are so many good people
So the first reason so many people are 'good' is because law restrains human nature. Just before Jesus went back into heaven nearly two millenia ago, he comissioned the disciple to go into the world and preach the gospel and make disciples. By the end of the first century nearly all of Southern Europe had been reached with the gospel. By the early 4th century, with the conversion of Constantine, Christianity was the official religion of the Roman empire. While It cannot be disputed that Constanine's edict brought it's own set of problems, the Christian worldview has been free to have tremendous impact on western culture for the past 1,700 years. I don't agree with the notion that this country we live in, The United States of America, was founded as a 'Christian' nation. However, one cannot make light of the fact that most of the founders were in fact, Christians and they used principles found in the Bible as they laid the framework for how this nation was to be conceived. Many of the institutions of higher learning were founded by Christians for the purpose of advancing the gospel. Many of our older hospitals were founded by Christians as well.
So the fact remains that we in the western world have a nearly 2,000 year legacy of the gospel impacting our culture and we are still benefiting today from that impact.
What does the future hold?
In recent years we have seen growing antagonism for the Christian gospel. It began much earlier with people like Darwin who tried to explain the universe and all that is, without having to acknowledge the existence of God. That allowed man to truly be his own person. In the last 30 years (since I have been an adult) we have seen the legalization of abortion and the expansion of it and the redefinition of marriage among other things. We have seen the Bible taken out of the public school and continue to see it taken out of the public arena.
What has been the result?
The result has been that once we got rid of the notion of absolute morality we began 'defining deviancy down' (Nod to the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan). We now tolerate levels of immorality that would have been unthinkable even a generation ago. And it's getting worse almost by the day. If we continue on this trend we can fully expect that people will become just as God said after the flood in Genesis 8: 21: "...every inclination of the heart is evil from childhood."
We who are followers of Christ need to understand this about human nature. People do not have the ability to restrain themselves. Contrary to what some secular philosophers have said, man didn't invent morality. God did, and the good we see particularly in the Western world was carried by those who followed God and impacted culture with their worldview. But in this post-modern anti- God age, we are quickly destroying morality. As the foundations are being destroyed and the restraints are cast off, the wickedness will only increase until the point God will have to intervene in the end times or as he said in Matthew 24: 22, "If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."
As West German Chancellor Konrad Adenhour said, "Apart from the return of Jesus Christ there is no hope for mankind."
But thank God that Jesus Christ is going to return and there is hope.
Sunday, February 3, 2019
ABORTION AND GOD'S SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY
I know that I am risking being labeled a patriarchal mysogynist, so let me set the record straight right up front: I don't have the right to tell any woman (or man for that matter) what they may or may not do with their own body. Nobody will ever have to give an account to me for what they have done. I also know that I will never be held accountable by the God of all creation for the decisions anyone else may or may not make. I do believe very strongly that God at times convicts us that we need to speak up and if I choose to remain silent, I will have to give account to him one day for why I remained silent when he wanted me to speak. So I am writing the following with the conviction that I am supposed to be writing this and sharing it. You have every opportunity to read it or continue scrolling to the next item. So if you you find what I have written to be offensive keep in mind that you made the choice to read this.
ABORTION
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1
Before we even begin to discuss the abortion issue we must establish and understand ownership. Who does it all belong to? This verse in Psalm 24 clearly states that God owns everything. That means we are simply stewards of his creation who have been charged with taking care of his belongings. We are not our own and the things we have in our possesion don't truly belong to us. If any of us are parents we are simply stewards of these young children. They belong to God and we have been charged with taking care of them for Him.
Because God owns everything that exists, including ourselves, we are also obligated to him for what we do with what he has placed in our care. That places constraints on a woman's 'right to choose.' We dont really have the right to choose because we are not our own and our children are not our own. We must answer to Him. Revelation 20:11-15 describes the future time of judgment when everyone who has ever lived will have to give account of his/her life and they will be judged by what they had done.
Murder is sin.
'You shall not murder." Exodus 20: 14
"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood also be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." Genesis 9:6
Murder is defined by the dictionary as the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. God emphatically forbids murder to the point that the penalty for murder was that their own life would be required. It is a capitol offence. The reason is because man is made in the image of God. As such, man is special and different than the rest of creation. We are the image bearers of God. Now don't misunderstand me here. It is not our job to execute judgment. Some have done that and it is wrong. Romans 13:4 explains that the government authorities are charged with that job, NOT US. God will hold them accountable for how they did what was required of them. But we are still responsible for how we take care of those who he has entrusted to our care.
It comes down to the great commandments:
Love God and love your neighbor (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37)
Is the fetus actually a person?
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" Jeremiah 1:5
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb" Psalm 139: 13
These verses really need no commentary. It is completely clear that the unborn child is a human being that God personally created in the womb. Even from the womb every person who has ever been conceived was and is an image bearer of God. That means killing them is murder.
But a woman has the right to choose.
Yes. We all have a right to choose...to obey or disobey. We also will be called into account for the choices we made. God will not leave the guilty unpunished. (Exodus 34:7) So we are free to choose, but there are consequences to our choices. Deuteronomy 30:19:
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live."
It is a choice. But it is not a choice without consequences.
What if an abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother?
There is absolutely no situation where a baby in utero must be killed in order to save the life of the mother. Dr. Anthony Levatino explains that if a womans life is in danger due to toxemia or eclampsia, there simply isn't enough time to prepare a woman's cervix to perform an abortion (possibly a few days). In such cases a C-section which can be accomplished in about an hour is the remedy.
Another situation often invoked to make the case of why abortion is ncessary is to protect a woman's 'health.' That was covered in another Supreme Court ruling called Doe vs. Bolton. The text reads, "medical judgment may be exercised in light of all factors -- physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age -- relevant to the wellbeing of the patient. All these factors may relate to health." That means when you see the exception in cases when it is necessary to protect a woman's health, the word 'health' can mean absolutely anything the abortionist, who stands to make a profit, wants it to mean.
What if the baby is going to be born with birth defects?
"The Lord said to him, 'Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?' " Exodus 4:11
Whether a child is born with birth defects or not doesn't change the fact that this child is also an image bearer of God and God created that child. We don't have the right to kill this child.
Many women have been encouraged to have an abortion because their child was going to be severely handicapped. Many who chose to carry the child anyway gave birth to a perfectly healthy child who had absolutely nothing wrong with them. The Doctor was wrong!
What if the baby is not viable?
It's not an abortion if the baby has died in the womb.
You don't know what a woman goes through.
No I don't. That is true. But it still doesn't change the fact that this unborn child is a special creation and image bearer of God and belongs to God and we don't have the right before him to decide if the child lives or dies.
I also feel for women because the entire abortion issue is based on a lie. It has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with women's health. Abortion itself is extremely dangerous and many women have been severely wounded by the procedures and some have died. My heart goes out to women who were lied to and told that they needed an abortion and later found out that because of the procedure they had their reproductive system damaged and could not have children later when they wanted them. Abortion is not only the murder of the most vulnerable and innocent humans among us, it is also a violent assault on the mothers who carry them. God told the Israelites to choose life. Abortion is choosing death and we must be clear about that.
I don't believe in God
If I have seemed harsh and direct it is because my primary intended audience is to those who do believe in God and even claim Jesus Christ as their personal savior. As such, this shouldn't even be an issue. But let me address those who are agnostic/atheists for a moment. To believe in something or to disbelieve has absolutely no effect on whether something is true or not. All belief or unbelief determines is that you either believe something that is true or something that is false. To not believe in God doesn't make him cease to exist. I would suggest if you don't believe in God that you do some serious, honest investigation into the evidence for a creator because the ramifications are extremely serious if it turns out that you're wrong. I would suggest you read Lee Strobel's The case For Christ
But I have had an abortion. What now?
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24
There is no sin that you could possibly commit that the blood of Jesus Christ can't cover. If you are carrying the guilt from having had an abortion I want you to know that this promise in 1 John is absolutely trustworthy. If you confess your sin God will forgive you. King David was a man after God's own heart. But he sinned horribly when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband murdered to conceal what he had done. When he was confronted by Nathan the prophet, David said, "I have sinned against the Lord." Immediately Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin." David was instantly forgiven. There were still consequences but the guilt was gone. David wrote in Psalm 32:1-2;
"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him."
If you have truly repented and asked God to forgive you, your sin is completely gone. You will never have that sin brought up again and it will never be counted against you. It is as if it never happened. You are declared innocent. 1 Corinthians 5:21 says "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus is the God of all creation and is greater than all that is. His death on the cross is more than sufficient to cover all our sins, if we will believe and place our trust in him. I hope and pray that you will trust him and find the blessedness that comes from having your sins forgiven.
May God convict those who need to be convicted of sin, and may he forgive those who need to be forgiven. And in all cases may his richest blessings be upon all of you.
ABORTION
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1
Before we even begin to discuss the abortion issue we must establish and understand ownership. Who does it all belong to? This verse in Psalm 24 clearly states that God owns everything. That means we are simply stewards of his creation who have been charged with taking care of his belongings. We are not our own and the things we have in our possesion don't truly belong to us. If any of us are parents we are simply stewards of these young children. They belong to God and we have been charged with taking care of them for Him.
Because God owns everything that exists, including ourselves, we are also obligated to him for what we do with what he has placed in our care. That places constraints on a woman's 'right to choose.' We dont really have the right to choose because we are not our own and our children are not our own. We must answer to Him. Revelation 20:11-15 describes the future time of judgment when everyone who has ever lived will have to give account of his/her life and they will be judged by what they had done.
Murder is sin.
'You shall not murder." Exodus 20: 14
"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood also be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." Genesis 9:6
Murder is defined by the dictionary as the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. God emphatically forbids murder to the point that the penalty for murder was that their own life would be required. It is a capitol offence. The reason is because man is made in the image of God. As such, man is special and different than the rest of creation. We are the image bearers of God. Now don't misunderstand me here. It is not our job to execute judgment. Some have done that and it is wrong. Romans 13:4 explains that the government authorities are charged with that job, NOT US. God will hold them accountable for how they did what was required of them. But we are still responsible for how we take care of those who he has entrusted to our care.
It comes down to the great commandments:
Love God and love your neighbor (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37)
Is the fetus actually a person?
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations" Jeremiah 1:5
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb" Psalm 139: 13
These verses really need no commentary. It is completely clear that the unborn child is a human being that God personally created in the womb. Even from the womb every person who has ever been conceived was and is an image bearer of God. That means killing them is murder.
But a woman has the right to choose.
Yes. We all have a right to choose...to obey or disobey. We also will be called into account for the choices we made. God will not leave the guilty unpunished. (Exodus 34:7) So we are free to choose, but there are consequences to our choices. Deuteronomy 30:19:
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live."
It is a choice. But it is not a choice without consequences.
What if an abortion is necessary to save the life of the mother?
There is absolutely no situation where a baby in utero must be killed in order to save the life of the mother. Dr. Anthony Levatino explains that if a womans life is in danger due to toxemia or eclampsia, there simply isn't enough time to prepare a woman's cervix to perform an abortion (possibly a few days). In such cases a C-section which can be accomplished in about an hour is the remedy.
Another situation often invoked to make the case of why abortion is ncessary is to protect a woman's 'health.' That was covered in another Supreme Court ruling called Doe vs. Bolton. The text reads, "medical judgment may be exercised in light of all factors -- physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age -- relevant to the wellbeing of the patient. All these factors may relate to health." That means when you see the exception in cases when it is necessary to protect a woman's health, the word 'health' can mean absolutely anything the abortionist, who stands to make a profit, wants it to mean.
What if the baby is going to be born with birth defects?
"The Lord said to him, 'Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?' " Exodus 4:11
Whether a child is born with birth defects or not doesn't change the fact that this child is also an image bearer of God and God created that child. We don't have the right to kill this child.
Many women have been encouraged to have an abortion because their child was going to be severely handicapped. Many who chose to carry the child anyway gave birth to a perfectly healthy child who had absolutely nothing wrong with them. The Doctor was wrong!
What if the baby is not viable?
It's not an abortion if the baby has died in the womb.
You don't know what a woman goes through.
No I don't. That is true. But it still doesn't change the fact that this unborn child is a special creation and image bearer of God and belongs to God and we don't have the right before him to decide if the child lives or dies.
I also feel for women because the entire abortion issue is based on a lie. It has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with women's health. Abortion itself is extremely dangerous and many women have been severely wounded by the procedures and some have died. My heart goes out to women who were lied to and told that they needed an abortion and later found out that because of the procedure they had their reproductive system damaged and could not have children later when they wanted them. Abortion is not only the murder of the most vulnerable and innocent humans among us, it is also a violent assault on the mothers who carry them. God told the Israelites to choose life. Abortion is choosing death and we must be clear about that.
I don't believe in God
If I have seemed harsh and direct it is because my primary intended audience is to those who do believe in God and even claim Jesus Christ as their personal savior. As such, this shouldn't even be an issue. But let me address those who are agnostic/atheists for a moment. To believe in something or to disbelieve has absolutely no effect on whether something is true or not. All belief or unbelief determines is that you either believe something that is true or something that is false. To not believe in God doesn't make him cease to exist. I would suggest if you don't believe in God that you do some serious, honest investigation into the evidence for a creator because the ramifications are extremely serious if it turns out that you're wrong. I would suggest you read Lee Strobel's The case For Christ
But I have had an abortion. What now?
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24
There is no sin that you could possibly commit that the blood of Jesus Christ can't cover. If you are carrying the guilt from having had an abortion I want you to know that this promise in 1 John is absolutely trustworthy. If you confess your sin God will forgive you. King David was a man after God's own heart. But he sinned horribly when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband murdered to conceal what he had done. When he was confronted by Nathan the prophet, David said, "I have sinned against the Lord." Immediately Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin." David was instantly forgiven. There were still consequences but the guilt was gone. David wrote in Psalm 32:1-2;
"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him."
If you have truly repented and asked God to forgive you, your sin is completely gone. You will never have that sin brought up again and it will never be counted against you. It is as if it never happened. You are declared innocent. 1 Corinthians 5:21 says "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus is the God of all creation and is greater than all that is. His death on the cross is more than sufficient to cover all our sins, if we will believe and place our trust in him. I hope and pray that you will trust him and find the blessedness that comes from having your sins forgiven.
May God convict those who need to be convicted of sin, and may he forgive those who need to be forgiven. And in all cases may his richest blessings be upon all of you.
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Doctrine Divides? No! Doctrine Unifies!
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." John 17:20
There is a saying that has become common in the modern era that says 'Doctrine divides but Christ unifies.' In practice it has become commonplace to avoid teaching doctrine in the interest of unity. We want to avoid arguing at all costs in order to create a large umbrella under which the majority can comfortably fit. But is that really what Jesus intended? Why did the apostle Paul tell Titus to "teach what is in accord with sound doctrine"(Titus 2:1) if it was only going to cause divisions. Jesus himself in the 'Great Commision' told his disciples to teach those who would believe "everything he had commanded them" if doctrine wasn't important. The fact is, doctrine unites us.
This very principle is what unites people. In the Old Testament, God gave Moses the law which governed the people of Israel and in so doing, united them. The Old Covenant law was their 'doctrine.' This same principle applies for all nations. We have a constitution and system of laws which governs us as a nation. While there may be similarities with laws of other nations, our system is unique to us and unifies us.
The same is with the church. Our identity is in Christ, but you cannot separate true doctrine from the person of Christ. And some things are true about the Christian gospel and some things are false. That is why doctrine is vital. Jesus said in John 14:15:
"If you love me you will obey what I command."
Yes, we are saved by grace alone. But those of us who are being saved are in the process of being conformed into the perfect image of Christ. The life of the Christian is a life charactorized by 'surrendered obedience.' But in order to be obedient we need to understand what Jesus and his disciples taught so we know what obedience looks like. Therefore we need to study and learn sound doctrine.
The biggest reason for disunity is because we have failed to teach sound doctrine. I find it interesting that so much of the New Testament writing is devoted to correcting false doctrines that have slipped in even while there were still eyewitnesses living. Do we really have any idea how far we've fallen in the nearly two millenia since then? Especially when we don't devote ourselves to the apostles teaching. One of the consequences of neglecting sound doctrine is we find ourselves in the situation of attempting to unify 'sheep and goats.'
It has gotten to the point that many churches seem more concerned about trying to reach out to the 'goats' than they are about caring for the sheep. Charles Spurgeon predicted such a time as we now find ourselves living:
"A time will come when instead of sheperds feeding sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats."
Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:3:
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit there own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."
Notice that Paul said a 'great number of teachers'; not just a few here and there sporadically. Jesus said in Matthew 24:11 that there would be many false prophets who would deceive many. He didn't say just a few. He said MANY. And in verse 24 Jesus said they would even perform signs and miracles in order to deceive. Jude refers to these teachers as 'blemishes at your love feasts, shepherds who feed only themselves, etc.' In verse 19 he said, "These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit."
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Prov. 14:12)
These false teachers are giving people exactly what they want and it IS NOT GOD!
In a large number of cases today (possibly the majority) we are trying to find common ground between those who are truly the followers of Christ, and those who claim to be followers of Christ but demonstrate by what they believe and the way they choose to live that they are really following their own fleshly desires. Why are we trying to unify two groups of people that Jesus intends to separate? Not that we need to be specifically trying to make the separation now but we need to be learning and teaching sound, solid doctrine. Sound doctrine will inevitably separate the sheep from the goats. As the apostle John said in 1 John 2: 19:
"They went out from among us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."
So yes, it is true. Doctrine does divide. It divides the sheep from the goats. And it is supposed to divide the true followers of Christ from those who don't truly follow Him. But then pure, solid doctrine unites those who truly are followers of the Good Sheperd who hear His voice.
1 Corinthians 1:18:
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Beware of any teaching that would be appealing to someone who is not being saved.
There is a saying that has become common in the modern era that says 'Doctrine divides but Christ unifies.' In practice it has become commonplace to avoid teaching doctrine in the interest of unity. We want to avoid arguing at all costs in order to create a large umbrella under which the majority can comfortably fit. But is that really what Jesus intended? Why did the apostle Paul tell Titus to "teach what is in accord with sound doctrine"(Titus 2:1) if it was only going to cause divisions. Jesus himself in the 'Great Commision' told his disciples to teach those who would believe "everything he had commanded them" if doctrine wasn't important. The fact is, doctrine unites us.
This very principle is what unites people. In the Old Testament, God gave Moses the law which governed the people of Israel and in so doing, united them. The Old Covenant law was their 'doctrine.' This same principle applies for all nations. We have a constitution and system of laws which governs us as a nation. While there may be similarities with laws of other nations, our system is unique to us and unifies us.
The same is with the church. Our identity is in Christ, but you cannot separate true doctrine from the person of Christ. And some things are true about the Christian gospel and some things are false. That is why doctrine is vital. Jesus said in John 14:15:
"If you love me you will obey what I command."
Yes, we are saved by grace alone. But those of us who are being saved are in the process of being conformed into the perfect image of Christ. The life of the Christian is a life charactorized by 'surrendered obedience.' But in order to be obedient we need to understand what Jesus and his disciples taught so we know what obedience looks like. Therefore we need to study and learn sound doctrine.
The biggest reason for disunity is because we have failed to teach sound doctrine. I find it interesting that so much of the New Testament writing is devoted to correcting false doctrines that have slipped in even while there were still eyewitnesses living. Do we really have any idea how far we've fallen in the nearly two millenia since then? Especially when we don't devote ourselves to the apostles teaching. One of the consequences of neglecting sound doctrine is we find ourselves in the situation of attempting to unify 'sheep and goats.'
It has gotten to the point that many churches seem more concerned about trying to reach out to the 'goats' than they are about caring for the sheep. Charles Spurgeon predicted such a time as we now find ourselves living:
"A time will come when instead of sheperds feeding sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats."
Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:3:
"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit there own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."
Notice that Paul said a 'great number of teachers'; not just a few here and there sporadically. Jesus said in Matthew 24:11 that there would be many false prophets who would deceive many. He didn't say just a few. He said MANY. And in verse 24 Jesus said they would even perform signs and miracles in order to deceive. Jude refers to these teachers as 'blemishes at your love feasts, shepherds who feed only themselves, etc.' In verse 19 he said, "These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit."
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Prov. 14:12)
These false teachers are giving people exactly what they want and it IS NOT GOD!
In a large number of cases today (possibly the majority) we are trying to find common ground between those who are truly the followers of Christ, and those who claim to be followers of Christ but demonstrate by what they believe and the way they choose to live that they are really following their own fleshly desires. Why are we trying to unify two groups of people that Jesus intends to separate? Not that we need to be specifically trying to make the separation now but we need to be learning and teaching sound, solid doctrine. Sound doctrine will inevitably separate the sheep from the goats. As the apostle John said in 1 John 2: 19:
"They went out from among us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."
So yes, it is true. Doctrine does divide. It divides the sheep from the goats. And it is supposed to divide the true followers of Christ from those who don't truly follow Him. But then pure, solid doctrine unites those who truly are followers of the Good Sheperd who hear His voice.
1 Corinthians 1:18:
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Beware of any teaching that would be appealing to someone who is not being saved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)